Is is just me or is San Angel (Mexico table service) just not that great?

[Lady_Gracey999]

My friends and I ate at Mexico on our trip a while back and were dissapointed in the experience. Sure the place is gorgeous inside, but that doesn't make up for the lack of good service. Here is just a short list of the things we didn't like:

1) Got there 5 mins early (ADRs) but were told to wait in a long line for 20 mins.
2) When we reached the hostess we were practically chastized for being late (We were in line!!). They were very rude.
3) Waited another 40 mins to be seated while seeing people who arrived AFTER us be seated first.
4) After being seated, it took FOREVER to see a waitress.
5) Waitress NEVER got my drink correct. I asked for regular coke and got diet EVERY TIME I tried to get a new one.
6) Food took at least an hour to get to us from when we ordered it.
7) My food was the wrong thing. (By this time I didn't care. We had been there nearly 3hrs already.)
8) All the food was cold.


I could say more but I'll leave it at that. If we hadn't been on the Free DP I would have really complained, but since our food was essentially free I just got over it. Well...sort of.

My question is this: has anyone else out there had THIS bad of an experience with them? Was it just bad luck? It was a Thursday evening in September. Did we miss the good chefs or what? Will be checking back soon to hear your comments.

 

[MickeyNicki]

We ate lunch there in Oct and loved it...seated right away to a table along the water, had great service and very good food. DH really enjoyed it so I am taking him back for lunch in March.

 

[Daryl]

I've always been puzzled by the bad reviews this place gets, even on the DIS podcast. In N.Y. we have great Mexican food and I've always loved the San Angel Inn.

 

[Tink888]

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience.

We had lunch there in Sept for the first time and were very pleased. No lines, seated right away, great service and super nice server.

It sounds like it was really crowded when you went. Maybe that was part of the reason.

 

[inaminute]

I love San Angel Inn, but agree that it can be inconsistent. We've never had horrible service there, but we've had fabulous and not-so-fabulous. The food can be hit or miss as well. For us, the experience is usually good, and on the few occassions when it was bad we were willing to give them another chance. We'll probably eat there again in January. I love the atmosphere. It manages to be very romantic--even with a room full of screaming kids (and not necessarily the ones in the restaurant!)!!!!

 

[DisneyMom92]

We have reservations there in a couple weeks for the ambiance. My DD16 has always wanted to eat there and mentions it every year. I am not really bit on authentic Mexican food (have been to Mexico on DCL and eaten at native restaurants), but we really like Americanized Mexican food (not Tex-Mex). I am hoping we don't have to leave there and get something to eat, but we are on our "bucket list" knowing that my DD will be moving out soon and we won't have these family times as often and easily so we are trying to do all the some days in the next few years.

All of you who have stated that either you loved it or its not that bad, can you give us advice on what to order to have an ok or better experience knowing the above information.

Thanks in advance.

 

[DisneyGirlie]

San Angel Inn used to have really good food in my opinion, but when we ate there in September, the whole menu was like completely changed and I had a hard time finding something I liked. San Angel Inn is a place where you kind of have to get lucky with service. We've never had problems at the host stand or waited a long time to be seated. However, we've definitely gotten our share of bad/disappearing servers.

 

[OurDogCisco]

I'm surprised your food was cold as our plates were so stinking hot we weren't allowed to touch them. We just ate there last Sunday. While at first the service was slow but once we put in our order for drinks and food it went really fast. One thing I noticed that some of the menu items were hard to pronounce so, I can totally see the waitstaff bringing you the wrong item. I really had to point to the menu to make sure they understood me. Plus, I thought the place was way too dark. On a side note, I LOVED the food as it wasn't the traditional tex-mex food. I thought, it was good. Sorry you had a bad experience. I find every now and then, we have bad experiences at some of the WDW restaurants as well.

 

[OKW Lover]

Its not just you. Lots of us don't see this as a great place to eat. With so many other choices available around Epcot, I'm mystified why this place gets so much attention.

