La Hacienda review with pictures

[TruBlu]

Sorry it took me so long, but I've finally got the pictures up!

I'll start by saying that we really looked forward to this restaurant. We love Mexican foods of all types (from authentic to Taco Bell).

We had an 8:30 dinner with hopes (not expectations) of seeing Illuminations. Unfortunately we were seated in the room with no view. I requested the other room (even said I was willing to wait for a table). We spoke with the person seating us at length. He assured us that we could go into the other room and stand or even sit at an empty table when they started. We tried that but REALLY felt out of place. There were no empty tables, and the only place to stand was in a walkway. We ended up leaving and watching Illuminations from the back of a large crowd. We aren't huge fireworks people, so we were fine with that - but if it really matters to you I wouldn't count on seeing it here.

That wasn't why we hated it. In our opinion, the food was just awful. It was very smokey and not in a good way. My food tasted like Rome burning smells in Spaceship Earth! Every time we rode that ride for the rest of the week the kids and I would laugh and say we could smell them cooking at La Hacienda whenever we got to Rome.

We were 4 adults on the dining plan.

Very shortly after we were seated we were served chips and salsa.



The chips were fresh and crisp. The salsa was terrible. The red one tasted like half salsa half liquid smoke. The green one was thick liquid, spicy, slimey, and sweet. The 4 of us usually go thru a cup of salsa each at our favorite local restaurant, but we didn't finish either of these.

DH and I ordered the Parrillada (Serves 2 people) Del Mar - mixed grill offering mahi mahi, shrimp, scallops and vegetables, served with beans and fresh salsa $49.95



There is 1 shrimp missing - DH was too fast for me! It looks wonderful, doesn't it? But, it just wasn't. Everything was smoky and bland. It just tasted like something I could do at home with a frying pan, some oil and an entire bottle of liquid smoke. The only really good thing was the corn. It's hard to explain the flavor - creamy, spicy, slightly sweet. We finished off every kernel.

The kids ordered the Parrillada (Serves 2 people) La Hacienda - mixed grill offering flank steak, chicken al pastor, chorizo and vegetables, served with beans and fresh salsa $49.95



They said it was just okay. I didn't get to try the steak. They said that was the best thing on the plate. I did have a sausage and some chicken. I'm not a sausage fan, but it tasted okay to me. DS loves all things sausage and didn't finish it. Both boys and DH HATED the chicken. DS said "That is just wrong. Chicken should not taste like a doughnut." I thought it was pretty good, but very sweet. Again, fantastic corn.

A side of beans, rice and corn tortillas was also included.







Just normal stuff. We were a little surprised that the tortillas were corn and COLD.

There wasn't anything on either plate that I would ever want to eat again.

We are huge fans of smoked foods. My DH has smoked turkey for lunch every day of his life. This was just too much. YUCK!

There was nothing on the dessert menu that sounded good to me, so I went with something I could give to DH if I didn't like it.

We ended up with 3 orders of Empanada de Manana - puff pastry filled with sauteed caramel apples and vanilla bean ice cream with Kahlua sauce $7.95 and 1 Helado - traditional Mexican ice cream $6.25





These were AMAZING!!! I didn't share any of mine with anyone.

DS let me have a small taste of each flavor of his ice cream. I can't remember what they were now (sorry), but I do remember loving all three - and so did he.

The empanada was WONDERFUL! Light flaky crust filled with caramel apples diced very small. But the winner of the entire night was the ice cream! It is listed on allears as vanilla bean, but I really think it was vanilla with caramel swirl. It was the best ice cream I've ever had anywhere.

EDIT TO ADD: One thing I forgot to mention about the dessert. They give you a spoon (only) to eat the empanada. It was REALLY hard to do. DS11 knocked his fruit off the plate trying to dig out a bite with his spoon. I'd recommend asking for a fork and knife.


Service was really fast and friendly - no complaints about that at all. We were seated right away for our 8:30 pm ADR, and were finished with our meal just as Illuminations was starting at 9:30.

