Showing posts with label Epcot Restaurants. Show all posts
Disney Dining Review: La Hacienda de San Angel at Epcot
Epcot is certainly the best Disney World theme park for dining and La Hacienda de San Angel is a great option whether you are a couple on a special night out or a family looking for a enjoyable meal.
La Hacienda de San Angel
The Mexico Pavilion is blessed with two great Table Service Restaurants: San Angel Inn, which resides within the giant Aztec Pyramid that dominates the Skyline for the Pavilion and the newer La Hacienda de San Angel which has a wonderful waterfront perch. Both restaurants are run by the same company, but provide a different menu and experience for Disney World Guests.
The decor that can be found within La Hacienda de San Angel is amazing! It is quite different from its near neighbor and creates a much different mood. The seating is packed closely, so don't be surprised if your table is very close to another party. The restaurant is friendly and welcoming, so this closeness does not detract from the ambiance of the dining experience.
With its waterfront location, there are amazing views of the World Showcase Lagoon, and the waterfront window tables are much sought after for late night seatings. It is hard to name a better way to view Illuminations: Reflections of Earth.
Disney Dining Review
The ambiance is wonderful, but a restaurant is nothing without great food. Fortunately La Hacienda de San Angel certainly has great food! |
| La Hacienda de San Angel Menu (Click to ENLARGE) |
The menu contains several choices of Platos Principales (entrees):
- Costillas en salsa de Chile
Braised short ribs, served with potato puree and chile de arbol sauce - Tacos de Camarones
Fried shrimp, chipotle-lime aioli, cabbage, lime and salsa verde, all served over flour tortillas - Pollo al Pastor
Achiote marinated chicken served with roasted vegetables, beans and pineapple relish - Puerco en salsa de Ciruela
Grilled pork rib eye, served with carrot puree, caramelized onions and plum sauce - Pescado a la Talla
Grilled Tilapia served with esquites (roasted corn) , nopales(cactus leaves) and mango chutney
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| La Hacienda de San Angel Wine and Beverage Menu (Click to ENLARGE) |
Here is a picture of the wine and beverage menu. One of the specialties are the choices of Tequila flights.
Every meal starts out with the complementary Chips and Salsa. This has two kinds of salsa to sample and enjoy.
They also have two different meals that are designed to feed two people each. One is seafood centric and the other featured beef and chicken. Since we had four people in our party during this review we decided to try both of the two person meals called Parrillada.
The "La Hacienda" features mixed grill offering New York Strip, chicken al pastor, chorizo and vegetables, served with beans and fresh salsas.
The food is certainly as good as it looks the portion for two is plentiful and the variety of tastes and flavors from the various portions of the meal are wonderful.
The Del Mar features mixed grill offering fish, shrimp, scallops and vegetables, served with beans and fresh salsas.
Again, another excellent choice. This is sure to satisfy seafood fans. The hardest choice if there are only two of you dining is choosing between the two meals. I would recommend bringing along four people so that you can try both of these combination meals and enjoy all of the wonderful flavors.
Here is a picture highlighting all of the food that our table of 4 received. They will bring refills of the bowls of rice and beans if you wish, as well as, additional tortillas.
Dining Review Summary
The La Hacienda de San Angel is a beautiful restaurant with great food that is sure to please whether you favor meat or seafood. There is also a well stocked beverage menu to meet your needs. The only drawback is that this restaurant does not accept the Tables In Wonderland Discount. It does take the Disney Dining Plan and it also accepts a DVC Member Discount.We highly recommend this restaurant and suggest that it would be a great way to end a day at Epcot with a window view of Illuminations: Reflections Of Earth.
Review Of Chip 'n Dale's Harvest Feast At The Garden Grill Restaurant in Epcot
One of the highlights for many Disney World guests is enjoying a Disney Character Dining experience. Today we visit the Garden Grill Restaurant in Epcot for a Character Dining meal in a very unique setting.
Garden Grill Restaurant
The Garden Grill Restaurant is located within The Land Pavilion in the Future World section of Epcot. This is the pavilion that is best known for the Soarin' and Living With The Land attractions.
One of the most unique features of the Garden Grill Restaurant is that it rotates! That's right. This restaurant rotates at a blistering speed of one revolution per hour. Although you can tell that you are moving if you are constantly staring at the walls, most guests hardly notice the slow steady movement throughout their meal. There are two different seating areas: the outer booths, which have the best views of the Living With The Land attraction and the inner tables. If you anticipate any concern about the rotation, then you should select the inner tables, where the motion is less noticeable.
