Trattoria al forno

All and all, we were very disappointed by our experience at Trattoria al forno.
Our experience was enjoyable for the first 5 minutes or so. We hoped to try this new restaurant even though we did not have reservations & we were thrilled when a pleasant hostess got us a table with only a short wait. When being escorted to our table we admired the decorative changes made to the renovated dining room & really liked what we saw (Kouzzina used to be one of our favorite Disney restaurants & we had been almost 10 times) so far we were enjoying our experience.
Unfortunately the dining experience only went downhill from there. Our server (Kaye) had less knowledge / enthusiasm about the menu than a typical fast-food worker does. She informed us that “everything on the drink menu was bad, except for the Molto Bello” (which as you can imagine was very discouraging to hear from your server)
We went on to order an entrée & wine flight each. Judging by her reaction, it seemed like wine flights were a major inconvenience and for the first time in my life I felt like I was “bothering” a server by ordering something on the menu. When our wine flights arrived they were actually not the ones we ordered, but since she disappeared before we realized this and didn’t re-surface for quite a while we decided just to accept these ones. One of the wine glasses served in our flight was absolutely filthy, covered in fingerprints / smudges and was so nauseating to look at that the wine was entirely undrinkable.
We found our entrees to be mediocre. My husband got the Chicken Parmesan & I got the Eggplant Rollatini. For the most part the meals were similar to that at large chain Italian restaurants, nothing to complain about, but nothing too special either. They were both covered in a lot of sauce, which unfortunately tasted much like jarred sauce from a grocery store. The great saving-grace of the meal was the eggplant was not breaded, which I really appreciated because you could really taste the eggplant … once you scraped off the sauce. So the eggplant was by far the most pleasant part of the whole dining experience.
We entered the restaurant planning to order coffee & desserts, but honestly by the time we were done with our entrees, we both felt that we didn’t want to extend this painful dining experience any longer than necessary, we decided to stroll over to boardwalk bakery & get coffee & tiramisu there instead (which happen to be delicious by the way)
When we were walking out, we realized that all the other tables around us had bread. Our sever never brought / offered us bread.
All and all it was a major disappointment & couldn’t hold a candle to Kouzzina. Granted, the majority of our disappointment was in the services provided, but there are so many places (Italian & otherwise) so close to that area where we have always gotten amazing food & service, that I see no purpose in ever again trying Tattoria al Forno.
When we’re in the mood for Italian, I think we’ll stick with Via Napoli in Epcot or Il Mulino at the Swan (both wonderful!) If we’re not stuck on Italian, there are so many wonderful dining choices right in the crescent lake area that we’ve had countless good experiences at (Flying Fish, Yachtsman Steakhouse, Captain’s Grille, Crew’s Cup, Kimonos)

Sorry to hear this. When I saw the photos of the food online I was a bit skeptical with the slices of cold cut style mozzarella draped over the food. Now to hear the service wasn't good really doesn't make me want to rush and book there. At least your night wasn't a complete bust and you go to enjoy your dessert and coffee from the bakery.

We ate there on the 15Th and had a very good experience. Our waiter was very good, although you could tell he was inexperienced. Brought us 3 loaves of bread without asking, kept water glasses full, and gave us entree recommendations.
All in all, very similar to Via Napoli only quieter atmosphere.

That's disappointing news -sorry to hear you had a bad experience. Maybe we can chalk up to it being new since dmom15 had a better time. Is this part of a restaurant "group"? Not a Disney run establishment? When it was announced, I thought it was a bit odd since Via and Tutto are close by and another good option available at Swan/Dolphin in Il Mulino.

This is the first negative review I've seen for Trattoria. People really seem to be loving it. I was wondering about it because the menu looked pretty bland to me. Interesting to hear another take on it. Thanks for reporting.

We have reservations there on Valentine's Day. Sure hope we have a better experience!:mickey:

I ate there the first week of January and we had a nice experience. Good food and service. Sorry you had a bad experience. Hopefully it was just isolated.

We ate there last night (Tuesday) and loved it! The food was great and so was our server. To anyone considering it I'd say give it a try. We'll be going back.

Denise

We ate there Wednesday night, had waiter Dave (although his tag said Sam - he lost his) from Croatia. He was very engaging, new the menu well, and informed my wife that it was one spicy meatball (my DW being Norwegian can find Ketchup to be too spicy).

Being on the dining plan my 12 year old DD and I each had the T-Bone and found it very good, cooked exactly how we liked it. It was a very nice atmosphere and we certainly enjoyed the experience.

Would I rush to go back, no, would I recommend it, yes.