Going to Epcot? Be sure to eat at Mexico! (San Angel Inn (Orlando, Florida))

Member Name: gemzeh

Product:	San Angel Inn (Orlando, Florida)
Date:	08/01/09 (82 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Stunning scenery, intimate setting, great food, awesome restaurant

Disadvantages: It's in Florida! Damn.

I have been to Epcot (a Disney theme park in Florida) quite a few times, and each time I go, I make sure that whatever else happens, my family and I meet up again for lunch at the San Angel Inn at the World Showcase. This is one of my favourite restaurants in the world, as it has a terrific atmosphere and wonderful food, so I thought I'd review it in case you're going to Florida and get the opportunity to stop by this restaurant for a meal.

The restaurant itself is situated in World Showcase, which is an area of the Epcot park that recreates small parts of countries around the world and gives a flavour of what each country is like, what food it has, as well as some smaller models of famous landmarks or features. The San Angel Inn is based in 'Mexico' in the world showcase, and can be accessed by going through the main entrance of the Mexico pavilion, which has been built to look like a Mesoamerican pyramid. You can get to the restaurant by going through a display and Mexican artwork and then walking through the market place (which is set up to resemble a Mexican market). Each time I go to this restaurant, I like to first go on the boat ride next to the restaurant (the attraction in Mexico), as whilst you are on the boat (which takes you on a tour of 'Mexico'), you will see the restaurant above in all its intimately lit glory, which increases anticipation about the upcoming meal, and it's just lovely to set the scene by going on a gentle boat ride! For this review, I'm going to discuss my most recent trip to the restaurant, which was in the summer.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, we gave our name to the waiter (you usually have to reserve a table at the start of the day, as the restaurant is very popular), and were shown to our table. Then a selection of nachos and dips were brought over for us to eat before we ordered. These taste like normal nachos and dip, and were moderately spicy. I found these to be really nice and crunchy, and a great way to get the conversation going as we were passing nachos around the table and making contented noises! From past experience at the San Angel Inn, however, I knew not to eat too many of these as the main courses are always very filling and I wanted to save some room for later. Everyone in the party (with the exception of my younger brother, as you have to be 21 to drink alcohol in the USA) ordered alcohol to accompany the meal. The men had beer, which they thought was very refreshing. My mum and I decided to order cocktails (naturally), which came in huge glasses and tasted incredible! I had a strawberry flavoured frozen margarita, and it was amazing - very fruity and with a real kick to it. When the main meal came there was just so much food! The great thing about Mexican food is that it's really easy to share, so we were all able to try each other's dishes. The restaurant itself is also attended by lots of families and other tourists, and they didn't seem to mind this sort of thing! I had the Plato Mexicano as my main course, which is a selection of Mexican food all on one plate. There was a grilled beef taco, a chicken enchilada, and a cheese quesadilla. These were served with black refried beans, guacamole and Mexican rice. I thought this dish was great as there were so many different bits and pieces to try, and my favourite meals tend to be where there are lots of different things going on. I found eating this meal really delicious and fun as there was so much variety and it certainly wasn't boring. Although everyone else really enjoyed their meals, mine was definitely the most aesthetically appealing, and it gave everyone food envy! The meat was cooked to perfection (particularly in the grilled beef taco), and everything was quite spicy, (but not so much as to make it uncomfortable to eat). I also really loved the refried beans, and the rice was also nicely cooked.

The atmosphere and scenery at the San Angel Inn is probably the thing that strikes you the most about the place. It is just beautiful. Disney don't do things by halves, and so as you can imagine, this is a really clever interpretation of a Mexican landscape, with lots of attention to detail. As you sit down at your table, the intimate atmosphere will strike you, as little lights that sit on the tables light the whole restaurant. There is the bustling market place, which you can see on one side of the restaurant, and below the restaurant are the boats going by. However, it is the massive striking backdrop to all of this that will stick in your mind - it is a giant picture of a volcano that looks incredibly realistic (please see the photo above), and the backdrop of the sky is this beautiful purple colour, which is just stunning to look at. Depending what is going on in the market place, you can usually hear a little of this too, be it a mariachi band, or Mexican dancing. This just makes the whole experience interesting and memorable, and gives it more of an authentic feel to the restaurant.

The overall experience is definitely one I'd recommend, as the food and the atmosphere are brilliant, and the staff are incredibly helpful. The prices are pretty reasonable - my main course worked out at about £9, and my frozen strawberry margarita was about £4.50

Summary: Ah, what a great place.