Is San Angel Inn Better Than it Used to Be?

[skater]

Several years ago, my family had a disappointing meal here - poor food and poor service. I'm going with my sister in February. She loves Mexican, but I hesitate to take her here. Love the atmosphere though. I love both tex mex type food and more authentic Mexican food. I just want it to be good quality.

 

[sue_gowin]

I'm wondering the same thing after a similar experience a few years ago. We did go to La Hacienda last year and the year before that and had fabulous service and meals both times. It's a nice restaurant, definitely not a San Angel Inn atmosphere, but the food was great!

 

[TheRustyScupper]

Our Ratings of San Angel Inn Restaurante: (rev 6/1/2013)
. . . food price value: C
. . . food quality: B
. . . food quantity per serving: B
. . . food prep speed: C
. . . food selection: B
. . . seating quantity: C
. . . seating comfort: C
. . . eatery atmosphere: B
. . . eatery convenience: C
. . . staff friendliness: B
. . . staff attentiveness: B
. . . character interaction: n/a

NOTE1: Eatery inside the Mexico pavilion serving lunch
and dinner. As with many WDW restaurants, the price is
pretty steep for the food quality and quantity. Ambiance of
the restaurant is quiet and serene, which cannot be found
in most WDW establishments. The view of the "river" and
the overhead "sky" makes for an enjoyable meal. The Mexican
food is not too Americanized; good for the South-of-the-
Border food enthusiast. The lunch & dinner soups, entrées,
desserts, chef specials are the pretty much the same. There
are, differences in the traditional Mexican lunch & dinner
meals. As with other eateries at Disney, the meal portions
are ample enough for even big eaters. Per Disney, eatery is
the only one in Mexico to officially honor the TIW card.

NOTE2: Of all the Epcot country eateries, we believe San
Angel is probably the most authentic tasting of the country
being represented. The menu items listed as "Traditional
Mexican Dinner" are very close to real Mexico. The ambiance
is arguably the best in the WDW World Showcase, with the
ceiling "night sky" and the overview of the "river".

 

[Sweet Melissa]

I've always enjoyed it, but I still think there have been noticeable improvements in the last four years or so.

 

[AThrillingChase]

I would say the food has definitely improved from the first time I went to SAI years ago, though I can't say what trip it was for sure anymore! But the last 2 trips I have eaten both times and it was delicious. I traveled with 2 different sets of people and all liked it. Most recently, my extended family, who prefers authentic mexican really enjoyed it.

I usually get the tortilla soup. They bring out a bowl of ingredients, cheeses, fresh avocado, etc, and then pour the hot broth over top at the table. I also get one of the appetizers with black beans and chicken. I know it seems ridiculous to eat soup in FL...but it is so good that I just have to order it! And it is nice and cool inside Mexico. The atmosphere really is gorgeous.

 

[AThrillingChase]

I forgot to add, the service was wonderful both of those trips. Always came to check on my drink but also received the check quickly and never had to ask someone to come to the table for anything.

 

[luvallprincesses]

We had an excellent meal here in Dec after a not so good one a few years prior. Great quality and quantity. I have to say my only complaint was I could just not adjust to the darkness for some reason. I felt like I couldn't see what I was putting in my mouth.

 

[Micca]

We haven't been there in forever, but from what I've seen here the food is much better than it was 10-15 years ago. At least they aren't serving Doritos anymore.

 

[roselark]

You might think about giving La Hacienda de San Angel a try. I have been there 3 times and loved it each time. It is one of the few ADRs I try to get on each trip now.

 

[Poohs100AcreWood]

I was there last Sept. and loved it. My waiter was attentive without being intrusive and the food was wonderful. I was there on a slower weekday, so that could've contributed, but I liked it so much that I booked it again this year.

 

[POTCfan]

We ate there in June (for the first time). The food was fine. It would have been a much more enjoyable experience had we not been sitting up against the building next to the pathway to the kitchen.

 

[Hopefully]

A couple of years ago now, I had an ADR there because DH & DS wanted to eat there. I almost cancelled it a few times based on the terrible reviews here.
It was the surprise winner of the whole trip. It was excellent. Food was delicious, service was great and as always the ambience is fun.
Many have commented that they feel SAI has improved with the advent of La Hacienda. They are owned by the same company and effort has gone into both.
Try it, I bet you will be surprised.

 

[GadgetTheInventor]

My family has enjoyed eating there during the last several years, and makes a point to eat there every trip. The servers have been wonderful to us and the ambiance relaxing...much more relaxing than LHdSA. We aren't foodies by any means, but we enjoyed the meal quite a bit. The chef and server here were very accommodating to my food allergies. I know this hasn't been the case for others, but it was in my situation.

And no, it isn't like authentic Mexican food at all. In Mexico, there are bugs and hairs in your food and you have to constantly worry about food poisoning. You know that it is recommended there that you take medicine every 6 months to destroy the parasites in your body from the food you eat? I don't really miss eating food in Mexico at all and this place is nice when I don't want to cook it myself or listen to my MIL.

 

[brockash]

Several years ago, my family had a disappointing meal here - poor food and poor service. I'm going with my sister in February. She loves Mexican, but I hesitate to take her here. Love the atmosphere though. I love both tex mex type food and more authentic Mexican food. I just want it to be good quality.

We did San Angel Inn last Sept. and it would take A LOT to get us to go back. We had the worst service we've every had anywhere in our life...took almost 45 mins. to get our bill after we asked for it and the waiter was just really rude. The atmosphere was nice and honestly the main reason we booked it, the food was ok, nothing great but wasn't horrible, but the service was absolutely horrendous. I can't imagine we'll ever go back.

 

[clapton]

Ate there for the first time in April and we were very happy with both the food and the service.

 

[Dizzytime]

"Better than it used to be?" Way too subjective, but we were there last Jan and, again, was one of the best meals of our trip. Can't wait to go back.

 

[skater]

"Better than it used to be?" Way too subjective, but we were there last Jan and, again, was one of the best meals of our trip. Can't wait to go back.

What did you like about it?

 

[skater]

I am a little encouraged to give it another try based on all the positive responses. Maybe we can wait for a table by the "water." This is my sister's first real trip to Disney World and I'm trying to set the Disney hook with this trip .

 

[pigletto]

I am thinking it has to be better. I remember when we were planning our first trip (in 2008) the reviews were bad bad bad. I really wanted to try it and decided to go in with a very open mind. I loved the atmosphere. However, the food was bad bad bad. One of the highlights was speaking to no less than 3 people about dd being a vegetarian, getting her options, ordering her food, waiter dropping it off and her taking a big mouthful of what turned out to be chicken . It was so dark and it was so mixed together that she didn't realize it until she was chewing. The rest of the food was gross. And we are not picky by any means. It ranged from dry to over cooked to over seasoned to under seasoned. Yuck.
Reviews were steadily bad for a few years after that too. And then at some point it just stopped. I didn't see the San Angel hate that I had before. So I don't know if it was a menu or management change, but I would be willing to try again.

 

[tiki23]

This trip will be our 5th meal at San Angel Inn; we've never had a bad meal there. In fact, all of our meals have been great; the food was fresh, very tasty and the service was wonderful. Servers attentive but not hovering, my daughter called them 'ninja waiters.' Our servers made excellent menu suggestions and one one occasion, brought us the recipe for an authentic dish, Chiles en Nogada, that was on the menu and is usually served at weddings. The kitchen had done an excellent job with it.

I'm sure we'll make a reservation for SAI on our Princess Half Marathon trip, too, as it is my sister's favorite.