Lunch at the Animal Kingdom

[John's Mom]

WDW trip this November. I can't decide whether to have lunch at the Tusker House or Flame Tree BBQ. Where should we go and why?

 

[boo72]

My choice would be Flame Tree BBQ. But you should like BBQ if you go. The food is yummy. They have several BBQ choices (sandwiches, ribs, chicken) There is great seating behind the restaurant where you can sit down by the water. The seating and the great BBQ make it my top choice.

I also like Tusker House. You really have to decide what you want. Tusker House has some unique meals. I had a Veggie sandwich with Tabuleh that was excellent.

 

[arizonacolbys]

I haven't been to either, yet, but we're trying Flame Tree on our upcoming Sept trip. Some family members tried it & really enjoyed it, plus it gets pretty good reviews here. Can't wait for some BBQ on the water!

 

[littleprincessmom]

I haven't tried Flame Tree but we tried the Tusker House last trip and really enjoyed it. It is fast food but very high quality fast food - a nice change from the hot dog/hamburger fare. Would recommend Tusker House without hesitation.

 

[Piglet54]

I wholeheartedly recommend the Flame Tree Barbecue. I ate there at least 4 times on my trip in June and I never grew tired of it. Like boo72 said, the seating is really nice. It's shady and it is possible to sit anywhere and enjoy the theming which to me is Southeast Asian or Indian. There's a beautiful water-lily pool with egrets and other water-fowl nearby and several areas overlook Discovery River with a view of Asia. During the lunch hour Mickey and Minnie and friends serenade from a ferry on the river (a free "character lunch") and it is possible to hear music from the Tarzan show in the distance. The menu, several reviews and the recipe for the barbecue rub are available at allears.net. Both Tusker House and the Flame Tree Barbecue put samples under cover just in front of the restaurant so besides reading the menu, diners can actually see the food before they order.

 

[blanq]

Both of these restaurants seem to get good reviews here at the DIS, so you probably would be happy with either. My personal experience has been that Tusker's food quality has been consistently good every time we have visited. I cannot say that about Flame Tree. Last time we ate at Flame Tree, I loved my BBQ chicken salad, but my DH's ribs were so tough they were actually inedible and he ended up throwing them. Each time we have been to Tusker's, we have had the pleasure of witnessing some wonderful African entertainment. We have seen a group ofCM's parade through playing musical instruments/singing, and have seen lone CM's go from table to table with interesting and spectacular attire and instruments. So, Tuskers gets the nod over Flame Tree for our family.

 

[ciera321]

I been to both and loved Flame Tree. Tusker House was really good, but I really enjoy the pretty eatting areas back behind Flame Tree and the BBQ is really good - and I live in BBQ territory here in Kansas City!!

 

[marcyinPA]

Never ate at Flame Tree, but we did Tusker House a few years back...we enjoyed it! The quality of the food was very good, and it was nice to have healthy choices! Not the usual burgers and fries, but "real" food with veggies even!!

I recommend it!

 

[pumpkinboy]

Originally posted by littleprincessmom
I haven't tried Flame Tree but we tried the Tusker House last trip and really enjoyed it. It is fast food but very high quality fast food - a nice change from the hot dog/hamburger fare. Would recommend Tusker House without hesitation.

I would concur on Tustker House, an excellent restaurant, and better than many sit-down restaurants at WDW (I would take Tusker House over Rainforest Cafe any day of the week). The quality and variety at Tusker House are really good. We eat there once every visit.

 

[ttfn3]

Tusker House. Good food and it's great when a "band" plays outside near the courtyard. I have great memories of DS "dancing" to the music after our lunch.