Kidani's Sanaa Review

Myalyas

Mouseketeer
Joined
Feb 22, 2005
Dinner at Kidani’s Sanaa. Our waiter would flit in and out. I was thinking of what I’d like to drink and he quickly said he’d give me time to think about it and flit away again. I ended up going to the bar and got a martini, which I paid for at the bar.
The waiter flitted by again and we were going to order the Bread Service I had heard so much about. He mentioned that I could order my next drink from him and not have to go to the bar… We were trying to decide on the dips we wanted. He made suggestions and then flitted away again. The next time he flitted by, we ordered the Bread Service. Bread and some dips was a wasteful use of $10 in my opinion. Bread should come with a meal.
We ordered our meals and another martini the next time the waiter flitted by. I love lamb so I ordered the Lamb Shank. Another disappointment – it didn’t taste like lamb to me. It may as well have been a beef roast or even a turkey leg. No wait, turkey legs are more tasty than that was. The sweet potatoes that came with it had a strange texture and taste and I didn’t eat them. In fact, I didn’t eat much of that dinner at all. Daughter had the Tandoori chicken that she said was good.
We had our deserts boxed up – Tanzania Chocolate Mouse and the desert trio. While the waiter was doing that, I decided to find a smoking area and had no luck. I asked one of the valets at the front and he was kind to me, showing me a secret spot off to the right that workers use. If it hadn’t been for that I would’ve had to walk a mile to the DSA!
I had left my daughter to settle up the check with a Disney gift card that had maybe $26 on it and a $20. We were to pay for the Bread Service at $10 and one martini at $7.75, right? That, and of course the tip. Anyway, the martini I paid for at the bar with tax was $8.26. Well, about the time I was finishing up my cig, my daughter came out. Somehow, the only change she brought out of there was $4. I have a suspicion that the waiter put my first martini on the tab. Plus, he had not given her a receipt! That was the ONLY time I never got a receipt at Disney either! Oh, and later I tried the deserts and didn’t like them either!
Worst dining experience at Disney
 
Sad to hear about your negative review. We are locals and eat here about every other week for lunch, it's our favorite disney restaurant. We have never had a bad experience, excellent service, and we absolutely love the bread service. In fact sometimes we go and only get the bread and some drinks.
 
Wow that's a bad dining experience ... I think disney would like to know about this server. Sorry to read this yikes!
 
I just ate here Sunday night and had a total different experience than you! We loved it! Our server was great and food was yummy. We ordered the bread service and tried all nine with the bread. Sorry it was so bad for you
 
Did you go back in and ask for an explanation of the charges? I hope you were able to speak to the manager right then.
 
Sorry about your negative experience at Sanaa. My bunch ate their last week and had pretty much the reverse experience, but I know full well that the quality of your waiter has a TON to do with your overall experience and it sounds like you got a bad one. We were lucky enough to get a young man who was very engaged and helpful.

Between the four of us we got:

The full boat bread service ... really tasty with a wide variety of sauces. VERY enjoyable
Fish of the Day ... my wife enjoyed this dish a lot and loved the curry broth
Tandoori Chicken ... very nice dish. A little light on the spice for my tastes, but quite good none the less
Butter chicken, Durban Shrimp, Short Ribs and Durban Chicken with rice for the boy and I ... the spicy shrimp was VERY good, the butter chicken as good as I get in my fave Indian joint at home and the short ribs were the best bite of the night

We went elsewhere for dessert but my daughter got a lovely pot of tea to close out the meal. I thought it was on par or above what I'm used to for Indian restaurants in my part of the country. I've had better in London, but that might just be the tippy top of that market.
 
Just flitted by this review and wished I didn't as I now need to flit away and change ADRs.:coffee:

If you don't want to eat anywhere that's had a negative review, you should cancel all your ADRs, because there's not a restaurant on property with a perfect record. :confused3
 
I probably should've gotten the beef short ribs or the grilled steak. I just expected lamb to have more flavor than this did. I love food, really, and I'm not a picky eater. I like practically everything! I'm what they call "a super taster". But there are a few things I'm not crazy about, one being curry, so I was careful not to order anything with curry. To me, curry covers up the taste of what I'm eating. Also, I can't tolerate very spicy (hot) food. I suppose it is because of my taste buds, maybe? Anyway, I was careful not to order anything like that either.

And seriously, I think bread should come with a meal and not be a $10 add-on! We were served fresh bread with 2 different olive oils for dipping and a great variety of olives at Kouzzina's and it was complimentary. We even got another serving of both!

I just realized today that I didn't even get my non-alcoholic drink that I was supposed to receive on the dining plan. I think I was just so bummed out by everything else. :sad2: I wish I had gotten a pot of one of the teas.

And the experience really did probably have a lot to do with the server. I felt rushed because he acted rushed. I've looked over the menu again and see so many other things I should've ordered instead. And no, I didn't go back in and speak to management about it. I just chalked it up to a bad experience. I had GREAT experiences elsewhere while we were at Disney, so I suppose I was due for at least one bad one.
 
If you don't want to eat anywhere that's had a negative review, you should cancel all your ADRs, because there's not a restaurant on property with a perfect record. :confused3

Your right never a truer statement .... No restaurant will have a perfect review ever or be liked by everyone. It could be an off night or just simply a difference of opinion. I personally like to try for myself and form my own opinion
 
Sorry about your bad experience but I would hesitate to judge a place by one experience, especially when most people have great ones. I loved Sanaa. Maybe you just got there on a bad day.
 
