There’s a brand-new gelato cart coming to EPCOT’s Italy Pavilion!
Gelateria Toscana has officially opened, and we could NOT be more excited. We’ve been following the construction since the very beginning, and we’re finally trying the new spot out!
Atmosphere
So let’s kick things off!
This new little stand is located on the right side of the Italy Pavilion, just out of the way enough to not interrupt the flow of traffic down the main walkway.
There’s a queue space in front of the building, complete with physical distancing markers on the ground.
It’s a small little kiosk with two walk-up windows for ordering and pick-up. On either side of the windows, you’ll find menu placards to check out.
Menu
We already got a peek at the menu before the opening, but now we’re ready to order all the snacks and beverages we were looking forward to. There are SO many items to choose from!
We’ve got gelato, zeppole, cannolis, tiramisù, and more all up for grabs.
Also, there’s a selection of beverages, including beer, wine, soft drinks, and coffee.
Eats and Drinks
Of course, we’re here to EAT, so we wasted no time diving right in!
Let’s kick things off with the beverages — first the Bellini! This is made with peach puree and Prosecco sparkling wine, and you’ll find it on the menu for $11. We really loved the fact that this wasn’t overly sweet, thanks to the peach flavor being more light. You can still taste the Prosecco fairly well, and it was nice and dry. Overall, a pretty great way to start out!
Then there was the Italian Margarita for $14. It’s made with frozen limoncello, tequila, and margarita. This was the perfect refresher for a hot day like today, and definitely a highlight for us. It’s tart and not overly sweet — our only wish is that the lemon was a little more prominent. (Although the reporter who tried it is a HUGE fan of lemon, so take that as you will!)
And of course, we couldn’t stop by this stand without trying out a coffee creation! Say hello to the “Affogato” Espresso Gelato, made with fresh Italian espresso poured over vanilla gelato and served with amaretto cookies. This treat is a whopping $11.75, and well, it definitely wasn’t the biggest thing we tried today.
It’s really a shame that it’s so tiny, too, because otherwise, we’d be ordering this ALL. THE. TIME. It’s absolutely delicious (coffee and gelato, what could be bad about that?!), but in our opinion, it’s not worth the price tag. Change up that portion size and we’d order it again.
And last in the realm of “beverages,” we ordered the Monella! It’s a float made with Coca-Cola and vanilla gelato for $9, and it tasted just like, well…a Coke float. It was great and refreshing on a hot day, but it was a tad overpriced and we would’ve liked the cup to be filled with a little more soda. If you want a float, it’ll do the trick, but note that you can get Coke floats in other places around Disney World for cheaper.
We also got to taste the Coppa Amicisia, made with cookies & cream, strawberry, and vanilla gelato, plus whipped cream on top. Like the espresso, it’s $11.75, but it’s definitely a lot more bang for your buck! It held up surprisingly well in the heat and we got quite a bit of gelato inside that big cup. It’s rich, but not so overly creamy that it’s too filling — just right for our tastes.
But, this new spot isn’t just home to drinks and gelato — they’ve also got some other dessert goodies that we couldn’t wait to try. First up is the Mocha Tiramisu for $8. It’s made with mascarpone cream, espresso coffee, Savoiardi biscuits, and chocolate.
This thing is bigger than it looks, so we think it’s definitely one that you’ll want to split with another person. (Unless you’re very hungry!) The coffee flavor is suuuper prominent in this, but unfortunately, the biscuits were pretty soggy. We really liked the taste but we were thrown off a bit by that soggy biscuit texture. All in all, it’s pretty good for a quick service tiramisu!
Another big hit for us was the Zeppole — ricotta cheese fritters for $13. We thought they would be the perfect pairing for some coffee, and they were just the right amount of doughy. That ricotta flavor was right on point…so much so that we’re thinking about how much we would love to have these for breakfast.
And last but not least is the thing our reporter was shockingly impressed with…the cannoli! This Cannoli al Cioccolato is $6.95 and made with a crisp pastry filled with sweet ricotta, chocolate, and candied orange. Honestly, our mouths are watering just reading the description.
The shell was one of the best cannoli shells we’ve ever had at Disney World and the orange was a lovely hint right at the end of the other flavors. The chocolate isn’t overwhelming — it’s really the ricotta that stands out here. And let us tell you, we didn’t mind that one bit! We’d definitely pick this one up again!
Overall Impression
So what did we think of Gelateria Toscana overall? Well, for starters, let’s state the obvious…it’s a little on the pricey side, even for Disney.
While we were testing out our treats, we heard several guests talk about how their bills were more than they expected. But, if you know that fact going in, then maybe it won’t seem like so much of a blow. Also, we found that the value varied depending on what we ordered. The Amicisia was definitely more “worth it” than the Espresso Gelato.
We didn’t truly DISLIKE anything we had. Some things impressed us more than others, but that’s usually how these things go. We’ve got our list of favorites to order again, so we’re hoping that we’ll be very satisfied customers on our next trip.
All in all, it’s a great place to stop for a refreshing treat in World Showcase, and we’re definitely glad that it’s open in time for summer. From what we were told, this place will be open daily starting at 12:30PM, so make sure to stop on by!
We’ll keep ya posted with plenty more Disney news, so stay tuned to DFB!
Check Out a Construction Milestone for This Gelato Spot!
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Are you planning on visiting Gelateria Toscana? Let us know in the comments!
Disclosure: In nearly all circumstances, Disney Food Blog writers and photographers pay full price for their own travel, hotel, food, beverage, and event tickets. We do this because it’s important to us as journalists to ensure not only that we give you unbiased opinions, but also that you can trust us to do so since we’re paying our own way. On rare occasions, when we are invited by a company to attend a preview as media, and when we choose to accept that invitation, we will always make you, our readers, aware of that situation. Today, we were invited by Disney World to attend their media preview of Gelateria Toscana. Note that when we attend events as media we are 1) Not required to review that event/food on any of our channels, and 2) Not required to review that event/food favorably. You can always count on DFB to give you a 100% unbiased and honest review of any event that we attend, food that we eat, or beverage that we drink. You can see more in our Disclosure Policy. Thank you for reading. — AJ
Margaret Joiner says
Thank you for the review! I’m excited to try this when we go to Disney at the end of the month. I am a huge gelato fan (spent 8 weeks in Tuscany for study-abroad, and I had at least one gelato a day!) I’m hoping this place doesn’t disappoint. Also excited to try that Italian margarita!
Rhonda says
I think the affogato is worth the price tag, because its so delicious ! I thought the portion size was just right. I buy it every time I’m there.
Scarlett says
Hot Italian guy took my order. His eyes were piercing. Didn’t really love my drink.