Tutto Italia?

Thu, 04/30/2009 - 17:14

bali

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I've heard mixed reviews, myself. Some folks say it's wonderful food, but too expensive. Others say that they'd rather go to the Italian restaurant at the Swolphin instead.

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Thu, 04/30/2009 - 17:19

cdub

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I think Italian food is always tricky because what makes Italian food "good" is different to different people. I haven't been much of a fan of any of the Italian places I've tried in WDW.

Sat, 05/02/2009 - 18:26

dsoup

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There are different kinds of Italian. It's kind of like Chinese where you can have very distinct sub-genres in the genre.

Tue, 05/05/2009 - 20:41

ImaHeelsfan

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We haven't eaten at R&C, but we ate at Tutto Italia Sunday. It was a nice meal. We shared the tomato & mozzarella salad, which was very good. Our entrees were also good, but not great. It was my birthday, so the servers sang to me. That was embarrassing, but also nice. I was given a free dessert, which I liked better than the one we ordered. The service was great. The food was served at a good pace. We weren't rushed at all. To sum it up, it was a good meal, we just weren't wowed by it.

Tue, 05/05/2009 - 22:38

SpaceAce

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ImaHeelsfan wrote:

We haven't eaten at R&C, but we ate at Tutto Italia Sunday. It was a nice meal. We shared the tomato & mozzarella salad, which was very good. Our entrees were also good, but not great. It was my birthday, so the servers sang to me. That was embarrassing, but also nice. I was given a free dessert, which I liked better than the one we ordered. The service was great. The food was served at a good pace. We weren't rushed at all. To sum it up, it was a good meal, we just weren't wowed by it.

Hey--welcome to the boards! And happy birthday!!

Thanks for the review--that's really helpful. Did you eat at the restaurant back when it was Alfredo's? If so, did you find it better or worse?

The prices are pretty steep at this place as well, no?

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Wed, 05/06/2009 - 01:28

ImaHeelsfan

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Quote:

Hey--welcome to the boards! And happy birthday!!

Thanks for the review--that's really helpful. Did you eat at the restaurant back when it was Alfredo's? If so, did you find it better or worse?

The prices are pretty steep at this place as well, no?

Thanks for the birthday wishes. We have eaten at Alfredo's, & we thought TI was better. We prefer the lighter sauces at TI to the heavy sauces at Alfredo's. As for prices, it definitely isn't a cheap place to eat.

Wed, 05/06/2009 - 01:34

dsoup

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ImaHeelsfan wrote:

Quote:

Hey--welcome to the boards! And happy birthday!!

Thanks for the review--that's really helpful. Did you eat at the restaurant back when it was Alfredo's? If so, did you find it better or worse?

The prices are pretty steep at this place as well, no?

Thanks for the birthday wishes. We have eaten at Alfredo's, & we thought TI was better. We prefer the lighter sauces at TI to the heavy sauces at Alfredo's. As for prices, it definitely isn't a cheap place to eat.

Hiya! Welcome to the boards!

Thanks for the info, I've been wondering about those places. Have you found any WDW Italian you thought was "wow" worthy?

Wed, 05/06/2009 - 01:41

ImaHeelsfan

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dsoup wrote:

Hiya! Welcome to the boards!

Thanks

Quote:

Thanks for the info, I've been wondering about those places. Have you found any WDW Italian you thought was "wow" worthy?

Unfortunately, I can't say we have at WDW. We're trying Il Mulino in Oct. I'll let you know, after that.

Wed, 05/06/2009 - 01:45

dsoup

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ImaHeelsfan wrote:

dsoup wrote:
Hiya! Welcome to the boards!

Thanks

Quote:
Thanks for the info, I've been wondering about those places. Have you found any WDW Italian you thought was "wow" worthy?

Unfortunately, I can't say we have at WDW. We're trying Il Mulino in Oct. I'll let you know, after that.

I was hoping you'd found something I hadn't. Italian is one of my favorite genres but I've not had much luck with it at WDW. I was very disappointed with Tony's Town Square. With the location and the atmosphere all they had to do was be average and I would have loved it, but I found the entrees pretty lacking. I'm still holding out hope for Il Mulino as I've heard godo things about it. Are you staying at the Swan?

Wed, 05/06/2009 - 23:32

ImaHeelsfan

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dsoup wrote:

I was hoping you'd found something I hadn't. Italian is one of my favorite genres but I've not had much luck with it at WDW. I was very disappointed with Tony's Town Square. With the location and the atmosphere all they had to do was be average and I would have loved it, but I found the entrees pretty lacking. I'm still holding out hope for Il Mulino as I've heard godo things about it. Are you staying at the Swan?

