Tony’s Town Square Review
Tony’s Town Square is a table service restaurant in Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom serving Italian cuisine in a Lady and the Tramp-inspired setting. This review features photos of food, our thoughts on the ambiance, and whether it’s worth dining here.
In terms of basics, Tony’s Town Square is a Disney Dining Plan participant as a one-credit table service restaurant for both lunch and dinner. Thanks to a couple of pricey entrees, it’s also close to making our list for the best values on the Disney Dining Plan. If you’re not using the Disney Dining Plan, Tony’s Town Square offers a 20% discount for Tables in Wonderland cardholders.
In most Walt Disney World fan circles, Tony’s Town Square has a reputation that precedes it. In this regard, it’s a bit like Le Cellier, a restaurant that still is popular from goodwill built up over a decade ago. Except, in this case, it’s bad-will. Basically, Tony’s is the “Reverse Le Cellier.” Despite spending a ton of time in Magic Kingdom, we had avoided eating here for years, hearing almost unanimously bad things from people we trust…
Recently, we had started hearing from regular readers via the comments and a couple of Florida friends that Tony’s Town Square had gotten better. We were still pretty reticent about giving it a chance since the long-term consensus on Tony’s is basically a chorus of negative reviews.
Nevertheless, we decided to give it a chance one day while doing our “experiment” with the Deluxe Disney Dining Plan. At least this way, we figured, we weren’t directly paying out of pocket, so if the cuisine at Tony’s Town Square were still a culinary crime, it wouldn’t sting quite as much.
Before we dig into the food we tried, let’s start with the theme and ambiance of Tony’s Town Square. In terms of ambiance, Tony’s is incredibly loud. The lobby is loud, the main dining room is loud, and the outside dining room is loud.
This is partially to be expected. Tony’s serves crowd-pleasing fare in Magic Kingdom, making it a strong draw for families. We did not expect an adult meal in a refined setting here, and to be upset about the loud atmosphere here would be ludicrous given the circumstances. It is, however, something to keep in mind if you’re new to Walt Disney World dining.
Thematically, Tony’s opts for an environment that’s decorated with paintings of the film’s characters rather than re-creating the iconic Tony’s Restaurant from Lady and the Tramp. While I’d prefer the latter approach, I understand why Disney went this route.
Evoking Lady and the Tramp without directly referencing the characters would not have been easy. Perhaps the Imagineers felt the more blatant approach was necessary since Lady and the Tramp is an older film, and most people wouldn’t pick up on the theme if it weren’t obvious.
Regardless, I think the interior dining room more or less works. It’s a fun setting that reminds patrons of the spirit of the film even if it’s not all that themed. Kids are sure to love it, and adults will too if they aren’t overly-critical bloggers. Even though it’s loud and chaotic, it attempts an intimate setting.
In terms of cuisine, Tony’s Town Square is one of the most brilliantly themed restaurants at Walt Disney World. Think about it: what other restaurant serves food the characters it’s based around would eat? If Lady and Tramp are anything like our dog, they eat just about anything–including objects that aren’t food. Tony’s Town Square is actually very fine dining…for dogs!
Relax Tony’s fans, I’m kidding. I know calling this ‘food for dogs’ is harsh, but I couldn’t resist making the joke. In actuality, Tony’s Town Square was not quite as atrocious as we feared. I can see how its crowd-pleasing style of Italian cuisine can be appealing on vacation.
The food at Tony’s is not even remotely ambitious, but it’s comfortable and the style is approachable. Even if the execution leaves a lot to be desired, Tony’s popularity is understandable. With that said, this is a definite one and done for us.
With one exception, our food was over-salted yet bland. It takes some doing to make such over-salted dishes this bland, so perhaps Tony’s deserves some praise there.
One of the best things we had was actually the bread service, which was nice buttery denseness to it. Here are photos and more specific thoughts on what we ate:
Here’s the Calamari with Marinara.
I’ve said countless times that I’m a sucker for calamari, and that’s true. I enjoyed this more than I should have, but I’ve made better frozen calamari at home.
Here’s the Italian Cheese Dip; creamy ricotta with roasted garlic topped with tomato jam served with crostini.
We appreciated the choice of ricotta here for what could otherwise be a really dense and unhealthy dish, but this was particularly bland. The tomato topping didn’t seem like jam so much as it did canned tomatoes. We didn’t finish it, instead opting for the complimentary bread service.
For my entree, I ordered the Italian Trio: Chicken Parmigiana, Baked Rigatoni, and Fettuccine Alfredo.
