Review: Celebrate Carnevale at Maria & Enzo’s Through March 5th, 2019

Hi everyone!

We were invited to experience Carnevale at Maria & Enzo’s Ristorante last night. This celebration at Disney Springs runs from February 22nd, 2019 through March 5th, 2019 – Mardi Gras. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. The advertising said there would be live music, singers, jugglers and such, but I had no idea the amount of entertainment that Maria & Enzo’s would provide. It was one of my favorite evenings out in quite some time. The food overall is familiar if you’ve been to Maria & Enzo’s. We’ve been twice on our own just this year and my meal was what I usually order plus some extras. What is fantastic about Carnivale at Maria & Enzo’s is that you can order off the regular menu but there is also a Feast of Carnivale menu – and that can be less expensive than ordering the items separately AND you get a couple of extra items and fantastic entertainment included (between 5:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m each night). Read below for more information!

Just as we’ve seen at The Edison, the Carnevale entertainment at Maria & Enzo’s starts outside the door.

The sign gives an idea on entertainment but it’s hard to show the breadth of entertainment on a sign.

The menu is outside, and I will show that closer later.

Guests were arriving, and the restaurant was pretty full during the dinner hours. We arrived for a 6:30 p.m. reservation.

There is even a special printed menu for Carnevale. It isn’t a piece of paper, it is a nice printed menu for the two week event.

I had tried to go up the stairs to get photos of the room, but entertainment started right away. I heard tambourines and headed right back down – and really, gave up on the room photo until the end of the evening because there dancers, singers, jugglers, and more who were moving about.

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This was just after 6:30pm and most tables were full – I recommend securing reservations. The dancers took to the floor for a couple of songs.

Next up was a singer with a lovely voice who we would see throughout the evening.

At our table were plastic masks and beads. BUT, if you want a hand painted mask, that costs nothing extra and I will show that later in the article.

I had very little knowledge of Carnevale prior to researching it. I’ve been to Venice and have seen masks both there and here at Epcot, but that was about it. The last day of Carnevale is Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday.

The Feast of Carnivale is listed as a 5-course dinner. It includes an Amuse Bouche, along with Ciabatta, Grissini, Focaccia; Pasta Di Carnevale; a choice of one Antipasti; a choice of one Secondi; and Le Bugie Di Carnevale. It costs $45.00 plus tax and gratuity. It is very easy to order an Antipasti and Secondi that equal about that cost – my caesar salad and spaghetti in themselves would have cost $39.00 total off the regular menu. There are extra items on the Feast of Carnevale that I received AND the almost nonstop entertainment. It is a good value and great fun.

The special Carnevale drinks are also a good price. $8.00 for a mixed drink, or $5.00 for a Peroni.

We started with the bread service, the Ciabatta, Grissini, Focaccia. The bread is always good here.

The server recommended the Green Mistake, with Hendrick’s gin, Midori, pineapple juice, lemon juice and cucumber. He said it would be refreshing and it was. Again, this is $8.00.

We will share a Carnevale video soon, but the music even included a lovely rendition of Bella Notte.

Jugglers walked around occasionally.

At this point, there is singing, jugglers, and more going on in the room.

This is the Amuse Bouche. I do not know if it will be the same each day. It was mozzarella and a tomato on a toothpick.

I’ve ordered the Caesar Salad a number of times at Maria & Enzo’s. It is a solid salad.

Jeff tried something new to him at the restaurant, the Calamari Fritti. It includes a spicy tomato sauce and roasted garlic aioli. He really liked this a lot and said it was one of the best calamari dishes he’s had. It was recommended by the server.

I had not gotten a good photo of the Pasta Di Carneval, but it’s below and to the right. It included an Alfredo style sauce and was a nice starter.

My next drink was called the Exotic, but it was listed on this recipe card as a Raspberry Caipirinha. Our server had recommend this less than the other, and he was right. This wasn’t a bad drink, but the first was my favorite of the evening.

The Spaghetti Alla Chitarra was my next course. I like the spaghetti here, I think it was an acquired taste for me at the beginning. The spaghetti is cooked pretty firmly. It’s my go-to dish at Maria & Enzo’s now. It includes braised meatballs.

The Passera Origanata is a parmesan almond crusted flounder that Jeff ordered. This was another nice dish, and the cost of this and the calamari would have been $51.00 total (more than the Feast of Carnevale menu price).

The Le Bugie Di Carnevale is a fried, crispy pastry with powdered sugar and is the last course on the Feast of Carnevale. This is the dessert for everyone on the special menu. It is a lighter option, it wasn’t something I would personally order but again – at this point I consider it an extra on the menu.

The music continued, but our meal was just about over. I was actually disappointed that we’d be leaving soon, this is just a fun event.

But first, we stopped to have masks hand-painted. This is included, no extra cost. The mask is a nicer quality one than the decorative ones on the table. There was also face painting for kids and balloon animals were being made – those were at the tables. This is a terrific event not just for adults, but for families.

The mask was being painted, and the gentleman painting it was very friendly as well.

I went with a sangria to end the meal, trying something that is always on the menu and I may want to order in the future. It was nice, a light ending.

The singers and band walked around the room.

They played to this table and giving a kiss on the hand. I think this was during “Bella Notte”.

This performer was showcasing the diabolo.

It wasn’t as busy when we left, so if you are looking for a later meal, walk-ins will probably be easier around 9:00pm. I still recommend reservations for Carnevale.

I mentioned we weren’t rushed, it was 9:00 p.m. when we left. We spent a lot of time on photos and video, and had so much fun at this event.

We were invited to experience this, Maria & Enzo’s paid for our meal (we paid an additional gratuity on our own). All views are mine and I highly recommend Carnevale! It is a lot of value and a ton of entertainment for the money.