We are always down for a trip to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Not only do you get spectacular views of the savanna, but it is also home to some of our favorite restaurants! 

Today, we are headed to Saana, which is located in Kidani Village at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. Saana, which means “Work of Art” in Swahili, is a restaurant serving a fusion of African and Indian cuisine. It is a table-service restaurant for both lunch and dinner, and it offers a quick-service breakfast in the morning.

You will find Saana at the beautiful Animal Kingdom Lodge. It is located in Kidani Village, which is separate from the main lobby of the Jambo House. If you are driving to this restaurant, keep driving past Jambo House and you will see signs for parking for Kidani Village. Just like Jambo House, the Kidani Village section of Animal Kingdom Lodge has spectacular views of the animals out on the savanna.

Once you have made it to Kidani Village, you will head down the staircase toward the back of the lobby to get to Saana.

Atmosphere

Once you are down the stairs you will be greeted by the host stand for Saana. You can either use the My Disney Experience app to check-in, or check-in with one of the cast members at the host stand. You will receive a text once your table is ready, and then you will return to the host stand to be seated.

The restaurant itself is stunning and has lots of beautiful decorations and elements. As well, there are windows around the edge that provide views of the savanna. There is a mixture of table and booths throughout the restaurant, and tables of various sizes.

We were brought to our table, and we were excited to be seated by one of the windows! We had a few moments to look at the menu and then were greeted by our server. We discovered that Saana was debuting an all-new menu the day we came, which included new drinks, appetizers, and entrees. Sanaa has a new-ish chef, and after being there for a couple of months, the new chef made some changes to the menu. Perfect timing, as we love trying new drinks and eats!

Even the plates were perfect for the ambiance in the restaurant. Our table setting included silverware, a cloth napkin, and an appetizer plate. There are a lot of stone and wood elements inside Sanaa that give the restaurant a natural and cozy feeling.

Now let’s move on to the menu!

Menu

Even the menu design includes African and Indian influences!

On the first page of the menu, you will see some of the drink options. Saana has a handful of specialty cocktails, as well as draft beer, non-alcoholic specialties, coffee, and tea. 

Next, you will see their selection of appetizers and entrees. Of course, Saana is well-known for its Indian-style Bread Service, so you know we had to get some of that! We opted to make a meal of just appetizers and desserts (there were four new desserts, so we needed lots of room to be able to taste them all!)

In addition to the drinks inside the main menu, Saana also has a wide range of additional options. They have additional cocktails, as well as beer.

And a two-page wine list!

There are definitely a lot of options for alcoholic drinks at Saana.

Now, let’s get to the best part: the food and drinks!

Drinks

We ordered two of the brand-new cocktails: African Mai Tai and Bee’s Knees.

The African Mai Tai is STARR African rum, Bols amaretto liqueur, pineapple juice, and house-made tamarind simple syrup and costs $16. This drink had a very strong pineapple flavor, but we thought the addition of the tamarind syrup added a great flavor. The tamarind syrup had a deep, almost molasses kind of flavor and worked really well with the pineapple juice. It is definitely a sweet drink and definitely gives tropical drink vibes. The amaretto flavor comes through a bit, but it is not overpowering at all. We were really impressed with this drink and would definitely order it again!

Next up, was the Bee’s Knees. This cocktail contains bayab rose gin, lemon juice, honey syrup, and grapefruit soda and costs $15. 

The Bee’s Knees drink was a bit bitter with a strong grapefruit flavor. The gin is smooth, and while you know it is there, it is barely detectable. If you are looking for a sweet drink, this is probably not your best option, but this would be a great drink for grapefruit lovers. 

Eats

We got a good selection of appetizers for our main meal including the Indian-style Bread Service, Samosas, and the Spring Herb Salad.

Of course, we had to get one of our FAVORITE dishes, the Indian-style Bread Service. If you get just one dish at Saana, it HAS to be this one. You get five different breads: traditional naan, garlic-ginger naan, spiced naan, onion kulcha, and paneer paratha. You also get nine different dipping sauces for the bread: cucumber raita, roasted red pepper hummus, mango chutney, tomato-date jam, tamarind chutney, coriander chutney, garlic pickle, red chile sambal, and spicy jalapeño-lime pickle. You can get this bread service for $22, and it is worth every single penny!

You can eat the breads on their own, dip in each of the accompaniments, or mix and match to create your own sauce. The accompaniments range from sweet with no spice, all the way up to spicy options. Our personal favorites were the coriander chutney and tamarind chutney. Plus, those two go together really well. However, we highly encourage you to give every accompaniment a try, they are delicious!

Next up, we got the Samosas. This appetizer is plant-based and is potato and pea samosas with tamarind and mango chutney. This dish costs $11. 

These samosas have a bit of a kick to them. The spice creeps up on you a bit, but we would call these “Disney spicy.” You can notice the spice, but it isn’t a crazy amount of spice, and we have had spicier ones elsewhere. There was lots of filling inside with a lovely, crispy exterior. They were fried really well and were not greasy at all. You get two really good-sized samosas that are perfect to share. And of course, as we noted with the bread service, we love that chutney!

Up next, we are trying a NEW appetizer. This is the Spring Herb Salad and has chermoula quinoa, pickled watermelon radish, avocado, mint, caramelized pumpkin seeds, tamarind vinaigrette, and black sea salt. It is plant-based and costs $13.

While the salad tasted fresh and was tasty, we just felt like there wasn’t anything special about it. The quinoa added a great heartiness and texture. The vinaigrette was light and the mint added a wonderful freshness. However, with so many great options on the menu at Saana, we weren’t impressed with this salad overall. If you just MUST have a salad, this is a good option, but if you are just looking for a plant-based option, we think there are lots of better options at Saana.  