We're debating between staying at the Contemporary & eating at mostly WDW signature restaurants with the Deluxe Dining Plan or staying at the Dolphin & eating at mostly non-DDP restaurants. We like the Dolphin & food is a big part of our vacations, so we're leaning that way.

Thu, 05/07/2009 - 00:54

bali

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ImaHeelsfan wrote:

We're debating between staying at the Contemporary & eating at mostly WDW signature restaurants with the Deluxe Dining Plan or staying at the Dolphin & eating at mostly non-DDP restaurants. We like the Dolphin & food is a big part of our vacations, so we're leaning that way.

That's a tough choice. What restaurants would you consider that aren't DDP? I've heard GREAT things about Il Mulino, also. I think we have a forum member who's a huge fan, and I've heard that it's the best Italian in Orlando.

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Thu, 05/07/2009 - 00:57

Leota

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ImaHeelsfan wrote:

dsoup wrote:

I was hoping you'd found something I hadn't. Italian is one of my favorite genres but I've not had much luck with it at WDW. I was very disappointed with Tony's Town Square. With the location and the atmosphere all they had to do was be average and I would have loved it, but I found the entrees pretty lacking. I'm still holding out hope for Il Mulino as I've heard godo things about it. Are you staying at the Swan?

We're debating between staying at the Contemporary & eating at mostly WDW signature restaurants with the Deluxe Dining Plan or staying at the Dolphin & eating at mostly non-DDP restaurants. We like the Dolphin & food is a big part of our vacations, so we're leaning that way.

Welcome, Fellow Dolphin Fan!

Bummer about TI, I was really hoping. I did try some apps at Il Mulino a couple years ago when it first opened. The antipasti plate was good, the carpaccio was delicious. The trio of little pizzas was eh. The tab for drinks & munchies was pretty steep, even being used to the high cost of signature dining at Disney. That said, it was good enough that I'd try the dining room....maybe this Sat, since our plans have changed a bit & we are looking for some[place to eat in the Swolphin/Epcot area. The short list was TI, IM & BlueZoo or just nibbling on counter service.

When are you going in the Fall? Are you going for Food & Wine Fest? We're going in late Oct. for F&W & staying at the Dolphin. It's the perfect homebase for the Fest.

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Thu, 05/07/2009 - 01:07

ImaHeelsfan

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bali wrote:

ImaHeelsfan wrote:

We're debating between staying at the Contemporary & eating at mostly WDW signature restaurants with the Deluxe Dining Plan or staying at the Dolphin & eating at mostly non-DDP restaurants. We like the Dolphin & food is a big part of our vacations, so we're leaning that way.

That's a tough choice. What restaurants would you consider that aren't DDP? I've heard GREAT things about Il Mulino, also. I think we have a forum member who's a huge fan, and I've heard that it's the best Italian in Orlando.

We're thinking bluezoo, Il Mulino, Shulas, & Bistro de Paris. We're not positive on the other. Probably Jiko or Citricos, because we're thinking of trying all new restaurants.

Thu, 05/07/2009 - 01:10

bali

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Sounds like an incredible lineup! Hopefully you'll be able to report on Bistro de Paris; it's always been one I've wanted to try.

Leota, are you guys eating at bluezoo this weekend?

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Thu, 05/07/2009 - 01:12

Leota

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Have you eaten at BlueZoo yet? It's wonderful. It's one of our favorites. We usually eat there at least once a trip. We don't use the dining plan because we eat at alot of the Swolphin restaurants & we like to stay there. We tried POFQ withthe dining plan & we really missed the Swolphin. Also, alot of times, we like to just get 4-5 apps & split those instead of a regular meal. That & we like to eat 4-5 course, but split everything.

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Thu, 05/07/2009 - 01:14

Leota

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We might wind up there Sat. night. We were planning to be at DTD on Sta, but I changed plans so we are without ressies for that night. You can walk up & sit in the BlueZoo lounge area & they have an awesome "cafe" menu. I could go for some of their crab nachos!

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Thu, 05/07/2009 - 01:24

ImaHeelsfan

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Leota wrote:

ImaHeelsfan wrote:
dsoup wrote:

I was hoping you'd found something I hadn't. Italian is one of my favorite genres but I've not had much luck with it at WDW. I was very disappointed with Tony's Town Square. With the location and the atmosphere all they had to do was be average and I would have loved it, but I found the entrees pretty lacking. I'm still holding out hope for Il Mulino as I've heard godo things about it. Are you staying at the Swan?

We're debating between staying at the Contemporary & eating at mostly WDW signature restaurants with the Deluxe Dining Plan or staying at the Dolphin & eating at mostly non-DDP restaurants. We like the Dolphin & food is a big part of our vacations, so we're leaning that way.

Welcome, Fellow Dolphin Fan!

