Tiffins Restaurant Review
Tiffins is a table service restaurant at Animal Kingdom in Walt Disney World, located near Pandora – World of Avatar. This dining review includes food photos, thoughts on our experience, whether this new Signature Restaurant is worth it, and how it compares to other meals at WDW.
In terms of basic info for WDW vacation planners, Tiffins is a 2-credit table service restaurant on the Disney Dining Plan, which makes it a poor use of your table service credits at Walt Disney World (unless you’re on the Deluxe Disney Dining Plan). If you’re not using the Disney Dining Plan, Tiffins offers a 20% discount for Tables in Wonderland cardholders, and a 10% discount for Annual Passholders or Disney Vacation Club members.
The design/decor of Tiffins is basically a tribute to the explorations of Imagineers. Disney’s site says as much, and our server at Tiffins further elaborated on this, even mentioning Joe Rohde by name. I found this to be interesting; Disney fans have long held a certain reverence for Imagineers, and the Imagineering: Behind the Magic books are incredibly popular, but it still surprises me that this is the explicit “story” of the restaurant given that Disney doesn’t really ‘lift the curtain’ on the parks to casual guests.
Whether the stated story is Joe Rohde’s real-life travels to remote mountaintops–or that Tiffins is the latest franchise in Harrison Hightower’s restaurant empire, actually set in Jazz Era New York City, entered through a hidden time portal accessible by flushing the Pizzafari toilets 3 times in a very specific fashion–the design works.
Dropping any pretenses of an elaborate backstory here was a good call. Tiffins simultaneously feels like dining in an art gallery, and eating at a high-end, low-key restaurant where globe-trotting Imagineers would themselves dine.
Some photos of the interior of Tiffins are sprinkled throughout the beginning/prefatory thoughts of the review…
We hesitated before dining at Tiffins, concerned that it might not be true Signature Dining in the California Grill or Jiko sense of the term. We worried it might be an attempt on Disney’s part to push its menu prices even further. A legitimate concern, we felt, given the dramatic menu price increases we’ve witnessed recently at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland.
We enjoy reporting on new experiences for you all, but we don’t love you so much that we’re willing to be ripped off for you…sorry?
In any case, a couple of weeks before our trip, Disney added the new “Taste of Tiffins” section to its lunch menu, which is basically a ‘pick 2’ option at a much more palatable price.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen Disney lower menu prices, so my assumption is that introducing new options at lower prices is effectively Disney’s way of lowering prices without actually lowering prices. That solidified our decision to dine at Tiffins…hence this review.
As you can see, Tiffins and Nomad Lounge (connected to Tiffins, and pictured directly above) were quite crowded during our meal. Having heard that Tiffins wasn’t too popular, we decided to skip ADRs, and were seated immediately when we walked up just after noon.
At the start of our meal, there were 3 other parties in Tiffins and 0 in Nomad Lounge. We enjoyed a leisurely meal, by the end of which time there were a handful of parties in Nomad Lounge and maybe 10ish in Tiffins. (Enough to justify opening additional dining rooms, but not so many that any tables adjacent to us were occupied.)
We were seated in the Grand Gallery, which is where all the light-up animals live. I don’t care who you are, there’s something truly magical about dining by elephant footlight. (I predict a day when the Elephant Booth will displace Cinderella Castle as the go-to spot for engagement proposals on Walt Disney World. You heard it here first, folks.)
In addition to the art adorning the walls, there are a few display cases with other pieces and what appear to be sketches from the field made during the Imagineers’ travels. The designers of Tiffins exercised a good amount of restraint in not cramming as much in here as possible. It definitely skews more towards art gallery than the cluttered den of an eccentric scholar who saves and exhibits every random artifact they own.
I got a bit carried away taking photos in Tiffins, but I think you probably get the idea of the ambiance by now. I’ve simultaneously uploaded an album of Tiffins photos to Facebook with shots that didn’t make the cut for this review, if you want to see more.
From thick cloth napkins to the distinct aroma of the leather-bound travel journals (doubling as menus) there are a lot of details in the Tiffins dining experience that we appreciated–and that elevate it to its very justified status as a Signature Restaurant at Walt Disney World.
