San Angel Inn Restaurante — Restaurant in Bay Lake

First Impression

To get to the restaurant, you have to enter through the pyramid in Mexico Pavilion. Seriously, talk about setting the scene. As you walk past the fountains, store fronts, tequila tastings and kiosks you make your way to the back and see what looks like an indoor out door restaurant in Mexico overlooking some Aztec statues, carvings, and volcanos (from the 3 Caballeros ride). We used the QR code to scan in for our reservations, and within a few minutes were called to be seated. There really isn't a bad view or seating option, but we happened to get seated right where the boat from the ride passes by (which was my preferred location). Staff was incredibly friendly, accommodating, and helpful.

Dining Experience

Menu options were all Mexican cuisine, except for the kids menu which included some American child favorites like mac and cheese, and chicken nuggets. We ordered enchiladas and tacos. Food did not take long to arrive, and we had chips and cocktails while we waited. The food was delicious had excellent presentation, and served hot. But lets be honest, you are paying for the scenery, which does not disappoint. As far as drinks I tried NPH's creation Black Magic, which while tasty was a hefty $21 a glass, so I only had 1. While it is not listed on the menu, the Sangria in Mexico was definitely my favorite drink. Fruity and not too sweet, with a touch of whiskey in it, so it has quite a kick. The desserts listed looked really interesting, especially the sweet corn ice cream and the tres leches de horchata, but we did not have the opportunity to try any. If you happen to try either one of those, mention in the comments what they're like. I definitely want to experience them in the future.

Pros and Cons

Pros: Scenery, Tacos, Friendly Staff, Kid friendly options, great drink & dessert menu

Cons: Pricey, Need a reservation, Reservations can be hard to get

Overall Restaurant Rating

Wait Time 4 - You do need reservations, but as long as you have them you will be sitting within 5 minutes of your reservation time

Staff Helpful/friendliness 4- This is Disney, so everyone on staff is above average. Everyone is super kind, friendly and accommodating

Comfort of Seating 3- Seating was comfortable, and somewhat* close to other tables, average

View/appearance 5 - whole other level - You enter a pyramid, to find yourself transported into Mexico at night. This is Disney level magic, and what you're paying for.

Menu Diversity 5- I am going with a 5 on this because in addition to having tacos, enchiladas, & mole, they also have tasty (more than just salad) pescatarian, and vegetarian dishes.

Food Appearance 4 - above average, tasteful presentation

Taste & Temperature 4 - the Mole seriously pushes this to a 4, maybe even a 5, I had to give the chef my compliments because it was the best I ever had.

Portion Size 3 - I'm going to say portions were about what one would expect. Not too much, not too little

Kid Friendly Options 4 - I love that they had tacos, and quesadillas for kids who want to try Mexican Cuisine, and also chicken fingers and Mac and Cheese for those kids who just cant leave the comfort zone.

Drink Selection 5 - The drink specials on the menu are all outstanding, and I love that they have flights. They also have a full bar in addition to what's listed.

Desert Selection 4- I can not give this a 5, since I haven't tasted any of the desserts, but the selections are creative, and sound amazing.

Price 3 - I'm going to go with average since you are paying for the experience and the scenery. It is about what I would expect to pay. Not a deal by any means, but also not overcharged for what you get.

OVERALL SCORE 4.0 Stars.

I would definitely come back to this restaurant, it is one of my all time...

San Angel Inn is a sit down restaurant located in the World Showcase in Epcot Orlando. They serve a nice selection of Mexican appetizers and entrees.

Typically this restaurant is very busy and you should try and make an reservation online ahead of time. However, you will often see that it is booked solid months in advance.

On our trip this week, we tried to make a reservation online and it said there were no spots available. Instead, we decided to go to the San Angel Inn about 10-15 minutes before they opened at 11:30. We were able to put our name on the list for a "First seat available" spot. We actually were given a table for 4 right along the water almost immediately, so definitely visit the restaurant early and try to put your name in the list, even if the online reservation system says no seats are available. You might get luck like we did.

