SBETigg
09-04-2007, 04:29 PM
San Angel Inn- Lunch (1 pm) Monday, 8/20
Mexico is one of my favorite pavilions, for the amazing atmosphere, neat shops, and the fact that they have an actual ride. I like eating in Mexico as an excuse to take a seat and soak up the atmosphere for longer than it takes to shop. My kids insist on eating in Mexico, so there’s really no choice anyway. We go to WDW, we eat at the San Angel Inn. Every time.
This time, it all seems a little more festive somehow. The seating is too close together, as usual, but the colorful carved chairs and smoking volcano put me in the mood to shout ole. I don’t, of course, because that would be weird. Our friendly server tends us as soon as we’re seated, takes our drink order, and brings us chips and salsa. I’m encouraged to find that the chips and salsa (while still standard Tostitos products) seem a little fresher and tastier than they were in the past. By the time my Mango margarita comes and the mariachi band begins to play, I’m a happy, relaxed woman. (Yes, there is a mariachi band. No, it’s not just the margarita talking). The frozen mango margarita is not the same as the icy ones served in a stand out front but actually tastes like fresh pureed mango. Really yummy.
The mariachi band plays out front, near the shops. Shari, you asked if the band could play something for a family event? I believe they could, but due to closeness of tables, I think the performance would still be out front and not in the actual restaurant area. They seemed to come back and play something every twenty minutes or so. I don’t recall seeing so much of the mariachi band in the past but it was quite nice and really added to the pavilion’s charm.
On to the food.
We sampled all of the appetizer options. I got the Ceviche (seafood marinated in lime juice with tomatoes, chiles, onions and cilantro) and was really pleased with it. Very spicy and a proper firm texture to the dish, mostly bay scallops. No one else wanted to try my ceviche, so I had it all to myself.
The DH and DS opted for the Sope Tradicional (grilled soft corn shell filled with chicken and refried beans covered with a fresh green tomato sauce, fresh cheese and onions, served over a bed of lettuce). Again, a good choice and a good sized (not too big or too small) appetizer portion.
The DD tried the Sopa Azteca(traditional tortilla soup with avocado, cheese and pasilla pepper ) which had a great flavor, chicken broth-ish, without being overly spicy.
The DD (not a fan of spice) also chose the seemingly safe Tacos Al Carbon (flour tortillas filled with grilled chicken, peppers, onions, guacamole, and sour cream) for her main dish. She was a bit disappointed. While it was not too spicy, it just seemed a little bland and boring, not quite what she expected, with an abundance of onions.
The DS made a much better choice with Sirloin Asado Con Chilaquiles (grilled sirloin steak with Chilaquiles- layers of fried corn tortilla, green tomatillo sauce, topped with fresh cheese, sour cream, onions- and served with Mexican rice and beans). The Chilaquiles were tasty, interesting, and something new for us. The steak was prepared appropriately. The rice and beans were typical of Mex and Tex Mex restaurants everywhere, nothing special but not bad.
The DH probably would have preferred the DS’s dish, but wasn’t entirely unhappy with his Plato Mexicano(grilled beef taco, chicken enchilada and cheese quesadilla, served with black refried beans, guacamole and Mexican rice) offering fairly standard Mexican restaurant fare.
My choice was one of the chef’s selections, which was no longer a pork dish but instead offered a boneless chicken breast with mole sauce served with a cheese stuffed poblano pepper, rice, and beans. No stranger to traditional Mexican food, I love a good mole, and the sauce lived up to expectation. Unfortunately, my chicken was rubber, overcooked, and practically inedible. I would have preferred chunks of chicken stewed in the sauce over an obvious pre-grilled then microwaved breast. Fortunately, the roasted poblano pepper oozing with cheese and fresh veggies made up for my disappointment in the chicken.
We were all too full for dessert but ordered a few flans for the table anyway. The flan was very good-- creamy and firm, with a nice light sugar syrup. But I could only eat a few bites.
Service was good, prompt, and helpful. Soft drinks were refilled frequently and our server even fetched a flashlight to help a fellow patron find the battery to the BlackBerry that he dropped during his meal.
On a scale of:
-Highly Recommended: Must try
-Recommended: A good one to try.
-Not bad: You might give it a try.
-Unsatisfactory: I can’t recommend it.
I’m torn between Recommended and Not Bad. Overall, the food was good with a few misses—but there are a lot of good food choices in World Showcase and it can be so hard to pick one over another. If you like Mexican food and you’re willing to take the good with the occasional bad, it’s a good choice. But it won’t exceed expectation and is likely on par with your standard local Mexican choices with the exception of the amazing atmosphere and frozen real fruit margaritas, which make it worth further consideration.
