Bless Its Heart, This Pasta Is NOT Winning Any Beauty Pageants in EPCOT (But It's REALLY Tasty!)

Y’all. We are eating SO much food today — and we have ZERO regrets.

Italy Booth 2022

Why? That’s because the 2023 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival has kicked off, and we are making our way around the festival enjoying all the new merchandise, the Eat to the Beat concert series, and — of course — THE FOOD! We’re now headed to the Italy booth to eat MORE, so come along with us!

Eats

As we mentioned, all the food here is new this year.

Ciao from Italy! 🇮🇹 This booth has several NEW menu items this year!

🧀 Focaccia Ripiena: Baked Focaccia, Beef Meatballs, Tomato Sauce and Burrata Cheese
🍝Cavatelli with Sweet Sausage Ragout and Crispy Applewood-Smoked Bacon
🍓Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake pic.twitter.com/bJ9Mli8Rv0

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) July 27, 2023

First, we grabbed the Focaccia Ripiena for $9, which is made with Freshly Baked Focaccia, Beef Meatballs, Tomato Sauce, and Burrata Cheese. We mean, they knew they had us by putting cheese on this thing, right?

Focaccia Ripiena: Freshly Baked Focaccia, Beef Meatballs, Tomato Sauce and Burrata Cheese

This snack feels like it’s mimicking a meatball sub on a crouton to us.

Lots of cheese!

We love the Burrata cheese for its flavor, and we think this is a solid snack, but it’s nothing extraordinary.

A bite

Next up, the other new savory item here, is the Cavatelli with Sweet Sausage Ragout and Crispy Applewood-Smoked Bacon for $10. It really does NOT look very appetizing on first glance…but maybe the taste will surprise us? We hope?

Cavatelli with Sweet Sausage Ragout and Crispy Applewood-Smoked Bacon

GOOD NEWS: It’s delicious! This reminds us of chicken alfredo parmesan so much! We really enjoyed the creaminess of the dish with the crunchiness of the bacon on top. Even with a face that only a mother could love, this pasta is a must-try in our books.

Cavatelli with Sweet Sausage Ragout and Crispy Applewood-Smoked Bacon

Finally, we need to add dessert to the list, so we ordered the Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake with Vanilla Cream and Strawberry Compote for $8.

Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake with Vanilla Cream and Strawberry Compote

This one is a mystery, so we didn’t know what to expect going in. The ricotta makes the cheesecake nice and fluffy, but the rest of the cheesecake cuts the sharpness of the ricotta down. The strawberries are deliciously fresh and add some great flavor, but the real texture and flavor comes from the cheesecake.

Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake with Vanilla Cream and Strawberry Compote

Okay, we’ve had ALL that food, so let’s take a look at the drinks here.

Drinks

We decided to wash down our meal with the returning Italian Sangria for $12, which you can get with either White or Red Wine.

Italian Sangria

While this drink was decent, it wasn’t super memorable. It almost tastes like fruit punch with that added alcoholic kick, so if that’s up your alley, we say give it a try, but there are lots of other exciting drinks around the festival.

It looks like fruit punch too

The Italian Margarita with Tequila and Limoncello is also returning this year. In the past, it’s been one of our favorites because we always find it so refreshing (especially on those hot Florida days). We will warn you, though: this one is tart, so pucker up!

Italian Margarita (2022)

You’ll also find other returning beverages here, including Prosecco, Moscato, Chianti, and Peroni Pilsner

OVERALL

Overall, we think this booth has some good options, especially if you’re looking for something a little closer to Italian comfort food, but it’s really nothing to write home about. We don’t think you’ll be disappointed by this booth, but it didn’t knock our socks off, so it may not be the best place to spend your money.

Our Italy spread

But wait, there’s more! We’re just getting started at the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival. We’ll be visiting EVERY SINGLE FOOD BOOTH and trying out a LOT more food, so stay tuned to DFB for more reviews, as well as our list of the BEST things we ate and drank at the festival.

Click here to see FULL reviews of EVERY. SINGLE. BOOTH. at the Food & Wine Festival!

Trying to plan the PERFECT trip to the 2023 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival? We’ll be keeping you updated on all of the latest. Click our links below for the information you need to know:

And don’t forget to pick up our 2023 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival e-book! See more details about the book below.

IT'S WINE & DINE TIME!

Food & Wine Festival can be a bummer. You stand in line waiting for what looks like the perfect treat, and it's a bust. But fear not, dear friends, we compiled EVERYTHING you need (and the things to avoid!) to plan the ULTIMATE EPCOT Food & Wine Festival experience.

If you're planning a day or a week at the festival, we've got every performance, activity, and tasty nosh detailed out so you can make the most of your time and money. Listen, it's a tough job eating and documenting the nearly 200 bites and sips, but we do it all for YOU!