La Cantina de San Angel -- Dinner -- Quick Service -- World Showcase
*This dining experience took place in February 2016.
La Cantina de San Angel offers quick service Mexican options at Epcot's World Showcase. Located in the Mexico Pavilion, it is connected to La Hacienda de San Angel, a table service dining location that I love.La Cantina used to be one of my go-to quick service spots in Epcot. I love a good taco, and the ones at La Cantina de San Angel have always been great. However, many years ago, they stopped serving safe gluten free chips, and so ended my visits to La Cantina.But recently, Gluten Free in Orlando reported that the restaurant has been serving tacos with sides of rice and beans instead of tortilla chips.Well, that was music to my gluten free ears! Recently, I stopped by La Cantina and was told the following options are gluten free:
- Pollo Cascabel - grilled chicken, Mexican rice, corn, Cascabel sauce, and pickled onions
- Tacos de Barbacoa - seasoned beef, homemade corn tortillas, Mexican rice, refried black beans, and red salsa
- Tacos de Pollo - seasoned chicken, homemade corn tortillas, Mexican rice, refried black beans, and red salsa
I was dying to try the tacos de pollo because they used to be my favorite, so I didn't ask if any of the other dishes were gluten free and dairy free. The chicken tacos only need to have the cheese removed from them, which is great!
As you can see from my photo, I couldn't wait to dig in and forgot to take a photo of my food before I took several bites of rice and beans (which I like to mix together).I have to say that these chicken tacos were everything I remembered and more from La Cantina de San Angel. The chicken was super flavorful and well grilled. Topped with fresh mild salsa, chopped onion, and cilantro, the tacos de pollo were so delicious.The rice and beans were also fantastic, and I recognized as the same kinds served at La Hacienda de San Angel.The only thing I need next visit to make my meal complete is a classic Margarita!
Here's a photo of the chicken tacos my mom ordered. The only difference is that hers contained queso fresco on top of the beans.Sadly, the tortilla chips at La Cantina de San Angel are still not safe, and I'm told that they are no longer safe at La Hacienda de San Angel either. Having dined at San Angel, it was a mixed bag whether or not the chips were safe that day depending on what had been fried in the oil, as they fry churros later in the day in the same oil.All three locations in the Mexico Pavilion are not owned and operated by Disney and therefore do not have allergy friendly menus. You can find the gluten free menus for San Angel and La Hacienda de San Angel on my menus page.Overall, I was so thrilled to head back to La Cantina de San Angel for a meal and get to enjoy their tacos de pollo. My only complaint would be the lack of safe gluten free tortilla chips, but now that I know I can order tacos with a side of rice and beans, I'm very happy to add La Cantina de San Angel back on my regular Epcot dining rotation!Have you been to La Cantina de San Angel? What did you order there?
Guest Review -- A WDW Vacation Free of Gluten -- Day Five
This morning, we are having breakfast with our friends, Mark and Louise Mullen, at Kona Cafe.
 |
| Photo copyright Jaime J. |
 |
| Photo copyright Jaime J. |
I’m the only one of the 4 of us to have eaten here before (it’s one of my favorite breakfast spots!)My sister always, always gets the Tonga Toast and I always, always get the Big Kahuna or the Macadamia Pineapple Pancakes. But I’ve come across something in all my internet research the last few weeks – I saw a blog somewhere (and cannot figure out where exactly now) that said you could get Tonga Sliders here that are made with GF rolls! I decided that if I could get those, I’d go with that instead of one of my usuals.Chef Josh comes to the table and there’s some small talk while Ethan orders the Big Kahuna modified to be GF (allergy Mickey waffles instead of the pancakes and French toast). Chef Josh looks at me and I say “I heard a rumor that there’s something called Tonga Sliders?…” and his mouth fell open! He asks where I heard it. I incorrectly credit (blame?) Sarah since that’s where I got most of my GF info on eating at WDW. He says only he does them and he only started doing it 3 weeks ago and he can’t believe how fast that information traveled! (Sarah's note: I knew they used to be able to make a gluten free version and that they can make a vegan version with advance notice, but I had been told they stopped making these, so it's neat to see that they are starting them back up. Jaime's correct that I hadn't heard this!) -- UPDATE 3/2014 - The Tonga Toast Sliders are NO LONGER available. The restaurant stopped serving them due to cost.Here’s Ethan’s modified Big Kahuna:
 |
| Photo copyright Jaime J. |
And here’s my GF Tonga Sliders:
 |
| Photo copyright Jaime J. |
And for comparison – this is what the real Tonga Toast looks like:
 |
| Photo copyright Jaime J. (Sarah's note: This is NOT gluten free) |
I’m in heaven! I traded Ethan one Mickey waffle for a Tonga Slider. Chef Josh comes out during the meal and is checking on us. I ask about the Macadamia Pineapple Pancakes being modified and they don’t have a dedicated griddle, just the waffle iron. I asked, for future reference, if they’d do the allergy Mickey waffles with the pineapples and macadamia butter, because I really love them. He said yes, and then ran into the kitchen to bring me some of each! It was amazing! I put it on my waffle and on the Tonga Slider!
