Disney opened a new resort back in December of last year which is part of the Disney Vacation Club, Disney’s Riviera Resort. This resort is on the skyliner path and has several options for dining from quick service to table service. We recently had a date night at Topolino’s Terrace which was also our first trip to Disney’s Riviera Resort. We took a later reservation at 9pm after a day at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
When we arrived and walked through the resort, it was literally just us and the cast members. Once we got up to the restaurant (which is on the top floor of the resort) we only waited a few minutes before being seated.
The style of this restaurant reminds me a lot of California Grill, which we had just had the night before so I was excited to be able compare them both so easily. We got seated close to the open kitchen which I was excited about because I enjoy watching the chefs work. Our server greeted us to let us know about the digital menus as well as offered us a fresh paper menu if we preferred.
The vegan options are clearly marked plant-based and they had one option per category. We decided to get one of everything. Our server was very educated about the menu and there was a story about how the chef created every dish we ordered.
Our meal started off with vegan as-is bread service that’s served with a fancy olive oil. I guess I’ve never had fancy olive oil before because I couldn’t get enough of this one. It actually tasted like olives and lucky for us you can purchase it direct from the restaurant.
We got the Olives Marinées and the Beets Barigoule to start. The olives were so good and paired perfectly with the bread service.
The Beet salad was beautiful and I loved the story behind why the chef created it. The lemon meringue really completed the earthy beets and the white beans were at the base like a hummus. At this point in the meal we had decided it was our favorite spot for dinner on property and already superior to the previous night- sorry California Grill.
Our entree came which was the Tarbais Bean Cassoulet. Our server let us know when we ordered that the chef could make us a different entree like a veggie pasta if we preferred, but we decided to stick with the menu. The cassoulet itself was good. It had mushrooms, veg, and vegan sausage with a crumb topping. It was savory and earthy which followed suit with the meal.
The star of this dish for me was the carrots that came on the side. They were roasted and maybe finished off in a pan but the seasoning was perfect. It came with the same bread as the bread service which meant we got more of the amazing house olive oil. Although the cassoulet was good, I would have been happy with just a bowl of the carrots.
Our favorite dessert has always been the lava cake from Yachtsman Steakhouse and now we have a tied fave, Topolino’s Fruits of the Forest. Our server told us this is their signature Instagram famous dessert. He wasn’t wrong. It’s so beautiful you don’t want to eat it.
It’s light and sweet but not overly sweet. It’s Hibiscus cake topped with fruit, berries, and sorbet. The blueberry sorbet was blueberry basil and maybe the best sorbet I’ve ever had. We shared everything for this meal, but I could have had my own dessert. After dinner we went out to the rooftop for a while which had a beautiful view where you can see Hollywood Studios.
Our meal was great and we had such a good experience. The bar inside the restaurant looks really nice as well and there was plenty of space on the roof for just grabbing drinks. 20/10 will be going here again. Maybe even tonight.
Price $$$
Review from August 2020