Food: The selection is good. We tried the guacamole which came with Chicharrons and a sprinkle of pineapple. We really enjoyed the tortilla chips they had a nice texture. My wife tried the fish tacos. The dish come with 3 large fish tacos. Overall, my wife said they were good, but they were a little bit "Fishy" according to her. I tried the chicken enchiladas. This was a nice sized portion that came in an iron skillet. The chicken was dark meat, which is good, but just remember this if you only like white meat. My niece tried the vegetarian dish called, "Huarache Vegetariano". This was an interesting dish that had veggies and beans on top of fried masa dough. Overall, the food was good, but not amazing.

Service: Our server was extremely friendly and did a great job. He had multiple tables that he was responsible for, so he would disappear for long periods of time so it was understandable, but overall the service and staff is great.

Atmosphere: The atmosphere is what really is great about this place. It's very dark but you definitely feel like you are somewhere else as you look over and see the temple along the river with the volcano in the distance. This is probably the main selling point of eating here.

Price: As with just about any place at a theme park, the food is not cheap. In our case, a family of 4 was almost $150, which included a tip. This was for 1 appetizer, 1 soda, 3 glasses of water and 4 entrees. The average entrée was a little over $20. This is probably average though for a sit down restaurant in a theme park.

Overall: Overall, I think it is worth it to eat at San Angel Inn, even it it is just one time to experience it. The food isn't amazing, but it is still good, and the service if friendly. It's a little expensive, so it might be worth it even if you get a table and just get a round of appetizers. It would be a good place to take a break from exploring Epcot rather than buy food from a kiosk and having to stand around eating. At least here you can relax at a table in a pretty cool atmosphere with some good...

If you want a quick review, it's worth it. The food is great, the restaurant was clean, theming is awesome, the drinks were fantastic, and the service is that of a fine dining establishment.

Longer review:

This dining experience occurred during May 2022 at dusk.

Food 4/5: We started with the Guacamole ($13) and shared a Sopa Azteca ($12). The guacamole was interesting, it had mange and pumpkin seeds. Instead of chips, it was served with chicharrones that had a drizzle of salsa valentina (a little spicy). It's a big amount, good enough to share between 2-3 people. The soup was the highlight. Great presentation, so much flavor, and so filling. We were able to share the soup between two people. If you are between the two, go with the soup. For dinner, my wife and I shared the Ribeye tacos ($30). It came with 4 tortillas and we each made two tacos. It was delicious. For dessert, we shared the Tres Leche de Horchata ($10), it was very sweet, but a little dry, you needed to soak it up in the sauce.

Customer service 5/5: Our waiter was named Manuel. He killed it. He must of checked-in on us 10 times during the entire dining experience. He made excellent dinner recommendations, kept our water full, and was just so kind. We were not in a rush and he brought everything out a great pace. We didn't feel rushed and we just enjoyed our time. Real professional

Price 3/5: This is a sit-down restaurant in a Disney theme park. Everything is going to be overpriced. The good news is, the food here is actually pretty dang good. The theming is really neat and the wait staff is professional. The drinks are strong and tasty. I feel like you are getting your money's worth for the food. The drinks are a little overpriced.

Cleanliness 4/5: No trash on the floor, a party would get up and leave, the wait staff would clean the table, replace the tablecloth, and place the new dinnerware. Glasses were clean, plates were clean, the restaurant smelled wonderful.

Theming 4/5: Everyone wants to sit as close as possible to the pyramid. We had a late reservation and the restaurant was at maybe 50% capacity. Our table was extremely close to the pyramid. I loved it, I can see how sitting further away from the pyramid and closer to the marketplace would be an issue (lots of noise), fortunately for me, I was not in this predicament (just be aware of this).

Drinks 4/5: Again, you are inside a sit-down restaurant at a Disney theme park. Be ready to pay those Disney prices. I had the La Cava Avocado ($17) and a Blood Orange ($17). My wife had the San Angel Inn Margarita ($23) and the Cucumber ($15). The drinks were perfect. Not too sweet, and just the right amount of alcohol. We were feeling good. The presentation was nice. This rating is just for the quality of the drinks, not the pricing.

Overall rating...