Did you know that some of the BEST food in Disney World isn’t even in the parks?

If you head over to Disney Springs, the shopping district in Disney World, you can find restaurants by world-class chefs with a huge variety of food options. There’s great Asian cuisine at Morimoto Asia, some of the best fried chicken you’ll ever have at Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’, and delicious flavors from Spain at Jaleo (just to name a few). But even if you recognize those restaurants, you may not have heard of the place we’re heading today. We’re eating crowd-pleasing food that you can get on the go at prices much lower than the neighboring restaurants!

We’re visiting Pizza Ponte, which is a quick-service spot located at the Landing at Disney Springs. It’s right next door to Maria & Enzo’s Ristorante and across from STK.

If you love Maria & Enzo’s, you’ll be happy to learn that this spot is basically the fast food relative to that restaurant. The trio of Italian eateries is made up of Pizza Ponte, Maria & Enzo’s, and Enzo’s Hideaway.

But is Pizza Ponte worth a visit? And should you choose it over other pizza in Disney World, or even other pizza in Disney Springs? Let’s find out.

Atmosphere

Pizza Ponte is a very small restaurant, since its purpose is to be a quick take-out spot.

Most guests will probably take their pizza to go and find a nice spot by the water to chow down or even snack as they walk. We would recommend doing that, because it was very difficult to find a spot inside the dining room.

There are only about ten tables inside, along with a few more outside. Even once we had our seat, it felt a little tight and cramped inside.

The tables available are standard table and chairs.

There was a small counter where you could stand and eat, and that area also had some outlets in case you needed to charge your phone at the same time (always a bonus!).

The dining room is the same room as the kitchen, and there was a tiny seating area on one side of the counter and a slightly larger room on the other. Since we were right by the kitchen, it was a pretty loud atmosphere with a lot going on. You’ll hear the chefs working on the food, other customers ordering, and all the guests nearby as you eat. (So this is probably not a good option if you want a quiet meal or romantic dinner.)

The utensils, sauces, and other condiments are all self-service.

You’ll find them by the entrance to the restaurant, not in the main dining room.

Eats

We know all about the dining room now, but what you came here for is actually the food! Let’s take a look.

Menu

The menus are posted above the counter, so you can peruse them as you wait in line to order.

This spot is known for pizza by the slice and tasty hot sandwiches, although they also have a few other options, like salads and desserts. When we visited, the sandwiches were not available at all.

The Cast Members didn’t know if this was a temporary issue or if it’ll be a permanent change. The menu board for sandwiches was still above the counter, but the only items listed there were salads.

We’re always happy to order pizza, but this was a little disappointing because we’ve really enjoyed the hot sandwiches here in the past.

If you wanted to see the menu before your visit to get more time to look it over, you can also find it on the My Disney Experience app. 

Drinks

For our drink, we ordered the Frozen Strawberry Margarita for $10.95. This drink was pretty sweet with a slightly tangy flavor as well. The strawberry flavor was strong, and it didn’t taste fake or overly fruity. The strawberry flavor was definitely more prominent than the alcohol flavor, so if you’re looking for a strong drink, this might not be the best choice.

 The drink stayed frozen throughout the whole meal, which made it super refreshing for a hot Florida day! The Cast Member we spoke to told us that this was the most popular drink, which we thought was interesting because it didn’t seem super unique or special to us. (also, it’s…not the most Italian beverage, right? )

It was a good drink, and we really enjoyed it, but there was nothing about it that made this margarita stick in our minds. You can probably get better margaritas over at Choza de Margarita in EPCOT, in our opinion.

The serving size was pretty decent, but we thought that $11 was a little pricey for the fairly basic drink. Though, for Disney pricing, that price is pretty average. However, if you love margaritas or strawberry flavor, we don’t think you’ll be disappointed by this drink! It’s especially nice if the weather is warm and you want a refreshing treat.

Food

For our appetizer, we ordered the Misticanza Salad for $9.50.

This salad has mixed greens, cucumber, red onion, olives, peppadew peppers, chunks of feta, and a balsamic dressing. No surprise here — the cheese was our favorite part. It was very mild, and we would’ve loved more of it in the salad.

The lettuce was crispy and fresh, and we liked that the peppers added a little spice to the salad. We also would’ve liked more peppers as well, come to think of it, since there were only two little ones in the whole salad. We would’ve been happy with fewer red onions and more peppers, but that was more of a personal preference.

The balsamic dressing was very tasty as well, with a tangy flavor.

Overall, we thought the salad was tasty but a little plain (unless you got a bite with both cheese and pepper in it). It’s a large portion, so you could easily have this as a meal if you just wanted a lighter option.

For our entrées, we ordered two slices of pizza: the San Gennaro for $8.25 and the Parma Cotto for $8.25 as well.

First of all, let’s talk about portion sizes. When we say we got a slice of pizza, you need to understand that these are not your average pizza slices. You get BIG slices here — they’re advertised as being the biggest in Disney Springs! So most guests will probably be happy with one slice if you’re not crazy hungry, although there are several delicious-looking options, so it’s difficult to choose just one.

The San Gennaro has tomato sauce, mozzarella, fontina, sweet Italian sausage, onions, and hot cherry peppers. The crust was thicker than our other slice, and we thought the cheese-to-crust ratio was just right. It wasn’t too bread-y, but you also don’t get just a mouth full of cheese either (although — would a mouth full of cheese really be a bad thing?).

We appreciated that the crust was thicker because there were a lot of toppings on this slice, so it needed that structure to keep it from falling apart.

This pizza was pretty spicy! It hits you right when you take a bit and then again with the aftertaste. There wasn’t a strong sausage flavor from that Italian sausage. Most of the flavor came from the peppers.

