Topolino's Terrace
Summary
This is the first restaurant we visited on our first trip together to Walt Disney World. Topolino’s Terrace is located on the 10th floor of the Riviera Resort in Walt Disney World. Outside on the patio, the resort pump’s French music which remind you that you are on vacation. While taking in that breath, you’re also viewing a breathtaking panorama of some parts of Disney World. There are some social distanced lounge seats that you can relax on while waiting for the restaurant to text you that your table is ready.
On the left was the Euro Manhattan which consists of Gentleman Jack Whiskey, amaero averna, coke, and aromatic and orange bitters. The drink was basically a very smooth Manhattan. At the center is a very large ice cube.
On the right was the French Rose which consists of Grey Goose Le Citron vodka, Combier Crème de Pamplemousse Rose liqueur, raspberry, agave, lemon, and soda water. This also was very smooth and had very lovely sparkly citrus notes.
The bread came with olive oil. They gave us extra because we also ordered the escargot.
The Escargot en Coquille was classic baked escargot, butter, garlic, lemon, and parsley. As one can imagine, each of those wells the escargot is in has a load of flavorful butter wonderfulness. The extra bread the waiter gave us soaked all the sauce thoroughly. The escargot themselves were tender and plump. We did find the escargots a little small, but flavor wise, it was delectable.
The Olives Marinées had 4 different olives and were seasoned with lemon, garlic, marjoram, and bay leaf. If you love olives as much as we do, consider that they give you plentiful especially for 2 people. I had to remind myself to not overdose on these because they were that good. Watch out though for the raw pieces of garlic if you can’t stomach that.
The Tomahawk Veal Chop came with potato-torpedo onion gratin and lemon-veal jus. The chop is a considerable sized portion and was cooked medium based on the waiter’s recommendation. The flavor of the veal chop was delicious although it had some pieces of fat and tendons in it. Regardless, the char and taste was delicious albeit a little overseasoned. The lemon-veal jus was also on the salty side. The potato and onion gratin was quite buttery and tasty especialy with the cheese on top. I think overall this was very good despite the saltiness on the seasoning side of things. The meat quality was probaby not as great as I was hoping, but I think it left very positive impressions.
The Filet Mignon came with truffled mash potatoes, charred torpedo onion, forest mushroom purée, and vinaigrette. The steak was cooked a perfect medium rare and pretty much tasted how you would imagine. The mash potatoes had a subtle not overly strong truffle taste. The torpedo onion tasted similar to the veal chop’s gratin. My partner loved the forest mushroom purée which is subtly sitting behind the steak in the picture.
The service was impeccable. Even though we’re in a COVID environment and dining indoors, the restaurant really takes social distancing and protocols very seriously. With that, we sat in our own booth and did not feel any pressure or claustrophobia with other parties.
Final Verdict
When we left the restaurant, I think we had somewhat mixed emotions. But now after having reflected, Topolino was actually very good. With the breathtaking views and the large windows, the ambiance of this was quite intimate, open, and fantastic. The food may not be super high end nor executed flawlessly, but it was definitely classy enough for us.
Yelp Jabs
I recommend that your first trip be for the breakfast. This gives you a good feel for the type of Disney restaurant this location aspires to be.
For the more serious diner that isn’t into breakfast, this would be better off as a dinner. I’ve always found breakfasts to be very overrated. You can always eat breakfast for dinner, but not the other way around. Many people dine breakfast for the character meet and greet, but that’s not currently happening in this COVID environment.
This restaurant was solid, but didn’t wow me like other Disney restaurants I’ve visited. I enjoyed the complimentary bread service and olive oil. The olive oil has a very strong flavor but was very good.
Free bread is always good, albeit strange to comment on the strong olive oil flavor.