I am so sad that we didn't like it, but it wasn't for us at all. We disliked it so much that we are not even willing to give it another try. I guess we'll try the CS next time.

After dinner both of my boys headed straight to America for turkey legs. They were both still starving since they didn't really eat anything but the steak. I had a few bites too. Yummy! So much better than dinner.

[emmabelle]

ughhh...I have this place booked for our trip in two and a half weeks...

[TDC Nala]

If it makes you feel better my party did not have the issue the OP had. We all (party of 8) enjoyed the food. It was the service that was at issue. The server seemed intimidated by a large party and they were very very slow. We were not interested in Illuminations.

[maminnie]

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience here. Would have loved to book this restaurant. Was hoping it would be more traditional, quality, Mexican food but the menu is very odd to me as is the San Angel Inn's menu. (Don't want to eat at the counter service restaurant for traditional fare.)

Never have eaten in Mexico simply because of the menu selections.

[mommykds]

Sorry to hear it.....my friends & I ate here in early December and all really liked it. The food was great & so was our server.

[Swalphin]

We ate there in December and really did not like the food. Ours had no taste. , some people said their meals were too spicey.
It bums me out, I wanted to love it.

[GRAMOFONE]

We were there in October, and I strongly feel it's the worst sit down meal at Disney. Would NEVER go back. We tried the old Mexican restaurant when we were there in December, and the food and service were awesome!

Disney is losing people after they eat there, I am sure.

[maxiesmom]

Originally Posted by GRAMOFONE

We were there in October, and I strongly feel it's the worst sit down meal at Disney. Would NEVER go back. We tried the old Mexican restaurant when we were there in December, and the food and service were awesome!

Disney is losing people after they eat there, I am sure.

Not this people!

My dad and I had a great meal at La Hacienda. I was one of the people who thought that some of the food was too spicey, but otherwise the service was great, and the non spicey food was great.

But it does sound to me like they are having some quality control issues. The food should be coming out tasting pretty much the same on all nights, not so all over the place. Even so, I wouldn't hesitiate to go back.

[bicker]

Thanks for the food review.

Originally Posted by TruBlu

We had an 8:30 dinner at La Hacienda with the hopes of seeing Illuminations. Unfortunately we were seated in the room with no view. I requested the other room (even said I was willing to wait for a table), but they told me that we could just walk in there and stand for the fireworks. We tried that but REALLY felt out of place. We ended up leaving and watching from the back of a large crowd.

That's pretty-much what I'd expect; consistent with how Rose & Crown works. For our family, we feel it is always best, in cases like this, to expect what is explicitly promised, and then we'll be delighted if we're are lucky and get more, rather than being disappointed if we're unlucky and get only what we're promised.

[Havana]

Sorry you didn't like your meal. I found the chicken to be overwhelming, but really enjoyed the chorizo and steak selections.
I found the service here to be top notch

[TDC Nala]

I don't think Disney is losing people as there are plenty who like the place. The only reason I won't go back for awhile is the price.

The food should be coming out tasting pretty much the same on all nights, not so all over the place.

This is apparently not limited to La Hacienda.

[TruBlu]

Sorry it's taking me longer to post my pictures than I thought. Unpacking from our trip and undecorating our house has been insane! I'm not even sure where my camera is right now...

[MickeyNicki]

You are not alone, although I thought I was, in my dislike for La Hacienda

The food was just terrible! SAI is soooo much better

[TruBlu]

Originally Posted by MickeyNicki

You are not alone, although I thought I was, in my dislike for La Hacienda

The food was just terrible! SAI is soooo much better

Oh Nicki, why didn't I listen to you???? After your report I almost cancelled and switched to Boma. Sure wish I had.

[MickeyNicki]

Originally Posted by TruBlu

Oh Nicki, why didn't I listen to you???? After your report I almost cancelled and switched to Boma. Sure wish I had.

Now we know better right? Feel bad for all the ones that dont