REVIEW: The legacy of terrible Italian cuisine lives on at L’Arte di Mangiare for the 2022 EPCOT International Arts Festival
Troy L. Milliron
4 min read
EPCOT describes L’Arte di Mangiare as “indulging in baroque cuisine, prepared with rich color and dramatic flavor”. This year, the Culinary Studio returns with a brand new culinary menu, and while we’re not usually fans of Italian culinary cuisines for festivals, we’re still going to try out all the new items (mostly so you don’t have to. )
Menu for L’Arte di Mangiare at the EPCOT International Arts Festival
Food:
- 🆕 Arancini: Fried risotto balls stuffed with braised beef and served with Pomodoro sauce – $14.00
- 🆕 Ravioli alla Boscaiola: Ravioli with sweet sausage, mushrooms, caramelized onions and creamy parmesan sauce – $13.00
- Bomboloni: Italian chocolate-hazelnut donut with powdered sugar – $11.00
Beverages:
- Peroni Pilsner (5.1% ABV) – $6.00 for 6 oz, $10.00 for 12 oz.
- Pinot Gris – $10.00
- Chianti – $10.00
- Prosecco – $10.00
- Royal Rose – $11.00
- Moscato – $11.00
- Italian White Sangria with Prosecco – $11.00
- Italian Red Sangria with Cabernet Sauvignon – $11.00
- Italian margarita with tequila and limoncello – $11.00
- Amaretto Bellini: Amaretto, White Peach Puree and Prosecco – $13.00
- Bergamotto: Italicus Rosolio Di Bergamotto, ($43/bottle) Prosecco and Cerignola Olive – $16.00
This year’s food offerings offer all-new interpretations of Food Studio staples, with braised beef replacing mild sausage in Arancini and sausage replacing lobster in Ravioli. The Bomboloni were previously seen at Tuscany Holiday Kitchen during the 2021 EPCOT International Holiday Festival.
Photos of menu items for L’Arte di Mangiare at the EPCOT International Arts Festival
*NEW* Arancini: fried risotto balls stuffed with braised beef and served with Pomodoro sauce – $14.00
Chalky on the inside, flavorless on the outside and the sauce tasted canned. Difficult pass.
*NEW* Ravioli alla Boscaiola: Ravioli with sweet sausage, mushrooms, caramelized onions and creamy parmesan sauce – $13.00
chalky texture of the sauce and the outside of the ravioli so it’s not great. The mushrooms are well prepared, but that doesn’t do much to save the dish.
Bomboloni: Italian chocolate-hazelnut donut with powdered sugar – $11.00
These are simple pastries filled with Nutella. It’s another staple, and there’s no reason to buy them from EPCOT at this price.
Peroni Pilsner (5.1% ABV) – $6.00 for 6 oz, $10.00 for 12 oz.
Peroni Brewery describes their beer as “a crisp, refreshing beer with a delicate balance of bitterness, citrus and spicy aromatic notes, combined with a fast, clean finish”.
Italian White Sangria with Prosecco – $11.00
Usually, when a Sangria drink of this price contains more juice than wine, one complains. However, since the wine for this drink tasted particularly cheap and unpleasant, in this case it was a bit of a relief. The drink was supposed to contain Prosecco; however, this was unidentifiable due to the lack of bubbly in the drink.
Italian Red Sangria with Cabernet Sauvignon – $11.00
Have you ever microwaved red wine? It is what it is. We thought the sangria came with ice cream and fruit, but it was just a liquid at room temperature. The flavor was fruity so it could have been really good, but since it was warmer it was just too hot to drink.
Italian margarita with tequila and limoncello – $11.00
The margarita was quite good as it almost tasted like a lemon melt frozen dessert. However, there didn’t seem to be much alcohol in the drink, as we didn’t taste much other than the slight hint of tequila. All in all a tasty drink, but don’t expect to get a lot of booze for your money here.
Amaretto Bellini: Amaretto, White Peach Puree and Prosecco – $13.00
I’m not sure there was a lot of alcohol in our pour, so it tasted a bit bad. You might think it would be sweet given the amaretto and prosecco, but it wasn’t at all.
Bergamotto: Italicus Rosolio Di Bergamotto, ($43/bottle) Prosecco and Cerignola Olive – $16.00
Something was wrong with this wine. It wasn’t even up to cheap prosecco at Disney’s fireworks dessert parties. The olive was also difficult to get out of the cup, to the point where we saw several people drop the drink trying to do so. This drink is not worth it.
Location of L’Arte di Mangiare at EPCOT International Arts Festival
L’Arte di Mangiare is conveniently located next to the Italy pavilion on the World Showcase promenade. You can find it at number 8 on the map below.
Do you want to try one of these items? Sound off in the comments below!
