San Angels Inn

[Jennasis]

Food is ok...usually. Did have a bad meal there last time but all my visits prior were spot on. Love the Queso Fundido! It is very dark though and it is a problem for my mom who can't see well in low light so we'll likely nix it from our next trip. I personally love the atmosphere.

 

[Markstudy]

If you want Disney Magic, you can't beat eating in a "dark ride"
Its like Rain Tree Cafe (without all the kids) you either enjoy the extra effort of eating at a highly themed restaurant or you don't. The only thing that would be better would be eating inside the Pirates ride (when is T-Rex coming?) I love these crazy themed restaurants that you don't get 365 days a year at home.... we eat out a lot

I had the - Pollo a las Rajas, it was sooooo good!! It really knocked my socks off. We liked it so much that we made it at home

We've had great staff, on the last 3 trips. And we enjoy the live music.
(My wife is from South America and we always chat with the staff and have a great time.)

Here's a few photos from our last trip We had a table down by the water and switched seats with-each-other before our main course came...both views were great. (one seat faced directly into the temple, and the other seat looked back up the hill into the street lights of the market place)

 

[luna99]

your pictures are so nice, they are making me think twice about dining there! It's been a long time since I've eaten here but that's because the two times I've gone before the food really left a lot to be desired. The atmosphere is AMAZING though and very romantic. The Mexico pavillion is my favorite pavillion in world showcase for the atmosphere of it, it's just too bad the food doesn't live up to that same standard! indeed.

 

[G8r4evr]

If you want Disney Magic, you can't beat eating in a "dark ride"
Its like Rain Tree Cafe (without all the kids) you either enjoy the extra effort of eating at a highly themed restaurant or you don't. The only thing that would be better would be eating inside the Pirates ride (when is T-Rex coming?) I love these crazy themed restaurants that you don't get 365 days a year at home.... we eat out a lot

I had the - Pollo a las Rajas, it was sooooo good!! It really knocked my socks off. We liked it so much that we made it at home

We've had great staff, on the last 3 trips. And we enjoy the live music.
(My wife is from South America and we always chat with the staff and have a great time.)

Here's a few photos from our last trip We had a table down by the water and switched seats with-each-other before our main course came...both views were great. (one seat faced directly into the temple, and the other seat looked back up the hill into the street lights of the market place)

Those pics are making me think twice =) Thanks for sharing!

 

[pinocchio2004]

If you're going for the atmosphere, you won't be disappointed. The nachos appetizer was very good and could have been a meal. Thank goodness I had filled up on the appetizer because the "mole poblano" was DISGUSTING! Think Alpo with carrots and a drier consistency. The man at the table next to us also ordered it and was passing it around to his family for a second opinion. They were all disgusted and couldn't drink enough water to get the dry chicken down. It was bad. Hope this was an isolated night. Might go back and order nachos. The restaurant itself is beautiful. Hubby liked what he ordered but I can't remember what it was. Kids mostly ate the nachos and their desserts. I think they liked their meals but can't remember what they ordered.

 

[Hopefully]

We went in October and I nearly cancelled our ADR because of all of the bad reviews here. But DH and DS wanted to eat here. I am very glad we did. It was the surprise of the trip. We all enjoyed our meals completely. OUr servicer was attentive, but not hovering. We had all the drinks we needed. I did not feel any more crowded together than at Le Cellier. The lighting is low, but with the lamp on our table I was easily able to read the menu. I have been in restaurants where this was not the case.
We enjoy the Cantina outside as well.
We will return to San Angel Inn in the future.

 

[beroh2253]

Went there twice for dinner in 07 and 08 and did like it. Also like the Cantina.

 

[PrincessKitty1]

Went there twice for dinner in 07 and 08 and did like it. Also like the Cantina.

Although I like San Angel Inn, I was very disappointed in the Cantina the last time I was there. The workers had a lot of trouble understanding what I meant by "vegetarian," and when they finally seemed to understand, all they could offer me was a salad.

Previously they had black bean burritos on a combination plate that was all vegetarian. It wasn't on the menu, but you could ask for it.

 

[Conan the Librarian]

We'd eat at StAI anytime. We love the ambiance and the food.

We sat on the river last time (May) and it was great. It was just dark enough that the only thing I could really see was my wife's face.

Can't ask for more!

 

[poeticdiabetic]

This picture is a keeper!

It is the very first picture that I've seen that came out right! All of the other pictures are too dark.

As for San Angel Inn, it was just OK. The veggies were terrible. The wait staff disappeared. The fish was good. The seafood appetizer was pretty good. The desserts were awful!

The one thing that I didn't like was that it seems like we were eating as animals on display at the zoo. Our table was nice, but squished between three other tables. I mean, you are really packed in.

But out particular table was right in sight of the 3 Cabelleros ride line. It seemed like people were grading my food choices. I didn't like the fact that our table was so close to the line, with every bite of food being seen by onlookers.

Me? I'm going back to Cantina San Angel. It's like a Taco Bell, only better. I'll do that for CS lunch, walk around the beautiful facility that houses San Angel, and gawk at those poor diners while I wait to ride that 3 Cabelleros ride.