Now that we have finished with all of our appetizers, let’s dig into dessert. Saana recently debuted NEW desserts, and the minute we saw them, we knew we had to give them a try. We tried one of each including the Black Sesame Sundae, Ankole Cake, Giraffe Tower Mousse, and the Wilde-best Wildebeest. 

Starting off with one of the PRETTIEST ones, we have the Giraffe Tower Mousse. This dessert is banana cake, peanut butter mousse, banana mousse, and caramel with Tanzanian peanut brittle crunch. You can get this beauty for $12. 

Beauty aside, this dessert also tastes really good! If you are a fan of mousse, this dessert will be right up your alley. It has a great banana flavor, and the cake is super moist. It will likely be some of the best banana bread you have ever had. The banana is the strongest flavor, but the peanut butter does a great job complimenting the banana flavor. It is strong enough to taste, but not so strong that this turns into a peanut butter dessert. The peanut brittle on the side was great too and added a really good crunch to contrast with the soft textures.

Moving along to the Ankole Cake. This is a plant-based option and is a spiced chocolate cake, baobab curd, coconut gel, meringue “horns,” with STARR African Rum-macerated citrus. It costs $11.

We will start off by saying that baobab has an interesting flavor. It grew on us there more we ate it, but were surprised by the flavor at first. We would describe it as a strong citrus flavor. However, we thought the baobab curd worked really well with the spiced cake. This cake works best when you get a bit of each element together, and then it is amazing! The texture of this cake is wonderful, and we would not have guessed it was plant-based. We thought the rum-marinated citrus was a star of this dish and adds great flavor to the dessert. We would love to get a dish of the rum-marinated citrus over some vegan ice cream. That would be so refreshing!

Our server did note that you could order this dessert with citrus that has not been macerated with rum, in case that is your preference.

Next, we had the Wilde-best Wildebeest. It is a flourless chocolate cake, milk chocolate custard, and chocolate fudge-coated cocoa nibs. It costs $17. If you are a chocolate lover, this dessert is for you! It is very rich with lots of chocolate flavor. We wouldn’t describe the bottom layer as a cake, but more of a fudge consistency. The mousse on top was light and chocolatey. The phyllo nests on the side offered a less sweet bite, with a little crunch. While this dessert was yummy, it was probably our least favorite of the ones we tried. However, if you are looking for a rich and chocolate heavy dessert, this would be a good option.

Last up, we tried the Black Sesame Sundae. The sundae has black sesame ice cream, roasted spiced pineapple, tea caramel, milk crumble, and raspberry crisps. It costs $10. 

We were a little disappointed that we didn’t taste a lot of black sesame flavor in the ice cream, it tasted more like vanilla to us. However, the various toppings really turn this sundae into a delightful dish. There are lots of great textures and flavors that work together for a really unique bite. Make sure you scoop all the way to the bottom of the bowl as that is where the caramel is hiding out.

The raspberry crisps add a great crunch and raspberry flavor. The milk crumbles taste like the topping of a fruit crisp. As well, the pineapple has a sweet smokiness that compliments the other elements well. This is another dessert that works best when you can get a bit of everything in your bite!

Nosh or Not?

We think you should make your way to Saana if…

• You want a table-service meal with unique flavors. Saana has a menu with lots of different flavors, and since it is a fusion of African and Indian flavors, you get a lot of unique options. We think the restaurant offers a lot of memorable dishes, plus the bread service is fantastic!
• You want to see animals while you dine. It can be a really neat experience to dine while looking out onto the savanna. You never know what you might see pop into the windows! You can always talk a walk around before or after your meal to see even more animals too.
• You want to try one of our favorite appetizers. We rave about the bread service a lot. We have definitely made the trek out here just to have the bread service. If you are just getting the bread service, you can also get it from the Saana Lounge with no reservation needed!

We think you might skip for somewhere else if…

• You are looking for somewhere quick to eat. It takes a bit of effort to get to this restaurant. You will need to travel to the hotel and make your way to Kidani Village. The food came out quickly, but you will want time to enjoy your meal and views. We don’t recommend this restaurant if you know you will be rushing to get to the next thing.
• You have a lot of picky eaters in your group. While there are some options for picky eaters, the menu mostly contains dishes with African and Indian flavors. If you have a lot of picky eaters in your group, this may not be the best option.
• You want a menu with a lot of variety. The menu is full of delicious dishes, but it is heavily focused on African and Indian flavors. If you are looking for a restaurant that provides a lot of variety and different cuisines, this will probably not be the best choice.

Overall

We had a wonderful meal, and we will definitely be back soon! It’s easy to make a meal here out of appetizers, especially since the bread service is large and filling — and trust us, you’ll want it all. The new dessert menu here offers some very beautiful selections. It is heavy on mousse textures, and while we enjoy those, we know some folks don’t. We love the concepts of the animal-themed and decorated desserts, but we think this portion of the menu would benefit from a selection beyond the ice cream sundae that isn’t a mousse.

We think these FIVE things are a must-get while you are at Saana:

• Indian-style Bread Service (and if you have to choose just one, this is it!)
• African Mai Tai
• Bee’s Knees
• Giraffe Tower Mousse
• Black Sesame Sundae

Everything else we had was tasty, but these were our absolute favorites of the meal. We think Saana is a fantastic dining option, although it does take a bit of an effort to get there. The restaurant design is beautiful, and you can even watch the wildlife while you eat. We had very excellent, attentive service here. We felt so welcomed and were able to really enjoy our meal.

Stay tuned to DFB for more food reviews! We have eaten EVERYWHERE, but we are always finding something new to try!

Check out our 10 Comfort Snacks at Disney World!

 

What is your favorite dish at Saana? Let us know in the comments!