Sanaa: the Best Disney Food You’re Not Eating
Like the Costanza household, my family accumulated old issues of TV Guide. I remember my jubilation one day while perusing the collectible when I saw Sports Night named as the Guide’s “Best Show You’re Not Watching.” Being a sports fan who came of age during the heyday of the Olbermann and Patrick-helmed “Big Show” and loving its early-era Sorkinisms, I was a huge fan of Sports Night. Surely, this would save my struggling favorite show!
Alas, I have no delusions about what this post will do for Sanaa, the best least-popular restaurant at Walt Disney World. While I doubt it’s in danger of “cancellation,” I do find its perpetually quarter-full seating area troubling. Plus, last week we covered one of the worst restaurants at Walt Disney World, so why not spread the good word about one of our favorite restaurants at Walt Disney World–one many of you probably have never even considered dining at?
We’ve reviewed Sanaa before, but it’s been a while and most of the photos stopped working in our old review, so I figured it might be best to just start from scratch here rather than just updating the old review. For those unfamiliar with it, Sanaa is a table service restaurant in Kidani Village at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. Its menu is one of the more adventurous at Walt Disney World, with African and Indian inspiration but also enough crowd-pleasing options to make it approachable.
In terms of basics, Sanaa participates in the Disney Dining Plan as a 1-credit table service restaurant, and also accepts the Tables in Wonderland card for 20% off. Sanaa’s menu has a lot of range, meaning it can be bot cheap out of pocket or a good values for using Table Service Disney Dining Plan credits depending upon what you order.
Thematically, Sanaa is basically an extension of Kidani Village. The style and fact that you have views into the savanna might be remarkable elsewhere, but here it feels like a cozy environment that could just as easily be a larger version of one of the quiet nooks upstairs hidden off of the lobby…except with food.
If you’ve stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge or Kidani Village before, you know what I mean. If you haven’t, this thematic work should not be downplayed. The entire resort is exquisite, and Sanaa is the natural extension of this. Any excuse, particularly a delicious meal, to slow down and relish the design work Imagineering has done with Kidani Village should be taken.
Kidani Village is a great environment as a whole, with Sanaa in particular having an airy ambiance that is perfectly befitting of the menu. In other words, the Sanaa experience is off to a great start the moment you enter the hotel, and by extension, the restaurant. With that said, let’s turn to the menu…
The Indian Bread Service is a must-order, and is one of the highlights of a meal at Sanaa. Going big with the larger version with all nine accompaniments is a no-brainer.
This gives you a chance to sample all of the different sauces, jams, and hummus to see which you favor. It makes for a great “conversation piece” appetizer, and is a window into the flavors and spices used in Indian cuisine. Think of this as edu-eatutainment…or something like that. (But seriously, order this.)
For another starter, we ordered the Lamb Kefta Skewers with Tunisian Couscous Salad and Peppadew-Goat Cheese.
These were likewise fantastic. The lamb was perfectly seasoned and with a subtle gaminess. I love lamb like this, but your mileage may vary.
For entrees, we had the Tandoori Chicken and Potjie. The Tandoori Chicken is served open-faced on naan bread with roasted chicken, rocket, pickled onion, tomato, and sambal mayonnaise.
The chicken here was impossibly tender, the naan was pillowy-soft, the vegetables were fresh, and the mayo had a mild twist that was addictively good. I’d consider this a fairly approachable and excellent option for those who don’t want anything too adventurous. It’s also a solid value out of pocket.
Potjie translates to “small pot food” and is one of the best options on Sanaa’s menu. From the menu: “Choose one from the Journey – Goan Seafood Curry, Butter Chicken, Braised Beef, or Spicy Durban Shrimp. Choose one from the Harvest – Aloo Masala, Chickpea Wit, Lentil Dhal, Paneer Tikka, or Cilantro-Coconut Vegetables served with scented Basmati Rice.”
We were joined for the meal by our friend Nick, who you may recall from some of our earlier trip reports. For those of you newer readers who only hate-read the blog, you can blame him for its existence. He was one of my college roommates who invited us down during his College Program. That rekindled our love for Walt Disney World, and led to this whole mess.
Anyway, Nick ordered the Sustainable Fish. I believe this was grouper, but I’m not totally sure. In any case, he enjoyed it. The fish was nicely plated and the portion seemed fair.
We were pretty stuffed by dessert time, but felt compelled to order the Kheer and Spice Trade Candy Bar. The former was fine taste-wise, but way too small.
