Is Alfredo's...

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

at least as good (or better) than Olive Garden?

 

[Zoemakes5]

Two words "oh yes". Though, to be honest, my opinion is from long ago. We took my son there when he was 18 months and for my honeymoon about 3 years before that. Food was GREAT! Atmosphere was fun. Word of caution if you bring littler ones...they place olive oil for bread dipping on the table, and the tables tend to be smaller. When DS1 was 18 months, he couldn't resist playing in the oil!

 

[lovinwdw]

There have been previous posts about this restaurant. My personal opinion (and DH) we did not like it at all. Very over priced and the lasagna tasted like bologna and band-aids. But, that is just our opinion.

 

[michaelwilliammidd]

1,000 times better than Olive Garden. I don't think you can compare the 2 (although I guess I just did by saying it's 1,000 times better ) Anyway, It is VERY good, a must for my family every trip!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

MMMMM! Bologna and Band-Aids! My favorite! Sorry it was gross, Lovinwdw!

I have been reading a lot of the previous posts, and (like many places) people seem to really like Alfredo's or have HORRIBLE experiences. But part of that is due to having bad service, and the other part is not liking the food. We don't have very sophisticated tastes, so I wanted to get a basis for comparison. We are perfectly happy at Olive Garden most of the time, so I thought that would be a good place to compare it to. Besides, lots of people are familiar with Olive Garden so it's a good baseline.

 

[idofabric]

6 or 7 of us had dinner there the last week in May, this year. The "Signature" dish of Fet. Alfredo was horrid,pasta over and under cooked, oily, and very tasteless. Could not get anyone to grate fresh cheese on our meals, as they were doing at other tables. One of the women with us is an International Student and has lived in Italy and speaks Italian. She got the 3 noodle dish- Lasgana, and 2 other things and said it was eatable. We only got 1 piece of bread for each of us. No refills. Service was not bad. Not good. It was very busy. We also did not get the correct meals that we ordered, and had to have them bring out the right meals.

I will not go back. This was the first and last time we will eat there. And neither will any of the others that were at the table.

This was not a good ECOPT meal trip for our group. We always eat at Garden Grill and tried the new menu, the fish was bad. Make you sick bad, steak ok, and chicken very sweet. France pastry was bad on several different days, except the Elephant Ears. Coral Reef was great for the luncheon 3 course meal.

 

[WDWDennis]

hehehe, Bolonga and band-aids!! NICE!!!

I have been SOOOO confused as to eat at this place or not. I see such mixed reviews. It seems that as long as your expectacions arent too high, you'll be ok. Some people like, but most seem to give bad reviews and say it costs too much. I've been putting it off for years now, but I think I'm gonna give it a try for myself. I'll let you know on Oct 9th!!!

I'm going in.....

 

[jenrose66]

I hated Alfredo's. I had the fettucine that is always raved about and was just not impressed. I'm not sure if I didn't enjoy my dinner because the food was so expensive and tasted just mediocre or what...

However, this was the only meal of my trip last year that I actually felt bad about. Like it was a complete waste of money. I won't be going back.

 

[Patty3]

I do like the Olive Garden, prefer Macaroni Grill, but did not like Alfredo's. We have tried this place many times since so many here like it. I just kept thinking we were going on off nights. We are not going to go back. The fettucine Alfredo noodles were all clumped together and the sauce was in thick curd puddles and not smooth like the sauce should be. I wish I liked this place, I really wanted to, but our meal was not good, sorry.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

WDWDennis-
We arrive on Oct. 14! Be sure to let me know if you go on Oct. 9!

Idofabric made me laugh, because Garden Grill was the other place I was sort of considering! Hmm. Maybe not!

Maybe all of us October people should just plan to buy samples from the Food & Wine vendors and save our TS credit for another day at another park or resort!

 

[DisneyJen0504]

I dont like the Olive Garden and I would eat there any day over Alfredos. Alfredos is just plain bad.

 

[Laurajean1014]

I dont like the Olive Garden and I would eat there any day over Alfredos. Alfredos is just plain bad.

