Topolino’s Terrace is a table service location on the top floor of Disney’s Riviera Resort. As a Signature Dining experience, it’s spendy (MDE tells us to expect $35-$59.99 per adult) and ritzy (MDE describes it as a “sophisticated and upscale aesthetic”). Read on to see what eating here with two adults and 3 tired, hungry younglings was like!
In some ways, I’m what you might call a foodie. When I visit a new city, I’m most excited to find the best local lounges, bars, and restaurants. And if you read my Fuss Free Disney Dining post, you know dining experiences qualify as attractions on this blog.
I have a Disney dining bucket list (maybe that’s a future post topic!), and Topolino’s Terrace has definitely been toward the top of that list. Unfortunately, despite having been to Orlando 6 times (and in the Disney bubble 5 times) since the restaurant opened in December of 2019, we’d never been able to secure a Topolino’s reservation.
So when the Touring Plans reservation finder popped up with a late dinner at Topolino’s during our first ever DVC stay in August, we jumped all over it.
1. Topolino’s Terrace – Food
Let me tell you: there’s a reason this reservation so hard to get. Our (meaning the adults) food experience at Topolino’s was second to none. It might be in my top three restaurant experiences of all time. It’s definitely in the top five.
We started the meal with the bread service and an appetizer. The bread service at Topolino’s is a delicious, upscale communal bread basket. The rolls are shaped like sheaves of wheat and are meant to be shared – tear off a “kernel” and pass it on!
Our bread service included olive oil for dipping. I’m not an olive oil connosieur, but I know Topolino’s serves high-quality, expensive olive oil in their other dishes. This tasted and felt like good olive oil and enhanced the flavor of the bread.
We visited Topolino’s with kids this time – age 15 (J), 12 (A), and 10 (K) – so Amber and I knew if we all shared one appetizer, the adults would probably get to eat most of it. We ordered the gnocchi.
The gnocchi on our trip came with pesto bianco, garden kale, pine nuts and…
Duck. Confit. Friends, this dish haunts my dreams.
The kale was bright and peppery. The pine nuts gave the whole dish a slightly sweet, buttery flavor and a satisfying crunch. The gnocchi was flawless – creamy, al dente, nutty. The duck confit was marvelously rich and flavorful. I would order this every single time. Maybe even as my entree.
And that was just the appetizer!
With five of us eating, there was loads of food to review. I won’t get too deep into the kids menu – K ordered a grilled chicken breast that came with fresh grapes and a strawberry and A ordered the plain butter noodles (he didn’t like the gnocchi – weirdo). Both kids were satisfied; K said it was the best chicken ever.
Amber, J, and I each had adult entrees. J ordered the filet mignon, Amber had the rigatoni, and I ordered the sea scallops.
Entree 1: Filet Mignon
Of our three kids, J has the best food sense. He doesn’t care for noodles or pasta sauce, but he knows how to order a steak and he loves most vegetables and potatoes. J’s steak came a perfect, melt-in-your-mouth medium rare. The beef was seasoned well and plated beautifully with a Bordelaise sauce and a slightly sweet shallot vinaigrette.
When pressed, J says the asparagus was excellent. But he can’t stop talking about the potato pavé. I agree with his assessment: with the potato pavé being slightly salty, and the shallot vinaigrette being slightly sweet, the flavor balance was exquisite.
Entre 2: Rigatoni
One of the things Topolino’s Terrace is known for is their house-made pasta. So Amber was excited to try the rigatoni. Her expectation was that this dish would be simple, but it was just the opposite.
The braised chicken sugo and pancetta played off the earthy wild mushrooms and fresh broccolini. Covering the dish in parmigiano-reggiano brought all the flavors together. Amber’s one criticism is that she couldn’t imagine eating the whole thing because it was, in her words, “just so rich.”
Entree 3: Sea Scallops
Being from the Midwest, I’m a sucker for fresh sea scallops. This particular plate came with celery root risotto, a beurre noisette sauce (brown butter – yum!), baby shiitakes, and truffle jam.