The latter was one of the most decadent and inventive candy bars we’ve ever tried, but also the most expensive. Presentation aside, it’s actually much more than a candy bar, and is the kind of dessert that’s shareable despite its size because it’s fairly rich. The pistachio crumb offered nice texture, too.
We’d order the Spice Trade Candy Bar again if we were using Disney Dining Plan credits, but if paying out of pocket, we’d be inclined to skip dessert. The Mara does have Zebra Domes in its cooler, after all…
If you’re looking for ‘safer’ options, Sanaa has you covered there with the Kenya Coffee BBQ Sandwich. Along with the Sanaa Burger, it’s one of the approachable, crowd-pleasing options on the lunch menu. (For dinner, there’s New York Strip Steak, Lamb Shank, and Duck.)
Ultimately, Sanaa is a restaurant we recommend wholeheartedly to all Walt Disney World fans. The trek out to Animal Kingdom Lodge is worth the effort to see the resort’s beautiful design and unique style, and the lunch menu presents one of the best value propositions at Walt Disney World. It’s easy to make excuses not to visit or revisit Sanaa–and we’re definitely guilty of this–but with each meal, we’re reminded why this is restaurant that belongs in our regular rotation.
Want more dining recommendations? Check out our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. For info on whether the DDP is right for you, read our Ultimate Guide to the Disney Dining Plan. For comprehensive vacation advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts…
What do you think of Sanaa? For those of you who are eating here, is it deserving of its ‘best restaurant you’re not eating at’ status? Where does it rank in terms of dining at Walt Disney World for you? Have any favorite dishes at Sanaa? Any questions? Hearing your feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts or questions below in the comments!
We are coming to Disney for our Honeymoon in October and I would absolutely love to try this place. However, we are from South Africa and this type of cuisine and environment is very normal for us- we have proper authentic Indian and African food almost every week. Would you still suggest we give it a try?
My husband and I LOVE Sanaa. We plan our Disney trips around eating there. We always order extra food to have leftovers for the rest of the trip. Their bread service is so amazing!
I didn’t read all of the comments, so apologies if this was already mentioned, but they have amazing Gluten Free bread available as well. My BFF happened to be in Orlando when we were at Disney and she tried it (because of course we ordered the full bread service!). They were happy to accommodate, didn’t charge extra, and she said it was the most amazing GF bread she had ever had.
Totally agree! We stay at Kidani Village because of this restaurant and nearby Boma. 2 of our absolute favorite places to eat in the whole world- not just Disney. 🙂
We agree with you completely! We love Sanaa and ate there during our most recent visit in March. I would have eaten there every night just to be able to try more of their menu. Thanks for letting others know about this hidden gem.
During our last trip in February 2018, we decided to head back to our room at Kidani Village early one afternoon due to a huge thunderstorm & had an impromptu dinner at Sanaa. Let me just say WE WERE GLAD IT RAINED. This meal was hands down one of the best we have ever had at any Disney World restaurant (we have eaten at all the greats: California Grill, Jiko, Yachtmans, etc). From the bread service to the Chef coming to our table to see how we liked the food, experience was amazing. I can not recommend this gem enough. TRUST ME TRY IT!
Great review. I’ve never been but have reservations there for dinner on the 20th when I’m in town for the Dark Side races. Excited!
Absolutely agree! We tried Sanaa on our last trip to WDW thanks to the high praises in your review, and I am SO glad we did. Everything was excellent, from our cocktails, to the bread service to the entrees and our desserts. We are trying to experience all new restaurants each time we go back, but have agreed that we would ignore that rule to eat at Sanaa again. Selfishly, I almost hope it remains a hidden gem because we were able to get seated by the window immediately and the place was basically empty, so the service was amazing.
I completely agree-we ate at Sanaa our last trip and it was my favorite meal of the week. I was planning to eat there again for our trip this year, but my husband wanted to try Boma this time. How do these two compare? Should I try to switch our reservation back to Sanaa? We’ve never eaten at Boma…
Boma is MUCH more popular, but is still very good; buffet-style. It is worth trying if you have never been there.
So, if Sanaa is Sports Night, would that make Boma The West Wing?
I’d say Jiko is the West Wing. Boma could be Studio 60 (which I really enjoyed, so that’s not a knock!).
