Tony's? Is it really bad? really?

[shinez]

Hi All!
We have ADR for our 1st night at Tony's- is it gross? Really?

 

[goofyintoronto]

YES. I think so. GROSS is not the word. We went there with very low expectations due to the bad reviews and we were still disappointed.

We ordered Italian food at Tony's, and apparently that wasnt the smartest thing to order. Or so I was told! I was told I should have stuck to non-italian dishes, and it would have been fine. I ordered the chicken parm, and my son ordered spag/balls. Both were disgusting. I tried a meatball and couldnt swallow. It was that bad. I think the marinara sauce killed both dishes. The cesar salad (starter) was also disapointing as it was wilted. The dessert was the best part. People who have stuck with things like steak, calamari, etc (non-italian dishes or dishes WITHOUT tomato sauce) seemed to have liked their food. So maybe thats the way to go?

 

[shinez]

YES. I think so. GROSS is not the word. We went there with very low expectations due to the bad reviews and we were still disappointed.

We ordered Italian food at Tony's, and apparently that wasnt the smartest thing to order. Or so I was told! I was told I should have stuck to non-italian dishes, and it would have been fine. I ordered the chicken parm, and my son ordered spag/balls. Both were disgusting. I tried a meatball and couldnt swallow. It was that bad. I think the marinara sauce killed both dishes. The cesar salad (starter) was also disapointing as it was wilted. The dessert was the best part. People who have stuck with things like steak, calamari, etc (non-italian dishes or dishes WITHOUT tomato sauce) seemed to have liked their food. So maybe thats the way to go?

AKK!!!!!!!! Really! NO! What do we do! ADR's have NOTHING-

 

[LisaDKG]

It was the worst dining experience we have had at WDW in 5 years of trips! AVOID!

 

[ksolich]

Just to throw a positive review into the mix, I dined there in August with DBF and we both enjoyed it. We had great food and for the most part great service. There was a little mix up where they forgot to take our name down so we waited about 15 minutes longer then we should. But other then that we both really enjoyed it! He got the lasagna and LOVED it, and I got the tomato basil mozzarella appetizer thing and it was fantastic!

 

[mom2maggie]

Tony's is one of my husband's favorite restaurants at Disney. I don't think its great - it isn't TERRIBLE (I don't understand all the bad hype) but I don't think its somewhere that is a must have for ME. My husband, though, was supremely sad when I suggested we try somewhere else this year, and I had to work it into our dining plan. My daughter liked her food too from the kids menu.

ETA: We love the look of the restaurant too, and the location can't be beat. So convenient!

 

[gregrmike1]

We did Tony's the first night of our trip in August 2011. I was pleasantly surprised as we had a great experience and the atmosphere was good as well despite bad reviews. We all ordered the steak except for my son and it was a great choice. My son ordered the chicken parm and reported he did not like the sauce but he picked around it. I have been informed the Italian dishes are not as desirable. I think everyone should try it for themselves and form their own opinion. Whatever you select I hope you have a great trip!

 

[MicRac]

My family and I enjoyed our meal at Tony's last spring. I would return again no problems. I suggest you go for it and try it yourself. Everyone has their own opinions of places but you never really know til you try it. Enjoy and have fun!

 

[jamiesmom07]

My family loves it! It's something that my 13 yr old DS always requests. We were there in November, got to sit by the window where you can look out and see Lady and the Tramp eating spaghetti. I had a pasta dish with shrimp, DELICIOUS!!! DH had lasagna and he was very happy. DS had spaghetti. We truly enjoy Tony's. Good Luck!

 

[Mommytwotwins]

We liked it too! I was so undecided with all the bad reviews but it was pretty good, the only issue I had was the garlic bread was hard as a rock. There were 5 adults and 3 kids and we all enjoyed the meal.

 

[angierae]

I really don't understand all the Tony's hate. We went there for lunch as a walk-up in May of 2010, and my daughter, MIL and I all liked it. My daughter got the spaghetti with no meat (she rarely eats meat), I got the chicken parm, and honestly I can't remember what my MIL got. Eggplant lasagna, maybe?

In any event, my DD loved it so much it was her only dining request for our trip in April, so we'll be having lunch there again.

 

[shinez]

You guys are great! I really appriciate the honesty and feedback...sounds like the tomato sauce is funky...I kept our ADRs for 2/17, and will report back... LOVE LOVE LOVE hearing everyones feedback!

 

[kpmdjm]

We liked it too! I was so undecided with all the bad reviews but it was pretty good, the only issue I had was the garlic bread was hard as a rock. There were 5 adults and 3 kids and we all enjoyed the meal.

