In terms of theming and detail, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge is one of my favorite resorts. With its traditional African architecture and works of art, not to mention its sprawling savannah, the Animal Kingdom Lodge has a level of authenticity unmatched by the other Disney resorts. A stay at this resort offers guests not only rest and relaxation, but also the opportunity to be immersed in African culture. A major part of this culture is the uniqueness of African cuisine. The Animal Kingdom Lodge opened with two highly popular restaurants, Boma and Jiko. With the addition of the Disney Vacation Club units at Kidani Village came another dining option, Sanaa. While Sanaa may not receive the same notoriety as Boma or Jiko, it offers a truly unique dining experience. In Swahili Sanaa means “work of art,” and once you have dined here you will see why that name is so appropriate.
Overview:
As soon as you enter the lobby of Kidani Village your eyes are greeted with a spectacular sight. Although not as grand as the Jambo House, the lobby of Kidani Village sets the tone for the rest of the resort. From its high-vaulted thatched roof ceiling and huge window overlooking the savannah to its colorful light fixtures, intricately carved furniture, and traditional works of African art, the level of detail is astounding.
This detail does not stop here, however, but continues throughout the resort into the individual guestrooms and into its restaurants. Sanaa is located just down the stairs from the main lobby and overlooks the resort’s African savannah. Surprisingly, while the savannah view is impressive and adds to the unique quality of the restaurant, it is really not the main allure of Sanaa. The Animal Kingdom Lodge itself has a certain adventurous and exotic quality about it, as though you are journeying into a wild and unknown land. Likewise, Sanaa offers a culinary adventure and one that is certainly not for the faint of heart. It is also a restaurant that offers something for all the senses, with its sights, sounds, smells, and tastes all contributing to immerse you into African culture.
Atmosphere:
As soon as you enter Sanaa you feel as though you have stepped into a work of art. The décor is what I would consider to be “modern African,” combining more abstract elements with traditional, ethnic works of African art. The restaurant has a very natural, organic feel and a color scheme that relies heavily on earth tones. This is enhanced by columns designed to look like the trunks of trees and a ceiling covered with large leaves. All this helps to bring elements from outside into the restaurant, but it does so in an abstract way.
Other columns are meant to look like colorful beads featuring different patterns and designs and still others feature more intricate wood carvings.
Meanwhile the walls of the restaurant are covered with various works of African art, ranging from more ethnic pieces such as ceramic jars, woven baskets, and cooking utensils to more elaborate works including carefully detailed animals made of colorful beads. Even the light fixtures are works of art, some larger ones made from ceramic pots and baskets while others have a more modern touch and feature beads and colored glass. The level of detail continues even to the chairs and tables, which feature various painted designs.
Also, be sure to listen carefully. While the music playing may not be loud (and some might not even notice it at all), the traditional African sounds add to the authenticity of the restaurant. The overall impact of the décor is one of awe and wonder at the unique beauty and craftsmanship of African art.
With so much to look at and absorb inside the restaurant, you almost forget that there is a savannah with wild animals sitting just outside the windows. In fact, the savannah is not the main attraction of the restaurant, but rather serves as a way of enhancing the décor and adding to the authentic feel. Seeing as you are so highly immersed in African culture inside the restaurant, you can easily take it for granted that there is the savannah just outside. I would go as far as to say that Sanaa would be just as appealing even if it did not have any windows looking out onto the savannah. While it greatly adds to the experience to see giraffes and zebras walking by, even if you were not to see them it does not take away from the restaurant’s atmosphere. There are not even as many windows as I thought there would be. Unless you have a table right by one of the windows, the view onto the savannah is just another part of the décor rather than the essential aspect of the restaurant.
The Menu:
Sanaa’s menu highlights “the art of African cooking with Indian flavors,” and thus the offerings present a different spin on African cuisine compared with that of Boma or Jiko. The menu features many non-traditional items and is definitely for people who are more daring and like to try new things. One thing that struck me most about my meal at Sanaa was the wide variety of flavors. While the dishes I had were not necessarily spicy, they were extremely strong in flavor. Dining at Sanaa offers an adventure for your taste buds and if you are someone who has more simple tastes this may not be the restaurant for you. However, if you are looking for a truly unique culinary experience, the menu offers a chance to experience flavors that contrast and compliment each other in ways that you would not usually encounter.
I was impressed with the vast array of different offerings found on the lunch menu. My server noted that one of the more popular items on the menu was the Indian-style bread service, which allows you to select three breads from a choice of naan, onion kulcha, and paneer paratha as well as three accompaniments ranging in flavors from a sweet mango chutney to a more spicy red chili sambal. In all there are eight different accompaniments that you can choose from. Among the appetizer selections are Potato and Pea Samosas, Roasted Cauliflower, and a Salad Sampler. The sampler allows you to select three from a list of five that includes chickpeas with cucumber and tomato, roasted potato with corn and spinach, roasted beets, carrots with orange and mint, and watermelon with lime and radish.
The entrée choices feature a couple of open-faced sandwiches, Tandoori Chicken and Tandoori Shrimp, served on naan bread with minted greens with tomato, onion, and a cucumber-yogurt raita (a popular Indian sauce). My server noted that the Sustainable Fish was one of the more popular entrée selections. While the type of fish is constantly changing it always comes served with seasonal vegetables in a light curry broth. Even menu items which at first glance may appear to be more traditional, such as the Grilled Pork Chop and Grilled Angus Chuck Burger, feature their own unique spin. The Pork Chop is glazed with a ginger and pickle lime sauce and the Burger is served on naan bread with minted greens, tomato, onion, and a cucumber-yogurt raita.