As hinted at above, we each ordered from the Taste of Tiffins menu; this is the best lunch value by a fairly significant margin.
With molasses, salt, and vinegar, the complimentary bread service has a sweet & sour thing going on that works decently.
Sarah was more impressed with this than I was; for me, the contrasts here felt a tad stark.
The Taste of Tiffins menu items are served with a plate of Jade Rice, which is nice to the extent that it provides added substance to what could otherwise be a light meal. Calling it filler is selling the rice short as it’s a nice blend; still, I can’t recall the last time I wanted to revisit any restaurant because I was craving their dope rice blend.
Before we start with our 4 entree selections, I want to emphasize just how delicious our meal at Tiffins was. Usually, Walt Disney World restaurants are graded (by me at least) on a bit of a curve, relative to other theme park restaurants. Not the case here: Tiffins could compete head-to-head against real world fine dining. My biggest concern at this point is that Disney will tinker with the exceptional menu because of how few guests Tiffins is drawing at this point.
I chose the Marinated Grilled Octopus, with artichoke bargoule, saffron aïoli, and lemon-caper olive oil. Grilling the octopus was an interesting choice here, as it eliminated the normal texture that makes octopus off-putting for some people, and instead gave it a nice char and hint of a smokey flavor. The aioli was the perfect creamy accompaniment that provided a fairly mild tang to the dish.
There were a couple of bites where the char was too thick and overwhelmed the delicious and tender octopus, but that’s completely forgivable. When this dish was on, it was really on, hitting the high notes and ranking as my favorite part of the meal. The complexity and varied flavors that all worked together in concert really impressed me. The next time someone complains to me about theme park food being nothing but mass-produced burgers and hot dogs, I’m showing them a photo of this octopus. BOOM.
The 72-Hour Beef Sort Rib was a much more straight-forward dish, with the highlight here being the tenderness resulting from the 72-hour slow cook. This meat was juicy and melt-in-your-mouth delicious. As cliche as that sounds, it’s completely apt here. There was a light spread of Chimichurri, which enhanced the flavor slightly, but I was more than happy to let this meat speak for itself.
We were both really pleased with the portion size of the beef short rib. The meat quality was such here that a single entree of this might’ve been only slightly larger than our “tasting” size portion at some restaurants. Considering this was ~$14, we felt it to be an incredible value (even by real world standards).
Another of our choices was the Market Vegetable Curry. Another really complex dish, with the initial taste being a mild and creamy buttery followed by a variety of spices that lingered on the tongue afterwards. This dish was mostly flavored by the curry, with the vegetables providing texture and substance–which is by no means a complaint. My recollection of how the vegetables tasted at this point is minimal, but the dish was fantastic.
I made the mistake of going from the curry immediately to the Sustainable Seasonal Fish Crudo, which made the latter taste bland by comparison. I mention this because Sarah tried this first, and her opinion was dramatically more favorable than mine. After a waiting a bit for my palate to ‘reset’, I tried it again and was significantly more impressed.
I don’t think this is quite sashimi level fish, which is probably why there are the accompaniments to enhance the dish, but as a whole the crudo comes together nicely, with a refreshing and light taste. (This was my least favorite entree we ordered, and I’d still order it again, which should speak volumes about the menu at Tiffins.)
After such amazing entrees, dessert was a letdown. The South American Chocolate Ganache was incredibly rich and dense, which I suppose is something if you’re going for richness and denseness, but it didn’t particularly wow either of us.
I found the Lime Cheesecake to be more impressive. I’d describe this as the love-child of cheesecake and key lime pie; it has the lightness (and lime-ness) of key lime pie, while still retaining the fundamental flavors of cheesecake.
After the entrees blew us away in pretty much every regard, perhaps the Lime Cheesecake suffered from our inflated expectations. By the standards of most other restaurants at Walt Disney World, this dessert would be an all-star.
Overall, Tiffins is a must-do restaurant at Walt Disney World that is the type of high-level experience from start to finish that drew us into Disney dining years ago. In terms of cuisine, it’s the best Disney in-park restaurant in the world, and even surpasses some of the resort Signatures. I know what you’re thinking, and, yes, it is superior to Tony’s Town Square! (Also: Carthay Circle Restaurant, Hollywood Brown Derby, and Magellan’s.)
