LadyNia
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2017
This is a review of the New Year's Eve Dining Event at La Hacienda de San Angel at the Mexico Pavilion in Epcot. My husband and I just attended this event 12/31/17-1/1/18. There weren't any reviews of this event when I booked it and hope that by sharing my experience others can decide whether it's right for them.
We arrived at the restaurant around 8:45 although it officially began at 9:30. We were hoping to get a seat by the windows for the fireworks. However, we later found out that seating is pre-assigned. We were allowed in the restaurant and seated around 9:15. As we walked in a mariachi band was playing. They played throughout the evening and took requests. They were amazing and created a very festive atmosphere! The tables had New Year's Hats and beads. We were excited about these because we had missed the hat and noise maker distribution earlier in the day.
We had a table towards the back of the restaurant, but had a decent view of the fireworks. Our booth was slightly raised and faced the windows.
The menu was displayed at our table which was nice. We did not have the menu during booking of the meal.
Our waitress introduced herself and handed us our welcome margaritas. By the way, our waitress was absolutely lovely the entire evening.
The margaritas were so good! My husband doesn't drink so I had both his and mine.
The sea bass ceviche was the first course served. We each received a serving. It was served cold and was tasty. At this point in the meal my husband was worried that every course would be this small and that he would go hungry.
The next course was the duck tamal. The sauce was amazing! This was a really great dish that we both enjoyed. My husband wished we could have had seconds. Neither of us had ever eating tamales, but now we think we've been missing out.
Then came the calamari. This dish was to share, but as you can see there was plenty to share. I really enjoyed the sauce the calamari was served with. My husband did not eat this dish. A shot of tequila for each of us was also served with this dish.
The main course was beef and lobster served over mashed yucca. It came with chorizo and Brussel sprouts. This was all so very good! The lobster was definitely spicy. I usually don't eat spicy foods, but the spiciness of this dish was really balanced. I was served a glass of white wine with this meal.
The chocolate tart was probably the best part of the whole meal. Also, I didn't get a picture before biting into it. The tart was round when it was served. The filling in this tart was light and fluffy and not too chocolatey. It was absolutely perfect! I then proceeded to google Chocolate Abuelita Tart in the hopes of finding a recipe for a dessert similar to this.
The dessert was also served with a shot of espresso liquor.
Once the meal was over we were given noisemakers and champagne to ring in the new year. Below is the view we had of the fireworks from the table. I told my husband that this view was better than the view we had for Illuminations earlier in the evening.
Overall, we had a really nice time at this meal. We were able to go to the various New Year's Parties at Epcot beforehand and we were able to have a nice meal and sit for a few hours before the fireworks. The staff was really nice, the food was good, and the view was decent. The restaurant manager even went around before the fireworks and made sure that everyone had a view for the show.
We arrived at the restaurant around 8:45 although it officially began at 9:30. We were hoping to get a seat by the windows for the fireworks. However, we later found out that seating is pre-assigned. We were allowed in the restaurant and seated around 9:15. As we walked in a mariachi band was playing. They played throughout the evening and took requests. They were amazing and created a very festive atmosphere! The tables had New Year's Hats and beads. We were excited about these because we had missed the hat and noise maker distribution earlier in the day.
We had a table towards the back of the restaurant, but had a decent view of the fireworks. Our booth was slightly raised and faced the windows.
The menu was displayed at our table which was nice. We did not have the menu during booking of the meal.
Our waitress introduced herself and handed us our welcome margaritas. By the way, our waitress was absolutely lovely the entire evening.
The margaritas were so good! My husband doesn't drink so I had both his and mine.
The sea bass ceviche was the first course served. We each received a serving. It was served cold and was tasty. At this point in the meal my husband was worried that every course would be this small and that he would go hungry.
The next course was the duck tamal. The sauce was amazing! This was a really great dish that we both enjoyed. My husband wished we could have had seconds. Neither of us had ever eating tamales, but now we think we've been missing out.
Then came the calamari. This dish was to share, but as you can see there was plenty to share. I really enjoyed the sauce the calamari was served with. My husband did not eat this dish. A shot of tequila for each of us was also served with this dish.
The main course was beef and lobster served over mashed yucca. It came with chorizo and Brussel sprouts. This was all so very good! The lobster was definitely spicy. I usually don't eat spicy foods, but the spiciness of this dish was really balanced. I was served a glass of white wine with this meal.
The chocolate tart was probably the best part of the whole meal. Also, I didn't get a picture before biting into it. The tart was round when it was served. The filling in this tart was light and fluffy and not too chocolatey. It was absolutely perfect! I then proceeded to google Chocolate Abuelita Tart in the hopes of finding a recipe for a dessert similar to this.
The dessert was also served with a shot of espresso liquor.
Once the meal was over we were given noisemakers and champagne to ring in the new year. Below is the view we had of the fireworks from the table. I told my husband that this view was better than the view we had for Illuminations earlier in the evening.
Overall, we had a really nice time at this meal. We were able to go to the various New Year's Parties at Epcot beforehand and we were able to have a nice meal and sit for a few hours before the fireworks. The staff was really nice, the food was good, and the view was decent. The restaurant manager even went around before the fireworks and made sure that everyone had a view for the show.
