Grand Floridian Cafe and Trattoria al Forno, February 24th
Sleepy Hollow
Breakfast is so limited in MK (especially if you don't eat meat), so to Sleepy Hollow it was! We stood in the very slow line and were able to refresh for a mobile order window (took a while) before we even got close to ordering. Mobile order was ready in just minutes.
Fresh Fruit Waffle Sandwich Served with Strawberries, Banana, Blueberries, and Chocolate-Hazelnut Spread, $8.49
Yum, these waffles are so hit and crisp and fresh. They have a hearty spread of Nutella and tons of fresh fruit. It's a lot of sugar and we felt a bit gross after eating these but it was so delicious and totally worth it. They're pretty messy so grab napkins! I do miss the savory option they used to have with egg, ham, and cheese.
We also got iced caramel lattes from Joffrey's of course, delicious, but I am at my photo limit for this post so no picture!
Grand Floridian Cafe
We are both pretty tired of MK quick service so we had lunch plans at the GF Cafe. My friend had lunch here on her last trip and was excited to go back. It was quite busy even though we were on the later side (close to 2pm) so we were glad we had reservations, it took a while to be seated.
My friend ordered the Grand Colada while I had the Antioxidant Lemonade.
Grand Colada: A tropical blend of Captain Morgan Spiced Rum, Coconut and Pineapple topped with Bols Blue Curaçao, $14.50
My friend loved her colada and my lemonade was very enjoyable, not sure I tasted even a hint of alcohol, it mostly tasted like lemonade, not that I can really complain about that!
Antioxidant Lemonade: Van Gogh Açaí-Blueberry Vodka, Minute Maid® Premium Lemonade, and Pomegranate Juice topped with Sprite®, $14.50
I ordered the apple salad as a starter, it was huge and definitely entree sized. I think you could add a protein to it and it would make a decent lighter meal.
Heirloom Apple Salad: Organic Baby Lettuce, Heirloom Apples, Sharp Cheddar, Pecan Brittle, and Crispy Prosciutto with a Honey-Apple Vinaigrette, $13
This salad was so good, very similar to the salad at Liberty Tree tavern with just more fixings. There was so much cheese and prosciutto, and it was very lightly dressed. Super refreshing and as a blue/goat cheese hater I loved this option.
For my entree I got the steak and eggs of course, I had to see how I liked this now that Topolino's has made changes to how much you can order. Eggs were over easy and absolutely perfect!
Steak and Eggs: Sirloin Steak, Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole, Two Eggs, and House-made Steak Sauce, $21
The hash brown was exactly like the cheesy hash browns you'd get on a Sunday brunch buffet, very nostalgic to me since I grew up going to buffets on Sundays. The steak was a hearty lunch size, if I had to guess maybe 10-12oz?
I finally broke my curse of ordering medium-rare steaks! This was cooked perfectly, a bit of red in the middle and all pink, not a hint of brown in the middle. I have had so many medium to medium-well steaks at Disney that I was starting to think medium-rare was impossible.
This was a very flavorful steak, I think I do just prefer cheaper/fattier cuts. While it was not super tender, and maybe a bit on the chewier side, it was well seasoned and juicy and a solid steak especially for the price. I think this is definitely a new favorite easier on the wallet meal for me.
My friend got the Impossible burger which I think she got last time, no picture but she enjoyed it. If you look it up it looks just like the pictures online!
Impossible™ Burger: Caramelized Onions and Plant-based Smoked Gouda on a Kaiser Roll (Plant-based), $21
It was a little bit slow, I'd say a leisurely pace, but we had an amazing waitress and she was so upbeat and friendly. I 100% will be back on MK days, it was a great break from the parks. We thought it was funny, it was almost all women eating here, I know it was Princess weekend but still
Trattoria al Forno
We picked up a dinner reservation for Trattoria, and like the last time, it was a while past our ADR time (even checking in 20 minutes early) before we were seated. We had a 7:40 reservation, checked in at 7:20, and did not have our appetizers until 8:40.