Tiffins’ style is likewise strong, albeit not at the same level as some of Disney’s elite themed restaurants. We would recommend getting your feet wet with a mid-afternoon lunch here, trying the Taste of Tiffins menu. Even prior to dessert, we each had a filling meal, and considering the quality of the cuisine, ambiance of the restaurant, and little details in the experience, we felt it was money well spent. We will also be back to try the full dinner menu because our experience here was that good.
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Your Thoughts
What do you think of Tiffins? If you’ve dined here already, do you have any particular thoughts on what you tried? Does the menu look appealing to you? Do you agree or disagree with our review of Tiffins? Any questions? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
This is an excellent review! I read it after our meal at Tiffins to see how our experiences compared. We ate at Tiffins earlier this week and we were blown away by the entire experience from start to finish. Hands-down the best restaurant at Walt Disney World in my opinion, in terms of service, food, and ambiance – all five stars. I am a tough critic and have never given any Disney restaurant above a 4-star rating (this includes Be Our Guest, Narcoossee’s, Flying Fish Cafe, Cinderella’s Royal Table, and other Signature restaurants). We love all of those, and this exceeded them all – far exceeded, in some cases. Tiffins for the win! I really enjoyed the chocolate ganache, but you’re right – it is quite rich and dense, yet small, and in my view ideal for those who really love very dark chocolate. The key lime cheesecake was amazing, and definitely the one to choose. I also recommend the vanilla tea with dessert, which is served with a small pitcher of vanilla bean simple syrup. I’m a tea drinker, and this caffeine-free treat was one of the most delicious things I’ve ever enjoyed from a tea perspective. With Tiffins, my only concern is that it will become much too popular and busy when Pandora opens and the restaurant is more visible, but I suspect the high price tag and unique cuisine will drive away the masses. I also loved the gorgeous lounge and would highly recommend this first-come, first-served area for a light bite and cocktail, inside or outside – it’s delightful.
Ok, I am now referring to any mixed rice dish I serve for dinner as “dope rice blend” from now on. That’s my new favorite. I’m still laughing about it. I love the way you write your articles! I need to see this place now. Can people just go in the lounge, or do you also have to have a sit down meal?
“Tiffins simultaneously feels like dining in an art gallery, and eating at a high-end, low-key restaurant where globe-trotting Imagineers would themselves dine. (I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Pandora team in here or Nomad Lounge at the end of the workday.)” This quote is actually true. I’ve spent a lot of time in both Tiffins and the Nomad lounge and have seen groups of imagineers multiple times. Apparently they have adopted it as their clubhouse. Even the mysterious Joe Rohde is seen frequently. This restaurant is the greatest. Take some time after dinner and walk the galleries and read EVERTYTHING. The journal entries taken from the imagineers sketchbooks written in the shadowboxes are especially interesting.
Nice review and photos, thanks!
I’m looking forward to eating there in January!
My husband and I are traveling to WDW in October. We are both very adventurous foodies and are contemplating either Tiffins or Artist Point for ADR. Which one would you recommend?
I really like both, but I’d give Tiffins the edge at this point.
Added a lunch reservation to my Food & Wine Festival trip! I was on the fence about whether we’d stop here, as we’ll be eating so much at the festival, but after reading your review (amongst others) I know I would regret that decision. Can’t wait!
We just stopped at the Nomad Lounge yesterday, and tried the honey-glazed pork ribs on the appetizer menu and, OMG – mind officially blown. They were the BEST ribs I have ever eaten. So tender, with a hint I’d sweetness from the honey and coriander. This morning, my husband and I are trying to figure how we can get back there one more time before we leave on Saturday. At S10, it was 3+ bucks a rib, but they are so incredible, we would pay that and then some to eat them again!
We followed a lot of your recommendations for our July 4th week at Disney (obviously not all of them, what a week to go!!) and we were nervous about Tiffins too because we couldn’t find a review. We got the package deal for dinner and Jungle Book seats. It was absolutely our best and most amazing meal of the trip, we had the mussels appetizer, wagyu entree and passion fruit dessert – my normally silent husband told the waiter the meal was “excellent”!! We also had the beer flight with our dinner which was a fun way to taste all the beers they offer on tap!
