Sanaa Bread Service- What's So Special?

[LongLiveRafiki]

I have yet to go to Sanaa, but I am constantly seeing people on here giving glowing reviews of the bread service. I've looked at the menu and seen pics of it with the 5 breads and 9 dips. My question is: Is it really any different than at any other Indian restaurant?

We have tons of great Indian restaurants where I live and I've tried numerous flavors of naan, paratha, and kulcha along with tons of types of chutney, sambal, etc. Don't get me wrong, I do greatly enjoy it (mmm garlic naan, gobi paratha, and aloo kulcha) and wish DH would agree to Indian food more often... But is everyone on here so gungho about Sanaa's bread service simply because they don't have good Indian food where they're from, or because it really is that much better than at other Indian restaurants? Thanks!

 

[smcabee]

If you have great Indian restaurants where you live, I doubt you will find Sanaa all that special. Unfortunately Indian cuisine is not common in many places, at least its not common in the various cities Ive lived in or family and friends have lived in. I think its kind of like the Lobster Rolls in WDW. Many people rave about them. Ask a lot of folks from New England and they will tell you they are not even close. Some say Homecomin is amazing Fried Chicken. Living in the Carolinas, Our bad Fried Chicken is better than that. And if you want to talk BBQ at the various festivals in EPCOT that people rave about. Im sure the folks in Texas, KC, and my fellow Carolinians can get you a list at a minimum of 10 BBQ spots that would shame that food.

 

[garneska]

Agree with above if you think Sana will be good Indian food you will be extremely disappointed. If you are trying to get someone who has never had Indian and they want to venture out it’s an ok choice. If you go in thinking not Indian food and want to enjoy the animals on the Savannah then it’s fine.

 

[Cissigys]

I have yet to go to Sanaa, but I am constantly seeing people on here giving glowing reviews of the bread service. I've looked at the menu and seen pics of it with the 5 breads and 9 dips. My question is: Is it really any different than at any other Indian restaurant?

We have tons of great Indian restaurants where I live and I've tried numerous flavors of naan, paratha, and kulcha along with tons of types of chutney, sambal, etc. Don't get me wrong, I do greatly enjoy it (mmm garlic naan, gobi paratha, and aloo kulcha) and wish DH would agree to Indian food more often... But is everyone on here so gungho about Sanaa's bread service simply because they don't have good Indian food where they're from, or because it really is that much better than at other Indian restaurants? Thanks!

You're exactly right. It's reasonably good, but if you have halfway decent Indian restaurants it won't seem like anything special. If anything, the dips might seem boring if you're a fan of good Indian foods, as they tend to be more "mild" than normal (probably to keep people happy that don't eat Indian food very often).

 

[glowskull9]

i live in jersey/work in NYC, so LOTS of indian places by me. DW and I love the bread service, although we usually use it as a non-credit dinner when we use the dining plan because it's so cheap and 1 bread service is more than enough for 1 person.

 

[loves to dive]

We were pretty underwhelmed. My son and DIL lived in the Chicago area and had a favorite little hole in the wall Indian place they loved so were excited about going to Sanaa. The food ranged from o.k. to me to not even going to eat more than half of that for my son. Added to the fact that it was by far the worst service we have ever had on Disney property, it truly wasn't worth it.

 

[JerseyJanice]

I want very much to go to Sanaa, see the restaurant, and try the bread service.

Whether or not it serves the best bread service one could eat, my family members are not sold on Indian food, but it looks interesting enough and gets so many great reviews that I may be able to convince them to try it.

I greatly want to see the place. It looks so beautiful in photos, and I love the sight of live African and Asian animals.

Just need to convince my travel mates that the combination of 5 flat breads with 9 dips, drinks, live giraffes, and Indo-Asian art will be awesome.

 

[rg35]

It's a solid meal, but the bread service is simply naan, kulcha and paratha served with various dips ranging from sweet to somewhat spicy. If you live somewhere with reasonably good ethnic restaurants, it won't be impressive. There's nothing wrong with it, and it's solid, but I too don't understand the heaps of praise it gets on these boards.

AKV is our DVC home resort, so we stay there regularly and always eat at Sanaa because we enjoy it, but adventurous eaters will probably find themselves asking "what's the big deal?" afterwards. I still think it's done well and definitely a very good WDW resort dining option. The setting is also nice and the service had traditionally been very good for us there.

