What's so bad about Tony's

[disneypolybride2008]

it was fine, we liked it.. and its location and decor

 

[hoffman1]

We have eaten at Tony's a few times. I always thought it was ok. As I mentioned in another thread, I think it has to do with expectations.
It is a restaurant in a theme park. I don't expect a lot. The décor is nice and the food is a lot better than what I would find at a local 6 Flags amusement park.

 

[alwaysdreamingofdis]

I'm not saying that it is the best meal at MK....I would chose Liberty Tree or Be Our Guest over Tony's If I had to choose. But many times, we are there for 8 nights and love MK and will often choose Tony's for the 3rd MK night. We love the theme and we love to sit outside on porch and food is pretty good too. Bigger portions too. Just a side note, I've heard the Tony's and Mama Melrose at HS has same food...but I must say, we like Mama Melrose better.. It is a must do for us...so not sure if it is the same food or not.. Does anyone else know???

 

[rwdavis2]

As with all restaurants at WDW it depends on what you're used to at home. If you're like my hometown (all fast food places) then WDW is pretty good. But one has decent, non fast food or chain, places then WDW dining is pretty mediocre, at best. There is not excuse for some of the eateries at Disney World other than they don't have to do any better.

 

[DisneyMandC]

We (tragically) had to eat there the last night of our honeymoon after Jiko was closed down unexpectedly. Food was awful. Service was awful. We had a reservation made for us last minute after Jiko closed, and it was the longest we had to wait for a table out of the 8 days we'd been in Disney. I think our waitress was the only one we'd had all week who didn't congratulate us on our honeymoon. Disney has to do something about it, it's a waste of space.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

My two cents... the food was simply NOT GOOD. And the service was slow. We did this once... tried a second time in case that was an anomaly... but won't do it again. I'd rather go to LTT over and over than go to this restaurant again.

 

[Tink415]

We hadn't been to Tony's in years and gave it another try on our visit last summer. We were hungry, the food was completely tasteless, what a waste of money. Shrimp scampi with not even a sprinkle of parsley, spaghetti and inedible meatball, yuck.

 

[johnsonet]

We've gone probably 5 times (in 16 years of trips). Always for lunch. Always get sandwich and salad or a flatbread. We always sit on the glassed-in porch. And we always enjoy the food and atmosphere. I, too, have wondered why it gets bashed but maybe people go for big family dinners and order a bunch a lasagna or chicken parm or whatever. I've read more than once of comparisons to Stouffers frozen lasagna. Who knows? We have enjoyed and will still go occasionally.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Tony's Town Square December 23, 2015 --- My family's opinion...

We checked in for our 11:20am lunch at Tony's Town Square at 11:08am.

We were called to be seated shortly after.

Our table was in the main dining room along the far wall. We were about two tables away from the glass walled room (where we've always sat before).

Our waitress was Kelly and she was from the Midwest like us. Said she came down for a little while and stayed! I am hoping to be able to say that some day! Kelly took our drink orders (Sprite for Cary, Apple Juice for Skyler, Root beer for me, and coke for Tyler). And brought bread and dipping oil. The kids don't like the dipping oil and prefer butter but the bread itself they enjoyed.

The place was slowly filling up but was still on the quiet side. I know Tony's gets a bad rap around here, but we have always loved it and have never had a bad meal.

For appetizers I had Zucchini Fries ... breaded seasoned zucchini with creamy sun-dried tomato dressing for dipping.

These are really good. Crispy on the outside, hot and moist on the inside. The dipping sauce is really good and compliments the zucchini.

Skyler had the Caesar Salad - Romaine lettuce tossed in Caesar Dressing topped with Romano and Crostini.

She loved this salad and ate the whole thing.

Tyler ordered the Calamari ... served with Olive Relish and a side of Marinara sauce.

We have always loved the calamari here. Yes, even my picky kids eat calamari! We do only like the rings though none of the suction cups (as the kids call them).

And Cary had the Pasta Fagaoli ... traditional meatless Italian soup with pasta and beans.

He really enjoyed his soup. I tried it too and it was really good.

as my entrée I ordered Cannelloni - filled with a mixture of ground beef and sausage, mozzarella, and ricotta served with marinara and creme sauce.

Which surprised me because I ALWAYS get the Shrimp Scampi. I must have really been in a "try new things" kind of a mood. The Cannelloni was really good and I was glad I got it. If there was one thing I would change though it would be less meat inside and a bit more cheese instead. But like I said, it was really good. I ate most of it but I did end up leaving some...it was huge!

Tyler got his usual...

Chicken Parmigiana ... Lightly Breaded Chicken Breast with Marinara sauce topped with Melted Mozzarella over Spaghetti. He loves this here and practically licks the plate clean!

Cary ordered the Spaghetti - with Meatballs and Marinara sauce .

He really enjoyed it. He finished most of it.

Skyler ordered the Margherita Pizza - with pizza sauce and fresh mozzarella garnished with fresh basil; add pepperoni or sausage with pepperoni. It was perfect. She allowed Cary and Tyler to each have a piece and they agreed!

As our desserts we got a couple of things which we actually ate there!

Skyler got the Tony's Cheesecake. I believe it was pumpkin spice flavored.

It was ok. I think it was more the flavor we just didn't prefer but we did like it and it got eaten!

Tyler and I got gelato ... Italian style ice cream chocolate or vanilla (Tyler Vanilla and me chocolate).

What could go wrong with gelato?!?!?!

And Cary got the Pistachio Crème Brulee.

It was hit first time eating crème brulee, I had explained what it was but until it arrived, he didn't get it. But now he does and he loved it. The chocolate biscoti was great too!

