Wednesday, February 17, 2016

La Cantina de San Angel - Epcot

This post was last updated September 2, 2018

When La Cantina de San Angel opened in the Mexico Pavilion, it quickly became my favorite quick service restaurant at Epcot, because everything on the menu was gluten free except the chicken tenders on the Kids' Menu, and their churros.My favor ite meal was the Empanadas con Queso, which used to be gluten free. Everything changed when the empanadas were switched from being made with corn tortillas to flour tortillas, which made that menu item off limits for me, and contaminated their fryers.


For years, we did not dine at La Cantina de San Angel, but I recently stopped there to inquire about gluten free options. I was told that the following entrees 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, black beans, and red salsa
  • Tacos de Pollo - seasoned chicken, homemade corn tortillas, Mexican rice, black beans, and red salsa
The tortilla chips are not gluten free, because they are made in a shared fryer. For dessert, they serve watermelon, mango, lime, and coconut paletas, which are traditional fruit popsicles, and they are all gluten free.


Yesterday, my daughters both ordered the Tacos de Pollo with seasoned chicken, homemade corn tortillas, Mexican rice, refried black beans, and red salsa, which they had served on the side. They both loved this entree, but would have preferred the tacos with some queso fresco on top.


The cast member who took my order recommended the Tacos de Barbacoa with seasoned beef, homemade corn tortillas, Mexican rice, refried black beans and red salsa. I did ask her to mark all of our food as a gluten allergy so I could try my daughters' chicken tacos too. I was impressed with both dishes, and I am not sure which one I liked more, because I had just one large bite of the chicken tacos. The seasoned beef was very flavorful, and like my daughters, I loved the beans and rice the tacos were served with.


I did ask a manager if the mild salsa verde was gluten free, and he confirmed it was, so I ate it with my bite of Katie's chicken taco.


For dessert, I ordered a watermelon paleta.  It was really good, but I wasn't happy that it contained red #40 in addition to watermelon, water, and sugar.


Overall, we all loved our meals, and I would have to say that La Cantina de San Angel is my favorite quick service restaurant at Epcot again.  You can read my friend Sarah's recent review on her blog Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free at WDW.    


La Cantina de San Angel offers indoor (inside La Hacienda de San Angel) and outdoor seating for lunch, and outdoor seating for dinner.  It is run by the same restaurant group that manages La Hacienda de San Angel and San Angel Inn, two of my favorite table service restaurants at Epcot.  Because they are not Disney owned and operated, they do not have allergy-friendly menus, but they do a great job with special diets.


September 2, 2018 Update


On our trip to Disney World in July, we stopped at La Cantina de San Angel, so my gluten-eating daughters could have empanadas from the kids menu, which they loved. I asked about gluten free options, and was told that the first three dishes on the menu were gluten free. They are the same options I was offered two years ago, but the pollo cascabel, tacos de barbacoa, and tacos de pollo are now served with queso fresco and cilantro.


We dined inside La Hacienda de San Angel to escape the summer heat.

You can read more about La Cantina de San Angel, and view their menu and hours on Disney's website.

What are your favorite gluten free options at La Cantina de San Angel?  


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