Very well said.

 

[SqueakyMouse]

We never make a PS/ADR for Alfredo's, but we always end up eating here. It's generally good but not great. For us, it beats burgers and chicken fingers eaten in the heat. Will we eat here in the future? Given our past record, probably; but I doubt we'll ever make an ADR for it.

 

[MinnieGirl33]

This goes to show that you must try things for yourself. Everyone's tastes are different & everyone has different criteria as to what makes for a good experience.

Years ago we too had enough bad experiences to stay away from Alfredo's for a few years. About a year & a half ago, on one of those crowded, rainy, no PS days where you are so tired/agitated/starving/fill in your own blank that you don't care what you eat as long as you eat NOW kind of days we ended up back at Alfredo's & couldn't believe the improvement! Really enjoyed both our meals & service. We go 2-3 times a year & have made this a must do lately.

We are Italian & practically never eat Italian out. While I wouldn't compare this to homemade, I will say everything has been fresh & flavorful. As for the Fett. Alfredo, we have Americanized so many dishes that people forget that true Alfredo "sauce" has NO CREAM - only butter & cheese so if you want something creamy, order something else.

As for the service Alessandro & Maurizio, in particular, get applause for 1). being very attentive, 2). knowing when to engage in conversation & when not to, 3). engaging kids in conversation/telling them about Italy & where they were from, etc.

My oldest chose Alfredo's to have his 11th b-day dinner & was made very much the fuss over. I'm not sure what was the bigger hit, being sung to in Italian by a whole group of servers or the chocolate mousse he got for dessert. He's already talking about that for Sept.

My advice, like I always tell my kids, you'll never know if you like something or not until you try it for yourself.

 

[Sarnia]

I do like the Olive Garden, prefer Macaroni Grill, but did not like Alfredo's. We have tried this place many times since so many here like it. I just kept thinking we were going on off nights. We are not going to go back. The fettucine Alfredo noodles were all clumped together and the sauce was in thick curd puddles and not smooth like the sauce should be. I wish I liked this place, I really wanted to, but our meal was not good, sorry.

This is how it's meant to be when it's cooked authentically. Fresh parmesan and butter won't make a smooth sauce. Unfortunately people are used to recipes that have been changed to appeal to local tastes, like people that say the food in San Angel isn't Mexican, when what they are used to is Tex Mex. I've had this dish a few times and think the flavour is excellent, to me it's the best pasta dish i've ever had. Someone else in the thread commented that it was oily, it's made from butter and cheese, of course it is.

The food here has always been cooked perfectly and the service great.

 

[ElizabethB]

We love it -- and the Fettucine Alfredo is authentic and out of this world delicious -- all butter and grated cheese -- with no thick, gummy white sauce to mess it up. I couldn't believe the first time I had it -- I finally realized what the fuss about this dish was about. Won't order it anywhere else, now.

 

[jarestel]

I like Olive Garden, though some posters have insinuated that OG is like an Italian version of McDonald's ( which I like too ). So I've probably disqualified my opinion by admitting these things. But because I happen to find more things on the OG menu that appeal to me than on Alfredo's, doesn't mean Alfredo's isn't good. We ate there and had a nice time, but thought it was expensive for pasta. If there was an OG in WDW, we'd probably choose it over Alfredo's, but Alfredo's is nice too.

 

[D&R love Disney]

We used to like Alfredo's about 10 years ago. The last 2 times we ate there it wasn't very good and the service was terrible. I haven't been back since and would prefer to drive down the road to Olive Garden.

 

[aring75]

Everytime we're in Epcot, DH and I eat at Alfredo's to get our fix of "real" Fettucino Alfredo. ::sigh::


Can't wait 'til July...

 

[dznyntnh]

When I read all the bad stuff about Alfredo's (bad food, service, etc.) I always think people are talking about the Olive Garden, cuz that describes every meal I've had there.

Alfredo's is wonderful. Great authentic food.

OG is 'Americanized', I want to bring a huge sign to these places saying 'There is no garlic in fettucine alfredo'