Restaurant in Epcot's Mexico

[jenniferyawn]

Hey! Has anyone been to Epcot's restaurant in Mexico where you can watch the boat ride by and see the volcano? My 9 and 10 yo's are interested, but I'd like some feedback if anyone's been. Thanks!

[mom2princess&pirate]

It is my husband and my favorite restaurant. It is pretty authentic Mexican cuisine so check out the menu first. The atmosphere is great!
Heidi

[aristocatz]

From what I have read, the food is not great, but the atmosphere is wonderful!

They do have basic things on the kids menu though, like quesadillas, chicken fingers, and pasta.

We plan to go there during a future trip and I plan to ask if I can order an adult sized childrens' meal.

[Nadjalu]

We went there in March and loved it! Both the boat ride and the restaurant.
You can ride the boat and not eat if you so choose but I think it is better to do both.

The food is more traditional than tex-mex style, so alot of disers don't like it. I found the food very good, but I went in knowing what it was. The menu doesn't do it justice but it does give you an idea.
DH had the chicken mole, and loved it. The chocolate sauce is quite unique on chicken I must say but very tasty. I just kept thinking "am I having dessert or dinner??"...lol
I had a sirloin over black beans with plantains, so good. Not a black bean fan but the rest was wonderful.
Oh and the best caramel sauce anywhere on their desserts. Honestly don't think I have ever had such good caramel.

The atmosphere is so nice, it is very romantic and quaint. It is cool when the boats ride past with the volcano in the background. The mariachi band was a nice touch as well. Really thought I was somewhere in mexico not DW.

If the boys want to do it I say go for it, it is quite an experience.

[Dervis]

Personally, I love San Angel! The atmosphere is wonderful, though the dim lighting can make it difficult to see. Still, I have had nothing but positive experiences with the staff and food. Some many not like the traditonal Mexican food. I went with my friends who think that eating enchiladas makes them worldy and sophisticated...they were way out of there league there. Still, they enjoyed the food, even if it wasn't what they had in mind.

[spodie]

I love San Angel Inn! The atmosphere is tops and I thought the food was excellent as well. Like others have said - they don't necessarily have tacos and enchiladas, but the traditional mexican cuisine they serve is very good. I'm a very picky eater and didn't really like what was on the menu when I first looked at it, but after trying the food, I knew that I had been mistaken. The service was also fantastic. We liked it so much that we're going back there on our upcoming trip!

[tony67]

First I would say if your kids want to go then do it.
It is a great location and they will enjoy it.
Push for a table near the water.

That being said, many people here do not like the food.
I also do not like the food here, and I am a big fan of Mole.
I am lucky enough to have access to high quality Mexican food.
The issue for me was they quality of the food, not what was on the menu.
A busy restaurant can serve fresh salsa and chips, not tostidos from a bag and jarred salsa.
This small detail sets the tone for the entire meal.

I also think if they served a dish with a selection of high quality Mexican street food then that may reduce many of the complaints. (tamale, soft taco, enchilada, black beans, and rice for example).

Although you do not see it on this thread I get the feeling the the majority of DISers do not like the food.

For what it is worth I also had a long talk with someone working in the Mexico pavilion today.
I told them I really did not like the food. They agreed and this lead to an interesting discussion.
I mentioned how the use bagged chips and jarred salsa and how disappointing it was.
During the conversation I mentioned I thought the DDP was part of the issue.
They agreed and mentioned the problem was the reimbursement amount from Disney for the dining plan as an issue.
A meal that costs $25 on the menu gets reimbursed $15 and they need to pay staff etc..
This one statement explains the overall drop in quality I see (my personal opinion) in the majority of the Disney restaurants over the last 5 years.

They then brought up the service issues there, something I had no issues with.
There servers are not happy serving the food (it seems they do not like it either) and most of the customers are not happy with the food.

They then mentioned to me that the restaurant had been reprimanded about two months ago by Disney because of the food and the customer complaints.

Obviously this is all hearsay, but hopefully this means it will be getting better.
If I start to hear better things I may give it yet another try.

[gtpoohbear]

We loved it! The food was very good, and the atmosphere is great. I had been inside the Mexico building many times and always thought the food smelled so good, but was always with my parents who "assured me" that I wouldn't like it, simply because it wasn't tacos and burritos. On our first trip as a family I was determined to give it a try, and was not disappointed at all! We had eaten at fancy Mexican restaurants before so were familiar with that type of food.

[jenniferyawn]

Wow! Thanks everyone for the advice! I was very interested to hear about the DDP reimbursement rate! I think I'll leave it up to the kids and if we do go, we'll ask for a table near the water. Thanks so much!!!!

[rotlex]

We love it there. The food, for us, has always been excellent, and the atmosphere is wonderful! The seating area is a little tight, but it kind of adds to the atmosphere.

Definitely a favorite of ours.

[dfmalone]

DUDE this place is great, make sure you make DR because its almost always packed. The atmosphere is AMAZING, food is OK, I eat there more for the atmosphere

[beroh2253]

This is always the restaurant we start off our vacation with, and we will be there again this Sunday night to start the week. The food always seemed ok to me, it isn't Le Cellier, Kona or Coral Reef quality steak but it isn't terrable either and with a great atmosphere we do like the place. As for the salsa and chips they may be out of a bag and jar but are good, I have eaten at Mexican restaurants that make there own chips and salsa and they taste like cardboard with catsup. So give it a try.

Sunday about 4:10 we will be getting off the plane, rushing to check in at POP then heading over to EPCOT and San Angle, can't wait.

[TimandTanya]

This is one restaurant that we will not go back to. The food was not very good, and the service was rushed and not personable at all. They spilled a dish with hot sauce (temp. hot) right next to my wife, she was wearing WDW crocs and the hot sauce went into the holes, and burned her foot. The man said, 'there's the bathroom' and that was it. We travel alot and this is not a good Mexican meal. Try Marrakesh in Morocco for something different and absolutely delicious and tremendous service.

[ShannonMB]

I'm very excited to try San Angel Inn for the first time in Nov. Every time I go in to that pavillion, the atmosphere just captivates me, and I decided this time, despite the mixed reviews, we are trying it. I have been amazingly underwhelmed by places that get raves, and have had good meals at places that always seem to get panned. For that reason, I go in to every dining experience deciding I will see for myself. I have a feeling if the food is halfway decent, I'll be sold. I'm big on theming! I also saw a dining review where the poster had a blood-orange margarita at the tequila bar in Mexico. Wonder if I could get that with a meal?? Yum!

[Mom22girls56]

Is San Angel a quick service or table service restaurant?