Hola amigos!

As you may know, we here at DFB love the eats and drinks in Epcot’s Mexico Pavilion. From celebrity-crafted cocktails at La Cava del Tequila to the street corn at Choza de Margarita, it’s one of our favorite places for a snack and drink. But recently, we found ourselves in need of more than a light bite — so we decided to visit an old favorite: La Cantina de San Angel!

La Cantina de San Angel is Mexico’s Quick Service Location, serving up fan favorites such as tacos, empanadas, and of course, margaritas! We’ve always found it to be a great spot for delicious and flavorful eats that are beyond your standard “Burger and fries” theme park fare, but still not too adventurous for the picky eaters and kids in your group. So, are you ready to check out what we tried this time? Vamos!

Atmosphere:

La Cantina de San Angel is one of the first things you’ll see as you enter World Showcase and turn left towards Mexico. It sits on the lagoon side of the path — so if you’re lucky enough to eat here during fireworks time, you’ll have quite the view. (But keep in mind, seats fill up quickly around that time!)

All of the seating at La Cantina is outdoors, but luckily it’s covered and has fans to help during the peak Florida heat.

Like most Quick-Service locations, you’ll use a walk-up window to order and receive your food, and then find a table.

La Cantina has two condiment stations where you can grab napkins and utensils, as well as a few salsas for your dish. Trust us when we say you’re going to want to grab a little cup or two of these! (More on the salsas later — keep reading!)

Eats:

Taking a look at La Cantina de San Angel’s menu, you’ll see there’s a decent variety between all of the Mexican dishes.

La Cantina does a good job of being more authentic than your average Tex-Mex chain, but still has familiar favorites like nachos for those on the pickier side. Also, peep the mac & cheese and chicken tenders on the kid’s menu. These make it one of our favorite spots for the whole family! The kids and less adventurous eaters can enjoy classic favorites, but the rest of the party can get something a little more exciting.

But what really caught our eye, was under “Sides.” A side of Nacho Cheese is only 75 cents?! WHAT!? That’s less than Casey’s Corner  — a side of cheese there will run you a whole $1 for your Corn Dog Nuggets. We ordered some immediately (as is DFB law when we spot new-to-us cheese dips!). We naturally assumed this was classic Disney “Plastic Cheese” to top our tacos with and ruin any authenticity, but we were wrong. So very wrong. (KEEP READING!)

Considering you’re in Mexico, there’s also a nice selection of Margaritas and Mexican Draft Beer. We love that the beverages here are unique to La Cantina, meaning you won’t find the exact same blends at Choza de Margarita or La Cava del Tequila. And don’t forget, if you’re on the Disney Dining Plan you can get an alcoholic beverage with your meal. Considering these margs average around $15, that’s a great use of a drink for a Quick Service Credit!

We settled on our entrees, grabbed our salsas, and found a table to begin our feast. First up: a margarita, of course. This is the Avion Strawberry Margarita, made with Avion Blanco tequila, strawberry puree, blackcurrant and apertive liquors, lime juice, rum, and mezcal.

While there is a lot going on in the ingredient list, the main flavor is still strawberry. We were hoping to pick up on a bit of the smokiness of the mezcal, but unfortunately, the sweet flavor drowned it out. That said, if you like strawberry margaritas, this is a very good one. But if you’re someone who prefers your cocktail on the tarter side, we suggest grabbing the La Cantina Clásica instead. Or if you’re really just here for the margs, we loved the newest additions across the way at Choza de Margarita. 

For our first entree, we grabbed the Pollo Cascabel. 

This is a bowl made with Grilled Chicken, Mexican Rice, Corn, Cascabel Sauce, Pickled Onions, and is topped with fresh cilantro and queso fresco. 

This was so flavorful and delicious. The chicken was cooked perfectly, and the cascabel sauce added a tremendous amount of flavor. We also loved the acidity from the pickled onions. To kick it up a bit, we added some salsa from the condiment bar, and the Chipotle added the perfect amount of heat to the dish. This is one we’d absolutely order again — and all things considered, this is a somewhat healthier option at World Showcase.

Next up, the Taco Trio!

This is great for the indecisive members of your family because the Trio gives you one of each of La Cantina’s tacos: barbacoa, fish, and chicken! Plus a generous side of rice and black beans.

We quickly dove into the tacos head first, starting with the Pescado (fish)!

The Pescado taco is fried fish with slaw and Habanero aioli, wrapped in a homemade corn tortilla. It was amazing — the breading was nice and crispy on the outside and a mild white fish on the inside. The Habanero aioli was more flavorful than it was hot, and the slaw added a good crunch to each bite.

Next up, the Barbacoa!

The Barbacoa Taco keeps it simple with just shredded beef, cilantro, and red salsa (Granted a few shreds of slaw from our fish taco ended up making it into the tortilla!). This one was excellent as well — the beef was really well seasoned and tender. We also added a bit of chipotle salsa to this one for extra flavor. If you’re not a fish person, this is the winner taco for you!

Lastly, the Taco de Pollo!

The Taco de Pollo (chicken) is made with marinated grilled chicken, red salsa, and cilantro. While the chicken was executed well, it wasn’t as flavorful as the beef or exciting as the fish. We felt as though it was missing something…but luckily we had just the ticket…

Enter the 75 cent nacho cheese. (You didn’t forget about it, did you?)

Turns out, at La Cantina de San Angel side of “nacho cheese” equals a side of QUESO. Deliciously flavorful, amazingly perfect white queso.

It was just the thing to add a little flavor to our chicken taco, and TBH we put it on everything else as well. Is it a tiny cup? Yes. But it’s 75 CENTS. Get two, heck get three. Treat your self friends, you’re on vacation. And we promise you will not regret it.

Overall:

Once again, La Cantina de San Angel proves itself to be a winning Quick-Service spot amid tough competition in Epcot. All of our dishes were well executed with great flavor and fresh ingredients. While it may not be the most exciting or exotic menu in World Showcase, it’s a superb option for those who want to play it safe AND those who want a little extra heat and adventure. Plus, did we mention the 75 cent queso? That right there is enough to earn a win in our book.

Adios, La Cantina de San Angel. We certainly enjoyed our visit, and we will be back soon!

Want more of our favorite Epcot eats? Check out this DFB Guide Video!

 

And if you love this video, there’s plenty more for you to enjoy over on our DFB YouTube Channel!

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Have you eaten at La Cantina de San Angel in Epcot? Let us know in the comments!