For my meal I chose to start with the Lamb Kefta appetizer, which I can best describe as lamb meatballs. The lamb itself had a fairly mild flavor and had a texture that was more firm than your typical beef meatballs. What truly made the dish was the Tamarind and Dried Papaya Sauce that it was served with. While the sauce was very flavorful, it was more sweet and citrusy rather than spicy. That being said, the sauce had just the right amount of kick to it, but not so much as to be overpowering. The sauce definitely dominated the lamb in terms of flavor but the two complimented each other extremely well, the fruitiness of the sauce providing a nice contrast to the flavor of the lamb.
For my entrée I decided on the Slow Cooked and Well Seasoned. I chose this because I love menu items that allow you to sample a variety of different offerings, which I think affords you a more complete dining experience. With this selection you have a choice of two items from a list of three: chicken with a red curry sauce, beef short ribs, and shrimp with a green curry sauce. The meal also comes with your choice of basmati rice or five grain rice pilaf. I went with the Beef Short Ribs and the Shrimp with Green Curry Sauce along with the Five Grain Rice Pilaf. Because these items are slow-cooked, they are infused with tremendous flavor.
The beef was extremely tender and it was not fatty at all. The sauce had a slightly sweet flavor with a hint of cinnamon, but it served to compliment rather than overpower the beef. The shrimp came with a green curry sauce, but it was not spicy at all. Rather it had the very distinct flavor of coconut. I thought the combination of the shrimp and sauce was fantastic. It was like eating coconut shrimp only in a sauce rather than being coated with coconut. The only real disappointment with the entrée was the rice. While the five different grains certainly offered a variety of textures, the rice was dry and did not have much flavor to it. What I ended up doing was taking some of the sauce left over from my lamb appetizer and mixing it with the rice to give it some flavor.
The dessert menu features a good assortment of options ranging from Mango Pudding and Vanilla-Coconut Rice Pudding to Chocolate Cake. I decided to go with the Dessert Sampler to try a couple of different things. The menu lists the sampler as coming with Chocolate Cake, Chai Cream, and Passion Fruit Kulfi (a type of ice cream), but I chose to substitute the Vanilla-Coconut Rice Pudding for the Kulfi.
My favorite dessert of the three was the Chai Cream. While it was thick in consistency, it was light and creamy in taste. My server described it as “creme brulee without the brulee.” Its flavor had a slight hint of tea, but mostly tasted of cinnamon. Next time I would just get this for dessert. The chocolate cake was very rich and heavy. The sampler-sized portion was just enough because getting the chocolate cake alone for dessert would have been too much after such a big meal. The cake came with a raspberry sauce, its light flavor pairing very well with the chocolate. I was most disappointed with the rice pudding. While the rest of my meal had so much flavor, the rice pudding had very little taste and only the slightest hint of coconut and vanilla.
Service:
I was very impressed by the service at Sanaa. With a menu that has so many unfamiliar and unconventional items, my server was extremely helpful in going through and providing descriptions of almost every dish, even explaining which selections were more spicy and which were more mild in flavor. My server also assisted my by pointing out some of her favorite items as well as the restaurant’s more popular choices. I found all the servers in the restaurant to be very friendly and conversational. Even though the restaurant was a little crowded, the servers still took their time with the guests. I could tell that they all truly cared about the guests and wanted to provide them with the best service possible.
Dining on a Budget:
Overall, I found the prices on the menu to be fairly reasonable. One possible option for saving a little money would be to only order appetizers. The menu features a wide assortment of different appetizers and, from what I saw, the portion sizes were very good. You could order the Salad Sampler (which gives you three different salads), pair that with the Lamb Kefta appetizer, get a dessert, and have a very affordable meal and still leave completely satisfied. If you are going for lunch, the various sandwiches also offer an affordable alternative. The Tandoori Chicken is $14.99 and the menu also features a Grilled Lamb open-faced sandwich on naan bread for just $12.49. If you wanted to go with the Angus Chuck Burger, that is also a very economical choice at just $10.99. These sandwich options are just a little bit more expensive than what you would pay at a counter service restaurant, a price that is more than made up for by the tremendous atmosphere of the restaurant.
The Overall Experience:
I am someone who likes to experiment with new and different dining experiences, trying different types of food I would not normally eat. For this reason, I was extremely happy with Sanaa because it opened my eyes to a completely new type of cuisine and all sorts of new flavors to which I am not accustomed. However, it is for this same reason that I would caution anyone who wants to try this restaurant. If you are not the type of person who likes strong flavors and has more simple tastes, this is definitely not the restaurant for you. But, if you are like me and have an adventurous spirit when it comes to dining, you will definitely be rewarded. Sanaa is another one of Disney’s hidden gems. Because it is located at a resort rather than at one of the theme parks it is typically going to be less crowded and less well-known, but do not let this fool you. Sanaa offers a dining experience that is totally unique and unlike anything else in Disney World, combining the beauty of African art, the majesty of an open savannah complete with wild animals, and the exotic flavors of African cuisine. All of this helps to make Sanaa live up to its namesake. It is truly a work of art.
Thanks for the review! I can't wait to try it. I love Samosas - can't wait to try theirs!
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