Bummer about TI, I was really hoping. I did try some apps at Il Mulino a couple years ago when it first opened. The antipasti plate was good, the carpaccio was delicious. The trio of little pizzas was eh. The tab for drinks & munchies was pretty steep, even being used to the high cost of signature dining at Disney. That said, it was good enough that I'd try the dining room....maybe this Sat, since our plans have changed a bit & we are looking for some[place to eat in the Swolphin/Epcot area. The short list was TI, IM & BlueZoo or just nibbling on counter service.

When are you going in the Fall? Are you going for Food & Wine Fest? We're going in late Oct. for F&W & staying at the Dolphin. It's the perfect homebase for the Fest.

Hi,
We've only stayed at the Dolphin once, so I'm sure I'll be asking questions. I hope you don't mind.

Don't skip TI, because of my review. You should try it to see what you think. As I noted earlier, we thought it was good it just wasn't fabulous. I'm glad you liked what you've tried from IM. It sounds like we're considering some of the same restaurants for our trips.

We're going the 1st of Oct. We also went at that time last year, but didn't take advantage of the F&WF. Due to eating 2 TS meals a day, we were never hungry. We'll have to do better this year.

Thu, 05/07/2009 - 16:36

SpaceAce

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ImaHeelsfan wrote:

We also went at that time last year, but didn't take advantage of the F&WF. Due to eating 2 TS meals a day, we were never hungry. We'll have to do better this year.

It is a shame that we don't have four stomachs when we go to WDW, isn't it? We love F&W and always try to keep at least one meal open to "graze" over there.

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Thu, 05/07/2009 - 16:40

Leota

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Heels - You gotta try the F&W Fest! It's a blast. DH & I are trying to go every year. This is my 7th one. We usually do lunch around the World Showcase & do a sit-down dinner. We lean mostly towards the signatures. For us, the whole point of vacation is eating & pampering ourselves - lots of food, digesting & relaxing. When I go with DH, we are not remotely commando park hoppers. We're more eaters & strollers I save the commando trips for my 21 yo son.

We are really hooked on The Party for the Senses that they do Sat. nights during the Festival. If you love food, it's a great experience. There is so much good food, it's impossible to fit it all in, no matter how hard we try. Then you add all the great wine on top of that & it's a Bacchanalian Dream come true.

As far as the Dolphin, shoot with any questions you have. It's my home away from home. I just love it. If there's anything you want me to check out when I'm there this weekend, just post it before tomorrow morning & I'll try to check it out for you.

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Thu, 05/07/2009 - 21:14

bali

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Leota wrote:

We are really hooked on The Party for the Senses that they do Sat. nights during the Festival.

Would love to hear more about this! How many have you done? What's the "agenda?"

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Fri, 05/08/2009 - 00:29

Leota

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We've only done 2 PftS so far. You can get special seating at the Eat to the Beat Concert before the Party. We always skip that, altho depending on the group, we may go to it this year. You go in about 6pm. They have a lounge area out front where they hold you until the Party starts, then you go into the main area. It's set up into 5 different "pods" each a different color. In the center, there's an area with cheeses, desserts, water, coffee etc... Each pod has several different foods & a featured winery. The chefs are from WDW and from different places all over the world. While you are waiting, they give you a program of the foods & wines so you can choose what you want to do. What I figured out is that you can see the Festival program online ahead of time & see what wineries are doing seminars. Those are usually the featured wineries at the Party. Then I go look them up & read reviews on their wines. Then I focus on tasting the best first, while my palate is still fresh.

The one thing some people don't like about the Party is that it's set up like a big cocktail party. There's not sit down tables for everybody. There are alot of stand up tables & it seems like they've added more the last year we went. We like the coktail party atmosphere. We've met some really nice people that way.

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Fri, 05/08/2009 - 04:28

SpaceAce

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So you can go to each different pod? Do they have "tapas" sized things or full meals at each pod? Sounds great! I always thought this was a sit-down meal, like a work luncheon or something!

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Fri, 05/08/2009 - 08:34

Leota

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Yup, you can go to every pod & the every table in between as many times as you want. The year before last, we discovered Pisco Sours & hit them up a few times. They are yummy.

All the plates are Tapas sized. Thank God cuz there's at least 25 different ones to try.

PftS is far from a work luncheon, Space, it's really a big, fun cocktail party. Cirque used to preform there, but I heard that last year, they didn't. I hop they bring that back.

The tix are expensive, unfortunately, but we think they're worth it. Our Fall trip is basically to make sure we get to go to the Party.

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Fri, 05/08/2009 - 14:28

Annie

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Thanks for the info, Leota. Sounds like an incredible evening.

You're getting pretty close to D-day!! Are you all packed!

