La Cantina de San Angel
Food Type: Mexican
Dining Plan: One Quick Service or One Snack
Cost: Entrées are $10-$12; Deserts are $4; Margaritas cost $9 each
Unique Items: Most everything
How La Cantina Seating Works: From 11am to around 3pm, guests may take their food from La Cantina de San Angel and eat it in the air-conditioned La Hacienda de San Angel restaurant that sits adjacent to La Cantina de San Angel. Those eating at La Cantina may also choose to eat in the covered, outdoor seating section next to the restaurant. After about 3:30pm, La Cantina guests must either sit in the La Cantina seating section or find somewhere else to sit because La Hacienda de San Angel begins seating guests for table service dinner at 4pm. La Hacienda de San Angel has a capacity of about 250 people and the dedicated La Cantina seating area has a capacity of about 150 people.
Name Confusion: There are three San Angel restaurants, all of which are operated by the same company. San Angel Inn is the table service restaurant inside of the pyramid. La Hacienda de San Angel is the table service restaurant that overlooks the World Showcase Lagoon. La Cantina de San Angel is the counter service location outside on the World Showcase promenade.
Advantages: Food is colorful, fresh, and presented better than most counter service meals. The dedicated seating area is the most pleasant in Epcot, covered and overlooking the World Showcase Lagoon. Illuminations can be seen from most tables (disclaimer in disadvantages below). The quality of the ingredients is higher than before Cantina was refurbished. Prices are in line with other Epcot counter service options. Chips and salsa are filling and a nice side dish. Churros are delicious and count as a snack credit or dessert on the Disney Dining Plan.
Disadvantages: La Cantina’s most glaring disadvantage is its lack of seating after 4pm and specifically after 8pm. Illuminations viewing spots are in high demand and La Cantina’s seating area sits right on the World Showcase Lagoon, offering a prime view of the show. You’ll see a lot of people sitting at La Cantina without food from 8pm until Illuminations begins at 9pm, either sipping slowly on a margarita or simply sitting with nothing at all. This can be aggravating to those who simply want to enjoy a late meal or those who wanted to eat a meal while watching Illuminations, but arrived after all the seats were taken. Disney does not police the area well, probably because they don’t want to make a scene telling customers who paid for Park admission to scram from a public place inside the Park. If you see a table with empty chairs, you might ask to join whoever is sitting there. It’s possible that a Disney employee will ask a group who isn’t eating to leave a table, but it is usually an uncomfortable experience. If there are no empty tables and you would like to sit, I would recommend taking your food up to the Norway Pavilion, which is just a short walk away. The seating area behind Kringla Bakeri og Café offers plentiful covered seating and it is accessible from outside, so you don’t even have to enter the counter service to get to the tables.
Portions are large enough to satisfy one, but it’s unlikely one entrée will serve two. The menu is somewhat limited with just four entrées – beef tacos, chicken tacos, nachos, and cheese empanadas. At $10-$12 per entrée, La Cantina is not an inexpensive meal. It takes longer to prepare and serve the food than most other counter service locations. There are only two kids’ meal options – fried chicken nuggets or a fried cheese empanada. A grilled cheese quesadilla or simple taco option would be a nice addition for those who prefer something that at least appears to be “healthy.”
Value: Above average. La Cantina serves freshly prepared food with sensible portions in a pleasant setting. While $12 is not a cheap meal, it’s only about $3 more than you would pay for a burger and fries or small portion of teriyaki elsewhere. In other words, the slightly elevated cost is justified considering the quality of experience you are likely to receive.
Reputation: La Cantina de San Angel reopened in September 2010 after a lengthy refurbishment that improved the seating area, food quality, and presentation. If you’re in the mood for a quicker Mexican meal than you would find at San Angel Inn, La Hacienda de San Angel, or La Cava del Tequila, I have no hesitation in recommending La Cantina. For a margarita, I would still recommend going inside the Mexico Pavilion to La Cava del Tequila, which serves a superior alcoholic drink to La Cantina. They will also provide a takeout cup if you would like to enjoy your drink on the promenade and serve appetizer-style food at prices similar to La Cantina. While you’ll find a more gourmet experience at La Cava, the food isn’t as filling as a meal at La Cantina. For more information on alcohol at Epcot, see my “How to Drink Around the World at Epcot’s World Showcase” guide, which provides a review of the alcoholic beverage offerings at each of the World Showcase countries.
In closing, I have enjoyed La Cantina de San Angel and early reports indicate that others are enjoying it as well. If that changes, I will update this review.
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