Satu’li Canteen Review
Satu’li Canteen the counter service restaurant in Pandora – World of Avatar at Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom theme park. In this WDW dining review, we’ll share food photos, offer thoughts on the menu, ambiance and theme at Satu’li Canteen, and share whether we think it’s worth dining here. (Updated August 5, 2020.)
For starters, Satu’li Canteen is on the far side of Pandora, adjacent to Pongu Pongu and the Windtraders gift shop, which is at the exit to Avatar Flight of Passage, now one of the most popular rides at Walt Disney World. The restaurant participates in the Disney Dining Plan as a 1-credit counter service location, but does not offer any other form of discounts.
Satu’li Canteen was the first restaurant at Walt Disney World to debut Mobile Order, a feature in the My Disney Experience mobile app that is now ubiquitous and highly recommended as a time-saver. The process is pretty self-explanatory, but we have a How to Use Mobile Order at Walt Disney World Guide just in case you need it.
The idea behind Satu’li Canteen is that it used to be an RDA mess hall, but has been repurposed into a peaceful dining facility by Alpha Centauri Expeditions (ACE) and adorned with Na’vi art and cultural items. “It’s the perfect place to refuel as you venture through the Valley of Mo’ara.”
So in other words, Satu’li Canteen has been repurposed much like the rest of Pandora…and to a larger extent, like a lot of Animal Kingdom as a whole. And really, this ‘repurposed space’ motif is a common design-style Disney uses far beyond Animal Kingdom.
Unlike the rest of Pandora – World of Avatar, I don’t think Satu’li Canteen is particularly effective from a thematic perspective. Sure, you could say they nailed the theme they were going for, but it seems like a poor choice to go for a mess hall vibe in the first place.
Walt Disney World already has plenty of loud, cavernous restaurants. Something sprawling and intimate would’ve been perfect here, especially considering that Animal Kingdom’s other counter service restaurants are mostly simple, outdoor venues.
To me, Satu’li Canteen feels like a giant hangar, the weird love child of Animal Kingdom Lodge, Tatooine Traders, and Smokejumpers Grill. There’s a layer of detail applied to all of this for visual interest, but I didn’t find any of it particularly satisfying. This struck me as a contrast to the rest of Pandora–a bit of a swing and a miss.
The restaurant’s main offering is a “Create-Your-Own-Bowl” plus two varieties of Bao Buns. On the plus side, the food was good across the board. Animal Kingdom already had what was arguably the best counter service lineup of any park at Walt Disney World. Now, I’d say that point is not arguable.
The highlight at Satu’li Canteen is the “Create-Your-Own-Bowl” option, which lets you select a protein, base, and sauce. If you’re a health-nut like Sarah, you can order the chicken with quinoa and chimichurri sauce.
If you’re more interested in foods that taste delicious like me, the beef with potatoes and creamy herb dressing should be your pick. In other words, there’s something for everyone with the options here, and they can be light and healthy or heavy and ‘comforting.’
We tried a few variations of the bowls, and I felt the grilled beef was the best pick for a protein. It was high-quality, relatively lean meat that had excellent flavor and was perfectly-prepared medium rare.
This Grilled Beef with Red & Sweet Potato Hash and Creamy Herb Dressing Bowl is my new go-to option at Animal Kingdom. The beef is exceptional, and the creamy herb dressing is addictively good.
The potatoes round the dish out as nice filler, which also add a bit of herb and spice to the mix. Not only is this filling and delicious, but it’s also a strong value for money. I cannot say enough good things about it.
The chicken was also good, but less of a standout comparatively-speaking. Sarah was really impressed by her chicken bowl, and was pleased that Walt Disney World had healthy (or at least healthier–it’s all relative) options that actually taste good at a counter service restaurant.
I tried the chicken and while it’s good, there’s no comparison between it and the beef bowl. Unless you “need” to eat healthy, go with the beef.
We both agreed that the fish did not ‘work’ quite as well in the bowl, but it was still a good option and higher quality than you’d typically find as a component of a counter service dish. We did not try the tofu.
In addition to these bowls—which offer and exceptional blend of quality, size, and price—there are a few other menu items, like steamed pods, which are Pandora’s twist on burgers.
I found the pods to be good–better than a cheeseburger at Restaurantosaurus, for example–but less filling than the bowls. The bun to meat ratio could’ve been a bit better. If this were Magic Kingdom, these pods would be a standout menu item, but with the exceptional bowls at Satu’li Canteen, I don’t see myself ordering the pods ever again.
Moreover, while the quality of the pods is higher than a standard Walt Disney World counter service burger, there is something to be said for just embracing a low-quality burger and piling it high with toppings to mask the taste and get a cheap meal in the process.
In terms of desserts, the Blueberry Cream Cheese Mousse is definitely the way to go. First of all, it scores major points for looking cool. If someone made up a backstory that this is what blue alien smurf kittens eat to get their color (like flamingos!), I’d totally buy into that.
