Favorite Italian Restaurant?

[crazycatlady]

Which Italian restaurant is your favorite and what items would you recommend? I currently have an ADR at Maria & Enzo's but I am not sure I am going to keep it.

I am not interested in the pizza at Via Napoli because we have had it so many times but would certainly try their Italian dishes. Also, we weren't real impressed with Trattoria al Forno, so that one is out.

 

[sleepydog25]

Which Italian restaurant is your favorite and what items would you recommend? I currently have an ADR at Maria & Enzo's but I am not sure I am going to keep it.

I am not interested in the pizza at Via Napoli because we have had it so many times but would certainly try their Italian dishes. Also, we weren't real impressed with Trattoria al Forno, so that one is out.

Il Mulino would be my first choice at Disney. Lovely ambiance, good food, excellent service, solid wine list, and one unique feature is that you can order half plates of their pasta dishes. Of their pasta dishes, we've enjoyed the pappardelle, rigatoni con funghi, and spaghetti al fruitti di mare the most.

Enzo's Hideaway in DS was a treat for us a few weeks back. It had a speakeasy vibe, though still open and airy, somehow. The food was beyond your average Italian joint, and our service was topnotch. We did go at lunch when it wasn't busy, so that may have been a key to our success. The arancini and bucatini bolognese were winners, not to mention the very vibrant olive oil they pour for you to dip your bread into.

Finally, if driving weren't an issue (and it's not for us), I'd head over to Universal's Portofino Resort and dine at BiCE. Head and shoulders above even Il Mulino. Their pappardelle is topnotch, as is their tagliatelle. My favorite thing on their menu is the veal shank ossobuco--stunningly good. Their wine list and service are both superb. They also will give you half plates if you ask.

 

[crazycatlady]

Thanks, sleepydog25! This is the first trip where we aren't renting a car and we will be on the dining plan, so Enzo's Hideaway would be the best of the three for us. I am glad to hear you liked it a lot because Maria & Enzo's or the Hideaway were on my short list. I found pictures on-line of the bucatini and it looks delicious!

 

[sleepydog25]

These are just a few of the pics we took at Enzo's: the herbaceous olive oil for dipping, a shot of the main dining area, my arancini, and my wife got the shrimp with squid ink pasta. Our only complaint was that the pasta lacked any distinctive flavor one usually expects from squid ink pasta. Still, the pasta was cooked al dente and the shrimp were not overcooked. Nice place!

 

[crazycatlady]

Thanks for posting the pics! I love when the bread and oil is good at restaurants! I have to stop myself from eating it all.

 

[CynBeth]

The only ones we have been to are Tutto Italia at Epcot and Tony’s at MK and we really enjoy them.

 

[Cinderumbrella]

We love Il Mulino!!! I booked Trattoria at BWI to try this trip.

I also enjoyed Terralina in DS in the past but are considering trying Maria & Enzo (thanks to the PP for Hideaway photos!)

 

[sleepydog25]

FWIW, that's my wife in the picture of the main dining room at Enzo's. That was looking toward the entrance, and the bar is on the far right. To my back--i.e., not pictured--is a small room with a table for 8. It contains not only the round table and chairs but walls full of wine. . .and it happens to be the way through which you get to the bathrooms shared with The Edison. It's a bit of an adventure and, personally, felt it added character to the ambiance. That being said, not sure I'd want to be sitting in that room as people walked through on the way to the bathroom.

That door you see tucked behind the wall leads you into a hallway where you see another door that simply says RESTROOMS. You enter through that door and you'll step into The Edison's anteroom that features the bathrooms. Weird. But, I rather thought it speak easy-like.

 

[PoohsFan1]

Trattoria Al Forno is really good. We also make it a must to go to Via Napoli (we all love the pizza there plus it is one of the cheaper restaurants that we visit because we all share) and Tony's Town Square. Tony's doesn't have the best food but we like it, we especially like the atmosphere...if you can get a table out on the patio that is even better . It wouldn't be a WDW vacation if we didn't eat at Tony's at least once. Another one we like is Mama Melrose, again not the best Italian food but we like the atmosphere plus it is a place to sit for an hour to get out of the heat.

 

[smcabee]

While we really really enjoyed Enzos lunch especially with the 40% discount, the best Italian food is at Il Mulino.

 

[pens4821]

Its not fancy but we really enjoy Tutto Italia. We've enjoyed everything there, but the spaghetti and meatballs and tiramisu for dessert are the best.

 

[gharter]

Il Mulino is the best Italian food at WDW IMO. However, if you are on the DDP, Il Mulino is not.
Tutto Italia is also very good.
Have not tried Enzos, so can't compare.

 

[nycdisneygal]

After changing my mind many times about trying it, we finally tried Il Mulino this last trip and are obsessed!! We ended up in the ER one night and ended up doing take out from there when we got back at 10 pm since we knew it would be a good meal .
We live in NYC and have not tried the Il Mulino here but the menu is very different

 

[CraigInPA]

I've eaten at Tony's, Tutto Italia, Via Napoli, and Maria and Enzo's. BY FAR, the best meal was at Maria and Enzo's. You'll find my lunch review in the "Disney Dining Reviews" sub-board to this one.

 

[FCDub]

Il Mulino

 

[nkereina]

Il Mulino is often said to be the "best" (subjective), but they do not take the dining plan if that's a concern.

In addition to what I see mentioned, there's also Mama Melrose at DHS, as well as Enzo's Hideaway and Terralina at Disney Springs. I'm not sure how Enzo's Hideaway menu compares to Maria and Enzo's, but its a cool concept and atmosphere at least.

 

[leebee]

We were not impressed by Maria & Enzo's. The service was lackadaisical (we had to signal to have water glasses refilled, for example, dinner arrived practically on top of the wine/apps, but we had to wait and wait and wait just to order dessert), and while the food was good, we didn't feel it was anything special. When the best part of the meal is the bread service, well... we were expecting more. Don't get me wrong... the food was fine, surely a cut above Olive Garden or other Italian chains, but I thought the food would be more authentic and flavorful. There was no excuse for the service.

 

[rg35]

Living in NYC I eat plenty of Italian food and don't really seek it out at WDW, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by Mama Melrose. We did it for the Fantasmic dining package. That place gets slept on, but it was much better than I thought it was going to be.

The only other Italian I've had has been Via Napoli for lunch. The pizza is fine, but not as good as what I can get closer to home...but if you live in a place with REALLY bad pizza, then I can see it being viewed as outstanding.

 

[captaindavidhook]

I had ll mulino for 1st time the other night and the food was ver good. The service was great as well. I would go back in a heartbeat.

 

[Captainkidd76]

Living in NYC I eat plenty of Italian food and don't really seek it out at WDW, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by Mama Melrose. We did it for the Fantasmic dining package. That place gets slept on, but it was much better than I thought it was going to be.

The only other Italian I've had has been Via Napoli for lunch. The pizza is fine, but not as good as what I can get closer to home...but if you live in a place with REALLY bad pizza, then I can see it being viewed as outstanding.

I live in a state famous for many pizza joints. I've had pizza from more places than I could count and I think Via Napoli is the best pizza I've ever had.