 

[rentayenta]

We love Indian and we love Sanaa and their bread service. Sanaa also has a nice wine list.

 

[Cramden]

It's awful. So bad actually I'd suggest if you have reservations you cancel them. Especially if the reservations are between 4/15 to 4/20.

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

It's awful. So bad actually I'd suggest if you have reservations you cancel them. Especially if the reservations are between 4/15 to 4/20.

Haha, sorry! Can't help you out with that.

 

[Crystal824]

It's awful. So bad actually I'd suggest if you have reservations you cancel them. Especially if the reservations are between 4/15 to 4/20.

Too funny... We will actually be there during the same time. We do have a Sanna reservation

 

[Cramden]

Too funny... We will actually be there during the same time. We do have a Sanna reservation

We went in February for the 4th time in the last 3 years. It was as good as ever. Remains one of my favorites. Have a great trip! Maybe we'll see you in a few weeks

 

[Lisa F]

I love Indian food and used to live in places with lots of good Indian restaurants. Now I make my own.

IMO the special thing about it is that 1) it's served hot and fresh 2) you get the variety of breads (I would never indulge in all that bread at an Indian restaurant, I might just get one order of naan and share it) and 3) you get the variety of dips... some of which are more common but some of which you don't typically get at an indian restaurant. The hummus is nothing special and I'm used to getting the coriander chutney and tamarind chutney (which I happen to LOVE) along with pickled onions with papadum as a complimentary thing at most restaurants. The raita is also pretty common, but the rest of them you don't see very much so it's a nice opportunity to try all of that stuff... or if you see it, it's on a buffet and the breads are not as fresh and there's no variety (I'm sure this varies by restaurant but I've only ever seen naan on a buffet and usually it steams sitting in the tray... although at places I used to frequent they would bring me fresh because I was a regular back in the day). It's just all very indulgent and well put together IMO though no one individual thing is going to be ground breaking or life changing if you have good Indian food where you are... the sum total is really great IMO.

So even though I do love indian food, and I make it at home now, I think this appetizer is very well done. And who doesn't like to dive into a huge plate of bread? even my kid loved it. But it's nothing ground breaking, just a nice variety of both breads and dips.

I do think the menu is somewhat interesting with also Indian but still accessible dishes (like butter chicken). I make butter chicken at home whenever I have the urge now but there are a bunch of other things I'd like to try on their menu.

 

[gharter]

We are really looking forward to going to Sanaa in 2 weeks. Loved Jiko and we have very good Indian restaurants near us. Their menu looks very good. The photos of the bread service makes it worth it alone.

 

[TeresaWen]

The bread service plus a flight of wine = a fun, relaxing lounge stop for us.

 

[Jennasis]

We loved our dinner at Sanaa, but the bread service wasn't all that. It was good, not great. When we get a chance to go here for dinner again we will skip the bread service and try something else as an app.

 

[Lovetherodent]

I am so glad to hear this! I plan to get an ADR for Sanaa next trip. When I see the pictures of the bread service, I keep thinking, "It's just naan bread?" I'm going to my favorite Indian place for lunch with my daughter today (she's a big korma fan). we'll get naan. Now, at least, I won't feel like I'm missing out.

 

[disneyvoice]

I think the bread service at both Sanaa and Jiko is good but I don't understand the hype either. The only reason we ordered it was because everyone makes such a big deal about it. Honestly, I would prefer to have the sauces as an accompaniment to chicken or beef but, in general, we typically don't like to have bread before our meal. It just ends up filling us up before our meal and I would rather use my calories on something with protein instead of just empty calories. But, judging upon the number of vloggers who make a big deal reviewing ANY bread (and butter) that is served prior to a meal, we must be in the minority.

 

[Crystal824]

We went in February for the 4th time in the last 3 years. It was as good as ever. Remains one of my favorites. Have a great trip! Maybe we'll see you in a few weeks

Good to know. This will be our first visit to Sanna. We are staying at AKL so we are dining at all the resort restaurants. While we have eaten at Jiko and Boma before, we have never been to Sanna. I'm really excited about it especially the bread service. I think it is something my kids will enjoy trying.

Have a great trip. I hope it will be a good week to go