San Angel Inn or Biergarten?

We've made ADR's for San Angel Inn next month, but not entirely sure we want to eat Mexican food after all. We booked it for the atmosphere; thought it looked really cool last time we went to Disney.

So now we are considering changing the res to Biergarten since it is still available for that evening. Would love to see the show and have some good German food although we aren't too excited about the table situation there. Would prefer individual tables rather than the long tables shared with people we don't know.

We keep going back and forth; maybe the Mexican food will be good? Maybe the Biergarten table would be fine? Which place is better food-wise? Atmosphere-wise?

Biergarten! The table seating isn't bad - it's always nice to meet new people!

BIergarten...

Lunch or dinner? I prefer dinner, there's a little more selection (or was). Sitting with other people isn't that bad, if they are cool, great, if not, it's easy enough to ignore them.

The beer is great as well, comes in quarts if you want! We've got a local german restaurant that's great, but not as good as the Biergarten.

I have only eaten at Biergarten, but it was great! Very lively, great atmosphere, and plenty of good food. If you leave hungry, something is wrong!

We are kind of shy people but didn't have a problem sharing a table at Biergarten with others. We chatted a bit and then were able to have our own conversation as well. I think you will enjoy it. The ambiance is great at San Angel as well, I don't think you'll be disappointed either way.

I love the Biergarten, but the table situation--well, it depends on the number of people in your party. If you have an odd number (like 3 or 5) there's a good chance that one of you will be seated across from a stranger. That's what happened one time that we went there. I don't mind chatting with strangers sitting next to me, but it felt awkward to have them directly across the table. They couldn't chat with their own party without indirectly involving me in the conversation and vice versa. If you have an even number of people in your party it should be easier to chat amongst yourselves and with the other party, if you so choose. The food (and beer!) there is very good and mostly authentic. My favorite dishes include the cucumber salad and German potato salad (both just like my mom used to make) and the Sauerbraten.

I also like the San Angel Inn. I know some people have complaints about how close the tables are together and how authentic the food is, but the atmosphere is so neat that I think it's a place that everyone should eat at at least once. :mickey:

San Angel Inn is a favorite of ours. The atmosphere is great and the food has been very good each and every time we have eaten there.

Last time we ate there we noticed the tables had been arranged differently. This gave the feel that the tables were not as close as before. Maybe it was an illusion:mickey: If it was the illusion worked:thumbsup:

Enjoy your trip!

Another vote for Biergarten... Fun atmosphere and good food with more variety, IMO. Unless the thought of talking to strangers gives you a panic attack, I'd say give it a shot.
Worst case scenario, you say "Hello" and that's the end of it. It's like sitting next to a stranger on an airplane. Some people like to have conversations, others just keep to themselves.

The ONLY thing San Angel has going for it is the atmopshere....the food and service was terrible....we tried twice....never again. !! :cool:

I love Biergarten. We typically go with a party of 7 so we don't sit with strangers. We did go as a party of 3 one time and sat with another party of 3. It was fine, we talked with them a bit but also had our own conversations. The show is really fun and the food is very good. We have a reservation for our trip in September!

I've never been to San Angel so I can't advise on that. I travel with bean and cheese haters so mexican is low on the list.

We love San Angel Inn, our favorite pavilion in WS. It has that Disney smell with the water ride going through it mixed in with the smell of Mexican food. The atmosphere is really cool and it's not as cramped as it would appear. My DW and I didn't really care for the meals we had there last year, but our DS was smart and ordered the steak. We all had a bite and it was really good.
We always avoided Biergarten for the same reason, not wanting to sit with strangers. You can't control who you end up sharing dinner with.
I say do San Angel Inn, order the steak and wrap up your meal with a nice boat ride afterwards.

San Angel is one of only two places I've had bad experiences (service and food) at Disney. I can't imagine a day when I ever go back. PLUS, I live in Cali so if I want good Mexican food I just stumble over my doorstep and place my order. WDW just doesn't get good Mexican.

Thanks! You've all given me lots to consider! We are a party of 3 (myself and two young adult daughters) and we are all rather introverted, so, like I said, we're torn, really wanting to try Biergarten for the food and entertainment, yet do not want to share a table with strangers. We've never been to San Angel either and I'm seeing that you either love it or hate it. I think we're going to keep our ADR for dinner there after all, and if we hate the food, might just have to get something at Sommerfest later! :mickey:

I'll also be on the minority side here - I would select San Angel Inn rather than Biergarten. I'm not a big fan of the food at Biergarten though the entertainment was pretty cool. Also, the last time we ate there, our table mates just totally ignored us - not a lot of fun.

Unlike others, we have not experienced bad service at San Angel Inn at all. We've also enjoyed the food at this location. Plus, we really enjoy the atmosphere!

Like Linda, we also prefer San Angel to Biergarten, though I suppose we're in the minority. The atmosphere is lovely, and I actually think the food is pretty solid, especially at lunch. It's not your standard Tex-Mex joint, which may bother some guests. I don't know. Maybe I've just been lucky.

Biergarten!! Great food, atmosphere, beer.... and we love sitting with complete strangers! DH and I have met some really fun people this way. Sure, there were a couple deadbeats over the years, but overall it's a great experience. It's actually quite easy to have your own conversations as well.

Heck... You sit so close at San Angel, you might as we'll be at Biergarten! The food is better, and you can actually see what you're eating!

We also love to hold our one liter beers up high and belt out the toast they do. Really makes the super quiet or anti-social people around us look at us like we're so uncultured. I've been dying to yell out, "I gotta have more cowbell!" after the cowbell song, too!

We prefer La Hacienda to San Angel Inn anyway.

San Angel..Don't share tables..:marg:ive eaten at both. San Angel was good the last few times, has a good atmosphere. Biergarten has some entertainment and :beer: but the food is heavy and I don't thing quite as good since its a buffet

I have been to both places multiple times, and I would say definitely go to Biergarten over San Angel, the food is delicious and more importantly consistently good (whereas San Angel is VERY hit or miss). The entertainment at Biergarten is also very good!

I'm in the Biergarten over San Angel party too. My husband and I have given up on San Angel, the atmosphere is nice, but we have never had a truly good meal there. At Biergarten it's true that if you don't have a large party then you will be seated with other people, but this has never been problematic for us. The last time we ate there we were seated with a party of 3 and a party of 1. All of us cheered with the entertainment and had lively discussion, it was nice. :mickey:

Just an update ... we ended up choosing San Angel, and will not ever choose that place again. We had reservations and had to wait about 20-25 minutes past that time to be seated in an area where we didn't even get to appreciate the atmosphere, up front with my back to the room basically. We sat and waited another 10 minutes or so for our server to show up, and then when we got our food, it just wasn't even good! Next time we'll try Biergarten!

On another note, we had exceptional food and service at Les Chef's de France, Nine Dragon and Yak & Yeti. Food was good at Tony's Townsquare Restaurant, but the server basically came back and asked if I forgot to add his tip, which I thought was inappropriate on his part to basically ask for a tip. I leave cash tips and then told him so.

Anyway, we like to try new places to eat with each trip, and of course go back to the favorites, so at least we can check San Angel off the list!