Mike and I were checking out the Flower and Garden festival last weekend, and we were trying to decide which counter service restaurant to go to to review. We decided to go back to the Cantina de San Angel, as we had been a year and a half ago and enjoyed it. As I had left my ID at home and am still young enough to be IDed (22), I sent Mike over to buy me a Fiesta margarita while I stood in line at the Cantina.
He came back with the layered lovely, and we decided to split two items at the Cantina. We chose the Ensalada Mexicana and the Cantina Nachos. I wandered over to find a seat, and amazingly found a table for two right on the water. If we were going to stay for Illuminations, I would have insisted on staying at that table, as it had a perfect view. I grabbed some "salsa" (really just hot sauce packets) and utensils on the way over, and watched the water as I waited for Mike. I can't comment on the service because I was waiting at the table, but the CMs very quickly cleaned off the vacated tables and were changing the trash every 15-20 minutes.
Mike returned with a tray of the salad, nachos, and a Diet Coke, no ice. We love the "no ice" thing at Disney, where we can't get free refills! The salad was a large portion, a good size for its price and for being at Disney. The shell was a fried corn tortilla, while I'm used to taco salads having fried flour tortilla shells. It was a welcome change, and the shell was crispy and not greasy. The salad had plenty of chicken, but had quite a bit of dark meat. There was also lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, sour cream, cheese, and refried black beans on the very bottom. The sour cream had obviously come out of a squeeze packet, which just amused me. The salad was good for a counter service salad, except it was just a bit too "wet," and was soggy near the bottom. It had a good balance of ingredients, and I don't think it was really lacking anything.
The nachos unfortunately were a bit lacking. They came in a styrofoam shell container, which would be good if you want to take the nachos elsewhere without doing a balancing act. The chips were half stale, and had taco beef, cheese, tomatoes, jalepenos, sour cream, and black refried beans. There was pretty high ratio of chips to toppings, and they could have used a lot more. The cheese is a cheese sauce, and the jalepenos seemed mild, but I'm a hot-and-spicy fan, so it could have just been my taste buds. I really enjoy the refried black beans here, and the tomatoes were fresh, even though I don't eat them. They were ok nachos, just not far above Taco Bell nachos. The nachos next door at San Angel Inn are much better, even though I don't really like the San Angel Inn overall.
I had been looking forward to trying the Fiesta margarita, as we had split a regular margarita the last time we were there. This one seemed a bit too sweet for me, and the flavors were off. I will try a single flavor next time to see if that makes a difference. The margarita was ok, I would order it again, but it wasn't great. It was decently sized for the price, though.
I like the decor of the front of the Cantina, with the potted plants and the bougainvillas. The location can't be beat, and the table we had gave a beautiful view of the Lagoon and the sunset. One of the unfortunate things was all the birds! I know if I were a bird, I'd definitely choose to live at Disney as well!
All in all, it was an ok meal. The portions were a good size, but the quality was a bit lacking. We may come back to try the combination platters in the future, but I think we'll take Mike's parents somewhere else for lunch when they're here in June.
Edit: Yahoo photo gallery
He came back with the layered lovely, and we decided to split two items at the Cantina. We chose the Ensalada Mexicana and the Cantina Nachos. I wandered over to find a seat, and amazingly found a table for two right on the water. If we were going to stay for Illuminations, I would have insisted on staying at that table, as it had a perfect view. I grabbed some "salsa" (really just hot sauce packets) and utensils on the way over, and watched the water as I waited for Mike. I can't comment on the service because I was waiting at the table, but the CMs very quickly cleaned off the vacated tables and were changing the trash every 15-20 minutes.
Mike returned with a tray of the salad, nachos, and a Diet Coke, no ice. We love the "no ice" thing at Disney, where we can't get free refills! The salad was a large portion, a good size for its price and for being at Disney. The shell was a fried corn tortilla, while I'm used to taco salads having fried flour tortilla shells. It was a welcome change, and the shell was crispy and not greasy. The salad had plenty of chicken, but had quite a bit of dark meat. There was also lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, sour cream, cheese, and refried black beans on the very bottom. The sour cream had obviously come out of a squeeze packet, which just amused me. The salad was good for a counter service salad, except it was just a bit too "wet," and was soggy near the bottom. It had a good balance of ingredients, and I don't think it was really lacking anything.
The nachos unfortunately were a bit lacking. They came in a styrofoam shell container, which would be good if you want to take the nachos elsewhere without doing a balancing act. The chips were half stale, and had taco beef, cheese, tomatoes, jalepenos, sour cream, and black refried beans. There was pretty high ratio of chips to toppings, and they could have used a lot more. The cheese is a cheese sauce, and the jalepenos seemed mild, but I'm a hot-and-spicy fan, so it could have just been my taste buds. I really enjoy the refried black beans here, and the tomatoes were fresh, even though I don't eat them. They were ok nachos, just not far above Taco Bell nachos. The nachos next door at San Angel Inn are much better, even though I don't really like the San Angel Inn overall.
I had been looking forward to trying the Fiesta margarita, as we had split a regular margarita the last time we were there. This one seemed a bit too sweet for me, and the flavors were off. I will try a single flavor next time to see if that makes a difference. The margarita was ok, I would order it again, but it wasn't great. It was decently sized for the price, though.
I like the decor of the front of the Cantina, with the potted plants and the bougainvillas. The location can't be beat, and the table we had gave a beautiful view of the Lagoon and the sunset. One of the unfortunate things was all the birds! I know if I were a bird, I'd definitely choose to live at Disney as well!
All in all, it was an ok meal. The portions were a good size, but the quality was a bit lacking. We may come back to try the combination platters in the future, but I think we'll take Mike's parents somewhere else for lunch when they're here in June.
Edit: Yahoo photo gallery