If you haven’t noticed, the theme of the meal was well-constructed plates, and this dish was no different. The salty sweetness of the scallops. The creamy earthiness of the celery root and risotto. The umami of the mushrooms. The truffle jam!
The baby shiitakes and the baby sprouts gave this rich, upscale dish a bit of a whimsical look. All told, this scallops dish was a top three all-time scallops dish for me.
Food Rating: 10
2. Topolino’s Terrace – Beverages
Topolino’s Terrace offers a variety of French and Italian-inspired beverages as well as some modern takes on a few classics. I ordered the Modern Fashioned. Amber enjoyed the French Rose.
If you read my Polite Pig review, you know I enjoy a good Old Fashioned. One of the things I really appreciate about the Old Fashioned cocktail is its simplicity: liquor, sugar, bitters, ice. Get too creative and you run the risk of overwhelming the classic beverage.
The Topolino’s Terrace Modern Fashioned walked the line of the creative classic beautifully. The addition of the Appleton Estate Reserve Blend Run and vanilla bean by the house mixologist almost gave this a Manhattan vibe, This drink was very boozy, and I sipped it for most of our two-hour meal. Two thumbs up!
Amber tried the French Rose cocktail. She describes it a light and refreshing, but very citrus forward. Amber’s sense of the drink is that it was trying to be a paloma but without the grapefruit juice. Even though this drink isn’t a paloma at all, the grapfruit garnish, the citrus vodka and lemon juice, and the soda water all gave this cocktail a paloma feel.
It wasn’t Amber’s favorite, but I found my one sip of the French Rose delightful – bright, citrus-y, sparkling. I’m just not big on cocktails with lots of ingredients.
Our younger two – A and K – both had the cotton candy lemonade which I believe is a limited time offering during Disney World’s 50th anniversary celebration. They each asked for several refills, so it must have been tasty.
Beverage Rating: 8
3. Topolino’s Terrace – Atmosphere
I would describe the atmosphere at Topolino’s Terrace in two words: Fan. Cy.
Want some more words? How about posh? Beautiful. Comfortable. Stunning.
Seriously. Go here. Even if you aren’t gonna eat, just go see it. It’s truly exceptional.
Now, with all that said…we didn’t love this experience with our kids. Don’t get me wrong, our kids have a great appreciation for good food and the work it takes to make excellent dishes like the ones we enjoyed at Topolino’s Terrace.
But it was still an attempt to have a fine dining experience with two tired, hangry pre-teens and one rage-y 15-year old. Without putting too fine a point on it, I don’t recommend that. We love our kids, but they did not enhance this dining experience.
If you don’t penalize the restaurant for something that was clearly our own fault, our experience here was just as lovely as the decor. Our server was awesome (we took a selfie together so he could show his girlfriend my custon Chandrila Starlines/Galactic Starcruiser shirt) and took great care of us, too.
Our table was by the windows which gave us a lovely view of the EPCOT fireworks. Yeah. That’s right. It’s a fine dining experience WITH A FIREWORKS SHOW. Even our crabby kids couldn’t complain about that.
So what’s my rating?
Atmosphere Rating: 10. Duh.
Conclusion
We’ve eaten some pretty awesome places in Disney World. We got to do California Grill before they went to a prix fixe menu. We’ve had the privilege of enjoying a meal at Morimoto Asia. We’ve eaten at Raglan Road, Space 220, and Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’. For me, this was absolutely a top dining experience and worth every penny.
For a dining experience to be a great attraction, it needs to be exceptional in all facets. Topolino’s Terrace hits that mark. That means that, if you just want to enjoy your meal and you have kids with you, I’d probably steer clear of Topolino’s Terrace.
But if you’re looking for an outstanding adults-only or date night experience Topolino’s Terrace – Flavors of the Riviera checks all the boxes. We’ll definitely be going back.
Composite Rating: 28
