Opinions on Sanaa?

[nikkilikesveggies]

Hello all! I'm planning a spur of the moment Disney trip for May 7-13. I haven't been in a few years and my Fiance has never been. We eat out A LOT here at home so we're not too interested in eating out much while at Disney. We plan on spending all day at each of the parks, with an extra day to relax poolside and revisit Epcot. We're thinking of doing QS most days so we don't waste anytime and get to ride every ride at least once. For 1 or 2 meals we would like to do a nice, sit down experience. I'm vegetarian and he's not. We both love trying new things and are not at all picky. I've not seen Sanaa mentioned here on the boards much at all- in fact I've never even heard of it until we stumbled across it last night looking at all 341 restaurants available at Disney. The food looks amazing and the ambiance very different! Anyone been? What did you like or dislike?

 

[Anal Annie]

It's very nice and the food is very good although the menu is smallish - nice ambiance while eating (can look out on the savanna). It's a favorite of many here. You should try it as it will likely be different from what you normally have at home. A nice dining experience. My only complaint is that the menu is pretty small (especially for vegetarian options such as what you would need). https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/animal-kingdom-villas-kidani/sanaa/menus/dinner/

We usually go to Boma for the added variety....

 

[squeezle]

The Chickpea Wat and Lentil Dahl are both vegetarian and very tasty. And the bread service is a must-do!

 

[ColonialMouse]

Nice restaurant. It's in AKL Kidani which is a bit out of the way unless you're staying there or leaving Animal Kingdom. More of a casual place compared to Jiko (serious fancy date night) or Boma's giant buffet. They're all good at what they are.

Bruce

 

[TheRustyScupper]

Our Ratings of Sanaa: (*rev 03/05/2016*)
. . . 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: A
. . . staff attentiveness: A
. . . character interaction: B (views of animals on Savannah)
.
Our Recommendations:
. . . appys:... Indian Style Bread Service
. . . entrée:.. Beef Short Ribs
. . . dessert:. Banana Kulfi Sundae (available seasonally) or Banana Cheesecake
.
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 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 PS, they accommodate kids really well.
.
NOTE2: There has been a MAJOR menu change for lunch. The bread and sandwich offerings are
still there, but CONSIDERABLY toned-down for "heat". I had the Lamb Kefta (aka, Lamb Burger).
It was very tasty and nicely spiced, but no "heat". I asked, and yes, the menu items have
been altered. I asked for some PeliPeli sauce, which is a VERY, VERY hot Indian sauce. If
I put more than 1/32" ball on my fork, my lips and tongue would go numb! This was great, as
any Indian food that doesn't bring sweat droplets to your forehead is too mild. So, if you
enjoy something very spicy, ask for the PeliPeli on-the-side in a ramekin, but use sparingly.
.
NOTE3: Sanaa is a really good place to split/share meals. It not only helps cut the cost of
eating, but gives you a chance to sample the various offerings.
.
NOTE4: 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

 

[TiggerTrigger]

We love Sanaa! Great food, great service, and awesome setting.

 

[OldSchoolReasons]

Sanaa was easily my favourite meal at WDW. I'm a vegan, and the veggie options are so nice! My mum who eats meat also really enjoyed it, the atmosphere is wonderful too.

In short: book it!

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Sanaa's great! And it has great vegetarian options, plural, instead of just a pasta dish that most other non-signature restaurants seem to offer as their lone veggie option.

 

[loves to dive]

You'll find most people who eat there love it, we didn't but it wasn't the food it was just plain ole bad service and I'm sure we just hit the bad luck dice on that one. Everyone raves about the bread service appetizer, which I'll agree was mighty tasty. We had mixed reviews on the rest of our meal, mine was o.k. nothing to write home to mama about but good. My son and DIL didn't like theirs and only ate about half and for both of them it was dishes they had before elsewhere so not sure what was up with that. My wine was sort of o.k., my son's cocktail was undrinkable and got sent back, evidently the bar tender had a very heavy hand. It is a smallish restaurant so certainly a good atmosphere and has a huge picture window that if you are lucky you will get a table right by and will see the giraffes so close you could touch them if the glass weren't there. You can see the animals even if you aren't next to the window but if that is what you want, make sure your ADR is before dark.

 

[Baklava]

So Much FOOD! Beware. We ate there on the DxDDP and didn't realize how huge the bread service is! Because they treated the child as an adult (could order anything) three of us got the bread service appetizer and it barely fit on the table. We could have split one easily.

The food was good. Not as fantastic as the mom and pop Indian place around the corner at home, but tasty and we'll be going back.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

We all love Sanaa - especially the flat bread with different dips. We go every time we are in DW.

 

[JeninTexas]

Sanaa is wonderful! Probably our best meal of the trip. The bread service is a must do, and the butter chicken is excellent too. We had very good service for lunch and were seated right by the window so we could see the animals.