The World Showcase around EPCOT holds a vast array of dining experiences for almost any taste and palate.

We’ve tried some different types of restaurants lately, including recent menu changes at popular Disney World lounges, and cheap restaurants with a nostalgic feel, but where do you go when you’re looking for a more sophisticated night out in Disney World?

As you find yourself browsing the wide variety of restaurants around every nook and cranny of EPCOT, you may have found yourself intrigued by the elegant atmosphere of Italy. There are several places to dine in this pavilion including a beverage cart, to-go pizza window, and a few sit-down restaurant options. But if you’re hoping for a truly elevated dining experience, look no further than Tutto Gusto.

Tutto Gusto is nestled in between Tutto Italia Ristorante and Via Napoli restaurants. It occupies the same space that was formerly used as lobby space for the neighboring Tutto Italia.

Atmosphere

Tutto Gusto is themed like an Italian wine cellar, with stone-painted walls and a fireplace. This small but cozy spot boasts over 200 bottles of Italian wines, and serves a select menu of small plates perfect for pairing.

The tables here are smaller but can be moved together to accomodate larger parties…

…with a few booths…

… and an expansive ornate bar that’s well-lit to dine at if you prefer.

Everything about the theming here is set up to help make you feel you’ve stepped into someone’s private wine cellar who’s ready to serve you from their own collection.

Menu

The menu here is obviously heavily Italian served on smaller plates of Antipasti, Secondi, Pasta, Contorni, and Dolci along with a few Kid’s Meal options.

The back side of the menu features their extensive drink selections including Frizzante Cocktails (semi-sparkling), Distinctly Italian offerings, Birra (beer), and Vino (wine). 

We told you there were lots of drinks to choose from here! So after we had a few minutes to browse the menu we were ready to place our order.

Eats

We decided it would be easiest to order most of our food all at once with the drinks, however, we did wait to order dessert separately. We settled on the Crisp Italian Wines flight, Bellini, Salmone, Mare e Monti, and Lasagne alla Bolognese.

We also were offered some bread compliments of our waitress. It was brought out while we were waiting for our food. We were served both rolls and breadsticks.

The bread was served with a small plate of oil for dipping.

We found the bigger pieces of bread to be light but toasted enough on the outside for an audible break when you cracked it open, but soft on the inside. The oil added a hint of flavor to it as we staved off our appetite for our main course.

The breadstick weren’t anything special — we found them pretty bland.

Our drinks arrived first! Let’s talk about the Bellini first. This was made of Peach purée and prosecco served in a flute glass and cost us $16.

Overall, the flavor was prominently peachy but you could catch the hint of the prosecco as it bubbled in the back of your throat with each sip. We found it delightful and something we certainly would order again on a return visit.

Then we turned our attention to the Crisp Italian Whites flight. This wine flight is served as three samplings of Italian white wines in Sauvignon Terre di Bacco, Pecorino Il Feuduccio, and Gavi Batasiolo. This flight cost us $22.

When this was served to us,  the accompanying card gave a little insight into each wine (which we appreciated), and we found the descriptions spot-on. The Sauvignon Terre di Bacco was dry, crisp, and fruity. We could taste the essence of more citrus tones in this wine.

For the Pecorino Il Feuduccio, this one we found to be crisp, too (and a little fruity), but sweeter than the last. Its card also noted hints of honey, ripe fruit, and licorice, so we felt validated in our tasting after we’d had a few sips to compare.

We found the Gavi Batasiolo to be the lightest of them all. Again, very crisp and dry but this one was kicked up a notch with the added minerals and citrus flavors.

Really you couldn’t go wrong with either of these drink options, and we hoped that would continue through the remainder of our meal when the food arrived.

Then it was time to move on to the main courses —good thing we were already warmed up for this because their presentation looked delicious!

We opted to try the Salmone first. This dish was made of pan-seared filet of salmon, green asparagus, and an herb sauce which cost us $34.

The dish looked (and smelled) divine for salmon, but when we started digging into it, we quickly discovered it wasn’t our favorite. The salmon had a good texture to it but we wished there was a flavored sauce to go with it. 

If you’re looking for a healthier option to eat here without a lot of fluff to it, this could be a great option to consider. Additionally, the mashed potatoes that the salmon sat on top of were very bland and thick.

We’re fairly sure we get what the chef was looking to accomplish with this dish, but since the salmon was so stripped down and lacked flavor, we feel like the potatoes would have been an excellent choice to add in some seasoning and dress it up a bit with more flavor. We were left feeling a bit disappointed after trying out this dish, but there were still two left to dig into!

Then it was time to try the Mare e Monti. This dish is made of slow-braised chuck short rib, Maine lobster ravioli, and rosemary butter, and cost us $48.

