La Hacienda de San Angel -- Dinner -- Table Service -- Epcot

*This dining experience took place in October 2014.La Hacienda de San Angel is my go-to for Mexican food in the Disney Parks and Resorts. I'm not as much of a fan of San Angel Inn, but I find the food at La Hacienda to be bright, fresh, and plentiful. Nestled on the World Showcase Lagoon, it has terrific views and is gorgeous when visiting around sunset. On this particular occasion, I stopped by the evening before the Happy Haunted 5K race. This seemed like the perfect pre-race dinner spot. I was pretty keen to order one of the platters available here because I've had them several times, and they are delicious!Once seated, our server took our drink orders and go the chef for me. That was a La Hacienda de San Angel first, as usually the server works with you on your order. I was pleasantly surprised and really appreciated that the chef came out to chat with me. He let me know that both of the salsas along with the chips were safe for me to consume, which is great. A few years ago only 1 salsa in the chips and salsa duo was safe so I'm glad they've maintained the safe options lately. For my entree, I ended up splitting the seafood platter which needed no modifications (the spicy mayo on the corn is mayonnaise based), except for the removal of the cheese on the corn and beans. I love the chips and salsa here, although be warned the red salsa is sweet, smoky, and spicy! I am a big fan of salsa verde which always hits the spot. Every time I eat here and get chips and salsa, I wish that La Cantina de San Angel would still serve safe gluten free chips. I haven't dined there since that happened, and I miss that as a good quick service option. Both of these locations are non-Disney owned, so they don't have to adhere to all of Disney's special diets policies. The view from our table was lovely. It's a great spot to catch IllumiNations or have a nice sunset dinner. The platter itself has changed ever so slightly since last year. Gone are the griddled onions (which I loved) and the corn now has a spicy mayo (delicious). Otherwise, most components are still the same. I love the zucchini and squash and the corn. All 3 of the seafood components were well cooked, though I have to say the scallops were my favorite. One other slight change was the rice. Gone is the red/salsa based rice. And thank goodness. I loved this version which was much lighter and matched the main entree so much better. The black beans are fantastic and great to dip your extra chips in! Served with corn tortillas, this was a huge meal. We did have second helpings of the rice and beans, but couldn't manage another bite by the time we finished. I definitely did a good job carb-loading that night!Overall, La Hacienda de San Angel is still a great table service location in the World Showcase. You can tell they've become more popular because the prices have raised and the portions have diminished slightly. Still, the platters are your best bang for you buck with tons of food to share among the table! Have you been to La Hacienda de San Angel? What do you recommend ordering there?  

La Hacienda de San Angel -- Dinner -- Table Service -- World Showcase

*This dining review took place in July 2013 and includes a gluten free and yellow food coloring allergy review.

View of the Mexico Pavilion

Let's take a trip to La Hacienda de San Angel at the World Showcase in Epcot. With authentic food and decor, it's easy to think you've traveled to Mexico. La Hacienda de San Angel is a great option for guests who are gluten free & dairy free. As I discovered there are tons of choices and the menu is almost completely gluten free naturally! On this particular visit, I enjoyed the Pollo al Pastor, chips and salsa and other authentic accompaniments.When we arrived at the restaurant, we were surprised to see how quiet it was. The last time I went there (see my first review HERE) it was quite bustling. It was actually nice to have it be quiet and low-key. We were seated at a really nice table right by the windows. It had a terrific view of the World Showcase Lagoon! This would have been an awesome view for IllumiNations!Our server came over to discuss the menu options with us. I was also dining with another special diets diner. My friend is gluten free and also allergic to yellow food coloring. Both of us had dined at La Hacienda before, so we were looking forward to the meal and also felt comfortable that we knew the menu. Since this location is non-Disney owned the chefs do not come out and talk to you (something that can be a little bit of a bummer). Most of the servers are really knowledgeable and can help you with options, but be prepared to ask a lot of questions. And don't hesitate to ask for a chef or manager if you do not feel comfortable with your server's knowledge or suggestions. This location seems to be a decent one for gluten free diners, as everything on the menu is said to be gluten free (by both servers I've encountered) except the shrimp tacos which can be made gluten free by using corn shells and grilling the shrimp instead of frying them. We also double-checked again and the server said they use dedicated fryers for the chips. She also said both salsas were safe (which they said the last time I was there too).I decided to try the Pollo al Pastor dish which is Achiote marinated chicken served with roasted vegetables, beans and pineapple relish. My friends ordered the La Hacienda Parrillada which is the similar to the Del Mar platter that I ordered last time. It came with Mixed grill offering New York strip, chicken al pastor, chorizo and vegetables, served with beans and fresh salsas.First up were the chips and salsa. I'm a fan. I really like the salsa verde which isn't too spicy at all. The salsa roja has quite a kick (pretty sure it has chipotle in it), so I stayed away from that one.

Salsa and chips

Up next came our entrees. My chicken al pastor was sooooo delicious. The chicken was really nicely marinated and very tender. I am also a huge fan of squash and zucchini, so I loved having that as the veggie. And the pineapple relish/sauce was amazing. Sweet and spicy. Perfect with the chicken. I would say that it wasn't a huge portion by any means. It was a just right portion for me, especially after having the parrillada the last time.

Pollo al Pastor

The platter that my friends ordered was HUGE! Just as huge as the platter I had the last time with seafood. It's a lot for two people. In fact, they had leftovers of everything and were able to take them to-go.

La Hacienda parrillada

As you can see, it's a big meal. Overall, I'd say it was another hit for me. This is the 2nd time I've been there in the past two months, and I've really enjoyed it a lot. The only downside for me is that they don't take Tables in Wonderland which would be a nice thing, especially if you order a drink.

