San Angel Inn or Chefs de France

[kmn952]

Hey!

We have an ADR for both and can't decide. We haven't been to either before. I could really use some of your options on which you prefer and why. Pictures would be lovely.

Thanks so much!

 

[Quellman]

If you are fine with the menu, Chefs de France. French cuisine can be harder to find in many hometowns unlike mexican which can be fairly ubiquitous, also you can stop by the ice cream shop near by after and get a great dessert to go!

 

[Mikka]

Chefs.

San Angel Inn is actually fairly decent Mexican, as it at least tries to be true Mexican rather then TexMex. It doesn't always succeed (see: the children's menu), but it at least tries. The Mole Poblana is definitely worth a try. Also, they will (if they're not too busy) serve you basically any one of La Cava's margaritas, and they do take Tables in Wonderland (not your question, but...). Going and drinking margaritas and eating appetizers in a beautiful setting is always fun.

Having said that, while I can't think of an actual decent Mexican resturaunt where I live (though we have plenty of TexMex), we do have a very good Peruvian one which occasionally serves some Mexican dishes, and I wouldn't have to go too far out of town to find a Mexican one. French restaurants? That's harder. I also like French food more then Mexican, generally (some spiciness I can deal well with, but chili pepper spicieness and me don't get along well), and Cafe de France is definitely a French bistro. I also, personally, think that the quality in general is just a wee bit higher then San Angel, and I often don't feel as cramped (San Angel is beautiful, but it's good you're in the dark, or otherwise you'd realize you're as shoved in as Le Cellier).

 

[GreatLakes]

I've eaten at both of them only once and had a really good meal both times. I would probably choose Chefs between the two but not because San Angel is bad.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Chefs de France is on our "almost must do" list but San Angel is on the "fill in the space" list. It seems to have less option, high prices for what you get, not a good kid's menu, and the service is sometimes not very good.

However, Chefs has a lot to choose from, everything we have had there has been great, and the waitresses (not so much the waiters) have always been great especially with the kids!

 

[ndnarchitect]

We eat at Chefs every trip- sometimes twice. The food is wonderful and the St. Germains cocktail is a real treat, if you choose to imbibe. My DD7 has loved it since her first trip and requests it each time.

 

[krc99080]

I've never eaten at San Angel Inn but loved my meal at Chefs de France. My friend and I each ordered off the Prix-fixe Menu. Everything tasted great and we had a good experience. So good that we planned Chefs de France as our first ADR of our 2015 December trip.

Lobster Bisque:


Bread:


My Entree - Beef Short Ribs:


Friend's Entree - All-Natural Half-roasted Chicken:


My Dessert - Daily assortment of fresh sorbets, madeleine:


Sadly did not get a picture of my friends dessert. She had the Strawberry and Cream Cake and loved it.

 

[Ginny Favers]

I've eaten at both but had the best meals at San Angel Inn. I like the atmosphere, better, too. I've never felt like Chefs de France was anything special-- if Remy isn't there it's just like a French restaurant anywhere, but eating at the San Angel Inn, at the foot of the Mayan ruins, with a nice Avacado margarita, is pretty cool. It's our must-do every trip.

 

[aidansmom]

We have eaten at both and enjoy both. As the previous poster mentioned, the atmosphere at San Angel Inn definitely tips the scale for us. It is a must do for our family every trip - to us, it is just one of those restaurants that is truly unique to WDW and, while we do think the food is great at both, we are enamored with the atmosphere and overall experience at San Angel Inn. I find the service to be just a bit better, as well. They're both good choices, though, so you kind of can't go wrong.

 

[automaticsoap]

I like the food and service better at Chefs, but the ambiance better at San Angel Inn. I tend to eat at Chefs every trip.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

We ate at both last trip and preferred Chefs. Thought the food was generally very good there and enjoyed the atmosphere. Nothing was bad at San Angel Inn (except the salsa) but nothing stood out as particularly good either. And you are really jammed in at San Angel. We are going to Chefs again in October, skipping San Angel. In short, we don't regret going to San Angel but don't feel a need to return

 

[Corwin]

We ate at both restaurants on our last visit in July. I liked both of them, but Chefs de France was the clear winner.

We've actually eaten at the San Angel Inn twice, once for lunch and once for dinner. The lunch menu is pretty limited, but I enjoyed my meal. My wife and son did not particularly like their meals. I will say that the salsa was definitely lacking.

We've eaten at Chefs de France on each of our last 6 visits, and it still makes our short list of "must-do's".

If I had to choose between the two, I would definitely go with Chefs de France.

 

[Kimosabe]

We are big fans of Chefs, including wife who has requested that if she is ever presented with a "last meal" option in prison (not sure what plans she has for me, as this revelation was a little disturbing!), it would be the beef short ribs pictured above...although when we last went and discovered the noodles had been replaced by a slab of polenta, she went into a deep state of depression, which forced me to get extra ice cream for myself later in the day....a slippery slope, no doubt. (For the record, the polenta was good...just not was she had been expecting after several previous dates with the noodles.)

Our kids have always loved it, too, and count the Croque Monsieur among their favorite meals on property (significantly better than the one at BOG). I have experienced a few different things there...all quite good.

Haven't hit the Inn in many years...mainly because we didn't have great memories of it. But the atmosphere is pretty cool and I'd definitely be willing to give it another shot now. Don't think you would go wrong with either choice.

 

[samsteele]

Both are good choices. San Angel has superior theming and the food has significantly improved over the past few years. But their menu is more limited than Chefs. If possible, have your family take a look at updated menus on eg allears (they usually have a few pics of entrees there as well) and make your choice based primarily on what interests you on the menu. Should you opt for Chefs, you can still get a brief taste of the San Angel atmosphere by shopping in the adjacent market in the pyramid while sipping an (adult) margarita from La Cava.

 

[GaryDis]

And you are really jammed in at San Angel.

Interesting you would say that. It's been a long time since I was at Epcot, but I felt jammed in at Chefs, never at San Angel. Are you referring to the San Angel Inn (inside the pyramid) or La Hacienda de San Angel?

As a pescatarian who won't eat shellfish, I find the Chefs menu devoid of anything that meets my needs. The only thing on their online dinner menu that I'd eat is the one vegetarian dish. Adding bacon to salmon strikes me as a chef who simply doesn't understand fish. The San Angel Inn, on the other hand, has three fish dishes that are making my mouth water, though surprisingly, there's nothing vegetarian explicitly called out on the online dinner menu (though I'm sure they can do vegetarian on demand).

 

[mkh531]

On a hot day at Epcot, the San Angel Inn is such a welcome, welcome, stop. It is dark, cool , and full of perfect margaritas. Plus there's an easy ride to get on for the kids. I don't remember the food well, I'm sure it was fine but nothing special. If you only care about food and not as much about escaping the relentless sun after walking from Futureworld, then Chefs de France is your best bet

 

[Harambe]

My family loves all the big exciting rides, but they know MY BIG thrill is going to Impressions de France, followed by lunch at Chefs de France. I also love that strawberry cream cake, but sometimes we skip ordering dessert in the restaurant and go to the french bakery later on!

 

[Cuchman]

I haven't eaten a Chefs yet, but we are on this next trip.
That being said, we love San Angel Inn. IMHO the food is not like our typical local Mexican places...it is much better. And the atmosphere is amazing. Even without having eaten at Chefs (which I have been in) I'd say the theming and atmosphere at San Angel wins hands down.
I have no trouble believing the food is better at Chefs and I'll have my own opinion in a few weeks. But if theming is important to you, it is a tougher choice.