have been to both - Via Napoli in September, La Hacienda in November. We loved the pizza at Via Napoli, and had excellent service.
We also loved the meat platter & side dishes at La Hacienda (there are two "for 2" platters--one is seafood, the other is meat) The desserts were just barely OK. Service was good.
As for the "to die for" Illuminations views at La Hacienda...well, the claims are exaggerated. At least 1/3 of the restaurant has NO VIEW of Illuminations...even the window seats in that section have no view (we were sitting at a window seat table and had a lovely view of the side of the building & dark sidewalk leading from Mexico on into World Showcase. Whoop-tee-doo, what a thrill.) Would have been severely disappointed had we booked this restaurant thinking we'd get a great view of Illuminations during our dinner. We've seem Illum. many times, so didn't ask to be moved when we saw where we were seated, but it's not much fun to be seated in that part of the restaurant when they dim the lights for Illuminations & you can't see the fireworks OR your food. Many people in our section did get up & walk over to the other section to stand in between tables and watch Illuminations. Had to be a bit irritating for the people over there, too, to have a bunch of people crowding around them.
Bottom line, having been to both...Via Napoli was the better experience all around. All the food we had was good at Via Napoli (apps, pizzas, and desserts) Both places are pricey, but so is every other restaurant at Disney World.
