Is Tony's that bad??

[sandymandr]

I keep reading bad reviews and just want to know if it is really that bad? Would love to hear from people that like it and why. My friend picked it for a 230 pm meal so we can watch parade on our next trip. We both really like Italian, but now I am starting to worry that this is not a good choice.
And does anyone know if I need to request a certain place to sit to see parade? TIA!

 

[PrincessKara22]

I really loved it at Tonys but we've only been once a few years ago. The atmosphere is great and the bread had an amazing sun-dried tomato dip that my brother (who HATES tomatos) loved. I really enjoyed the spaghetti & meatballs and I know everyone else enjoyed what they had as well. I say give it a try with an open mind-you may be surprised!

 

[sandymandr]

Thanks!! I just found another thread that answered my other questions, so I'm gonna give it a try!!

 

[tony67]

It is not bad, it is just not great.

It was pretty bad when I was there a few years ago, but it does seem to have improved in the last year from what I have heard.

My parents were there last night and liked it a lot.

If you like spaghetti and meatballs and the Lady and the Tramp theme you will probably enjoy it.

 

[bleeps]

First rule of thumb about these boards:

no matter what the topic, you will find completely divergent opinions! there is no one restaurant, resort, etc. that is completely 100% loved.

That said:
We gave Tony's another try in August, after having taken a couple of years off from it. We were delighted with our lunch -- everything was very fresh, CM was great, etc. We will eat there again!

Please realize that ALL WDW restaurants are trying to please the middle of the road crowd. No ultra authentic cuisine of ANY kind is available; even at Epcot you are getting Americanized, homogenized versions of a country's cuisine.

If you judge Tony's against the most fabulous Italian place you've ever been to, you will be disappointed. If you judge it based on being theme park food, you'll probably be pleasantly surprised.

 

[mpetti]

We went on our recent trip Aug 09 for the first time. I was so nervous after reading so many bad reviews. But decided to see for myself especially since it was free dining. We loved it!!! I had the steak and it was perfect. My boys had the spaghetti and meatballs and the only complaint was from my 7 year old who is a big eater. He wanted more of the meatballs. For our next trip I will be sure to order him an adult meal. I can't remember what my DH had but he ate it all, so I know it was good. Also the desserts were great. Go and enjoy.

Maryann

 

[DisneyJen0504]

YES! But that is just our opinion. We found the food on our recent trip to be close to inedible that is how gross it was. Gross dark sauce, dried out chicken, terrible service, the list goes on.
There are so many other places that don't have such varying opinions. Try somewhere else!

 

[eliza61]

YES! But that is just our opinion. We found the food on our recent trip to be close to inedible that is how gross it was. Gross dark sauce, dried out chicken, terrible service, the list goes on.
There are so many other places that don't have such varying opinions. Try somewhere else!

Ditto

How they can remotely consider this Italian food was beyond me. It was pretty much one step up from Chef Boyardee.
My kids thought it was nasty and they can eat pizza/pasta 24 hours a day.

 

[PoohsFan1]

We went to Tony's for the first time in March and thought it was very good. We requested to sit outside so we could view the 3pm parade (our ADR was for 2:45pm) which was granted. My DH and I thought the Minnastroni soup was very good and so was our entrees. My kids liked their meals as well. We have ADRs for our upcoming trip in December, again close to the time of the 3pm parade, so we will be requesting to sit outside again. I think we like the restaurant due to the outside seating and the fact that we can view the parade from there.

 

[WDW-BWV]

In the last two years, we have gone to this restaurant a total of around 4 times. Each time the CM were very nice, helpful and willing to adjust to our reqeust for DS who has special needs with his mobility.

That said, the food is good. It is as good as you would find just about anyplace on the mass market side of selling pasta. Anyone who thinks in comes from a can is overly harsh.

Keep in mind that there are good days and bad. There are good meals and bad. There are new adventures everyday. Keep your epxectaitons on the low side and be pleased when they excell.

 

[bytheblood]

This is not Italian food. If you know real Italian food or if you live in the Northeast, I could not imagine that you would enjoy it.

 

[juniper27]

It wasn't fantastic, but it certainly wasn't terrible. The cheese garlic bread was pretty good, and DH got the New York strip which was amazing...that came as kind of a surprise! I got the chicken parmesan which was meh. We liked the atmosphere...watched Spectro while we ate...and we're sappy so we had to do the Lady and the Tramp bit with a piece of spaghetti.

I haven't eaten at any other Italian place at WDW; I'm sure Tutto is probably better. But it was nice for what it was.

 

[eeyorethegreat]

We ate there in July 2008 so it was a while ago now. The food was fne. Not super but not bad. Service was good. Like someone else said you are going to get a myriad of responses on both sides. I say give it a try and decide for yourself.

 

[KatMark]

Like resorts, or attractions, etc., everyone has their favorites, their own tastes, expectations, etc. Some people love WCC and we found it disgusting; others think LeCellier is overrated and we love it (and we have great steakhouses in chicago). We've done Tony's several times and never had a bad meal. We've always had very friendly service. I will say we prefer lunch over dinner because we find it is not as hectic at lunch as it is at dinner and the service is a little quicker.

 

[englishrose47]

I come from a predominantly Italian town where Italian food is the specialty !! I had the chicken parm. and thoroughly enjoyed it !! I have also hadthe steak which was delish!! My daughter and her friend were most impressed with the green beans. I realise a restaurant can have an OFF day , but in my opinion if you don't like the food it id cuz you got an OFF day !! Go for it !!

 

[kidsister]

I booked a late dinner at Tony's last year so that my sister could see the headless horseman at MNSSHP to which we didn thave tickets...They had no problem seating us at probably 6:45 and we asked for an outside table. It was fun seeing all the partyers entering in their costumes. We had a clear shot at viewing the parade. No one rushed us to leave and we clearly had no ticket wrist bands.

I didn't expect much at all from the food but I was WRONG. I think we both had the shrimp /artichoke pasta and it was yum. My sister had dessert...some kind of apple sherbet and she loved it. I think we had appetizers or salad, but I can't remember what...although I know I liked it.

So sometimes you can be pleasantly surprised! Oh and our waiter was adorable!

 

[Pixieflip]

I agree with PPs who suggest you try it for yourself. We have always enjoyed it.

 

[Planning fanatic mom]

we are fans of Italian food and ate here in June for lunch. We liked it. Was it as good as our local Italian place?? No, but then again our local place doesn't have to feed so many people.

I really liked the sauce with the Italian Sausage. DH had the salmon and really liked it. His favorite part was the Taramisu. (sp?) He said it was great. DDs both had the gelato. It was good.

Atmosphere was great. We were right in the middle of the restaurant which normally I don't care for, but it was nice. You never saw any CM standing around, and you could always get someone's attention.

 

[bluesky225]

We were there last week, and we enjoyed it! We also were able to see the parade while we were there.

 

[eliza61]

A few people mentioned having to serve a large number of people as an excuse for lousy or mediocre food.

Why?

I travel alot and I mean, NYC & Washington DC restaurants see and handle just as many people as Disney world and since you know what your capacity is, you can calculate approxiametely (sp?) how many meals may be served. So my question is, is it not possible to serve good food to a busy restaurant?

Eliza