Reviews of Sanaa Lunch/Dinner – Kidani Village
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Menus at Sanaa
Reviewed by 1283alex Review Date: 05/23/2013
Rating: (4) Recommended
Food was good, but portions were too small! We were still hungry after shortly after we left. Only saw one animal as we were dining. Nicely themed & decorated, but would not go back again.
Pros:
tastefully theme decorCons:
small portionsReviewed by konslerg Review Date: 04/09/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
We've dined at Boma and Jiko and love both. Sanaa is every bit as good! My only caution is that, if you don't like spicy/hot food, ask your server to point you in a milder direction. I had the durban spice shrimp and it was almost too spicy hot for me and I love heat in my food. It was delicious, but one degree more heat and it would have been too much. So, steer clear of durban spice if you don't like heat. Husband had tandoori lamb and it was excellent too. For dessert we split a banana kulfi (sort of ice cream) and I could have eaten about three all by myself it was so good. I have only one complaint (or I would have rated it a 10), there is a bread service on the menu, 5 different naan breads and 5 sauces for $10. I assumed (wrongly) that it you didn't order the bread service, you'd at least get a roll, small piece of naan or some sort of bread with the meal. Nope, no bread.
Pros:
The food is outstanding; so is the view of the animalsCons:
Believe them if they say something is spicy! No bread unless you order the $10 bread service.Reviewed by lizzie1974 Review Date: 02/08/2013
Rating: (7) Recommended
This is the place to dine if you like your food flavorful. We had the bread service, the appetizer sampler, and the duo with green curry shrimp & the lamb.
The downside was that the waiter was not particularly good. When you get the bread service, you get to choose 5 of the 10 sauces to accompany them. One of the sauces we received was not what I ordered, but I didn't realize it until we were done. The waiter did not identify them for us when he brought them out! Had he done so, I would have let him know that one was incorrect. I mean, yes, I ordered them, but I don't eat this everyday so I didn't know which ones were which.
I was a little bummed that the wait staff were not African or Indian, despite the theme of the restaurant. The ladies at the hostess station were African. That is the initial impression of the restaurant so you kind of expect it to continue on through the dinner.
The food was outstanding though. It's worth the effort to get there at least once.
Pros:
foodCons:
serviceReviewed by cholmberg Review Date: 01/21/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
I loved this place. It was so nice to be able to get food with some spice to it. We were on the DDP, Husband had the kefta appetizer, which was pretty good. I had the bread service, which was good. . but felt it did not live up to the hype I'd read in the reviews. The onion kulcha was nearly black and tasted awful. The papadum was spicy and crisp and delicious though. I had duo of spicy durban chicken and lamb vindaloo with basmati rice. All were good, husband had the steak which he enjoyed. The kids were accommodated. MIL had the fish in curry broth which she liked. Our server was Tracy and she was great. I had the dessert trio and absolutely loved the tropical fruit kulfi.
Pros:
food, service, atmosphereCons:
noneReviewed by Momrph11 Review Date: 01/09/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
Just had dinner here tonight and had a wonderful evening. Our waiter, Jim, took the time to describe some of the dishes ( he didn't know that we were New Yorkers who eat out often and enjoy Indian food) and even brought us a little of the lamb vindaloo to try when my husband commented that vindaloos were usually quite hot so we could see if our palate could handle it ( we do usually avoid the vindaloos as TOO hot). It was hot but manageable for our palates so we got the slow cooked lamb vindaloo with the butter chicken and the short ribs with the Durban shrimp and split all 4 between us. When we mentioned that the bread service of 5 breads was just too much bread, he offered us the lunch service of 3 with 3 sauces instead. The Durban shrimp was even hotter than the lamb, but we loved it anyway and I asked for recipes for all 4 which they did not have, but Jim brought me what recipes he could find. Then he had Chef Tricia come out to talk with us to describe how they make the short ribs! What a delightful person! We talked for several minutes not only about the short ribs but about how she snuck oatmeal into other dishes at home to increase her own consumption of it and how they were going to tweak the Sanaa menu this spring! After she was called away to speak to another table, the manager Stephanie came over to ask if things were ok! All in all a truly wonderful and memorable meal! We are looking forward to going back with our children this summer.
