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There are tons of deliciousDisney World restaurants around Disney World, and some of the best ones are found at the Disney World hotels. Yes, we often find that they’re worth leaving the parks for!

Today, we are heading over to the Walt Disney World’s Swan Hotel to try out one of our favorite restaurants on property — Il Mulino. We hope you’re in the mood for Italian, because we know we are!

Il Mulino New York Trattoria is located at the Walt Disney World Swan Hotel. It serves up traditional meals from the Abruzzo region of Italy. The original location of this restaurant is located in Greenwich Village, New York, so yes, this is the second one to ever exist. Inside, you will find dark wood tones, rustic lighting, and brick walls as you dine on rich, delicious, authentic flavors. Unlike the Italy pavilion food booth, which continues to disappoint festival after festival, we are typically impressed with the flavors and food quality here.

Atmosphere

The entrance to the restaurant is simple and welcoming, and we truly do love all the wood accents all over — even just from the doors.

Il Mulino

The best way we can describe Il Mulino’s vibe is cozy, yet elevated, which is another reason it’s as popular as it is. The restaurant is filled with wood tones and lots of beautiful brickwork. One of our favorite parts of the restaurant is the beautiful display of wine bottles, barrels, and baskets — it really just sets the tone for the dining experience.

Il Mulino

There’s also a large lounge area where you can go to sip on your beverage of choice and relax. The natural lighting here is really what sets it apart for us, combined with that beautiful wood paneling.

Il Mulino

Time to see what’s to eat!

Menu

The restaurant offers an extensive menu, including a large selection of wines and other alcoholic beverages.

Menu

For starters, you can choose from a variety of antipasti, insalate, and zuppe, but you’ll also find plenty of pizza and pasta as well. You can also order meals family-style, dishes from the grill, or chicken. Veal and fish are also available, as well as numerous sides. For the kids, there’s no need to worry, as there are also meals for them.

Inside the menu

You can choose from a variety of desserts from the separate dessert menu, which also includes dessert cocktails, wines, ports, sherries, and grappa.

Dessert Menu

Il Mulino also has a huge selection of alcohol, including some specialty cocktails. They also have an extensive wine menu and numerous beer options.

©Disney

Now that we have taken a look at the menu, let’s take a look at what we ordered!

Eats

For starters, we were served a basket of fresh bread, which was housemade ciabatta and focaccia with sliced salami and eggplant caponata.

Bread Service

The salami is so thinly sliced and salty, with just the right amount of pepper, and the eggplant goes incredibly well with the ciabatta. The ciabatta is fluffy in the middle, with a tangy sourdough-like aftertaste and a chewy crust. The eggplant offers a cool and garlicky cheesy bite on top, is cooked well, and isn’t unpleasant in texture. The focaccia is cloud-like and has more of an olive oil flavor.

We were big fans!

Next up, we got the Polpette Al Forno for $16, which are Italian Meatballs with Tomato Basil Sauce and Parmesan Cheese.

Polpette Al Forno

This might be one of the best meatballs we’ve ever had because it doesn’t have a lot of filler. The flavor of the sweet Italian sausage with ground beef comes through beautifully, making these somehow airy but full of flavor. The polenta on the bottom is just enough to bring a little richness with tons of cheese and the freshness of the basil, and the balance is divine.

Absolutely delicious!

Next up was the Rustica Pizza for $21, which is made with Tomato Sauce, Mozzarella, and Sliced Pepperoni.

Rustica Pizza

This is childhood flavors elevated to adult levels. The crust is so perfectly thin and chewy, and we loved that you could taste that it was cooked in a wood-fired oven.

Look at that crust!

It has the right amount of cheese, the sweet tomato sauce isn’t too overpowering, and paired with the spicy pepperoni all over the top? This is the perfect pizza. This pizza is typically offered in the lounge, but you can request it at the restaurant, and it is so worth it. It’s VERY large, though, so be sure to grab a take-home box, or be ready to share with a friend.