Orange Mango Fire Margarita on the rocks

This is definitely a nice gluten free friendly restaurant, and pretty good for dairy free diners too. I was able to get a lot of the options with the cheese and/or sour cream removed. I love that. In addition, if you are a vegetarian or vegan diner, there are some choices for you, and I believe they have a separate menu for those choices. Here's the listing that I saw:

• Empanadas de Queso - cheese empanadas served with rice and beans
• Tacos de Vegetales - grilled vegetables and queso fresco on flour tortillas, served with esquites (roasted corn)
• Ensalada de la Casa - spinach salad with queso fresco, tomatoes, pomegranate, pine nuts, and avocado, with mustard vinaigrette dressing
• Enchaladas de Vegetales - corn tortillas filled with vegetables, served with salsa verde, rice and beans 

I think you could easily remove the queso fresco and make thinks dairy free (with the exception of the empanandas). Additionally, blog reader Jenn notes that the rice made at La Hacienda is made with chicken stock. I would contact Special Diets in advance to see if vegetarian/vegan stock could be used as an alternative.Overall, I'd give this an 8 out of 10 for good service, great food and decent gluten free & dairy free offerings.

La Hacienda de San Angel -- Dinner -- Table Service -- World Showcase -- Epcot

*This dining experience took place in May 2013.Nestled on the World Showcase Lagoon is La Hacienda de San Angel. A non-Disney owned restaurant, this location has been open for a couple of years now, and this was my first experience going here for dinner. I've long been wanting to head here but for some reason hadn't made it yet. I recently heard rave reviews about this from some friends, one of whom is gluten free, and so I decided to check it out ASAP.

View of La Hacienda & La Cantina de San Angel

I had reservations for this location during the Disney 24 hour event, which meant that the parks were exceptionally crowded. Holiday weekend + special event = Disney chaos! Luckily, Epcot wasn't as bad as other parks, and so we were very lucky we nabbed ADRs for La Hacienda. From the outside, we checked in and it didn't seem that busy (5:30 p.m.) but once we got into the main lobby area, we discovered it was swamped. Very busy. Luckily, we were seated quickly and were able to get settled in without waiting for long in the crowded lobby. What I love about this restaurant is the decor and ambiance. Everything is very spacious and big. My brother and I had a huge booth that offered a lot of space. Good thing because we got a lot of food!

Once seated our server Eduardo came by to greet us and take our drink orders. Now here is where things differ from a Disney owned restaurant. Instead of having a chef come out, Eduardo went over the menu with me. One thing I'll give him, he was actually fairly knowledgeable (like he blew most servers away with his knowledge). He said pretty much the majority of the menu was gluten free which was the easy part. The dairy was also not a big deal as they don't use a lot of dairy. Of course no queso, but I could have figured that out!! :)

My friends reported to me that only the salsa verde was safe and not the red salsa. So, I was surprised when he said both were OK. I mentioned to him that a friend had dined there semi-recently and said only the verde was safe. He said that it used to the be the only safe salsa but that they changed it and now both the red and green were safe. Since I knew the salsa at La Cantina is not safe, I opted to not eat the red salsa and only have the verde. (I'm paranoid what can I say?!) It's probably a good thing too because it had chipotle in it according to my brother and was spicy. Um no thanks. I like spicy but not THAT spicy. The salsa verde was a nice amount of spiciness with some tang to it from the tomatillos. Very good. Note that the chips here are not at all the same as the ones from La Cantina (no crazy dyes in them) and they are made in a dedicated fryer. Thank goodness. I would have been an unhappy camper without chips!

Chips & Salsa!

We decided to split the Parrillada (platter) De Mer (seafood) which is a mixed grill platter. It came with mahi mahi, scallops and shrimp. The other platter came with beef, chicken and chorizo which my friends ordered on their visit and said was excellent. Since I'm not a beef eater, I really wanted to go with the seafood option. It also comes with corn tortillas, black beans (which are normally topped with cheese but was removed for us) and rice (which I didn't eat--it was the one thing that didn't look appetizing to me but my brother said was quite good).

Black Beans

Rice

The platter was huge! I mean huge!!! It could have easily been shared by 3 people if they had added just a little bit of extra protein to it because the amount of veggies was ridiculous. And we ate a lot of them too! It came with grilled zucchini and squash and onions, as well as sweet corn with lime (this was awesome even though I only took a few bites--Crohns and corn do not mesh well). Lots of fresh lime was on the platter too for topping on the meats. The mahi mahi ended up being one of my favorites. I loved the chimichurri on top of it. So flavorful. And the fish was well cooked, not overcooked. The shrimp was good--nice seasoning and the scallops were also yummy. My brother thought they were a little underseasoned but they were fine to me. The veggies were all delicious. The black beans were also great fav, and I ended up dipping some of the leftover tortilla chips in them. They were also very generous with the corn tortillas. They brought us seconds which was good because they were a bit on the small side.

Parrillada De Mer

We opted for no dessert because we left way too much food even though we both porked out (and yes, we can both pack away the food!). I think it's just a very large portion for two people. I can see it is a very popular option too, as many people also orders the platters. Eduardo did mention that they had sorbet for dessert if I wanted it.

Overall, I really enjoyed this restaurant, and I plan on visiting again. I love that most of the menu is naturally gluten free, which means there are a lot of choices and a whole lot less chance of cross contamination. I would definitely come back again to eat here. Very good! I'd give this a 8 out of 10. It would be nice if the chefs came to the table and chatted with but I was pleasantly surprised by my server's knowledge.