Sanaa is located inside Kidani Village – the Disney Vacation Club building at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. Known for its African and Indian-inspired dishes, the restaurant is famous for its savanna views and bread service, complete with five different breads and nine accompaniments. Even though we have visited Sanaa before, we revisited to see if the bread service still lived up to the hype.
The atmosphere inside Sanaa features dark woods, African art, and tables situated below the canopy of trees above. The décor pales in comparison to the view of the savanna outside. While there are large windows throughout the restaurant, be sure to request a table by the window for the best view of giraffes, zebras, and gazelles.
On to the much talked about bread service! The Indian-Style Bread Service is $22 and easily shareable amongst at least three people.
The nine “sauces” are arranged from spicy to mild, and your server will walk you through each one. From left to right, they include spicy jalapeño-lime pickle, red chili sambal, coriander chutney, tamarind chutney, tomato-date jam, mango chutney, roasted red pepper hummus, and cucumber raita.
The five breads to go with your dips include traditional naan, garlic-ginger naan, spiced naan, onion kulcha, and paneer paratha. My favorite has to be the paneer, while Ryno enjoyed the garlic-ginger the most.
Here’s where things begin to fall flat, both Craig and Ryno felt some of the naans were a little too crisp and served cold when they were expecting warm and soft bread. While I agree the naan is sometimes inconsistent, this didn’t affect my overall enjoyment of the dish. For me, the bread service is a quintessential Walt Disney World dish that I look forward to every time. For Craig and Ryno, they felt it was overhyped and not worth the $22 price tag.
We decided to put our disagreement on the bread service aside with a round of signature cocktails. Ryno selected the Bee’s Knees made with Bayab Rose Gin, lemon juice, honey syrup, and grapefruit soda for $15. He felt this was a well-crafted cocktail did not have too much soda like many other cocktails at Disney.
I went with the Braambessie Rose Martini made with Bayab Dry Gin, pure cane syrup, lemon juice, blackberries, and topped with mint leaves for $16. This was another well-balanced cocktail with plenty of flavor from the gin and not overly sweet.
Craig was the wild card and chose a cocktail new to the Sanaa menu – the African Mai Tai made with Starr African Rum, amaretto liqueur, pineapple juice, and house-made tamarin simple syrup for $16. He was surprised by how much he enjoyed this and again not overly sweet like some of its counterparts around Disney.
Craig and Ryno decided to split two dishes. The first being the Tandoori Chicken made with traditional naan, rocket, pickled onion, tomato, and sambal mayonnaise for $21. This was their favorite of the two and they both agreed the chicken was perfectly seasoned. Their only critique was the naan made it hard to eat as a hand-held sandwich. Perhaps more over-cooked naan? We also had a funny laugh over realizing rocket is just another name for arugula!
Their second shared entrée was the Potjie Inspired for $32 with butter chicken, lentil daal, and served with scented basmati rice. While the butter chicken was good, both Craig and Ryno didn’t feel like it was anything special. It did pair nicely with the lentil but overall too expensive for what it is. Even though he didn’t get it this time, Craig’s favorite version of the Potjie Inspired is the braised beef, and he will definitely be back for it again!
I also chose the Potjie Inspired for $32 but with Goan seafood curry, Sukuma wiki, and served with scented basmati rice. Truthfully I’ve had this before and enjoy it every time! The seafood curry had excellent flavor and was full of tender shrimp and fish. The Sukuma wiki is similar to southern collard greens which I love. The curry with the greens was a great comfort meal but I wish I had taken a nap after!
Per usual, we ordered desserts and they did not disappoint! First up, the Giraffe Tower Mousse is comprised of banana cake, peanut butter mousse, banana mousse, and garnished with Tanzanian peanut brittle crunch for $12. Plus how beautiful is this plating? The banana and peanut butter were perfectly balanced and the peanut brittle crunch was great even by itself!
We also tried Wilde-best Wildebeest for $12 which is flourless chocolate cake, milk chocolate custard, and chocolate fudge-coated cocoa nibs. We love a good pun and couldn’t get over how this cake did in fact look like a wildebeest! This was extremely rich and dense with a mousse like texture throughout the dessert.
Ryno opted for a dessert cocktail – the Peanut Butter White Russian made with Peanut Butter Screwball Whisky, Amarula Liqueur, and Kahlua Liqueur for $15. The salted rim was a great touch and this was an amazing cocktail – we all agreed this is one we would get again!
Time for our overall thoughts! Ryno gave the ambiance a 4 since we weren’t directly seated by a window and the animals were often not visible, food preparation/ presentation a 7 – the desserts were beautiful but the bread service presentation was less than impressive, taste an 8, service a 6 since our server offered minimal interaction, cost a 7 for a total of 3.2 out of 5. I gave ambiance a 7 for the very unique savanna view, food preparation/ presentation a 7, taste a 9 since I enjoyed everything I had, service a 5 for the lack of attention, cost a 7 for a total of 3.5 out of 5. Craig gave ambiance a 6, food preparation/ presentation a 7, taste a 7, service a 7, cost a 7 since everything except dessert felt over-priced for a total of 3.4 out of 5.
Let us know in the comments if Sanaa’s bread service is a must-do on your Disney vacation and watch our full dining review here!
Hannah Anderson is a Dreams Unlimited Travel Agent, DIS Contributor, former Disney Cast Member, and Orlando local. Mostly importantly, she is a mom and loves spending time in the Disney Parks each week with her family.
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