In recent memory, I don’t think I’ve had a worse entree at any Walt Disney World restaurant. The quality was low and the flavor was basically just salt and sauce. I can’t think of a single positive thing to say about this dish. Pick any random entree at Olive Garden–or even the freezer from Trader Joe’s–and it will be better.
I’m not normally one to ever count calories, but I stopped eating this about halfway through because I figured it just wasn’t “worth it.”
Sarah ordered the Braised Short Ribs with mascarpone polenta and broccolini for her entree.
Out of everything we had, this was the standout. The meat was tender, and the polenta was a nice accompaniment. The meat was a bit over-salted, but not terribly so. We think the dish is overpriced if you’re paying out of pocket, but if you’re doing Tony’s Town Square on the Disney Dining Plan, this would be our recommendation.
This was a pleasant surprise, and we’re not even grading on a curve when we make the recommendation to order the Braised Short Ribs.
For dessert, we ordered the Cannoli, ricotta cream-filled shells dusted with powdered sugar.
This was fairly average. There definitely wasn’t any nuance and it didn’t taste freshly-prepared, but it wasn’t terrible, either. While I wouldn’t order it again, it’s a decent choice if nothing else on the dessert menu appeals to you.
We also ordered the Tiramisù; Kahlúa espresso-soaked lady fingers and whipped mascarpone topped with mocha cream.
I actually liked this! It struck me as an ambitious twist on a classic Italian dessert, and one that had more subtlety, texture, and quality than anything else. If we somehow find ourselves at Tony’s in the future, I’d order this.
With all of that said, I’ll end this review on a positive note, with a couple of amusing vignettes that we observed during our meal. I’ve come up with an incredibly original name for these vignettes: Scenes from an Italian Restaurant.
Two women are seated on the terrace, each order two drinks (you could say it was a bottle of red, bottle of white…but actually, it was beer), slowly drink them over the course of about 30 minutes, and leave. A great hack for a busy day in an otherwise alcohol-free park. Pair this with a mid afternoon showing of Festival of Fantasy, and that’s about the ultimate Tony’s experience.
A small child jumps up from his seat, grabs a ball from his stroller, chucks it directly above him at the ceiling, it bounces back and hits the table, and he starts crying. This may not be all that funny to read, but I had to turn my head so the family didn’t see me laughing and I was almost in tears. It was inexplicably hilarious. This kid was expressing how we felt about dining at Tony’s.
Overall, Tony’s Town Square is not a restaurant we recommend. It was not as bad as we feared, but it was by no means good. If it has improved in the last couple of years (and I truly question whether that’s the case), I can only imagine how bad it must’ve been before. I don’t think it’s the absolute worst table service restaurant at Walt Disney World–but I would put it in the bottom 10. There are counter service restaurants in Magic Kingdom that are better than Tony’s, and I have a tough time envisioning any scenario that has us returning to give Tony’s a second chance.
Planning other aspects of a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help.
YOUR THOUGHTS…
What do you think of Tony’s Town Square? Agree or disagree with our review? Are we being too hard on Magic Kingdom’s Italian restaurant? Do you enjoy the comfort food here? Would you rather do dinner elsewhere in Magic Kingdom, or is this a good option? Any questions? Hearing feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
We ate there 3 years ago and I made the mistake of ordering the mussels. They were obviously old and I spent the next day hovering between the bed and bathroom while the rest of the family enjoyed Blizzard Beach. Even though my son loves pasta, I don’t think I could get myself to step into that place.
We ate there because it was the only Parade package with openings on the dining plan.
My dad and son both got sick after eating there and we won’t do it again.
I’ve been to Disney many times, but never eaten there. My family of 8 went to WDW in July 2016 and, loving Italian food, Tony’s seemed like a no-brainer. We all loved the bread service, and the manager brought us more without us even asking. Seemed like a promising start. Or so we thought. For dinner 4 of us ordered pasta, the other 4 ordered pizza (including 2 kids pizzas). Simple enough, but no. How do you screw up pasta and pizza? With the exception of the kids pizza, all of our orders came out at different times, lukewarm at best. You say your food was too salty? Ours had none, nothing, nada. No seasoning whatsoever. It was bland and generic. Not the worst we’ve ever had, but definitely not worthy of a Disney establishment. My sister, who was a finalist in the 2010 Pillsbury Bake-Off, is an excellent cook. So when the manager came around asking how things were, my sister…let’s just say he got an earful. The menu and quality of food is in dire need of a serious overhaul.
Sad to read this roast
I really enjoyed it the last time we went. I look forward to going back. I have no negative feedback on this restaurant
Hm, I didn’t even know Tony’s Town Square was a thing and I have ate at most WDW restaurants. I guess I don’t spend much time at the front of the park.