 |
| Photo copyright Jaime J. |
This was an even better breakfast than I’ve had there before! I can’t say enough about Chef Josh or the Tonga Sliders!Lunch was at EPCOT today before we have to head back on the road to go home – what a fast weekend! We end up at La Cantina de San Angel since Mexican food is one of the easier ones to work around being GF. We were extremely hungry by the time we stopped, so I didn’t even bother with the manager, I just made sure the chips were corn, not flour. And I have no idea what anyone else ordered… (Sarah's note: the corn tortilla chips are not made in a dedicated fryer the last time I checked and were not gluten free. :( Ask a manager on-hand to make sure when you visit, as this may or may not have changed)
 |
| Photo copyright Jaime J. |
I ordered the Nachos - corn tortilla chips with ground beef, nacho cheese, fresh tomatoes, jalapenos, black beans, and sour cream.
 |
| Photo copyright Jaime J. |
It was fine, basic nachos… we were also very tired and bummed that we were leaving right afterwards.All in all, I was very impressed with the Disney training for counter service locations: every cast member we encountered was very knowledgeable about handling an allergy situation for a guest. As for the table services, it seemed hit or miss on whether you got a chef who enjoyed what he did or was just accommodating you.We’re going back in February and will go back to a few of these (Be Our Guest for lunch and dinner, Kona for breakfast, Mara for breakfast) and we’ll add some new places to Ethan’s list (Prime Time, Boma, Chefs de France). It will be interesting to compare the experiences since we were there over a holiday weekend vs. a slow week of crowds!Thank you so much Jaime for all the awesome reviews!! Do you have a trip report with a special diet that you'd like to share? Let me know by emailing me!
La Cantina de San Angel -- Lunch/Dinner -- Quick Service -- Mexico -- Epcot
*This dining experience took place in August 2011.I really love tacos. It's actually a bit shameful how much I love tacos. I could probably eat tex-mex all the time. Fortunately for me, it's very easily made gluten and dairy free.As usual, we hit La Cantina de San Angel because they are very tasty and do not require any modifications (I love this!). I split the tacos de pollo (chicken tacos) with my mom and stepdad and we also got the guacamole with chips too. The flavor in their chicken tacos is outrageous. I love the lime on the side to put on the tacos. Yum, yum, yum. I'm getting hungry just thinking about them! The guacamole isn't anything special, but it's good.
My friend who is gluten/dairy/soy free got the nachos, minus the cheese and sour cream. Now, I do not think he asked for a manager on this one, so don't quote me that it's perfectly safe on the soy side of things. I know that gluten and dairy wise it was fine. He didn't seem to get sick, so I am guessing it was OK. Note, you should always check w/a manager--otherwise eat at your own risk!!! He said the nachos were awesome. I might try them sometime--even though I rarely eat beef, this would be a nice treat.
Overall another great meal. 9 out of 10!
La Cantina de San Angel -- Counter Service -- Epcot
Ah, tacos at La Cantina. I fell in love with these last trip. Most everything here is gluten free and there is not a ton of dairy either. This is why I really love Mexican/Tex-Mex food. Yum! We headed here for lunch on our last full day. I got the tacos de pollo (chicken tacos) again, which came with tortilla chips and pico de gallo. It is important to note that the salsas by the condiment station are NOT gluten free, but the pico de gallo is safe.
2 orders of chicken tacos and 1 order of guacamole and chips--all gluten and dairy free!
For dessert, I got the lemon/lime paleta--the last time I got the coconut one and it had dairy in it. But since it was slower this time, I could see what the ingredients were in this one prior to ordering it. Here's a close-up of the ingredients:
Overall, another great counter service meal here. I so adore this place, and try to make a trip there now every chance I get!!! 8 out of 10 for great food!
La Cantina de San Angel -- Counter Service -- Epcot
When I found out that the new restaurant at the Mexico pavilion in Epcot had gluten free offerings, I was stoked. I love Mexican and Tex-Mex food. The great thing is that a lot of this kind of food is naturally gluten free. Having emailed Special Diets and hearing first hand reports from the disboards, I was pretty excited about trying to eat there.
We decided to get lunch at La Cantina around 1 p.m. It turned out to be extremely busy because of the food and wine festival. It was crazy! The lines were very long, and it took us around 25 minutes to get food (mine was incidentally the fastest, only because they forgot to make my mom's desserts). Upon reaching the cashier, I asked about the food allergies. They ended up conferring with a manager but they didn't come out to see me. They helped me with the entree but I couldn't get any information on the dessert option. At the time, it was just so busy that I went with a coconut bar, figuring that there was probably dairy in it, and I could give it to a family member. (They all got churros).
I got the tacos de pollo. They were fantastic! Soooo tasty. I scarfed them down quite quickly. The chips and pico de gallo were also very good. My mom and stepdad split the chicken tacos and the guacamole, which I sampled. The guacamole was very good. It is important to note that the salsas on the bar with the silverware were NOT gluten free.
Tacos de pollo--I highly recommend!
Guacamole and chips--also very good!
My dessert did have dairy in it, so I gave it to my family, who happily scarfed down the pineapple Popsicle.
Overall, I really enjoyed the food at this counter service. I think the food and wine festival combined with being a new restaurant made it busier than average, but I think when we head back in January they will have worked out all the kinks. Maybe next time, I'll be able to find a dessert option there!
Overall, I give this a 7 out of 10 for excellent food, but hectic food service and lack of a manager coming out to talk to me.