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Il Mulino at the Swan Resort


The Swan and Dolphin Resorts are just slightly off the beaten path, but offer a ton of great dining establishments worth a visit.  On my recent trip, we were able to secure a same-day reservation for Il Mulino at the Swan and thought it was the perfect opportunity to give a new restaurant a try.  This isn't the only location of this restaurant in the country as the original location can be found in NYC and it has quite a following for great Italian food.

We had dinner on the early side because we had places to be later that night. So when we arrived, it was very empty in the restaurant. The restaurant itself is spacious and upscale. A great retreat from the busy park dining options. The décor was really just lovely and sophisticated, perfect for a date night or quiet retreat.  It did fill in as we dined but it stayed a nice retreat, never getting quite as hectic as many Disney establishments tend.
Our meal started with an eggplant amuse bouche which was a nice touch. Eggplant isn’t my favorite but other people might like it if they are a fan of the vegetable. We got cocktails and appetizers next since we wanted to get a full experience here. We chose the Arancini which were delicious. The bread was also so good, we love good Italian bread! The food was off to a good start overall.  The cocktails were good but forgettable. We switched to wine with our entrees.
Amuse Bouche

Arancini di Carne - Italian Rice Balls stuffed with House-made Bolognese over Spicy Marinara Sauce
For our main course we decided to get three half pastas to try a little more variety. My husband's choice was the Risotto al Fritti de Mare which he enjoyed but some of the shellfish was a bit on the slimy side unfortunately. My choice was the Tortellini Alla Panna which was right up my alley and delicious. And then we shared the Rigatoni con Fungi and took our servers recommendation to add sausage. It definitely had a spicy kick but was also so good. 
Risotto al Fritti de Mare - Arbrio Rice with Mixed Seafood

Tortellini Alla Panna - Meat Tortellini and Peas in a Cream Sauce

Rigatoni con Fungi -Rigatoni with Wild Mushrooms, Spicy Cherry Peppers, Garlic and Truffle Oil with added sausage
Even though we had ordered the smaller portions, we were still so stuffed by the end of the meal so we didn't get to try dessert on this visit. All in all we had a lovely meal but I won’t be going out of my way to return here since there are so many Italian choices on property. However, if I had a larger party I'd love to try their piatti per il tavolo, or family-style dining, with delectable platters of potato dumplings, fresh salads and rigatoni with wild mushrooms for parties of four or more.  I think that could be a great way to experience this restaurant!
 


Maci Schau
Maci is an avid foodie and loves trying out new restaurants and seasonal food offerings in the parks.  You can email Maci at maci@kingdomkonsultant.com.

 

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