In general, we thought this pizza was very tasty. If you don’t love sausage, we think you’ll still enjoy this slice since the flavor coming from the meat was very mild.

The Parma Cotto slice has Parma ham, mozzarella, and ricotta cheese. This slice has a lot of cheese, which isn’t usually something we complain about. However, it was almost too much, even for us. This is really just a big hunk of melted cheese disguised as pizza.

This slice was pretty tasty, but it was almost boring compared to the San Gennaro slice. However, the mild flavors worked well together, and there was some great texture and depth of flavor coming from the ricotta. There’s no tomato sauce here (or ANY sauce) it’s just cheese….cheese….more cheese…and a bit of ham.

We would’ve loved more Parma ham, as there was only one piece of it on our slice. We think it would’ve been better to have a few more pieces or to have the pieces cut up smaller and dispersed over the whole slice rather than in one place. Another note is you’ve gotta really like ricotta cheese to fully enjoy this. That cheese is a wetter, softer cheese (it’s the same stuff you’ll find in a cannoli) and the hefty scoops of it on the slice meant some bites were a LOT of ricotta!

We thought that we’d prefer the Parma Cotta, but we ended up liking the San Gennaro better since that slice was so much more flavorful. But both slices were very tasty, and the Parma Cotta might be a better choice if you’re not a fan of spicy food.

In general, we learned that there are several different ways to experience Pizza Ponte. If you want to be a little more adventurous, they’ve got some fun and flavorful slices for you to try. But if you prefer to stick to your comfort zone or are traveling with picky eaters, there are also plenty of options for you here. But also, a PSA: they have phenomenal pepperoni cups here too. if you want to go with a classic. #IYKYK

They’ve really got something for everyone.

Dessert

We’ve enjoyed the cannolis at Pizza Ponte in the past, but this time we decided to try something different for dessert. We grabbed a Tiramisu instead!

The tiramisu here is made with Mascarpone, Lady Fingers, and Espresso Cream, and you can get it for $8. This dessert wasn’t terribly heavy, which we appreciated since we had just finished off two BIG slices of pizza. Even if you’re pretty stuffed, you could still make room for this treat.

The cream was very light and still flavorful by itself, but everything was overpowered by that espresso flavor. You’ve got to REALLY love coffee if you’re going to enjoy this treat. The espresso was very strong, even for coffee-lovers like our reporter. Most tiramisu has just enough of that coffee flavor to appreciate it, but this was in your face. We would’ve preferred the mascarpone to take more of a starring role to balance out the flavor profile better. We initially thought that the portion size would be too small, but we realized after our first bite that there was a reason you only get a little bit. That flavor is just too intense for a big portion!

If you are a HUGE coffee fan, this might be your dream come true. But if you don’t love coffee or you prefer sweeter desserts, then you’ll probably want to try something different. You can snag a cannoli, or find dessert elsewhere in Disney Springs. If you’re looking for SWEET, then Gideon’s Bakehouse has half-pound cookies a short stroll away. Just sayin’. And there are so many great options for food in the Springs that we’re going to recommend finding a treat somewhere else, even if it’s just to explore and discover some more unique and fun treats.

Nosh or Not

Pop into Pizza Ponte for a slice if:

• You’re from the New York/New Jersey area and miss the counter service by-the-slice joints. It’s weirdly difficult to find a good slice of pizza in Florida, so this spot could be a little taste of home!
• You have pickier friends or kids who need a simple, familiar dish
• You don’t have a lot of time, so you need a filling meal on the go

Skip this spot if:

• You have time to sit and enjoy a table-service meal. There are SO many great food options in Disney Springs, and the pizza slices here really weren’t missing one of the fantastic restaurants that are available nearby.
• You want a quiet or romantic experience. This spot has a small, loud dining room, so you won’t find chill vibes here. If you wanted a place for date night, we recommend Wine Bar George or Morimoto Asia.
• You want to customize your own pizza. There’s another quick-service spot in Disney Springs where you can choose from a variety of sauces and toppings to build your own pizza. Head over to Blaze Fast-Fire’d Pizza for some high-quality food that’s totally customizable.

Overall

In general, we really enjoyed our meal at Pizza Ponte. Nothing blew our minds, but everything we ate was at least decently tasty. The San Gennaro slice was our favorite part, and we loved that it had a kick to it. The tiramisu was too strong for us, and we will probably skip the salad next time we visit. But, for a quick slice of ‘za, it ain’t bad!

The Cast Member here, while helpful, seemed to be a little stressed out. It’s a fast-paced environment with a lot going on, so the stress is definitely understandable. But we’re used to really friendly service at most Disney restaurants, and we didn’t find we got that here on this particular visit. 

You get a good amount of food for your money here (at least with the pizza), and it’s the cheaper, faster alternative to other Italian restaurants like Maria & Enzo’s. So this restaurant isn’t a bad option, but we think there are better choices in Springs. We already mentioned Blaze (for the pizza), but other quick-service spots that we love here include Chicken Guy! (for tasty chicken with a huge variety of sauces) and Earl of Sandwich (for possibly the best hot sandwich you’ll ever eat).

The pizza here is solid, but our hearts remain true to our one love, Via Napoli over in EPCOT. That’s still the gold standard for pizza in Disney World for us. BUT, if you’re looking for quick and easy pizza that’s still quite tasty though, this will do (until you can get over to EPCOT and eat an insane amount of cheese and pepperoni at Via Napoli, that is! ). Keep following DFB for more reviews of all the restaurants in Disney World!

Blaze Pizza or Pizza Ponte? See Our Full Show-Down of These Pizza Joints Here!

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Have you been to Pizza Ponte in Disney Springs? Tell us what you thought in the comments!

The post Review: Pizza In Disney World With TOO MUCH Cheese?! Yep, It’s Possible. first appeared on the disney food blog.