Tony's Town Square - Why all the hate? I dig it....

[Branflakes]

We were lucky enough to be served visible mold. This was on dessert strawberries. And I'm not talking a slightly over ripe berry, I'm talking fully green fuzzy mold all over the fruit. This was after the very subpar meal we had with the worst service we have ever had at any Disney establishment in 20 years. Our server made no bones about the fact that she was getting a gratuity one way or another due to our party of 6. In the end, we were compensated half the dining credits and the manager left the gratuity open for our interpretation. And we did accordingly.

 

[CynBeth]

It is one of our favorites. We have dinner there every trip and have always had good food and service. I have a few family members with food allergies and they do a great job.

 

[JerseyJanice]

I have read enough bad reviews about Tony's over the years to steer clear of it. Look at some of the doozies on this thread.

What I don't understand is why Disney can't get Italian right at most of its restaurants. Around here--admittedly a place with lots of Italian food available--restaurants featuring pasta dishes and chicken, veal or shrimp entrees served either francese, Marsala, Parmesan, or saltimbucca.

Places around here crank these simple dishes out. I can't figure out why Disney doesn't open a place with a similar formula.

 

[Disney Mom 7272]

We like Tonys! Always have good food and good service!

 

[TheRustyScupper]

Our Ratings of Tony's Town Square: (*rev 01/14/2017*)
. . . food price value: C
. . . food quality: D
. . . food quantity per serving: C
. . . food prep speed: B
. . . food selection: C
. . . seating quantity: C
. . . seating comfort: C
. . . eatery atmosphere: B
. . . eatery convenience: A
. . . staff friendliness: B
. . . staff attentiveness: D
. . . character interaction: n/a
.
Our Recommendations:
. . . appys:... Zucchini Fries
. . . entree:.. no recommendation
. . . dessert:. Pistachio Crème Brûlée
.
NOTE1: The staff is usually friendly, but not very attentive to guest needs. The eatery atmosphere is pleasant. The food is not something to write home about. Meats seem to be reheated or microwaved from frozen, and are average for the Italian entrées. They are less than the quality of CHEF BOY AR DEE. The sauce may be tomato, but it is definitely not a true marinara. The appetizers are average. In a hunger-pinch, Tony's might do, but there are far better choices. On the plus side, the desserts are simple, but pretty darn good.
.
NOTE2: Hard to justify going the first time, let alone going back.

 

[brertoad]

It's certainly better than an Olive Garden so what's the beef?

Two words: Chicken Parm

If you've had it at Tony's you won't want to ever go back. Cold chicken, cold cheese, over-cooked pasta.

It's not better than Olive Garden, seriously it is not.

As so many people have previously mentioned, the food is not even served hot. That's really sad if you can't even get a fresh hot meal.
At least at OG you can get a decent hot meal.

Now as far as theming, Tony's is cute; and it is right on Main Street in Magic Kingdom and Olive Garden isn't so there is that...

 

[ChasingLeslie]

What I don't understand is why Disney can't get Italian right at most of its restaurants.

I've never had Tony's, but I've had no issues with Mama Melrose and Trattoria al Forno.

 

[jsmla]

Caveat: I don't have a high opinion of 90% of the restaurants at WDW, especially given the prices. I never go in expecting an OMG, best steak, fish, pasta, dessert, etc. I've ever had type experience. I find the WDW eats adequate to fairly good, but rarely amazing. I would say never amazing but my steak at Tiffins was pretty darn tasty

I booked Tony's last month because I was on the Dining Plan and wanted to take advantage of the Festival of Fantasy package. I went into my lunch with very low expectations and was pleasantly surprised.

I had zero problems with service and this was one of the few Disney restaurants where, as a solo, I was not seated at that postage stamp sized table next to the kitchen.

I had:
Caesar Salad

Very basic but fresh and plentiful

Shrimp Scampi

It wasn't BBQ shrimp from Manale's in NOLA but I had 8 nice sized shrimp that were properly cooked and a very large serving of pasta. This was absolutely fine after I added a lot of black pepper.

Tiramisu

This was actually one of the best desserts I had that week, far, far, far superior to the FDP dessert I had at Mama Melrose.

 

[mikeyg1479]

Bottom line- You get chain restaurant level Italian food there. Do you find Olive Garden delightful to eat at or gross? That will inform a lot on how you will receive Tony's.

 

[Jetta8300]

We thought Tony’s was decent. I definitely would agree that it’s not super high quality food. I would compare it to Olive Garden for sure, and I wouldn’t argue anyone’s negative opinion who didn’t like it.

However I do think people are more critical of poor Italian food than any other kind of poor food, which explains the hate. We thought Tony’s was MUCH better than the downright disgusting TV dinner food at Liberty Tree Tavern, however Liberty Tree doesn’t get the same amount of hate. It doesn’t make any sense to me. And Liberty Tree is like opening a stouffer’s freezer dinner. It was 10x worse for us than Tony’s.

People hate all day long on Tony’s “jar or canned” red sauce...yet order thirds of LTT’s fake nuclear colored orange mac and cheese...