Thank you for reviewing Tiffins! We have a reservation for early September and I was considering cancelling — being hesitant to try it for all the same reasons you discussed. Now I’m really onboard again. Can’t wait to try this unique new dining experience!
We tried to have dinner at Tiffins opening weekend and it was basically a disaster (note we didn’t actually get food). Our reservation was for 6 55, and we arrived around 6 30. We were sat around 7 25 and quickly expressed concern with our dining package. We were told the dining package only applied to 9pm show. Then we asked if we could try and go fast so we could make that and they told us there was no one, that it was a two hour dining experience, and we were going to be missing the show. We explained we only could justify eating somewhere for those prices if we were getting our package but alas nothing. After sitting at the table for 10 minutes talking to the manager we had to walk out for something that wasn’t our fault with no compensation. I had to take a walk to guest services, and they were amazed that the restaurant didn’t give us anything for basically blocking us out of our dining package. After some phone calls we were given fast passes to any attraction we wanted for the remainder of the trip, and our dining package tickets. Oddly enough it worked out for the best because we only ended up spending about $30 for dinner at pizzafari instead of $120 at tiffins. I know it was opening weekend And it was very hectic but I was still shocked when the manager basically told us we were sh*t out of luck, it was uncombfortable. Sad to say but tiffins isn’t on our radar for any future trips. We LOVE the Tusker house and are also looking to try Sanna and Haramabe Market next trip
All I can say is I am glad I was eating lunch while reading this review.
While not nearly the same fare as your descriptions, it may have kept me from gnawing on my desk.
Short answer to those asking about Rivers of Light: yes, I think it’s within the realm of possibility that it and Pandora will debut simultaneously.
Long answer: working on an Animal Kingdom at Night post (for this weekend) and I’ll address the topic in more detail there. Stay tuned.
Would you say it’s better than Sanaa? We almost always go to Animal Kingdom for the day then go to Sanaa for lunch. Is it worth a change up?
As much as I love Sanaa, yes. With that said, I don’t think it’s quite a fair comparison. I consider Sanaa to be one of Walt Disney World’s hidden gems, offering an exceptional, unique meal at a (relatively) reasonable price. Tiffins is a Signature Restaurant (with price points to prove it) better compared to Jiko.
Both are great experiences, but if money is no issue, I’m taking Tiffins every time.
I dined here for the Jungle Book: Alive With Magic package last week. It immediately became one of my favorite restaurants at WDW!
For starters the ambiance and service was both top notch. The details and beauty of this restaurant is truly fantastic! My server was incredibly friendly and knowledgeable, both in terms of the menu and all of the details that went into creating a restaurant. I had the octopus as well based on my servers recommendation. I had never tried octopus before but she sold it so well that I figured it was worth a shot. I was blown away by how great it was! I then had the Wagyu Beef (another item I had never had before) and Short Rib entree which was even better than the octopus appetizer! I finished up with the lime cheesecake and was just as impressed by that! I’ve had plenty of various cheesecakes in my life but this was the first time I’ve had any of this texture. When the check came it included a sketch drawn by Joe Rohde… I’m not sure if these are usually supposed to stay in the check folders, but after I discussed my enthusiasm of all things Rohde with my server, she told me to take it home with me and enjoy it. In summary, I was able to have 3 courses, all things I’ve never really tried in my life, and be completely blown away by all of them.
All within a gorgeous seating area, with a top notch service… and a souvenir to take home. That’s a pretty perfect dining experience if you ask me.
I don’t often comment in service in these reviews, and that’s because there’s always the possibility for hit or miss service at Walt Disney World restaurants. However, I’m under the impression that Tiffins pulled some of the better servers from around property; that, plus the low-demand nature of the restaurant is a recipe for a meal with very attentive service at Tiffins.
Size-wise, how did your Wagyu Beet/Short Rib entree compared to ours here?
I think the sketch is standard practice–we received one, too.
So were all the entrees blasted with curry? Or hints of it?