This was delicious!

The Pollo Scarpariello will cost you $32 and is Hand-Cut Chicken with Garlic, White Wine, Wild Mushrooms, and Spicy Cherry Peppers.

Pollo Scarpariello

This dish surprised us in the best possible way. The chicken is so tender, and the breading is so thin. When mixed with both the cherry peppers and the mushrooms, it creates this incredibly velvety, garlicky sauce that’s slightly spicy on the back end. This is the kind of dish where you keep going in to build more flavors over and over again until at last it’s gone. The portion is absolutely huge, but every bite is absolutely worth it.  It’s not too rich because the sauce isn’t heavy and the chicken is so lightly breaded, so there’s no heaviness to this dish. We do recommend saving some of your ciabatta from the bread service — thank us later!

This blew our minds!

For dessert, we grabbed the Cheesecake Italiano for $13, which is Italian-style cheesecake served with Whipped Cream and Zabaglione Cream.

Cheesecake Italiano

This was super creamy and light, but not as light as a classic cheesecake, as it’s thicker in consistency. You can taste the ricotta, which adds to that thicker texture, and it’s less sour than a classic cream cheese-based cheesecake. The whipped topping on the side and berries add a light freshness to the dish.

Get a bite with all the flavors!

Don’t be fooled — this isn’t a sweet dessert, so the best bites were those with berries, as the fresh tartness of the berries helped these flavors sing. The zabaglione cream has depth and an almost nutty quality, which pairs well, and we definitely recommend getting a bit of the chocolate sauce in each bite as well.

Overall

Overall, this place isn’t overly themed, which we enjoyed, but may not be everyone’s cup of tea. It almost LOOKS like you’re sitting in a place that’s serving overpriced brunch that doesn’t impress you, so it’s a pleasant surprise that the food is as good as it is. However, because it’s so out of the way and the atmosphere isn’t anything to write home about, you may not find yourself traveling all the way out here unless you’re already in the EPCOT Resort area.

Il Mulino

Compared with Via Napoli, which you can find in EPCOT, which is the closest comparison you can get on the level of fine Italian food, you may prefer to go to Via Napoli since it’s already inside the park. That said, this is a great option if you’re willing to stop by!

Nosh or Not?

This spot will be a fantastic fit for you if:

• You absolutely LOVE Italian eats. Expect to find rich, authentic flavors and high-quality Italian food. If that’s your thing, you’ll love it here.
• You’re looking for a place with a family-style dining option. Groups of 4 or more can look into the Piatti per il tavolo options — family-style dining. These are priced per person but served family-style so you can share some dishes with the group.
• You want a cozy yet sophisticated atmosphere. The vibes here are cozy but elevated, so it can make for a nice meal with brick walls, dark wood tones, and rustic lighting setting the tone for the meal.

Il Mulino Seating

However, it may not be your speed if:

• You’re not staying nearby and won’t be in the area. It can be a little bit of a trek to get here unless you’re staying nearby or will be nearby. Unless you really, really LOVE Italian food, this might not be a go-out-of-your-way spot for you.
• You want a quick meal. This is a Table Service restaurant, so you’ll want to dedicate a decent chunk of time to it. If you’re in a hurry to get to a ride or something else, this won’t be a good spot to consider.
• You want a heavily Disney-themed spot or a spot that’ll appeal to kiddos. This spot is beautiful in its simplicity, but you won’t find Mickey Mouse portraits on the walls or anything like that. It’s not exactly a spot meant to entertain kiddos, so if that’s what you’re looking for, it won’t be a good fit.

We’re constantly trying new food and revisiting dining locations around Disney World, so make sure you stay tuned to DFB for all the latest Disney food news!

REVIEW: We’d Leave the Disney World Parks for This Hotel Restaurant

Have you been to Il Mulino before? Let us know in the comments!