Eric K.
Yelp
We had yet to try Maria & Enzo's Ristorante despite being to most every restaurant at Disney Springs at least once. (I had even been to Enzo's Hideaway Tunnel Bar once, but not their regular restaurant.) We finally went on a Sunday night to meet out-of-town friends there.
First off, the interior is super impressive. It's truly amazing when you walk into the main dining room and overlook the entire restaurant and peer out the windows to the lake. Then you descend the long, grand staircase to the tables. We were even seated under the interior tree, making the ambiance even more special.
Our server (Alex?) was super friendly, informative, and attentive. The menu seemed quite limited for an Italian restaurant. I'm used to going to local Italian restaurants where the selections go on and on and on. The handful of entrees that they offered didn't come with Italian bread, salad, etc. either. If you wanted any of those, you had to order them separately. Being on Disney property, I wasn't surprised...just disappointed.
For our party of six, we ordered two orders of the Focaccia Della Casa -- focaccia with whipped ricotta/olive oil dip. It was spectacular. But really should come with the over-priced meals.
I ordered the Cannelloni al Quattro Formaggi - three cannelloni tube pasta stuffed with cheeses and spinach. Again, an accompanying small salad would have been nice. If you wanted a salad, it was like $15; not even a small side salad option. The cannelloni was good, but the sauce was just average. I think they're afraid to spice it up to appeal to patrons with boring taste buds. It was a reddish-orange color and very smooth. I didn't see any hint of oregano, basil, etc. It was fine, but nothing I'd crave in the future. When they came around to offer cheese for the dishes, it wasn't even freshly grated. It was spooned out, like the kind you'd buy in the shaker at the grocery store. Most local Italian places have real Parmesan to grate onto your dishes. And, sadly, no red pepper flakes on the table or offered either. It's a spice thing, I guess. My partner ordered the chicken parm and it just looked average as well. Not very impressive in presentation or probably taste.
We did end up ordering desserts, though. First I thought I'd go with the mini cannolis to share, but then we decided to share the Dark Chocolate Budino instead for something different. I have to admit that I had to look up "budino" to see what it was. It said it was like a custard or pudding. I thought that would be interesting. It came as a mini cake, almost like a molten lava cake, but not molten, with a side of vanilla gelato. It wasn't what I was expecting, but it was deliciously chocolatety and oh-so-rich nonetheless.
So, service was great. The atmosphere and decor were beautiful and a sight to see. The bread you have to order separately was delicious and as impressive as all their dishes should be. Dessert was fabulous. But the entrees and sauce were just so-so. So maybe it's just a place for apps and dessert? Coming from an Italian family, I expected more.