This dish stole the show! The lobster ravioli was the highlight. We thought it was well-seasoned, creamy, and just the right amount of briny to taste the lobster. We could seriously go on and on about this dish, and wanted so much more of a portion of the ravioli.

The short rib was well seasoned, but chewy. We think it could have stood to be cooked longer for a more well-done feel but if you’re someone who likes chewier meat, this could be the perfect dish for you.

It wasn’t bad by any means though, so even if that has you on the fence about it, we’re really just being nitpicky at this point because this dish was delicious with every bite.

And to round out our main courses we only had the Lasagne alla Bolognese left to try. This dish was made of lasagna traditionally prepared from Emilia-Romagna with beef and pork ragù, béchamel, and parmesan. It cost us $29. 

We felt this lasagne was fairly run of the mill. While it was served with traditional preparation, it didn’t translate in taste. We felt like we could have gotten the same tasting experience out of a grocery store lasagna for cheaper. It was good, and totally edible, but it just wasn’t anything special to warrant a higher price tag for us.

Again, this is a dish where we see what the chef’s vision was, but it fell short in the execution because we were craving more herbs or seasoning for a pop of flavor.

If we weren’t full enough already (and still trying to cram in every bite of that ravioli and sauce), it was finally time for dessert.

After collecting ourselves for a minute and talking over our options with our waitress, we settled on the Limoncello Float and Tiramisu.

Let’s talk about this gorgeous Limoncello Float first. It’s made of Sicilian limoncello poured over homemade limocello gelato and fresh raspberry — and yes, it’s an alcoholic dessert option. This one cost us $19.

This one was fun because you’re served the limoncello gelato and alcoholic limoncello separately so you’re able to pour it to your liking, and we urge you to go slow on that pour — you can always add in more!

This is where mistakes were made. We may have gotten a little overzealous (despite the warning from our waitress) and thought we had just enough and really even that was too much. It took a while for the gelato to start melting against the liquid but you really HAVE to love a limoncello taste to enjoy this one!

Between the gelato and the alcohol, there’s no escaping that limoncello taste and it only gets stronger once the drink is poured into it. However, if you get past that strong taste the burst of the sour bites of raspberry that are wrapped in the sorbet sort of crystalize against the gelato and make for an interesting texture and added flavor.

And finally, it was time to dig into the Tiramisù. This dessert is a classic coffee-flavored Italian dessert created with ladyfingers dipped in coffee, layered with a whipped mixture of eggs, sugar and mascarpone cheese, and topped with fresh cocoa powder, which cost us $13.

We can’t say enough good things about this one! The decadent layers were so fluffy and light as we dug in with each spoonful and an interesting texture was added with the cocoa powder that topped the dessert.

It’s definitely a coffee-forward dessert so you’ll need to be expecting a more robust, darker coffee taste, but it was perfect for us to wind down our late-night meal and was served as an easily sharable portion.

We’re still dreaming of the last few bites of this dessert!

Overall

As a whole, there’s still quite a wide variety to choose from on both the food and drink fronts so we really feel like there’s something for everyone here. Out of everything we enjoyed this visit, there were 3 items that just didn’t do it for us.

Since we ordered so much we feel like that needs to be taken into consideration because we had the luck of quantity on our side, but if you’re really looking to get a sense of the quality of how your meal will taste before you’ve ordered, lean into your waiter for advice.

Nosh or Not?

We’d recommend checking this out for a night out if…

• You’re looking for an elevated dining experience. The same old place in EPCOT just won’t do anymore and you need a bit more sophistication.
• You’re celebrating! This is a cozy, intimate atmosphere with dimmed lighting and smaller tables that’s built to help evoke a more private dining experience for you and yours.
• You’ve got a little deeper budget to spend. This kinda goes without saying but a quick glance at the menu and the prices we paid here should tell you this is a meal you’ll need to be prepared to drop a bigger budget on.

You’ll probably want to opt for another place if…

• You want space. With the more intimate setting comes less space. If you’re someone that’s going to mind the tighter quarters or need more room from the table beside you, this probably isn’t for you.
• You’re budget-conscious. This could go either way but it’s an expensive meal after a few entrees, drinks, apps, and dessert. If you’re still looking to dine here, consider a smaller meal if budget is a concern.
• You’re an adventurous eater. Yes, this meal is heavily Italian cuisine but it’s also fairly basic and traditional. If you’re really into spices, flavors, and more additives to your meals, this might not be as tasty for you.

Have you ever dined at Tutto Gusto? Or do you prefer one of the other restaurants around the Italy pavilion at EPCOT? Be sure to check out more of the hundreds of restaurants we’ve reviewed around Disney World and be sure to stay tuned with us for more reviews coming soon!

REVIEW: Skipping Disney World’s HOT CHOCOLATE FLIGHT Would Be a Big MISTAKE.

What’s your favorite dish to enjoy at Tutto Gusto? Tell us in the comments!