La Hacienda vs. San Angel??

[thejens]

Wondering if anyone has tried both?
I think La Hacienda is the one with the ride that has not gotten the best reviews and San Angel is the newer one? Thoughts? Food? Atmosphere?

[snowflakegirl]

It's actually San Angel Inn that is inside the pyramid next to the ride. La Hacienda de San Angel is next to the water. I've eaten at San Angel a few times, mostly because I like the idea of the pavilion and the feel of being outdoors while indoors...and my parents love Mexican food, I do too, but I've expanded my options to other places since I started traveling on my own. The last time I ate at San Angel Inn was in 2008...the tables are very crowded together. The food isn't bad...but I wouldn't say it's spectacular, either. Just decent. Service can be very hit or miss. I haven't been to La Hacienda, but have read some great reviews of the food.

[stephicakes]

Hi thejens

We've eaten at both and although I prefer the ambiance of San Angel Inn, we found the food much better at La Hacienda. We ate there this past September. The food was delicious and the servers were fun, polite, and fast.

What we did was eat at La Hacienda, visited La Cava del Tequila inside the Mexico pavilion, shopped around a bit and then did the boat ride. Best of both worlds!

[LudwigVonDrake]

I've eaten at both and San Angel Inn has great ambience and the food is good but not great. The tacos I had at the Hacienda were some of the most inedible food I've ever had. Bad, bad, bad in my book

[JerseyDad]

...I think I made commentary here before regarding the San Angel vs La Hacienda restaurants ...but I'm glad to do it once more

.....pretty simply put, San Angel is / was ...always a personal favorite of ours. The food is always good (as are the DRINKS) and the atmosphere is really wonderful. It was on our ADR's for every trip except our last one ...when we tried La Hacienda ...and LOVED IT.

...the difference is (other than 'atmosphere') in the food. San Angel has what I would describe a 'traditional' menu selection ...whereas La Hacienda has a menu that you might find in a "higher-end" Mexican restaurant.

.....I had a dish at La Hacienda that was "off the menu" as described by the waiter ....because the chef was trying some new dishes to see if they would include them eventually on the regular menu. The dish was a Pork Rib-Eye ...topped with a slightly spicy pineapple salsa ...and shredded red cabbage that was deep fried in a tempura batter. This completely knocked my socks off .. it was delicious!! The appetizer I had, Chiles toreados y chorizitos, was also a wonderful. Additionally, the Ensalada de la Hacienda ...is delicious, and my wife & oldest daughter still rave about it .....and it was only their salad course!!

....btw ....I had my SIL make negative comment on the tacos at La Hacienda (which I also had and though were delicious) ...and I then found out that the only taco 'experience' she had prior to that was the 'gourmet fare' that you can get at Taco Bell Don't expect Taco Bell here ...it's authentic pulled-shredded brisket and fresh toppings like pico de gallo with cilantro in it.

.....as a side note ...I recall that (maybe 3-4 years ago?) when we had dinner at San Angel ...they had varied the menu somewhat to include some "high end" restaurant type dishes that were not what I would label as 'traditional' Mexican offerings. I wonder if they (WDW) was testing the waters to see if that type of food would go over well in a restaurant like La Hacienda?

[thejens]

Thanks! La Hacienda sounds worth a try to me!

I really love authentic Mexican food, and though the worst Mex food I ever had was still enjoyable, in Disney i tend to expect more.

[Melanie]

I've eaten at both, many times. Food actually can be hit or miss both places. La Hacienda is worth a try, and I really love the decor/atmosphere there. If you are eating around sunset, the views out the windows around World Showcase Lagoon are just gorgeous.

[LVT]

La Hacienda at 9pm was good for our group of 4. We were along the back wall, but the view was still fun. (I even had photos). The food was good, if not extraordinary. Good enough for a park.

[CanadaLovesDisney]

San angel is consistently good as far as we are concerned!!!!!
However in Canada Taco Bell is the closest to Mexican we get to compare too

[fanofdisney]

We haven't been to SanAngel but we have been to La Hacienda. We loved our meal there. Our only problem was we had a large group (and an ADR) and we had to wait a while for our reservation, about an hour and a half!!! We ended up drinking a few margaritas while waiting... after a bit of complaining they finally got the other party who had our table to leave. I think they figured they would just stay for Illuminations Our reservation was for 7:30 and we were seated just before Illuminations started needless to say we were starving.....

[Pop Centurion]

We've done La Hacienda twice & San Angel once. Both times we really enjoyed the food & atmosphere at La Hacienda. It has become a must-do for us. San Angel was good but nothing to brag about. Food was okay, atmosphere great, but way too cramped due to the close tables.

[ckaranassos]

The reviews have been great to read. My question is which one would you recommend for a party of 9. We consist of 4 adults and 5 children (ages 9-17). We have reservations at San Angel. I thought the atmosphere would be great for the kids considering none of them are foodies. Loved to hear your thoughts.

[Janmac]

I am a fan of San Angel Inn but I don't know that I would book (any more) a group of 9 into this restaurant. As was mentioned, dining "outside" while inside is cool, as are the effects of the jungle and volcano, when they'lre all working.

However, the restaurant is not large so in the past when we've had reservations for only 6, we've been told we might not all be at the same table. We have been seated at one table for 6 but once with 9 and another time with 11 we were at more than one table.

Not sure what sort of food the non-foodie kids are interested in - you might check the menu listed at the info central tab at the top of the page. As was mentioned, there aren't a lot of tacos and burritos choices.

We're much more inclined to go to Marrakesh at Morocco with a larger group (or Biergarten). This restaurant is roomier than San Angel Inn and better able to handle larger groups. The less adventurous eaters have been happy with the shish kebabs and I've never heard a complaint about the dancer.

Jan

[Tigerinvestigator]

Food is good at both. We much prefer San Angel Inn because it has the best atmosphere. We rarely take a trip that we don't eat at San Angel Inn. We have reservations there two weeks from tomorrow!