Jason M.
Yelp
For my final day at Disney before heading home, I decided to grab breakfast at a sit-down restaurant and then head to Epcot for a bit. Since I was staying at the BoardWalk, I didn't want to travel far - especially since Epcot was right there. Nothing in the park was speaking to me, so I looked to the BoardWalk and thought I would give Trattoria al Forno a try. I had been here last for dinner over 10 years ago and wasn't a fan, but I wanted to give them another shot to see if their breakfast fared any better. That being said, I booked a table and off I went.
Forno sits in prime real estate on the BoardWalk, right between AbracadaBar and the Boardwalk Deli. Walking in, the waiting area that housed the host stand was larger than I expected - they took my name and then led me to my table. The grandness continued in the main dining room - the space has high ceilings and large windows that let a lot of light in from the outside. The decor is Tuscan - think lots of browns with wrought iron accents, similar to the Tuscan kitchen craze that hit many homes in the early 2000s. All the while, there was somewhat loud, tacky Italian music playing which was mildly distracting and IMO a little too much for breakfast. The restaurant is sit-down table service, though they have a walk-up pizza window accessible from the BoardWalk if you're looking for something quick.
The breakfast menu isn't large - a few egg options, a few specialty dishes, and some sides. I wanted something outside the standard breakfast fare, which I found in the Al Forno Eggs. This was a dish of roasted eggs, polenta, fennel sausage, and tomato sauce topped with three crostini-sized pieces of bread. The dish sounded better than it actually was - the flavor was kind of lacking and I found something off about the texture. I'm not sure if it was the combination of each component, but it just landed flat for me.
Service was good, food came out at a good pace and my server was super friendly. My only issue here was Disney's strategy of placing diners at tables. When entering, I was led to a table that was right on top of another party that was already seated - while there were several empty tables in the vicinity. I understand placing diners in certain areas based on staffing, but it doesn't make sense to put me right on top of another occupied table in a section that is completely empty otherwise. This is the second time this happened to me on my trip, so I asked to be seated at another table which they accommodated.
Overall, I'm not impressed with Trattoria al Forno. The service is the bright spot here, but the food falls flat and the aesthetics weren't anything to write home about. There are better places to check out.