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| Mickey Mouse at Garden Grill Restaurant |
Disney Character Dining At Its Best!
Chip 'n Dale's Harvest Feast is definitely one of the better non-princess character dining opportunities at Disney World. Four different characters make their way, one at a time to your table for personal interaction during the roughly hour long dining experience. Leading the way is Mickey Mouse himself in overalls. Farmer Mickey meets and greets all of the diners one table at a time. You have enough time to get autographs signed and pose with Mickey Mouse for pictures. |
| Chip at the Garden Grill Restaurant |
Chip was next to visit one table and he was quite animated, pardon the pun. Besides posing for pictures he exhibited a playful interaction with lots of personality.
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| Pluto at Garden Grill Restaurant |
Pluto was next to visit. Ever the fun loving dog, he "played" with us for a while and posed for great pictures.
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| Dale at Garden Grill Restaurant |
Dale was the last to make his way to our table. He definitely had a personality that was distinct from Chip's and that made the interaction all the more fun.
Suffice it to say the Disney Character interaction was great and definitely among the best at Disney World. The spacing of the tables allows for more personal interaction with each of the characters. If you love Disney World Character meals then this is one you should definitely try!
Chip 'n Dale's Harvest Feast - The Food!
An important part of every restaurant review is a discussion of the food, so we definitely want to share with you our pictures and impression of the food at this Family Style served meal. The menu is the same for everyone with unlimited portions for an items (including dessert) that you would like more of. The price is the same regardless.
The meal start with fresh warm rolls and orange blossom honey butter.
This was follow-up up by a "Living With The Land" Harvest-inspired Farmer's Salad. As you can see from the picture above this was a loaded salad with fresh vegetables, egg, and bacon.
The main courses consist of a large platter with a trio of choices: Char-grilled Filet of Beef with Demi-Glace Steak Butter, Roasted All-Natural Turkey Breast with Stuffing and House-made Gravy, Tilapia with Tomato Jam. Also included were Garden Fresh Vegetables, Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes, and Bacon and Leek Dressing.
All of the above items were very tasty, but I would have to say our overwhelming favorite was the Filet of Beef. It was excellent. As mentioned earlier, the meal is All You Care To Eat with additional portions of any or all of the items. The choice is up to you and your family.
The meal is completed with a pair of dessert choices. There was the Seasonal Berry Skillet with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and the cone cupcakes with chocolate frosting.
Disney Dining Review - Summary
Chip n' Dale's Harvest Feat at the Garden Grill Restaurant was a great Disney Characters Dining experience and a great "dining" experience as well. The unique rotating restaurant setting with views into the Living With The Land attraction was an added bonus. It certainly was one of the best Character Meals due to the orientation of the tables, letting you truly have personal time with the characters when they came to visit.The food was above average and there was opportunity to get more of the items that you enjoyed the most. The service was excellent and it all came together for a very enjoyable dining experience. We would definitely rate this meal a "Must Do" for families.
The Character Dining Experience does accept the Disney Dining Plan and it counts as 1 Table Service Credit per person. They also accept the Tables In Wonderland Discount for 20% off.
Disney Dining Plan? Three Disney World Restaurants You Must Try!
Three Disney Dining Plan Deals
Each of the three restaurants that are featured provide excellent Disney Dining Plan deals. That means that eating at these restaurants and paying cash would be more expensive than your typical Disney World Restaurant, but they still only require the use of one Disney Dining Plan Table Service Credit to eat there.
These restaurants all have special elements that you will not find in local restaurants in your area. They provide menus with interesting cuisine, excellent theming, and two out of the three also provide special entertainment.
Using the Disney Dining Plan is an excellent way to experience these three excellent Disney World Restaurants and still keep to your budget. They will make your Disney World Vacation experience even more memorable.
Situated within the Norway Pavilion of Epcot's World Showcase is the Akershus Royal Banquet Hall. Inside this medieval, royal eating establishment you will be treated to Norwegian cuisine, and you will also have one of the best opportunities to meet Disney Princesses anywhere in Disney World.
The meal is often referred to as the Princess Storybook Dining. It is available for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner, but Dinner would be the best use of your Disney Dining Plan Table Service Credit. Normally the dinner would cost $46.85 per adult and $25.55 per child. This includes the entire meal, non-alcoholic beverage, dessert and one photo package per group taken with one of the Disney Princesses when you arrive.