Mexico is one of my favorite pavilions, for the amazing atmosphere, neat shops, and the fact that they have an actual ride. I like eating in Mexico as an excuse to take a seat and soak up the atmosphere for longer than it takes to shop. My kids insist on eating in Mexico, so there’s really no choice anyway. We go to WDW, we eat at the San Angel Inn. Every time.
This time, it all seems a little more festive somehow. The seating is too close together, as usual, but the colorful carved chairs and smoking volcano put me in the mood to shout ole. I don’t, of course, because that would be weird. Our friendly server tends us as soon as we’re seated, takes our drink order, and brings us chips and salsa. I’m encouraged to find that the chips and salsa (while still standard Tostitos products) seem a little fresher and tastier than they were in the past. By the time my Mango margarita comes and the mariachi band begins to play, I’m a happy, relaxed woman. (Yes, there is a mariachi band. No, it’s not just the margarita talking). The frozen mango margarita is not the same as the icy ones served in a stand out front but actually tastes like fresh pureed mango. Really yummy.
The mariachi band plays out front, near the shops. Shari, you asked if the band could play something for a family event? I believe they could, but due to closeness of tables, I think the performance would still be out front and not in the actual restaurant area. They seemed to come back and play something every twenty minutes or so. I don’t recall seeing so much of the mariachi band in the past but it was quite nice and really added to the pavilion’s charm.
On to the food.
We sampled all of the appetizer options. I got the Ceviche (seafood marinated in lime juice with tomatoes, chiles, onions and cilantro) and was really pleased with it. Very spicy and a proper firm texture to the dish, mostly bay scallops. No one else wanted to try my ceviche, so I had it all to myself.
The DH and DS opted for the Sope Tradicional (grilled soft corn shell filled with chicken and refried beans covered with a fresh green tomato sauce, fresh cheese and onions, served over a bed of lettuce). Again, a good choice and a good sized (not too big or too small) appetizer portion.
The DD tried the Sopa Azteca(traditional tortilla soup with avocado, cheese and pasilla pepper ) which had a great flavor, chicken broth-ish, without being overly spicy.
The DD (not a fan of spice) also chose the seemingly safe Tacos Al Carbon (flour tortillas filled with grilled chicken, peppers, onions, guacamole, and sour cream) for her main dish. She was a bit disappointed. While it was not too spicy, it just seemed a little bland and boring, not quite what she expected, with an abundance of onions.
The DS made a much better choice with Sirloin Asado Con Chilaquiles (grilled sirloin steak with Chilaquiles- layers of fried corn tortilla, green tomatillo sauce, topped with fresh cheese, sour cream, onions- and served with Mexican rice and beans). The Chilaquiles were tasty, interesting, and something new for us. The steak was prepared appropriately. The rice and beans were typical of Mex and Tex Mex restaurants everywhere, nothing special but not bad.
The DH probably would have preferred the DS’s dish, but wasn’t entirely unhappy with his Plato Mexicano(grilled beef taco, chicken enchilada and cheese quesadilla, served with black refried beans, guacamole and Mexican rice) offering fairly standard Mexican restaurant fare.
My choice was one of the chef’s selections, which was no longer a pork dish but instead offered a boneless chicken breast with mole sauce served with a cheese stuffed poblano pepper, rice, and beans. No stranger to traditional Mexican food, I love a good mole, and the sauce lived up to expectation. Unfortunately, my chicken was rubber, overcooked, and practically inedible. I would have preferred chunks of chicken stewed in the sauce over an obvious pre-grilled then microwaved breast. Fortunately, the roasted poblano pepper oozing with cheese and fresh veggies made up for my disappointment in the chicken.
We were all too full for dessert but ordered a few flans for the table anyway. The flan was very good-- creamy and firm, with a nice light sugar syrup. But I could only eat a few bites.
Service was good, prompt, and helpful. Soft drinks were refilled frequently and our server even fetched a flashlight to help a fellow patron find the battery to the BlackBerry that he dropped during his meal.
On a scale of:
-Highly Recommended: Must try
-Recommended: A good one to try.
-Not bad: You might give it a try.
-Unsatisfactory: I can’t recommend it.
I’m torn between Recommended and Not Bad. Overall, the food was good with a few misses—but there are a lot of good food choices in World Showcase and it can be so hard to pick one over another. If you like Mexican food and you’re willing to take the good with the occasional bad, it’s a good choice. But it won’t exceed expectation and is likely on par with your standard local Mexican choices with the exception of the amazing atmosphere and frozen real fruit margaritas, which make it worth further consideration.