Dining at il Mulino – Walt Disney World Swan

By Ann Dunnington

Today, I am excited to bring you a recent review of il Mulino, the Italian restaurant located in the Walt Disney World Swan Resort.  We have dined at this restaurant many times in the past, but this was our first time dining here with a special dietary restriction, a gluten-intolerance.

The Walt Disney World Swan is technically an EPCOT area resort, but it is not a resort that is owned by the Disney Company.  It’s actually run by Westin, but guests that stay there do get to take advantage of Extra Magic Hours and transportation around the resort.  To date, you are also able to make Advanced Dining Reservations for restaurants at the Swan (and at the Dolphin as well) using My Magic+.

We arrived at il Mulino as the first diners of the evening.  We made our reservations for the earliest time we could make, 5:00pm., which we chose on purpose, knowing that it would be easier on the kitchen staff to accommodate our dietary restriction without having to re-wash pots and pans prior to preparing our meal.

Unlike most of the Table Service restaurants on property, when we were seated, the chef did not come out and talk to us about our meal options.  Generally this would make me uneasy, but the waiter was incredibly knowledgeable about what was, or could be made, gluten free.  There were so many options to choose from, that it was difficult to decide what to order!

Once we selected our meals, our waiter brought over a cold eggplant bruschetta, some salami, and gluten free Ener-G rolls (warmed to perfection), with some olive oil to dip it in.  Authentically Italian, and oh-so-yummy.

Fairly soon after, our waiter brought out our meals.  My husband ordered the Rigatoni Con Funghi, substituting gluten-free pasta for the rigatoni.  This was a pasta with wild mushrooms, garlic, and truffle oil.  He ate every single bite (except for a few bites that I stole).  It was incredible.

I ordered a half-portion of the Pappardelle, and substituted gluten-free pasta to go with the tomato basil sauce.  This is actually the dish I have ordered each time I have dined there!  So fresh and wonderful.  And a perfect size for me!

The pasta tasted so good, that I was actually concerned that they hadn’t served us gluten-free pasta.  It surely didn’t taste like the rice pasta I make at home.  It turns out, they use a non-GMO gluten-free corn pasta from Italy!  How cool is that?

I do have to say, il Mulino is on our dining list for our next trip to the World.  The staff is so friendly and knowledgeable about food allergies, the food is amazing, the restaurant is a lot less hectic than other Italian restaurants on property, and I truly can’t recommend it enough!

Whether or not you have a food allergy, il Mulino is a can’t-miss restaurant!  If you haven’t been, what are you waiting for?  Happy dining!