 

[DVCJEN]

We have an ADR there this coming Thursday for lunch...it will be our first time back to San Angel since our honeymoon in 1991...I'm not sure about it but DH really wants to eat there. Do they serve chips & salsa before the meal? If so is the salsa good?

It is on par with what you might buy in the grocery store.

 

[stoudt6]

I would say San Angel Inn is the one true TS restaraunt where you will get an equal 50-50 split of good and bad reviews. I'm on the 50% of good reviews and food. That being said it's one of the hardest to get ARD's for dinner, and everytime we dine there I see people being turned away-even during Value season.

 

[Markstudy]

I would say San Angel Inn is the one true TS restaraunt where you will get an equal 50-50 split of good and bad reviews. I'm on the 50% of good reviews and food. That being said it's one of the hardest to get ARD's for dinner, and everytime we dine there I see people being turned away-even during Value season.

Yep...my wife got a kick out of watching how many people got turned away while we waited 5 minutes for our table. For every person with a ADR (in January during slow season)....there must have been 10 people turned away looking for a table.

People either love it or hate it.... But its always very very busy

 

[skater]

If you must go there for the atmosphere (and the atmosphere is nice - its worth waiting for a seat by the "water"), order the nachos appetizer and a drink. That should be a nice meal - otherwise IMO its not even worth a free DDP credit . The nachos appetizer is very good IMO, but out of 7 of us, none of us enjoyed our entrees.

 

[Markstudy]

its not even worth a free DDP credit

To the people that hate the food, I have a few questions?

Have you ever been to Mexico? The food is more authentic than Our TexMex ( I eat at Chillies every week for lunch and love it) but Mexican food and "American Mexican" are two very different things.

Somethings wrong when half the people love it and half hate it?

My best friend is Ohio born-and-raised and if its not meat & potatoes he hates it We enjoyed Epcot for the chance to eat something different... my buddies idea of Exotic Foods was going to Canada I don't know how many times I heard him ask - "can I get fries with that?" (nothing wrong with that...who doesn't love fries?)

 

[tomerin]

i just loved eating here. the atmosphere is just awesome and we had a marachi band playing while we were eating. it was just so very romantic.

the first time we ate here our server was good, not great, but we enjoyed ourselves enough to want to return. our waitress this past summer was just wonderful. we talked to her about her hometown, she asked about where we were from and she was so charming. to top it off her service was excellent.

food was average but enjoyable. i would recommend it.

do as a previous poster mentioned. if you can get a table by the water get it. you will just enjoy it even more

 

[skater]

To the people that hate the food, I have a few questions?

Have you ever been to Mexico? The food is more authentic than Our TexMex ( I eat at Chillies every week for lunch and love it) but Mexican food and "American Mexican" are two very different things.

Somethings wrong when half the people love it and half hate it?

My best friend is Ohio born-and-raised and if its not meat & potatoes he hates it We enjoyed Epcot for the chance to eat something different... my buddies idea of Exotic Foods was going to Canada I don't know how many times I heard him ask - "can I get fries with that?" (nothing wrong with that...who doesn't love fries?)

Fair question. Actually we have been to Mexico and enjoyed the food. We have been blessed enough to try and like lots of different foods. IMO, its just not good quality food.

 

[LSchrow]

we enjoyed SAI (btw, i've been to, & eaten in, mexico a number of times).
it is rather dark (think of it as a romantic evening in mexico ), with the bright colrs & decor that depics the country well.
our server was obviously new & a bit uncertain, but made up in attentiveness & friendliness what he lacked in "polished" experience.
food was very good (we found the variety a bit lacking, but had seen the menu in advance so were not surprised or disappointed). not the absolutely best mexican i've ever had, but no less authentic than the vast majority of WDW restaurant food (most is "americanized" to appeal to a broad market).

all in all, i would recommend that it is certainly worth a try to decide for yourselves ~ the atmosphere is one of the best in WS.
hth

 

[Cobbo]

To the people that hate the food, I have a few questions?

Have you ever been to Mexico? The food is more authentic than Our TexMex ( I eat at Chillies every week for lunch and love it) but Mexican food and "American Mexican" are two very different things.

Okay, I've gotta chime in...yup, I've been to Mexico several times and enjoyed the food. I've lived in CA, TX and FL, (all of which have more than their fair share of authentic mexican food as well), and I've gotta say that SAI does NOT stack up. The food is perpetually lousy and I've never had a good meal there. As I've said before it's the WDW restaurant that I'm consistently most disappointed at. I have such high hopes for it, because I love the setting, the concept and the "outside vibe," but in practice (as opposed to fantasy), the place is too dark, too crowded and I've repeatedly had bad service there. The food is nothing special (often soggy) and the flavors don't mesh or are missing. IMHO it has become about as authentic a food experience as how they've reworked El Rio Del Tiempo into the Three Caballeros and stipped that part of the pavillion of any culture as well. Inevitably I'll go again in about another two years to see if there has been any improvement, but I can't help but wish that Disney would just improve the place, revamp the menu and retrain the staff.

Ok, that speach to the side, I've gotta go OT for a moment just to share with Markstudy, that while I too enjoy meals at Chili's (who doesn't love their fajitas?), I'm much more a Carmelita's boy when I'm in Clw....

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Been there several times and been disapointed every time. You can't beat the atmosphere though. I say give it a try for yourself.