It is too bad that you had such a bad experience at Sanaa. We went for the first time in April and LOVED it. We have probably eaten at just about every restaurant in WDW and it is now one of my favorites. Probably should have addressed the issue of the waiter with the manager at the restaurant at the time. But, the good thing is that now you know, and you won't have to go back.
 
1) Sorry about your experience(s).
2) Mine dining was just the opposite.


Our Ratings of Sanaa: (*rev 03/13/2014*)
. . . food price value: B
. . . food quality: B
. . . food quantity per serving: B
. . . food prep speed: B
. . . food selection: C
. . . seating quantity: C
. . . seating comfort: C
. . . eatery atmosphere: B
. . . eatery convenience: C
. . . staff friendliness: B
. . . staff attentiveness: A
. . . character interaction: B (views of animals on savannah)

Our Recommendations:
. . . appy: Indian Style Bread Service, Lamb Kefta
. . . entree: Tandoori Lamb, Beef Short Ribs
. . . dessert:Banana Kulfi Sundae (if not on menu, ask for it from Kid's Menu)

NOTE1: Has good regional African food. Americanized, but definitely more adventurous
than other eateries. The menu is shorter than other table service eateries, the wine list
average, but the quality of the food and presentation are high. An added benefit is the
viewing animals on the Savannah during the meal (for daylight hours). There are eight
window tables and six more with good views. For lunch, try the Lamb Kefta open face
sandwich; for dinner, try the beef and lamb. Don't miss out on the Banana Kulfi Sundae.
We really like the bread appy/sampler, as well as the salad sampler with three salads;
either will feed two people. Be aware that items labeled as "Durban" are highly spiced,
best washed down with cold milk! It is out of the way, but is worth the long drive. This
is only one of the five sit down eateries we patronize at WDW. In our opinion, Sanaa is
better than Jiko or Boma. As a side note, Sanaa changed their "trio dessert" in October
2013. We were not impressed as the previous version. In fact, color us underwhelmed.
As a postscript, they accomodate kids really well.

NOTE2: We prefer the lunch over the dinner.
. . . the fare is a little lighter
. . . the price is better
. . . the appys and salads are the same
. . . the lower number of people eating
. . . the ability to see animals on the savannah
 
I've just been reading some reviews on TripAdvisor that are similar to mine. I'm sure I read those reviews before making the reservation but I like to experience things for myself.

It would be better to go here for an appetizer and drinks or desert and coffee just for the animal viewing experience, but even that wasn't "all that" and we were at a window seat!

There are so many reviews stating so much of the same things I did that it can't be just me or just a "flitting" occurrence. ;) The wait staff rushes you and the food is bland - period.

Top meal choices for me were: Narcoossee's, Wolfgang Puck Express, and the Boardwalk Bakery. Kouzzina's was pretty good too.

Speaking of visual experiences during dinner - Narcoossee's view and ambiance beats a long-legged bird with a bad hair-do and the butt of some type of deer. :p
 
This is why WDW is such a great place!! Everyone's experience is different. We thought the view at Sanaa was incredible - we had first row view of a group of giraffes - my daughter's favorite!!! :thumbsup2

We also like Narcoossee's, but we have also had one of our worst dining experiences there - outright rude server and cold food. :mad: But, we hashed it out with the manager and have gone back with much success.
 
Thanks, I guess the sarcasm flitted right over your head.:thumbsup2

When people don't actually freak out on every single bad review thread about changing their ADRs, I'll start assuming sarcasm. Until then, feel free to keep patting yourself on the back, but your elbow might get tired.

My point stands whether you were serious or not, so... :wizard:
 
There are so many reviews stating so much of the same things I did that it can't be just me or just a "flitting" occurrence. ;) The wait staff rushes you and the food is bland - period.

For what it's worth, I've been to Sanaa five times, and I've received excellent service four times and passable service the other instance. The majority of the servers have been knowledgeable about the menu, eager to answer questions, on the ball with food and drink delivery, and good with my young nephew (one waitress gifted him with a light-up Buzz Lightyear). I've also always enjoyed my food, in particular the bread service (I love about four of the dips they offer) and the butter chicken, and I was pleased with the dessert trio, although the choices have been slightly altered since I was last there.

Bad service can seriously negatively affect one's impression of a restaurant, but I think overall the severs at Sanaa are some of the best I've encountered on property.
 
When people don't actually freak out on every single bad review thread about changing their ADRs, I'll start assuming sarcasm. Until then, feel free to keep patting yourself on the back, but your elbow might get tired.

My point stands whether you were serious or not, so... :wizard:

And feel free to chime in and point out every bad review, while patting yourself on the back. You've saved the day!:thumbsup2
 
We ate at Sanaa once and I was stunned at how poor the food was, given the many great food reviews. I can find better Indian food at a dozen places here at home. I'd speculate that Sanaa's many rave food reviews were written by folks who don't often eat good Indian fare and find Sanaa to be interesting and fresh. That's a generalization of course, but I bet it skews the scores.

Our service, though, was very good. The human factor is always hit or miss. We hit.
 

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