Typically you will encounter a number of Disney Princesses during your meal that will make appearances at your table and pose for pictures with your party. You may see: Aurora, Snow White, Belle, Mulan, Jasmine, and others.
If you (or your children) are a fan of Disney Princesses this is the place to be!
The dinner is also special at the Akershus Royal Banquet Hall. From the official Akershus menu: "Everyone’s Royal Feast begins with a"Taste of Norway"This magnificent feast includes sliced deli meats, seafood, and a grand selection of prepared salads and cheeses."
The entrees include: Pan Seared Salmon, Oven-roasted Chicken Breast, Norwegian Meatballs, Mushroom Stuffed Pasta, Grilled Pork Tenderloin, and Seared Herb dusted Beef Tips. Each with a Norwegian flair. Each table also receives the Royal Chef's Dessert Plate with Chocolate Mousse, Norwegian Rice Cream, and pastries served family style.
For an incredible dining and entertainment experience alone you should try eating at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall, the fact that you can get all of this for one Disney Dining Plan Table Service Credit makes it a must for those using the Disney Dining Plan.
Boma features African inspired cuisine to match the setting of the resort. As a guest you will be treated to a buffet that has a variety of tastes to sample that will be unlike any restaurant that you would typically encounter.
It starts with a selection of African Breads. Then there are a selection of salads and fruits to temp your palate. Boma is especially known for the soups that are available. There usually are several to choose from and they are wonderful. There are also a number of African vegetable dishes.
The entree items include: Durban Spiced Roasted Chicken, Malabu Pepper Steak, Wood Roasted meats, Bobotie (Lamb and beef quiche with onions, raisins, and bread), Chicken Pepper Pot, Curried Coconut Seafood Stew, Couscous Marrakesh & Grilled Seafood.
It is all topped off with a dessert bar that includes the world famous Zebra Domes and Simba Paw Prints that must be tried.
If you were paying out of pocket to eat here the Adult meal would cost $39.40 and Children would be $19.16. Again this makes a very good use of your Disney Dining Plan Table Service Credit.
Eating dinner at Boma makes for a wonderful evening that is an escape, even within Disney World. You are immersed within this beautiful African setting and can enjoy the surroundings of the resort and then partake in the exotic tastes of the buffet. There are food choices for even the picky eater, but this is really a chance to explore and experience new flavors. This is an absolute must for anyone that has never had the chance to visit Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge and a reason to return for those that have visited.
Last, but certainly not least is dining at Restaurant Marrakesh. Hidden deep within the Morocco Pavillion in Epcot's World Showcase, Restaurant Marrakesh transports you to Morocco to experience its flavors and culture.
Eating here is much more than just a meal, it is truly an experience. You will not only get to sample authentic Moroccan cuisine, you will also be entertained. Each evening there is live music and a belly dancer performing at different intervals.
From the Official Restaurant Marrakesh Menu: you will find many interesting tastes to consider. The entree choices include: Couscous (the national Moroccan dish) with your choice of Beef, Chicken, Lamb, or vegetables; Shish kebab; Roast lamb Meshoui (traditional roasted lamb shank in natural juice with couscous), lemon Chicken, Chicken kebabs, North Atlantic Salmon, Mogador Fish Tangine (marinated fish with olives, lemon confit, potatoes, green peppers and chermula sauce), or Moroccan Sampler platters providing a taste of several different dishes.
These dishes normally cost from $24.95 to $36.95, plus with the Disney Dining Plan you will also receive your choice of non-alcoholic beverage and Dessert. This makes the normal Adult "meal" cost around $35 - $45 + tax. Again this is a great use for the Disney Dining Plan Table Service Dining Credit.
This underrated restaurant is a great Disney Dining Experience. You will enjoy the atmosphere and get a chance to sample authentic Moroccan cuisine in a beautiful setting while enjoying the Moroccan entertainment.
Use The Disney Dining Plan To Its Fullest
Take our advice and try these three fantastic Disney World Dining experiences when you are using the Disney Dining Plan. They can be very expensive when you are not on the Disney Dining Plan, so sometimes people tend to shy away and miss these great dining opportunities. Use the Disney Dining Plan to its fullest and don't miss out on these overlooked gems.
