Portobello- Pleasure Island, Downtown Disney

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/portobello/

Portobello is located in Downtown Disney at Pleasure Island in Orlando. We went on a Wednesday night around 7:00pm and were told we had an hour wait in front of us, so if you go I would suggest a reservation. Portobello specializes in Italian foods.
The menu consists of about twenty five items and our waitress did a great job about telling us about the other specials (although it was fish so I obviously passed).

After reading our options, Simone and I decided to do a sampling of some appetizers. While we waited for our first choice the waitress brought us some crusty rolls with roasted Garlic and Olive Oil for dipping. She suggested making a paste by combing the two and using it as the spread for the rolls. This was a great idea and was very tasty.

Our first appetizer arrived, the  Crostini Sampler. It had two kinds of Crostini on it- one was a unique twist with Honey and Ricotta and the other, Oven Dried Tomato and Basil Crostini. Both were very good. The ricotta and honey was sweet and creamy. The oven dried tomato was perfectly ripe and delicious, they were some of the sweetest tomatoes I have ever tasted. I wish I could have just had a bowl filled with those.

Next up were Mozzarella Stuffed Rice Balls. These were crispy fried breaded balls of Risotto with Mozzarella stuffed in the middle, served with some warm marinara. The shape was more like an oval then a ball but who cares. They were fried correctly and the Risotto on the inside was cooked perfect and worked well with the melted mozzarella. Another good choice.

Last up was a Meatball Slider Sampler. This consisted of a Chicken Meatball, a Pork Meatball, and a Beef &Veal Meatball.  This dish was unfortunately not as good as the previous two. I found the chicken Meatball to be surprisingly tasteless, as was the Beef and Veal Meatball. I dipped both of them in the leftover marinara from the risotto balls to add some flavor.  However, the dish was salvaged by the Pork Meatball. This one was flavored nicely with fennel and other Italian herbs. I wish that all the sliders had been made with the pork.

Overall this was a good meal in Downtown Disney. The wait was a little long, The atmosphere was good , and the food was good but not great. I will give Portobello 3.5 stars.