 

[RMulieri]

It is definitely not my favorite place due to service issues 2 separate visits.However, lots of people do love it.I may be willing to try it again at some point.Sorry you were disappointed.

 

[gregrmike1]

On our trip we enjoyed the atmosphere and the service was good. The food was edible but nothing to rave about. I was disappointed in the selection for dessert during our visit in April 2008. I am glad we went to experience it once however I do not think we will be returning.

 

[Uncleromulus]

Been there twice and had poor service and a bad meal each time. I think it gets a lot of attention because it's "advertised" as being a quiet, romantic, restaurant overlooking the River of Time. Well--I suppose the very back overlooks the River, but the rest of the place is noisy and with tables crowded impossibly close together. There is barely room for the servers to move. The last time we ate there I was almost as close to the lady at the next table as I was to Mrs U!
And possibly worst of all, they don't carry Dos Equis Amber on draft. Inexcuseable.

 

[Lady_Gracey999]

Thanks for all your comments! Might try it again sometime, but probably not soon. Hopefully it was just a bad night.

 

[CAJUNWDWFAN]

I think it was just a bad night. We have had great meals there in the past and we are returning in April for our honeymoon. We love the atmosphere.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

We just ate there 12/3 for the Candlelight Processional. Its definetely not some place I would have picked out, but it was all that was available. The place was half empty, but it was early, like 5 pm. The place was dark and it was hard to see the food. We were seated promptly.

Someone finally came to take our drink order. I said oh, we get an appetizer, entree and dessert, right? They never willingly offered that information. Then later another server came with the drinks and said she would be our server, but was busy before and couldnt take our drink order etc. O.K.

I wish I could have Seen what I was eating, lol!! After that, I got a nice case of food poisioning from the place. I will save the details. Suffice to say, it will definetely NOT be on our list of places to eat again for a long, long time.

I should say dh and ds loved their meals and ds said he liked the duck taco.

On the way out someone came up to me and asked if they were taking walk ups. I said, I didnt know, but go and try because the place looked half empty.

I did hear some guy insisting to the cm that he wanted to sit by the water and that would be an additional 20 minute wait,

 

[maggieb9975]

My adult DD and I really enjoyed our lunch there in October. WE had a noon ADR and got a table almost by the water. Service was outstanding and the food was pretty good. I had read negative reviews so was pleasantly surprised! I had steak and enchiladas and the steak was very good. My DD had something ? and asked for it without guacamole which she hates and they said no problem.

The atmospher is wonderful . I agree with all that because it is so dark it is hard to read menu but the dark is part of the design..

we would definately go back.

 

[DisFlan]

We love the atmosphere but never thought the food was outstanding. We always found the service to be fairly good. I have to admit the San Angel TS isn't one of our must- do eateries. We can enjoy the atmosphere by grabbing a drink at the bar.


DisFlan

 

[IllumFan]

It's off our ADR list for the next few years at least. We've had some very bad experiences there the past couple of years. My stepson really wanted to go this year so we decided to try it again. Unlike other years, we did have good service but our meals were terrible. I would rate this as the worst restaurant we've eaten at while on WDW property.

 

[Lady_Gracey999]

I wish I could have Seen what I was eating, lol!!

I totally know what you mean. I do think it is beautiful in there, but a little more light on the tables would be nice.

After that, I got a nice case of food poisioning from the place. I will save the details. Suffice to say, it will definetely NOT be on our list of places to eat again for a long, long time.

You reminded me of something. My friend's DH was sick the entire evening after that meal! LOL...I can't believe I forgot b/c he felt so bad that he accidentaly used the ladies RR instead of the men's! Luckily it was very late and very few people were still even in the park, but it's a hilarious story. Perhaps for another thread on another board...

 

[stan_the_man]

We ate there a couple of months ago, I agree the service did seem poor (had to ask twice for refills as our server never seemed to notice our empty glasses), and noticed the couple next to us asked for some items to go with their free nachos and never got them, so had to remind the server for them again.

However it wouldn't put me off going back as the food was really nice, and so is the atmosphere. We never went without at the meal after reminding our server, so that wasn't a huge problem