Breakfast à la Art at Topolino’s Terrace at Riviera has been a favorite of mine since I first tried it in 2021. The food was delicious, and the quality was beyond what one would expect for a character breakfast. Plus, Mickey and friends are pretty adorable in their Riviera outfits.
Since I was last there, there have been rumblings that guests are no longer able to order an entree plus a “side dish” that was essentially the size of a full entree. I really enjoyed the ability to order the entree and side dish not only to get more value for the $45 breakfast, but it was great when you couldn’t decide between two entrees. Having heard about the change, I was curious to know: Is breakfast at Topolino’s still worthwhile now that the side dishes are no more? My husband (Timothy), infant son, and I recently visited Topolino’s to find out.
Ambiance
Topolino’s Terrace is unique in that it serves as a character breakfast in the morning and a signature dining restaurant at night. During the daytime, the restaurant has a more casual feel. During Breakfast à la Art, you’ll meet Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Daisy in their special costumes that reflect their artistic pursuits. Mickey is a painter, Minnie is a poet, Donald is a sculptor, and Daisy is a ballerina. Each character comes around to greet guests and take pictures, and then they all come out together to do a dance around the restaurant. I noticed that guests were able to get actual autographs from the characters, not just the postcard with the characters’ printed signatures that is given at the end of the meal. The character interactions were great, but I felt like they were much briefer than those that we had at Hollywood & Vine.
While the character announcements and music can be a little on the loud side, the restaurant doesn’t feel as loud as say Chef Mickey’s, which is much larger and right in the middle of the busy grand concourse at the Contemporary Resort.
The Food
Our Orders
I had been thinking about that Wood-fired Butchers Steak since I last had it in 2022. It was that good! Naturally, that was the entree I ordered this time. It comes with polenta, pomodoraccio tomatoes, roasted onions, wild mushroom conserva, and watercress. At the suggestion of our server, Aziz, I swapped the polenta for roasted potatoes. Timothy also ordered his tried and true favorite: the Smoked Salmon with an everything bagel, tomato, red onion, cream cheese, and capers.
As expected, Aziz let us know that additional entrees as side dishes are no longer offered. However, he did offer a side of eggs with my steak and a side of either the sour cream waffle or the Mickey and Minnie waffle to go with Timothy’s smoked salmon. I chose scrambled eggs, and Timothy went with the sour cream waffle, but Aziz was very kind and brought both types of waffles to us.
Food Review
The steak was just as good as I remembered it: It was tender and perfectly seasoned with a faint smokey flavor. It worked nicely with the onion, tomato, and mushroom. The scrambled eggs were a good addition, and I found them soft and creamy. I also liked the potatoes; I have had the polenta before and feel like the potatoes had more flavor and were a heartier side. Timothy topped his everything bagel with smoked salmon and all the fixings. He thoroughly enjoyed it all.
Both types of waffles were very good, and each offered something different. The Mickey and Minnie waffles were your typical malted waffles that you find on property, but they were fresh, slightly crispy on the outside, and topped with powdered sugar. The sour cream waffle was light and crisp and topped with chantilly cream. It felt like a less sweet alternative to the traditional Mickey waffle and better suited for adult palettes.
Timothy and I are pretty big eaters, but even we were full after our entrees and sides. We barely touched the pastry basket that came at the beginning of the meal. It had croissants, mini chocolate chip muffins, and apple crumb muffins. Aziz offered to pack those up for us, and when I finally tried them the next day, the standout item was the apple crumb muffin. It had a light cinnamon flavor, a generous crumb topping, and an apple filing that reminded me of apple pie. The croissants and chocolate chip muffins were tasty but fairly standard.
The Service
We had wonderful service during our breakfast. Aziz was attentive and made great suggestions throughout our meal. Besides suggesting the potatoes instead of polenta for my entree, he also had an interesting tip for anyone who likes mimosas. (We didn’t order any.) He suggested that instead of ordering a mimosa, which is not included with your breakfast, order the orange juice or POG juice that is included. Then order champagne and create your own mimosa to save a little money on your drink.
The character attendants were also great. We had an 11:20am reservation and were one of the last groups there before breakfast service ended, but that didn’t diminish our experience. We saw each character at least twice. However, at the end of our meal, one of the character attendants came around to check if each table had a chance to see every character. It was very thoughtful and a good way to help ensure guest satisfaction.
Overall Thoughts
Is Breakfast à la Art still worthwhile? For $45 per adult, this breakfast is just as pricey as any of the other character breakfasts at places like Chef Mickey’s, ‘Ohana, Garden Grill, Crystal Palace, and Cape May Cafe. It is the only one that isn’t a buffet or all-you-care-to-enjoy skillets, but what it lacks in quantity, it still makes up for in quality. Despite the lack of the old side dishes, we still had plenty to eat with the entrees, eggs, waffles, and pastries.
With Breakfast à la Art, it’s more of an experience than just a meal. I don’t know what I loved more: eating my delicious steak and eggs or watching my son taking everything in. At 7-months-old, he’s still eating purées and didn’t have food from Topolino’s. He was actually more interested in our plates of food than the characters, but he was all smiles when bopping to the music with his dad as the characters paraded around the restaurant. It was a fun family outing, and I love all the photos and videos we took that morning. We’ll gladly return once I can finally snag another reservation! They’re still hard to come by.
