Review: Manhattan Restaurant at Hotel New York – The Art of Marvel from Opening Night

Hi everyone!

We dined at the Manhattan Restaurant in Disney’s Hotel New York – The Art of Marvel on opening night yesterday. Of the two restaurants in the resort, this is more of a finer dining experience though Disneyland Paris calls it “contemporary casual” – and the food “contemporary Italian”. Disney’s Hotel New York – The Art of Marvel opened yesterday after being transformed from the original Disney’s Hotel New York. I dined inside this reimagined restaurant the first time in 2002 and then for a Marvel themed dinner a few years ago.

We arrived just a few minutes prior to our 6:00 p.m. reservation and were the first regular guests to dine here. We didn’t photograph our arrival but it was quite the surprise to be welcomed with applause.

Manhattan Restaurant is elegant with a chandelier inspired by Asgard and the Manhattan skyline. There are no big, obvious Marvel references here.

The chandelier is a beautiful centerpiece.

The restaurant Cast Members were ready for guests.

Our server asked if we knew where the inspiration for the plates came from. I said the chandelier, which was correct. The plates and stemware are quite nicely designed.

Our server offered to take our photo, masks are currently required at indoor locations and we still had ours on before dining. There is also a bottle of Purell on every table, just as at most tables at restaurants (including counter service) at Disneyland Paris right now.

We each went with the Menu Greenwich Village, which gives a better value than piecing together a dinner. We both ordered the wine pairings as well, for a 20 Euro extra charge on top of the 42 Euro price for 3 courses.

With the Infinity (Annual) Pass, you can still receive your free non-alcoholic drink at table service restaurants. There was a nice Iron Man addition to it.

We were not seated toward the chandelier but on the upper level.

We started with focaccia bread – it is fairly standard, but a nice beginning to the meal.

The olive oil is a quality one, Raineri from Italy.

For 20 Euros, the wine pairings made a nice value.

I took one glass to photograph the chandelier.

My first course was Minestrone Soup (which is also a vegan dish). It was a little bland, I think if we had been offered pepper that it would have given it just enough flavor. It didn’t taste like other minestrone soups I’ve had. The consistency was much thicker as well.

Jeff ordered the Prosciutto di Parma, mostarda di frutta e tigelle. While the prosciutto was pretty standard, I’d never tried tigelle or mostarda di frutta before. The tigelle looks like a pancake but isn’t soft like one. The mostarda di frutti is candied fruit with a kick to it. I was expecting a sweet taste but the spicy part was more apparent for me. Jeff liked all the flavors here.

We received another, different piece of bread at this time. It tastes how it looks – crispy bread, soft on the inside.

For my entree, I ordered the Lasagne alla Bolegnese. There was a lot of cheese on top, which made this an even more dense dish. Just as the minestrone was different than any time I’ve had the dish before, the lasagne was quite different too. I don’t eat cheese except occasionally mozzarella (on pizza or in lasagne, with ricotta also). The lasagne had a different flavor than I am used to – I think my favorite part of this dish was the bolegnese, it was delicious.

Jeff ordered the Filet of Sea Bass and Lemon Compote. It was a lighter dish than mine and came with roasted potatoes. He enjoyed everything here.

Here is a look at the wines we were brought for our second pairing. I had a chianti.

For dessert, I ordered the Classic Tiramisu. I was very full from my first two courses but this was so creamy and delicious that I ate most of it.

Jeff ordered the Sicilian Cannolo with Buffalo Ricotta and Candied Fruit, Chocolate and Pistachio Praline Cream. He really enjoyed the praline cream here, but thought the whole cannolo was a step above.

Jeff received the Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore as one of the pairings, which was elegantly served.

The Manhattan Restaurant was a lovely experience and a good value for the Menu price (for a Disney restaurant with high quality ingredients in a more elegant setting). The items I ordered would not be necessarily what I would order again – all three were heavier dishes and I’d go for a lighter meal next time. And while the restaurant is referred to as contemporary casual, it feels more upscale to me than that – but you don’t have to dress up, guests were dressed in a variety of different outfits.

The food was different than I expected upon ordering but the overall dining experience for the two hours we were there was quite lovely.  And just as in the rest of Disney’s Hotel New York – The Art of Marvel, the Cast Member costumes are sophisticated with Marvel references.

We will be posting more from Hotel New York – The Art of Marvel in the coming week or two!