FULL REVIEW: The Disney World Restaurant You’ll Want To Leave The Parks For

It’s no secret that Disney World has a lot of great restaurants.

Sure, there are a lot of great places to dine in the parks, but you’ll also find a lot of great dining OUTSIDE the parks, including at Disney World hotels. We just recently revisited one of our favorite restaurants, Sanaa at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. Does it stand the test of time? Let’s find out.

Atmosphere

You’ll find Sanaa in Kidani Village at Animal Kingdom Lodge. The theme here is African cooking with Indian flavors, so we will preface this by saying this is a restaurant for more adventurous eaters. Once you step inside, you immediately see some of Imagineering’s great details.

Inside, you’ll find what could be one of Disney World’s most relaxing restaurants with more of those Imagineering details scattered throughout. The vibe gives off a traditional African outdoor spice market vibe.

However, what sets this restaurant apart is its view. That’s because the restaurant has floor-to-ceiling windows that look out on the savannah — you never know what animals you might end up seeing.

You might even glance up from your meal to notice that some animals are getting up close and personal.

The place setting even gives off a serene vibe.

You’ll also find plenty of seating here in a bright and airy environment.

Food & Drinks

As we mentioned, the menu here is inspired by African and Indian flavors that includes the famous bread service we’re sure you’ve heard of, as well as slow-cooked meats, seafood, vegetarian items, and more.

The cocktails available here are also African and Indian-inspired, but you’ll also find some specialty wines you can only get at Animal Kingdom Lodge restaurants.

For our cocktail, we ordered the African Starr Mojito for $14.50.  It’s made with Starr African Rum, Van der Hum Tangerine Liqueur from South Africa, Fresh Lime Juice, and Mint. We found it surprisingly sweet, but light, with a nice minty and lime flavor.

We also had a glass of an Alternative/Blend wine, the Spice Route Chakalaka. This is one of the specialty wines you can only get at Sanaa and Jiko. Emma doesn’t thinks he’s much of a wine drinker but still found this one pleasing. It did have a bit of dryness, but more sweetness than we expected. It’s also a lighter wine, unlike some reds that we’ve had that are heavier.

So for food, we couldn’t NOT start with the Indian-style Bread Service for $21. You get a total of five breads with nine dipping sauces.

The breads you get are Traditional Naan, Garlic-Ginger Naan, Spiced Naan, Onion Kulcha, and Paneer Paratha. The breads are served warm and fluffy and practically melt in your mouth.

You also get nine dips. The Red Chile Sambal is the spiciest (as in hottest) of the nine. We usually handle heat pretty well, but this one has the actual seeds in it, which makes it hotter than the usual Disney hot. It’s good, but it’s giving off a bit of an uncomfortable heat. It’s still tasty, though, but it did make our mouth feel a little numb.

The Spicy Jalapeño-Lime Pickle might be our favorite. It’s a little spicy, but the pickle flavor cuts through a lot of the heat. The Coriander Chutney is very mild and its flavor reminded us of pesto. The Garlic Pickle also had a nice flavor, and although we could taste the garlic, it’s not heavy on the flavor — we even found there’s a bit of sweetness to the back end of it.

The Tamarind Chutney made us think of a sweet barbecue sauce. It had a smooth texture, and this might be a dip that everyone will like. The Mango Chutney has a lovely and simple mango flavor — this one is a crowd-pleaser and even kids would probably love it. Finally, the Cucumber Raita is a simple, yet refreshing dip that’s mostly just cucumber and yogurt.

Are we full yet? We hope not because we still have to get to our Entree. We ordered the Potjie Inspired for $31, which comes with a choice of Goan Seafood Curry, Butter Chicken, Braised Beef, or Pork Vindaloo and Rajma Masala, Chickpea Wat, Sukuma Wiki, or Lentil Daal. It’s served with Scented Basmati Rice.

We chose the Butter Chicken, which we found creamy and full of flavor. The chicken is so soft and chewy, and it wrapped itself around us like our favorite comfort food. We got the Chickpea Wat, too, and they were cooked very nicely with some spice coming from the cumin. The Rice you get with the meal is buttery and soft.

We also tried the Braised Beef, which was…how can we say this? It was incredible. It reminded us of pot roast the way it just melted in our mouths. We got it with the Rajma Masala, which is a lightly spiced curry made with kidney beans. This was also a very comforting dish.

For dessert, we ordered the Serradura, which is a Butterscotch Pudding with Almond Coffee Streusel, Pineapple, Mango, and Breton Shortbread for $9. Although that sounds super sweet, it’s really not.

We also felt it wasn’t so pudding-like due to the bit of grain in the actual pudding. We even got a hint of a whiskey flavor that made it even more interesting.

Should You Go?

This is one restaurant we will almost always leave the parks for, but it could make for a great dinner option if you’re visiting Animal Kingdom, which is nearby. It’s a MUST if you’re staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge. The food, though, is for more adventurous palates, meaning that picky eaters and kids might not appreciate all the flavors here.

Sanaa feels like an oasis of calm with a fantastic view, especially after a long day at the parks, but we’d go there in the middle of the day if the mood struck us — if only for that bread service.

Have you been to Sanaa recently? Make sure you drop a review on our site so that other readers can hear your thoughts!

A whopping 94% of our readers recommend Sanaa, and it currently has an 8.29 rating. It seems that this restaurant has wowed a lot of people with its unique fare, and the bread service seems to be a reason so many people leave the parks to enjoy it.

Many people also appreciate the amazing view of the savannah that is “fun and entertaining,” but many reviews also mention the excellent service and the relaxing atmosphere. Pro tip: try to get an early dinner reservation here so you can watch the sunset over the savannah.

Overall, if you’re looking for something a little different and don’t mind leaving the parks for it, we can’t recommend Sanaa highly enough. It’s also a great location if you need to leave the noise and crowds in the parks and could even be a great way to spend a midday break.

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Have you ever dined at Sanaa? What did you think? Let us know in the comments!

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