Fri, 05/08/2009 - 18:48

ImaHeelsfan

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Leota wrote:

Heels - You gotta try the F&W Fest! It's a blast. DH & I are trying to go every year. This is my 7th one. We usually do lunch around the World Showcase & do a sit-down dinner. We lean mostly towards the signatures. For us, the whole point of vacation is eating & pampering ourselves - lots of food, digesting & relaxing. When I go with DH, we are not remotely commando park hoppers. We're more eaters & strollers I save the commando trips for my 21 yo son.

We are really hooked on The Party for the Senses that they do Sat. nights during the Festival. If you love food, it's a great experience. There is so much good food, it's impossible to fit it all in, no matter how hard we try. Then you add all the great wine on top of that & it's a Bacchanalian Dream come true.

As far as the Dolphin, shoot with any questions you have. It's my home away from home. I just love it. If there's anything you want me to check out when I'm there this weekend, just post it before tomorrow morning & I'll try to check it out for you.

You sound like us. Our vacations are all about the hotel & food, esp. the food.

Other than that, we'll find something to do. In our most recent 4 night stay & 2 day trips, my DH & I have ridden 7 rides.

We let our DS & his GF do their thing & we do ours. We all dine together, but that's about it. Our Oct trip will be just the 2 of us, so we may do even less. Is that possible?

We've been during the F&WF a few times, but we've only eaten from the booths. We've never done any of the special events. This year may be a good time for that, since our meals kept us from partaking of any of it last year. I'd love to try PftS, but I have back & knee problems & can't stand for long time spans. Do you recommend any of the other events?

I'm looking forward to hearing about your trip to the Dolphin this weekend.

Fri, 05/08/2009 - 20:17

SpaceAce

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Leota wrote:

Yup, you can go to every pod & the every table in between as many times as you want. The year before last, we discovered Pisco Sours & hit them up a few times. They are yummy.

All the plates are Tapas sized. Thank God cuz there's at least 25 different ones to try.

PftS is far from a work luncheon, Space, it's really a big, fun cocktail party. Cirque used to preform there, but I heard that last year, they didn't. I hop they bring that back.

The tix are expensive, unfortunately, but we think they're worth it. Our Fall trip is basically to make sure we get to go to the Party.

Sounds like a good "splurge" possibility!

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Mon, 06/08/2009 - 22:43

Kelly

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SpaceAce wrote:

Has anyone heard any reviews? We're stuck between this and Rose and Crown...

Thoughts?

I eat here every time we go to WDW. I love the food and have not had a bad meal there yet. The service has been great and I love the desserts as well. I like Rose and Crown but I would pick Tutto Italia any day!

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Tue, 06/09/2009 - 02:30

SpaceAce

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Kelly wrote:

SpaceAce wrote:
Has anyone heard any reviews? We're stuck between this and Rose and Crown...

Thoughts?

I eat here every time we go to WDW. I love the food and have not had a bad meal there yet. The service has been great and I love the desserts as well. I like Rose and Crown but I would pick Tutto Italia any day!

Thanks for the advice! Any good dishes at Tutto?

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Tue, 06/09/2009 - 11:20

SoloFriendly

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Leota wrote:

Have you eaten at BlueZoo yet? It's wonderful. It's one of our favorites. We usually eat there at least once a trip. We don't use the dining plan because we eat at alot of the Swolphin restaurants & we like to stay there. We tried POFQ withthe dining plan & we really missed the Swolphin. Also, alot of times, we like to just get 4-5 apps & split those instead of a regular meal. That & we like to eat 4-5 course, but split everything.

I just ate at Bluezoo during my most recent trip--I LOVED it! It's now at the top of my "must eat here every trip" list. The food is great, the service is great, and the atmosphere is very adult. Best part: Very few (if any) kids.

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Tue, 06/09/2009 - 14:29

bali

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SoloFriendly wrote:

Leota wrote:
Have you eaten at BlueZoo yet? It's wonderful. It's one of our favorites. We usually eat there at least once a trip. We don't use the dining plan because we eat at alot of the Swolphin restaurants & we like to stay there. We tried POFQ withthe dining plan & we really missed the Swolphin. Also, alot of times, we like to just get 4-5 apps & split those instead of a regular meal. That & we like to eat 4-5 course, but split everything.

I just ate at Bluezoo during my most recent trip--I LOVED it! It's now at the top of my "must eat here every trip" list. The food is great, the service is great, and the atmosphere is very adult. Best part: Very few (if any) kids.

I find that a lot of people really don't KNOW about the restaurants at the Swolphin. The hierarchy of knowledge goes:

Theme Park restaurants
Boardwalk and DTD restaurants
Character dining in the resorts
The OTHER resort restaurants

So I imagine those at the bottom don't fill up as fast with families with kids.
Swolphin restaurants

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