I personally have never found Tony’s all that bad. If this restaurant’s main complaint is that the food is non-adventurous and comfortable….then so be it. For most families that’s enough. But Tony’s remains popular for one main reason if you don’t want to cough up the megabucks or can’t get an ADR at Be Our Guest, seriously where are you going to go to feed a family for dinner and not have to take out a second mortgage that’s going to be a safe, comfortable meal where you can relax and eat dinner? The Magic Kingdom is severely limited for affordable family dining. The only other place is Liberty Tree Tavern and that’s hard to get an ADR for also or Crystal Palace is you want a buffet and can get an ADR. Disney is trying to make Tony’s better apparently but with the fact that the place is still fairly popular by default…they’re not inclined to make major changes.
It’s definitely Olive Garden quality but if Lady and the Tramp is one of your favourite Disney movies (as it is mine) I think you should eat there once. The theming is definitely not as on point as it could be but it’s still cute. Other positives: we went in January and our waiter was exceptionally attentive and kind. We had the parade dining package and had an amazing spot for the parade without any hassle or waiting. Um yeah that’s all I can think of.
“I don’t think it’s the absolute worst table service restaurant at Walt Disney World”… so what IS the worst?
Just ate there last week after looking for a quick lunch spot after the parade – personally I think your picked the wrong menu item – my chicken parm was delicious and the cannolis were amazing – got right in no wait no reservation . I might have just hit it at the right time
While there are certainly better restaurants I think Tony’s is great for parades as you mention, although a late patio dinner and viewing of Boo to You is preferred for us 😉
I completely agree with you. Not only is the food subpar (seriously, give me Casey’s Corner any day instead of Tony’s) but the wait to get seated even with a reservations is dreadful. The two times I’ve ever been there (the first was because I had no idea and the second because I was with someone who really wanted to go) I had to wait an obnoxiously long time after check in and after my reservation time to be seated. Granted I might have just had bad luck both times but a good part me feels like that’s the norm there.
Devil’s advocate – I think Magic Kingdom actually needs a safe, bland restaurant like Chef Tony’s. Growing up in a small town, I know there are a lot of things on Disney menus that people I know would never order (even if they’d love them). It’s a fear of the unknown.
Chef Tony’s offers something known – a plate of spaghetti, fettuccine, etc. It may not be great, it sounds like it’s worth avoiding, but I’d argue it’s necessary.
I thought this place was great when I was a kid… but once my taste buds evolved beyond Olive Garden cuisine, I saw the error of my ways.
Wow, when I saw your email, I had no idea when I clicked over that it would be Tony’s! We had a great experience dining here and are hoping to go back. I still enjoyed your review and will stay away from the calamari and the trio if we do make it back.
Wow you really roasted them! We ate there just 4 months ago and really enjoyed it. But I also loathe all the quick dining options in MK. Quick dining I find almost inedible and overpriced, especially if I’m looking for vegetarian options. I’d rather pay a few extra dollars to sit down and eat pasta. I guess my tastes aren’t as refined, or maybe I had a good day. All other table service places in MK have no reservation availability or are so expensive (or both!)
About 6 yrs ago my family ate at Tonys for the first and last time. I had spagetti with marinara soup I mean (sauce) which was basically water with some tomatoe chunks. I asked for some bread and was told they did not serve bread. At an Italian restraunt.REALLY. I left everything and waited outside while the family finished. In all of our Disney trips this is the one thing that will never be repeated
We (2 adults ) ate there in November and had the same meals. Same opinion as you had about the food. I think the few bites I had of the baked rigatoni is still sitting on my ribs. My wife subbed extra broccoli for the polenta. Her meal was very good.
We did enjoy sitting on the patio for our meal. The temperature was pleasant then and the atmosphere was quite relaxing. We did the parade package and had no problem getting a viewing spot.
Tony’s had one of the better steaks in WDW- the NY Strip. But leave it to Disney, they took it off the menu. It was the only excuse to eat there.
I didn’t realize it had a bad rep either. I ate there for the first time in November and thought the shrimp scampi was amazing. They also have my favorite Moscato that I found at Paddlefish!
Definitely did NOT realize that Tony’s Town Square had such a bad reputation! This has been our go-to restaurant in Magic Kingdom from when we first started going there (almost 20 years ago) to probably five years ago when we started phasing into more quick dining options to save time for more rides. Now that I think about it…we were probably able to easily snag reservations here since no one else wanted them..
If you like it, that’s all that matters!
We’ve had many readers tell us they really enjoy Tony’s Town Square, to the point that I feel a little guilty about posting such a negative review of it. While it doesn’t have the best online reputation, plenty of people do like Tony’s, too.