Tony’s Town Square Restaurant Review
Tony’s Town Square Restaurant in Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom has developed a lot of conflicting reviews over the years. I’ve read several reviews from people who love it, and I have read just as many reviews from people who hate it. It was because of all the “Negative Nellie” reviews that we (my husband and I)had opted to put off trying Tony’s for so long. Ultimately, this past year, we decided to ignore all the bad reviews, give it a try to decide for ourselves if Tony’s was a decent place to eat.
Tony’s is located on the right side of Main Street as soon as you enter Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. Themed after the Italian restaurant in the Disney movie, “Lady and the Tramp”, it is a very quaint dining experience. As usual, Walt Disney World has created a restaurant with an authentic feel to it by design alone. Unfortunately, the reviews I have read are all based on people’s personal taste in food and not theming, so I guess we need to move on from the decorating design.
Starter Bread with Dipping Sauce
As we were seated, we were given the menu and the server took our drink order. We each placed our orders and enjoyed the delicious (yes, I said delicious, it was starting out well) bread with seasoned dipping oil. We all agreed the bread was very tasty. From there, we placed our orders.
Italian Trio at Tony’s Town Square Restaurant
My husband ordered the Italian Trio, which consists of Baked Rigatoni, Chicken Parmigiana and Fettuccine Alfredo. As you can see from the photo, though it features smaller versions of each dish, it is still a full plate designed to not just fill you up, but overstuff you with a plethora of carbs, meat and sauces. Don’t forget though, calories don’t count at Disney!
Baked Rigatoni at Tony’s Town Square Restaurant
For myself, I opted for an order of Baked Rigatoni. This bowl was HUGE! I ate as much as I could possibly fit in my stomach, and I honestly don’t think I made a dent in the bowl. If you are looking for getting the most food for your money, I don’t think you can go wrong at Tony’s.
Chicken Parmigiana at Tony’s Town Square Restaurant
My oldest son chose an order of Chicken Parmigiana. This, too, was quite a large plate of food. Unfortunately, my son barely touched his because he wasn’t feeling too well at the time. I think he made a wise decision, such a heavy, spicy and saucy meal on top of an already queasy stomach probably wouldn’t create a very good outcome.
Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo at Tony’s Town Square Restaurant
My youngest son loves shrimp and noodles, so he chose the Shrimp Fettucine Alfredo. Again, it was a large plate of food, but my youngest did his best to make a dent in it. I believe I did mention that he LOVES shrimp and noodles.
I didn’t get a picture of the desserts, unfortunately, but between the three of us that were still feeling fine, we chose the chocolate cake, cheese cake and cannoli. Though we could only fit about one bite in before our very full tummy’s had to call it quits, they did taste very good.
It is important to note that Tony’s IS Disney Dining Plan friendly and is counted as a Table Service credit. Also, If anyone in your party has food allergies, they do have allergy-friendly menus, make sure you mention to your server that you need one. Disney is amazing about going out of their way to accommodate any kind of food allergy, so don’t be shy about letting them know if someone in your group has one.
Lady & the Tramp Pawtograph from Tony’s Town Square Restaurant
Tony’s is NOT a character meal; however, you can ask your server for an “autograph” from Lady and Tramp. If you give them an item to autograph, they will take it to the back where Lady and Tramp hang out with the chef and bring it back to you complete with a pawtograph from them both!.
At this point, you have probably noticed that I mentioned the taste of the dessert, and the portion size of the meals, but I have not mentioned the taste of the meals themselves. I was saving this for last because this seems to be the biggest bone of contention between all those who love Tony’s and all those who blast negative comments. In my humble opinion, the food was…good. It wasn’t great enough for me to feel the need to rush back and eat every time we vacation at Disney, but it wasn’t bad either. It was certainly not bad enough to post a negative review. It kind of reminded me of any chain Italian restaurant I can visit when I’m not at Walt Disney World Resorts. But you know what? That’s fine, I wasn’t expecting fine, signature dining when I went, so I wasn’t disappointed. I think the people who post all the negative reviews go into their reservations expecting some kind of signature dining experience and this is part of why they are disappointed.
In my opinion, Tony’s Town Square Restaurant was pretty much on average of many of Walt Disney World Resorts table service restaurants. It was good, it filled our stomach’s, there was nothing particularly bad about it. My advice to anyone who is wavering about trying out a meal at Tony’s is to go for it. As I have stressed in previous articles, everyone has different tastes. What one person loves, someone else is going to hate and vice-versa. If you want to experience all Walt Disney World Resorts has to offer, you have to go out of your way to try different things, whether they have good or bad reviews. Take a chance and make a decision for yourself!
Are you ready to start planning your magical vacation, possibly plan a meal at Tony’s and everything else that Disney has to offer, but you aren’t sure where to start? Contact our recommended travel agent, Patricia at All Dreams for Travel, and she can do all the work for you. Best of all, all of her services are FREE, all you have to do is click here to request a quote!
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We also go every year – we are looking for some restaurants that you don’t hear a lot about – going April 2019 my daughter and my two grandson’s 3 and 6. Wondering if you have any good ideas?
Hi Chris! I’m sure you are all excited about your upcoming trip, it sounds like a fun trip with the grandkids. Are you looking for character dining, sit-down dining with reservations but not necessarily characters or quick service dining. For character dining, my favorite is The Crystal Palace at Magic Kingdom with Pooh & friends. If characters aren’t a deal breaker, I LOVE dinner at ‘Ohana in the Polynesian Resort as well as Cape May Café at Beach Club Resort. Breakfast at ‘Ohana does feature Lilo and Stitch, but lunch and dinner do not. I’m a fan of Be Our Guest for lunch at Magic Kingdom because it is a quick service, and honestly, the menu for lunch appeals to me much more than the new dinner menu. We also enjoy 50’s Prime Time at Hollywood Studios for the theming and the good home-cooking. Some don’t care for the food at Sci-Fi, but my boys always enjoyed it, as well as the theming of old scary movies. These are a few of my favorite’s that require reservations. Some of my favorites that don’t require reservations are Tangierine Café & Sunshine Seasons at Epcot. Casey’s Corner, Peco’s Bill’s, Cosmic Ray’s and Columbia Harbor House are our regular stops at Magic Kingdom. We never miss Flame Tree at Animal Kingdom! We are also fond of Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory at Port Orleans French Quarter. I hope this gave you a few options and I hope your family has an amazing, magical vacation!!