As for flavor, it was a nice mix of blueberry and tropical. Rich and flavorful, but not so much so that you’d need to split it. (Don’t share it–we made that mistake.) Off the top of my head, I can’t think of there being a better counter service dessert at Animal Kingdom. In fact, I’d say the two best desserts in the park are this and the Pongu Lumpia at Pongu Pongu. Both are phenomenal, must-eats.
We also tried the Chocolate Cake with a Crunchy Cookie Layer and Banana Cream Topping. This didn’t work for either of us. There was an odd, bitter tang to the flavor, which was otherwise sweet.
Sarah’s generally a fan of dark chocolate, but that wasn’t quite what was going on here.
The drink above is also not recommended.
I’m not sure what was going on here, but it tasted like day old Mountain Dew, cut with 50% water.
Finally, a quick update to “check in” on Satu’li Canteen to see whether its initial quality has held up, as often new Walt Disney World restaurants cut corners or go downhill over time.
We’re happy to report that this is not the case. To the contrary, Satu’li Canteen retains the same great menu and portion sizes (our most recent meal here was July 2020) as it did upon opening. Meanwhile, prices continue to increase while portion sizes decrease at Flame Tree BBQ–closing the gap between the two top tier Animal Kingdom dining options.
Overall, we have been so consistently impressed with Satu’li Canteen that we’ve penciled it into our 1-Day Animal Kingdom Itinerary as where you should have dinner. (Lunch at Tiffins plus dinner here or at Flame Tree BBQ might be one epic day for your stomach.) The food is ambitious and delicious, the portion sizes are large, and the menu is solid from beginning to end. Even several years after the debut of Pandora – World of Avatar, the quality remains high–largely outperforming Flame Tree BBQ.
Thematically, Satu’li Canteen a disappointment given how impressive everything else in Pandora is, but I guess you can just eat outside and stare at the floating mountains to “fix” that. In a park where the “theme” for most counter service restaurants is simply the scenery, the fact that there’s actually indoor, air-conditioned seating here is at least a plus, and not enough to tarnish an otherwise exceptional restaurant. All things considered, Satu’li Canteen is an elite eatery, deserving its ranking in the top 5 on our List of the Best Counter Service Restaurants at Walt Disney World.
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Your Thoughts
Have you dined at Satu’li Canteen? What did you think of the food here? What about the theme and atmosphere? Is it on your must-do list for Animal Kingdom, or would you prefer dining elsewhere? If you’ve yet to dine here, any questions about the restaurant? We enjoy hearing your feedback–and it’s helpful for other readers to hear a diversity of opinions–so we’d really appreciate it if you’d share your experience in the comments below!
Tom we are at WDW now and I’m researching AK dining. I noticed Satu’li Canteen is not in your dining index for Animal Kingdom. I found this article via google search.
This is our favorite lunch place in all of the parks, and like Tom said, just sit outside if the indoors doesn’t suit you. The boba ball salad dressing is also a fun touch.
It’s got good access to bathrooms and Pongu Pongu next door.
In 2018 they had a curry vegetable bao bun dish that was really good, but have since discontinued the dish.
Thanks for this review, Tom! You mentioned lunch specifically at Tiffins. I’m wondering if they still do a special lunch menu? It isn’t listed that way on their menu, but I know you’ve mentioned it before, and while we absolutely love Tiffins, we don’t go there very often because it is soo expensive…would be great if they had a less expensive lunch option.
We haven’t been to DW since Pandora opened, and I think my family could be convinced to try this. I see that there’s now a noodle option on the menu. Wondering if someone can give me feedback on it.
Eating at this restaurant now. It is probably the dirtiest place we have eaten at in Disney. Most tables are either covered in food or the seats are. The food is typical Disney fare, nothing to get excited over. Will not eat here aqain.
Dined here for lunch and it was one of our best CS meals thus far! Chicken and Beef over black beans and rice, choice of dressing, and an amazing Sangria all on the DDP! Plus, this was the first place on this trip that our 6 year old actually finished his meal – he loved the cheese quesadilla and root vegetable chips.
Thanks for all the informative reviews, Tom! I just wanted to point out though, that you haven’t added this review to your list of review links that shows up when you click “dining” in the top menu, so when I went to look for this again to send to my sister I had to use the search function. I think you might be missing a few of your more recent Disney Springs reviews from that list too, as I know D-Luxe burger at least isn’t showing there. Just wanted to let you know! Thanks again for such a helpful blog, we’re taking our first trip to Disney in just over two weeks, but after reading most of this blog I actually feel quite prepared!
Had the cheeseburger pods when we went. They were ok, but now I’m wishing I had the beef bowl! The root vegetable chips were super yummy though 🙂 I could have eaten a ton of those!
Hi Tom,
We had the tofu and my boyfriend had the beef, both with rice and chimichurra and they very good. By far the best quality quick service meal we had.
When we were there (27th may) the mobile order did not allow you to use dining plan credits so those on the dpd should avoid going at peak times as the only option is to queue.