Our waitress was sooo sweet and adorable, and she was very clearly assigned to too many tables. The restaurant wasn't full but I imagine they were short on waitstaff. No big deal to us, while we were hoping to get to bed a little early for our 2:15AM wakeup the next day for the race, it was our fault for the late reservation!
When we sat down we were in park clothes, there was an older couple next to us that was waiting for their check and I think the guy was giving us some major side eye. Like come on, this place is basically Olive Garden level, full of kids watching their iPads, it's very casual
It took a pretty long time to order but once our orders were entered, the food came so fast. I started with the calamari, which had a nice mix of the rings and whatever the non-ring pieces are called. This was very crisp and fresh, I will say it was very salty, getting very close to too salty.
Calamari: Lemon, Parsley, Lemon-Garlic Aïoli, $17
The flavors were very lemon-forward so keep that in mind. Overall I wouldn't mind ordering this again, but it's definitely a lot for one person. I only got through maybe 1/4 to 1/3 of it on my own and I was quite hungry by that point.
The free little ciabatta rolls were delicious, the olive oil and tapenade is very delicious for dipping, again quite salty from the tapenade.
I think my friend got the tuscan salad, no picture but it was definitely a starter portion and she had no complaints.
Tuscan Salad Countryside Greens, Almonds, Gorgonzola, Blackberries, Lemon Vinaigrette, $12
My friend got the truffle gnocchi, which she really enjoyed.
Truffle Gnocchi: Parmesan, Fontina, Truffle Cream, $28
I tried a bite and it was very good, truffle isn't my favorite flavor but it was very rich. Definitely extremely cheesy, my friend loves cheese and by the end she was starting to get a bit cheesed out, it may look like a small portion but don't be fooled! Still she definitely liked it, you may just need a nap after!
I had the shrimp pappardelle.
Shrimp Pappardelle: Artichokes, Tomatoes, Capers, White Wine-Butter Sauce (Contains alcohol), $31
This was definitely different, the sauce was very lemony and light, not at all creamy, It was salty but not overwhelmingly so. The noodles were excellent, homemade and very wide, but as you can see form the picture there really weren't many noodles. Definitely lots of broth (not really sauce since it was so thin). The tomatoes were fresh, I didn't eat too many artichokes since they're not my favorite, and the shrimp were plentiful and cooked well. I think it would be a bit light if this was all you ordered. It would have been nice to have some fresh grated parmesan!
Overall this was a really light pasta dish, the dominating flavor was definitely lemon and our waitress actually asked if I wanted everything included, so I imagine you can leave off ingredients if you feel so inclined. I would probably try something different next time, but I was satisfied with this!
Even though our meal took forever, we ordered some desserts to go. I got the panna cotta and my friend had the tiramisu.
Panna Cotta: Fresh Fruit, Florentine Lace Cookie, $10
Tiramisù Lady Fingers soaked with Espresso and layered with Italian Mascarpone Cream, $10
They were obviously pre-packaged to go, so I imagine it is popular to order them to go!
No picture of the tiramisu because I did really bad at taking photos this trip, it was a hearty square portion and my friend who is Italian thought it was great!
My panna cotta was pretty awful, it was like a cross between chocolate pudding and jello and not in a good way. It was just so gelatinous, like there was way too much gelatin. I didn't realize it was a chocolate panna cotta. I only had a few bites before tossing this, I didn't have it until the next day so maybe it would have been better fresh.
The lace cookie was both sweet and savory, almost a bit burnt tasting, not my favorite. Definitely felt overpriced in this to-go format at least, since it takes a bit away from the presentation.
While Trattoria isn't my #1 restaurant, we still enjoyed our overall experience and I would definitely go back. They are always so fast in the kitchen, it's just the seating/ordering part that seems to slow down the experience. We did get the check fairly quickly so no complaints there.
I will say they seat 2-person tables so close together, you could totally have a conversation with the people next to you. I would like to try Il Mulino sometime and see how that compares, though I hear you definitely should dress up a bit for that one!
We didn't get back to our room at the Dolphin until after 9:30, maybe not our wisest plan with the early wake up the next day, but sometimes that's just how it goes in WDW!