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Whether you’re staying at Disney’s Riviera Resort or just visiting, this Disney World hotel has some fantastic dining options!
Disney’s Riviera Resort is one of the newest hotels at any of the Disney Parks. It’s located next to Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. Inspired by the European Riviera, the Riviera Resort really is a special place to stay. We’ve previously shared 10 of the features that make the Riviera Resort so unique.
One of those features is its European cuisine. And in this dining guide to the Riviera Resort, we’ll go over all of the places to eat at the hotel.
They are great places for breakfast, lunch and dinner, even if you’re not staying at the Riviera Resort. (You can get to the Riviera by Disney Skyliner or by taking a bus from one of the Disney World theme parks or Disney Springs. You can also walk over from the Caribbean Resort.) But if you do want to stay at the Riviera Resort, keep reading as we’ll share the hack we use to save hundreds of dollars a night on our Riviera stays!
Restaurants at Riviera Resort
The Disney Riviera Resort dining options are:
- Bar Riva, a pool bar that also serves as a restaurant
- Le Petit Café, a small Parisian café
- Primo Piatto, a quick service restaurant
- Topolino’s Terrace – Flavors of the Riviera, the nicest restaurant at the resort
Let’s take a closer look at each of the restaurants at Riviera Resort.
Bar Riva
Table Service, Casual Dining
At this open-air pool bar, you can choose from a wide selection of beer, wine, cocktails, frozen cocktails and more. But you can also order a delicious salad, sandwich or burger.
And if you’re traveling with kids, don’t worry – although it has the word “bar” in its name, Bar Riva is family friendly.
It’s a convenient place to eat lunch or dinner if you’ve been hanging out at the pool or enjoying some of the fun activities on the grounds of the hotel (bocce ball, anyone?).
We go over the restaurant in greater detail in our Bar Riva review.
Le Petit Café
Counter Service
This Parisian cafe (named for the Le Petit Cafe in The Aristocats movie) is a great place to get specialty coffee or specialty iced coffee in the morning. And in the afternoon or evening, you can order wine, beer, hard seltzer, hard cider, or a specialty cocktail. Of course, you can get tea at Le Petit Cafe as well.
Food options at the café include charcuterie, olives, an artisanal cheese plate, and a selection of pastries. It works well for breakfast or a snack.
You can find out more in our review of Le Petit Café.
Primo Piatto
Counter Service, Mobile Order Available
Primo Piatto is what most closely resembles a food court at the Riviera, though it has a more intimate, upscale feel than the food courts you’d find at, say, the value resorts at Disney World.
There’s a breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even a late night menu. (Like most places at Disney World these days, the lunch and dinner menus are the same.)
And the menus have a European influence. For example, you can order a Croque Madame at breakfast or a Croque Monsieur for lunch or dinner. So you’re getting something that’s special – and appropriate for the Riviera Resort – while still having the convenience of a Disney quick service food court. There’s even a mobile order option to add to the convenience.
We share our experiences in our Primo Piatto breakfast review and our Primo Piatto lunch and dinner review.
Topolino’s Terrace – Flavors of the Riviera
Table Service, Character Dining, Signature Dining
Located at the top of the Riviera Resort, Topolino’s Terrace – Flavors of the Riviera is a beautiful restaurant that draws its inspiration from the cliffside restaurants of Italy and France. (Fun fact – Topolino is the Italian name for Mickey Mouse!)
There are two different dining options at Topolino’s Terrace, and both offer unique and memorable dining experiences.
At breakfast, you can enjoy a character meal that includes autograph and photo opportunities with Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Daisy Duck. And they’ll be wearing special outfits you’ll only see at Topolino’s Terrace.
And at night, the restaurant offers a “Disney Signature Dining experience,” with a menu that features French and Italian cuisine. Depending on when your reservation is, you may be able to see fireworks from Epcot, though it is not guaranteed the way the Rose and Crown fireworks dining package is.
Please note that the characters do not appear during dinner at Topolino’s Terrace. Also, there is a dress code in place for dinner.
Staying at the Riviera Resort
As you can see, the Riviera Resort has a variety of excellent dining options, from casual to fancy. They’re fun for anyone, whether or not you’re staying at the hotel. But they are extra convenient for hotel guests!
And if you’d like to stay at the Riviera Resort, a way to make it far more affordable is by going the DVC route. And no, I don’t mean joining the Disney Vacation Club! (Though of course that’s a fun, albeit ultimately more expensive, option.)
Let me back up here. The Disney Vacation Club, or DVC, is Disney’s timeshare program. But you don’t have to be a DVC member to take advantage of the cheaper rates that DVC members enjoy.
You can do one of two things:
- Book a confirmed reservation. This is when a DVC member has already made a reservation and no longer wants or is able to go. You can look through confirmed reservations and sometimes find some fantastic deals for the DVC hotels, including the Riviera Resort.
- Rent points. You can rent points from a DVC member for a stay at the Riviera or any DVC resort.
Every time we’ve stayed at the Riviera Resort, we’ve gone the DVC route, and this has saved us so much money. As in, on our most recent Riviera trip, it was 58% cheaper than the standard rate. We saved nearly $450 a night!
When I first heard about this way to save on Disney stays, I was a little intimidated. But if you go through David’s Vacation Club Rentals, the process is actually pretty easy! We highly recommend David’s as they work with the DVC owners so you don’t have to deal with any of that. And you’ll get a confirmation number you can put into My Disney Experience so you can do online check in, order Magic Bands, and basically everything you’d do if you had booked through Disney directly.