Not sure what you mean…the only item we tried that had curry or hints of it was the curry itself.
Thanks for this review! We have an ADR for lunch in September (clearly, not really needed) but we are so excited to try this menu. I really hope they don’t change the menu before we get there! We’re heading to Disney for Epcot Food & Wine, so hopefully that crowd will also fill up Tiffins!
I’m pretty adventurous with spice/cuisine, but far less so with ingredients. I didn’t even know people ate octopus!
That said, there is plenty on the menu I’d eat and I’m glad they have octopus and crudo for the more adventurous types. It’s the ~$40 price point for entrees that is a bit scarier! (Although that isn’t uncommon at WDW.)
To me, octopus is pretty close to calamari, and that’s an appetizer staple. I’d recommend giving it a chance.
At $28 currently, I’d say the Taste of Tiffins entrees are an exceptional value, even by real world standards at comparable restaurants. The regular menu definitely has some Disney inflation cooked in, but given the quality, I’d (now) be willing to splurge on a dinner there.
I’ve been waiting for your review! Your photos (of course) and description don’t disappoint. I hear your love, but still have the question: if you had the choice of one, would you choose Tiffins or Jiko? Jiko or Tiffins? We are going adults only and are planning a late afternoon/ evening at AK. So torn!
It’s been 4 years since we have done Jiko, and a lot can change in that time. Usually, the resort restaurants can offer a more sophisticated and elegant ambiance, but given the low number of people dining at Tiffins right now, you can have the same (or better) experience there if you so desire.
At this point, I’d do Tiffins.
I think a Rivers of Light dining package will help fill the place. It’s not really worth it for the Jungle Book show, but if RoL wows, I don’t think they’ll have to wait until Pandora to see an increase in guests. Let’s just hope we all live long enough to see RoL come to fruition 😉
PS–More Vlogs please! They are fun!
I think there’s a very real possibility that Rivers of Light won’t be opening very far (or at all) in advance of Pandora.
Eeesh. If so, that dancing soccer team has got A LOT of weight to pull.
I’m curious why you think that. Is it because a) the technical problems are really that severe or b) because you think they wouldn’t want to roll it out during the ‘off’ season?
After all the hoopla about it earlier this year, It just seems like if they wait until say Earth Day 2017 then it better be truly outstanding or they’re setting themselves up for a ton of bad press. Every review of it is already pretty certain to have the phrase ‘long delayed’ in it.
Seems like something with the potential to cause corporate heads to roll.
Whoa, you think that Rivers of Light will be delayed a whole year? Come on man, level with me.
It looks like they’ve been doing some pretty heavy testing on Rivers of Light the last day or two.
My wife and I had dinner at Tiffins during our trip this week, and it was outstanding. Hands-down our best meal at Disney World outside of Victoria and Albert’s. I’d made an ADR months in advance but clearly didn’t need it, the restaurant was alarmingly empty. I was so concerned I was talking to the staff about it, who nervously told me they can’t wait for Pandora to open.
We had the flash fried mussels as an appetizer, which were outstanding, interestingly de-shelled and served with a savory tomato-based sauce. I had the pork tenderloin which was awesome, tender, juicy, interestingly served with a delicious tamale to complement. My wife had the head-on prawns and loved it. We had to try multiple desserts, I’d echo praises for the lime cheesecake above, probably my favorite, but we also had the passion fruit tapioca creme, which was equally awesome if not just a little similar to the lime cheesecake.
Afterwards of course we had pouring rain outside (a theme of our trip, thank you Florida in July), so we hung around in the Nomad Lounge for a bit. I had their private label Kungaloosh African inspired beer and really enjoyed it, a very good spiced beer. The ambiance in Nomad Lounge was fun, beautiful, and the staff was very attentive.
Overall I feel like Tiffins will be a can’t-miss restaurant for us, we will be going back in November for sure. I just hope as Tom said that more people start appreciating it before changes start being made in desperation for business.
I’m already debating going back on our next trip because I’m worried that the menu will be dumbed-down sooner rather than later. I sure hope that doesn’t happen…
hmmm. Mabes should change Tusker House reservations to Tiffins (in October); Will continue to monitor menu at Tiffins