My family ate with you and I remember we were all undecided if we wanted to go because of the bad reviews. Well turns out everyone enjoyed it.

 

[jlevis]

My wife and I ate lunch there this past September. I had the spaghetti with meat balls and I think my wife had the chicken parm. Both were very good. Service was fine. We will go back.

 

[hailbug]

We have had dinner at Tony's 3 times and every time it was good! I don't know why there are so many bad reviews, we've always had a good meal and good service!

 

[OneLittleSpark7]

Here's another vote for liking Tony's! It isn't my favorite restaurant in the park but I certainly don't hate it Ate there October 2011.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

We ate at Tony's a couple weekends ago. I had fish & my DH had chicken parmesan. I agree the rolls weren't good, but we'd been eating at signatures for the other meals. It may not have been a fair comparison. Either way, we didn't care for those. My fish was too salty, but it was cooked perfectly. Other than too much salt, it was a good dish. The sauce on DH's dish was very similar to Ragu chunky. It was a bit bland. They should have used the extra salt on my fish in his sauce instead. I've seen posts where people say it's worse than Chef Boyardee. IMO, that's a huge exaggeration. My DH didn't think it was the best thing he'd eaten, but it was certainly edible. It was a huge portion that he couldn't begin to eat all of. As others have said, the dessert was very good.

I had always wanted to see inside this restaurant, but avoided it because of the bad reviews. We found it perfectly acceptable, & would consider going for lunch again sometime. We probably wouldn't return for dinner, but only because we usually prefer to dine at the signature restaurants for dinner.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

We has a 1:00pm ADR for lunch at Tony's Town Square.





We arrived to check in for our 1:00pm lunch reservation. We were told if would be about 20 minutes but we were called in about five minutes. Skye had time to start coloring...



We were taken into the restaurant and lead all the way through to the sun room. It was really pretty in there and we had great seats again!









Now most of what I had heard about Tony's was not good. I needed to fill a spot and did not want to leave the park for it. So I filled in with this. Let me tell you I am really glad we did...we all are!

For appetizer Skye got Carrot and Celery with Ranch Dip...



They looked really dry and old when they were brought out but Skye said they were great! She did not eat much on the celery but all the carrots were gone.

Tyler ordered Calamari with Topped with Olive Relish and served with Marinara Sauce. Again, this is something out of the ordinary for us. We have had it before but usually because it comes as part of a platter or something like that. And never have we actually said we liked it.



This time, we loved 'em!!!! They were all rings not suckers. The breading was light and the insides were soft and sweet. They almost tasted like a mushy onion ring. They were really good! Ty and I both ate quite a bit of them!

I ordered the Zucchini Fries (breaded seasoned zucchini with creamy sun-dries tomato dressing for dipping)...



They were awesome. Fresh and light, not too greasy.​

 

[tyandskyesmom]

So on with lunch...

So far we are really loving Tony's. Don't know if we are just earier and like a lesser food or if we cought them on a good day or what but so far, for us, all the bad reviews I have read are wrong!

So on to entrees...

Skye had Mickey Head Cheese Ravioli with Marinara Sauce and Pepperoni on the side...



She loved it...she ate every single Mickey Head!!!!

Tyler ordered the Chicken Parmigiana (lightly breaded chicken breast with marinara sauce topped with mozzarella cheese over spaghetti)...



He liked the plate!!!! He thought it was great!!!!

I ordered the Shrimp Scampi (linguini with sun-dried tomatoes and asparagus tossed in a garlic sauce)...



MMMMMM, is all I can say! And I did not even get heart burn so it was garlicy but not to garlicy...just garlicy enough! The pasta was cooked perfectly, the shrimps were plenty, everything about it was right.

For dessert Skye got an Ice Cream Sundae...



Tyler got the Ice Cream Bomb...



It was an sundae...what's not to like???

Inside is vanilla and chocolate ice cream on top of a yellow cake covered in a hard chocolate shell. It was good and fun...something different...and that is hard to find these days!

I had Lemon Walnut Layer Cake...



It was really good...and actually a bit on the lite side comparatively. White cake with lemon filling. Really a good dessert!

All in all, we loved Tony's and will be back. Our total was $82.45 and we used 2 adult and 1 kid's credit. We left at 1:22pm. We had great service, a great seat, great food...what's not to love???​

 

[sammysmom]

We ate there for the first time last year and loved it Service was quick and the food was really good. Planning on going again this year!!