Speaking of the dining plan, from an international perspective we found it good value. We booked outside of any dining plan offer and the incremental cost of adding it to our package was roughly $200 for 2 of us for 2 weeks. I have no idea how it works as we booked a package (flights, hotel, transfers, tickets, etc) so we did not get a breakdown. Perhaps the room discount (we stayed at all stars and had “free” nights offer) was very low. Regardless of this, had we paid the full price for a uk traveller it worked out as $50 per day per person due to the current exchange rates. So I would recommend non-US guests consider exchange rates and compare with and without dpd packages when planning their holiday.
Venti starbucks is my tip for snack credits – we shared a venti frappacino every day rather than using 2 credits for a tall/grande each.
Hope this helps!
Gem
Thank you for your reviews, always!! I come here often because I’m a parks junkie currently in withdrawal, but since I found out that I get to go to Disneyland this October I’ve been revisiting all of your Disneyland food reviews. Your reviews I find to be the most helpful because you don’t seem to allow the shimmery dust of Parks Love to color your opinion of your experience, and you value atmosphere highly, unique qualities in the Disney sphere. Having said that, could you please please please fatten up your lineup of Disneyland restaurant reviews? I’d love to know what you think of the new River Belle menu, breakfast at Rancho, Storytellers, Pacific Wharf Cafe, but most of all SNACKS IN DISNEYLAND!
Thank you, though, for all of it, either way. I appreciate!!
Just wanted to say that your phone background screen is adorable! Love that picture of you and Sarah. 🙂
Can’t wait to try this place when we visit WDW in September. Also we will never travel without the portable chargers you suggested ever again. They are so handy. Thanks Tom!
We can’t wait to give this a try in September. Also, the travel charges are lifesavers. We will never travel without a portable charger again. Thanks Tom!
Can someone please tell me what those little orbs on top of the bowls are? Are they filled with liquid like fish roe, or are they more gelatinous like boba beads? Inquiring minds want to know!
They are boba beads.
We ate here as well and my husband actually liked my chicken more than his beef. But I think that the healthier choices were great.
I’m so excited to try the tofu bowl!
We loved the beef bowls! They tasted fresh and healthy. We had the chimichurri but will happily try the creamy dressing if we can make it back. It was so nice to have offerings under $20 that were not deep fried foods that left our stomach s feeling heavy. And the quality of the beef was excellent- no gristle or icky parts, no trimming needed.
Excited to try the tofu bowl! As a vegetarian, meatless options that I actually like in Disney parks are pretty few and far between. I am surprised that there’s only a quick serve, but perhaps the other restaurants in DAK are not filled to capacity already. Maybe we’ll see a cool table service in the future if they saved room for it.
Even though it doesn’t appeal to me at all, I have to agree that it’s nice to see Walt Disney World not phoning it in on the vegetarian offerings at counter service restaurants. As more and more people choose vegetarian diets (or even just want a vegetarian option from time to time), it really makes sense to have more high-quality vegetarian options on the menus.
Hi Tom,
Love your blog!! We were there yesterday and ordered the tofu bowl, beef bowl, and chicken bowl. The chicken was our favorite but the beef was also good. We were surprised at how light and tender it was. We were all disappointed with the tofu bowl. We got it with the potatoes and cream sauce. I think those flavors may have been to mellow for the tofu. The texture of the dish was nice (crunchy on the outside, firm and creamy on the inside) and it was dusted with chili powder but overall very bland. The tofu looked like fancy crouton cubes. The dish might have been better combine with the kale salad and chimichurri sauce. Nevertheless, it was nice to see a vegetarian option. Oh, and I loved eating off real plates!! I didn’t think it would make a big difference but it does! It really elevates the quick service experience!!
Yes! Amen. Another Disney vegetarian! Also excited by the tofu.
Kate – I am not a vegetarian, but last week I had a vegetarian dish at WDW that was honest to God the best meal I’ve had all year, anywhere. It was the potato gnocchi at The Wave… of American Flavors, located at the Contemporary Resort. It was to die for. I just popped in to tell you this.
Kate – I am not a vegetarian, but last week I had a vegetarian dish at WDW that was honest to God the best meal I’ve had all year, anywhere. It was the potato gnocchi at The Wave… of American Flavors, located at the Contemporary Resort. It was to die for. I just popped in to tell you this.
We tried mobile ordering last week with one snafu — my phone(which I used to make the order) died so I had to log onto my MDE account on my husband’s phone and my order was nowhere to be found even though I already paid for it! We got help and they told us that it has to be “prepared” on the same exact phone, doesn’t matter if it is the same MDE account. So that was a little weird! I also got the beef during the preview and it was excellent! When we went back the second day after opening, the beef lookedmore well done, so I opted for the chicken. Both were good! Just my observations. The mobile ordering thing might help others out.
Thanks for the heads up on this, but…I see SOMEONE did not read our Walt Disney World Packing List!!! 😉
Those chargers have been a life saver for me…