Kelly kept our drinks full and was very nice, talking to us about her family and such, without being annoying. It does get a bit loud in there when it's busy but we are ok with that for this venue.

By the time we were finishing up, the place was packed. We had another successful meal at a place most people around here would tell you is worse that a frozen dinner. We love Tony's and I expect we will be back! By 12:04pm we were paying our check.

TOTAL = $157.77 ... TOTAL FOOD = $2522.59
USED 4CREDITS ... USED 59 MEAL CREDITS

It's really just what you make of it. Is it gourmet...nope. But all this "it's dirty", "it's crowded", "it's bad food"...maybe on THAT day it was dirty...maybe on THAT day it was crowded...maybe on THAT day you chose the wrong food. or maybe, we like Olive Garden. We can't all be gourmet diners and we don't all expect that every time we go out. We have NEVER had to wait to be seated, in fact we have always been seated before our ADR time and we are usually out in about an hour. Bad taste on our part, maybe...but we happen to adore a lot of the places other people rave about too so we can't be that far off.

And actually, we don't care for Liberty Tree, it is at the bottom of my list for when we have a deluxe dining plan and need a filler. Be Our Guest (I haven't gotten to that in my review yet) is good but the cost and fanfare for it is unjustified. Cinderella's is good but not comparatively for the price (not there yet in my review) and we had a rude waiter there this past visit. We also like Coral Reef.

I think everyone needs to go to a venue at least once and decide for themselves. If Olive Garden is that bad, how come I always have to wait to get a table???

 

[Hikergirl]

We went years ago, and I don't remember the food being bad, or great, the service was fantastic. One of the best waiters on our whole trip.

 

[mystery222184]

We are an Italian family from the NYC area but aren't particularly stuck up about Italian food (Olive Garden can serve a purpose)... We found Tony's to just not be very good. Via Napoli however, was much better.

 

[CynBeth]

I've eaten there a couple times and have never had horrible food. I keep seeing postings on here bashing the place though. Am I missing something or did I just get lucky the few times I've eaten there? One time we did have kind of slow service but the food was still pretty good. I'd even go as far as to say we even like it better lately than Coral Reef.

We have always had great food and service the times we have had dinner there. It is a favorite and we go every trip.

 

[Mr & Mrs DD]

We ate at Tony's last year. We had read all the horrible things about it, but decided we wanted to try it for ourselves. We were very surprised. We had a very good meal. Maybe they just aren't very consistent, but we had a good meal and we would eat there again based on our visit there.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

We love the spaghetti and meatballs. LOVE them. YMMV.
I would never think of ordering anything else. Not because it's bad, but I cannot do without the S&M's.

My complaints?
1) too noisy. Bad acoustics. We always wait for an outside table.
2) A one holer men's room.

MG

 

[TheRustyScupper]

What's so bad about Tony's?

To quote The Bard, "Let me count the ways".

Our Ratings of Tony's Town Square: (*rev 10/14/2015*)
. . . 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 reommendation
. . . dessert:. Pistachio Crème Brûlée
.
NOTE1: The staff friendliness and the eatery atmosphere are good, but misleading, as the
food is not something to write home about. Meats are average for the Italian entrées, but
akin to CHEF BOY AR DEE - using CHEF BOY AR DEE could be considered an insult to the
famous chef from Cleveland, Ohio. The sauce may be tomato, but it is definitely not a true
marinara. The appetizers are average. In a pinch, Tony's might do, but there are far better
choices. On the plus side, the desserts are simple, but pretty good. Hard to justify going
the first time, let alone going back.
.
NOTE2: If available, one can ask for a outdoor patio table. However, it is not a good place
to view parades, even though one might think so.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

That makes me wonder if the critic ever ate there.

The waitstaff is also one issue I have had, but it is a GREAT locale for parade viewing. Can't be beat.

MG

 

[westie55]

Count me in with those who think Tony's is fine. Fine dining, no. Creative, exotically presented entrees? Definitely not. It's run of the mill Italian food in a cute atomsphere. I happen to love Lady and the Tramp so perhaps I'm biased, but I'd return to Tony's. My meals there are always perfectly acceptable!

 

[Huff]

We've gone to Tony's many times. Always had excellent service and decent food. It's not our favorite but certainly not bad. There are numerous bad reviews for some of the higher rated restaurants. Everyone has their likes and dislikes. Some of the highest rated restaurants I find bland and boring but it seems that appeals to quite a few people. People love Via Napoli so we tried it. Bad service and lousy food, burnt, etc. Honestly, I have yet to have an outstanding top notch meal at any Disney restaurant. However, most are very good and offer a very unique experience we can't get elsewhere. It's more than the food and I love Lady and the Tramp!!

 

[Tink575]

We've gone to Tony's and enjoyed it immensely. I have a specific diet and can't eat spicy foods, their spaghetti and sauce was fine for me. My experience may be colored by the fact that Lady and the Tramp was the first Disney movie I ever saw many moons ago, when my Grandparents took me to the movies for the first time.

 

[CaliTex]

We like Tony's--but we don't expect signature dining in MK so maybe that's it, but we like it. I do know what others are saying about being Italian food snobs and how that colors things--I am from Texas and California and I am a total Mexican food snob. As a result I will rarely eat "Mexican" food while traveling. Too ridiculous. Tostitos, ground meat with some chili powder sprinkled on and fake cheese glop...--not Mexican food, people....

Cali Grill gets loud, and the two of the worst meals we have ever had at WDW were both at LTT, so everyone is different. I love reading reviews, and I love the people that post them--but it's a given that everyone has different tastes/priorities so I rarely make decisions based on someone else's experiences.