Tom- don’t know how to reach you except this way. I use a Mac, and for some reason I can’t load most of your comments using either of the current versions Safari or Firefox. At the moment the page says there’s 39 comments, with only a few of them displayed. When I click ‘display older comments’ it drops me to the last 2 comments, skipping all the ones in between. This happens on all but your older articles; on the older ones all the comments display properly.
JackB, you are not alone. I use a PC, and this routinely happens with both Firefox and Chrome. The last time it happened I posted a reply about it, and after posting I was able to see all of the older replies, but that is hardly a good solution.
The link can just be changed to say “Oldest Comments”. There – problem solved. 😉
In all seriousness though, this issue is almost as annoying as dateless blog entries and no more trip reports.
Totally agree with this, thanks for re-writing the review! I visited Sanaa on my last visit off the back of your previous review and it was my favorite meal of the trip. Getting there a little bit earlier to wander out on the Savannah was a lovely experience, would highly recommend a visit to this beautiful resort and delicious restaurant!
MMMMmmmmmmm….. your food pictures look AMAZING. Unfortunately, Sanaa is booked up for dinner until after our kids bedtime for our upcoming trip (but you definitely got me look it up in the MDE app). We’ll have to just stick with our Jiko reservation and splurge for the upcharge…. poor us 😉
I guess I’m going to be in the minority and disagree with you. We visited Sanaa on our last visit and it was my least favorite dinner of the whole trip. I am not a fan of any spicy food, so that severely limited my options on the menu. I ordered the butter chicken, and it was okay but I didn’t finish it. The naan was really good, except ordering more than one piece of plain naan didn’t seem to be an option- you had to order the assortment, which was not as desirable for us when traveling with 5 kids. And then, kids! Since Disney treats kids age 10 as adults, and there was nothing on the menu our small adults would eat, we wasted their dining credits on kids meals.
To be fair, it might have left a better impression on us if there hadn’t been a computer failure when it can time to pay our bill. The glitch detained us at the restaurant an additional hour and a half longer than we needed to be there. It was very frustrating.
You’re certainly not alone. I can’t say I hated it, and I wouldn’t discourage others from going there, unless they are a bit picky, but it’s also not one I’d think of if someone asked me for a recommendation, and I wouldn’t go there again unless the group I was with was really really wanting to go. If you are a at ALL picky, this restaurant is probably not for you. My thing is sauces and condiments…I don’t like ketchup, mustard, mayo, pickled anything, etc…so while the bread on the bread service is ok, I have to eat it plain because I don’t like any of the sauces it comes with. My son is even pickier than I am and if I remember correctly, we ended up going to get him something somewhere else after our Sanaa meal, because there was nothing, even on the kids menu, that he would eat. But then, he won’t eat mac and cheese, spaghetti, hamburgers, and is extremely picky about his pizza and chicken nuggets, so feeding him ANYWHERE is a chore. But not liking spicey foods or sauces, the menu is, as you said, extremely limited. I know most people aren’t as picky, and for them, I’m sure it is great. But I’ve found that when people say there’s something even for the pickiest of eaters, that hasn’t been true for me.
My favorite dessert at Sanaa is the Kulfi – the Indian ice cream. I like that the flavors change according to the season too. A must have for me!
Sanaa was our first table service meal on our first trip to Disney, a meal I’ll never forget. The Bread Service is phenomenal. Probably my favorite restaurant at WDW Resort.
Thanks for spreading the good word about Sanaa! I think I’ve eaten there more than any other Disney restaurant, it’s probably my favorite. Bread service and butter chicken!
I agree completely about Sports Night and Sanaa. I miss that very funny, smart show. And bread service & butter chicken? Yes please!
The tomato soup is amazing too. I always order the bread service and get the tomato soup as my entree.
Every internet resource I’ve seen extols the virtues of Sanaa as a great Disney restaurant. I’m surprised it isn’t more popular – I know it’s an extra bus ride to get there, but AKL is the one resort in my opinion that is worth visiting in it’s own right as a destination.
That said, if it’s less popular, perhaps it will keep the prices closer to reasonable. I disagree with the review about the “value” of the curry – we have many good Indian restaurants near us and this is easily 50% more expensive. This puts it in line with Disney pricing, but I don’t think it’s a great value. With every review telling you how good the bread service is, it’s price has grown quite a bit over the years. It tastes great, but $16 for 3 pieces of bread is steep.
The bread service definitely has risen in price over the years to the point that it’s not a good option for value (but we still love it). That amount of curry would easily be the same cost at a good restaurant in LA, so I guess that one just depends upon where you are.