Thoughts on Sanaa

[King Dominic]

We have a Sanaa lunch booked for our trip because we thought it would be cool to watch the animals as we dine. I've had several people say that while it's a nice restaurant and the animals are fun to watch, it takes a big chunk out of your day because of how far away it is from the rest of the resort. Thoughts on whether or not it's worth it?

 

[sleepydog25]

Absolutely. If you're staying at AKL--which you imply--then it's a short walk if you're in Kidani. If you're staying at Jambo, it's a quick drive or a 10+ minute walk. If you're driving from another resort or park, certainly it will take a bit longer, but it's still worth the 15-minute or less drive from just about anywhere. If you want to ensure a spot at a window seat, I'd advise making an ADR for when they first open--11:30, I believe--and then showing up a few minutes before that to check in. Make sure you ask for a window seat, as well. Food and service are excellent (I highly recommend the full on bread service, but be forewarned it is filling); the wine list is very good; and the prices (relative to Disney) provide a solid value. Oh, and the animals are fun to watch.

 

[King Dominic]

Absolutely. If you're staying at AKL--which you imply--then it's a short walk if you're in Kidani. If you're staying at Jambo, it's a quick drive or a 10+ minute walk. If you're driving from another resort or park, certainly it will take a bit longer, but it's still worth the 15-minute or less drive from just about anywhere. If you want to ensure a spot at a window seat, I'd advise making an ADR for when they first open--11:30, I believe--and then showing up a few minutes before that to check in. Make sure you ask for a window seat, as well. Food and service are excellent (I highly recommend the full on bread service, but be forewarned it is filling); the wine list is very good; and the prices (relative to Disney) provide a solid value. Oh, and the animals are fun to watch.

Oops, I meant to put "far away from the rest of the park, not resort". We aren't staying at AKL. Sorry for the confusion

 

[sleepydog25]

Oops, I meant to put "far away from the rest of the park, not resort". We aren't staying at AKL. Sorry for the confusion

No problem, but I'd still go. It's one of our top restaurants, and that includes signatures. As I mentioned, the bread service is sublime and worth going for by itself.

 

[etwizzle]

We went to Sanaa last time we were in WDW and I thought it was well worth it. The food was good and we enjoyed taking a break from the parks and enjoying all the details of the lodge and looking for hidden Mickey's.

 

[MrsIncredible725]

We loved dinner at Sanaa. The bread service is amazing, and so was the butter chicken. Even my two young kids (6 and 7 at the time) loved their meals. Lots of fun!

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

We all love Sanaa - we eat there each trip. That and Boma - we eat at both of them each trip and do not stay at AKL - usually around MK or EPCOT but love Sanaa. All of our kids love it too. Well worth it.

 

[dixielanfan73]

Yes! Absolutely give it a try. My Son is a very picky eater (his food can't touch and he needs a different utensil for each food)plus my daughter has a tree nut allergy and this is on both of their " must do" lists! Fantastic wait staff, great food and fun atmosphere! We do lunch here every trip! We usually take a bus over to Kidani at the end of a DAK day and cab or uber it back to our resort. This Oct we will be going to Sanaa for lunch first then heading over for an evening at DAK!

 

[Somnia]

Honestly if you're willing to pay for an uber (or the MinnieVans) you can get there and back really fast and not worry about it being so far away.

Beyond that though I HIGHLY recommend Sanaa. Honestly my favorite 3 restaurants are all at AKL with Boma, Jiko and Sanaa. You can't go wrong with any of them and Sanaa has the best appetizer on property with the bread service

Speaking of AKL being out of the way, go there and take your time. Explore the resort (both of them) and see everything. They really are worth seeing and taking in, though be prepared as you will most likely want to stay there on your next trip because of it.

 

[1andrea]

The food here does look amazing xx

 

[disneyAndi14]

It is so worth it, the food, atmosphere, and savanna view are wonderful. I suggest timing it with your AK park day, very close to AK.

 

[ggdvc]

We are trying Sanaa for the first time this fall. Staying at AKV-Kidani and having lunch there on our departure day. I'm really looking forward to the bread service!

 

[mckennarose]

We LOVE Sanaa, however we usually visit other resorts on our "off" days so we don't feel rushed to eat and run.
Definitely get the bread service with all the dips. It's well worth it. And the butter chicken is delicious!

 

[KEVD]

We went at towards the end of lunch. I think it was a 3p ADR and made it our late lunch / early dinner. Excellent experience. Probably our favorite meal of the entire visit. At late lunch timeframe it's not busy. We got a table right by the window. The food was fantastic as was the atmosphere. I'd recommend going here for a late lunch after a "half park day". And as others mentioned, the bread service is to die for.

 

[sleepydog25]

Just to whet appetites a little, here's a recent picture of the bread service.

The sauces are hottest to mildest starting in the back row with the dark red bowl to the left. Go from left to right, so dark red-orange-white-orange. From there, simply slide up to the next orange bowl and then work your way right to left (orange-dark green/grey-white-dark green/grey-white). The spiciest is the red chile sambal and the mildest is a cucumber raita. There were five na'an breads. The bowl to the far right is one part of a salad trio, the chickpea with cucumber and tomato. It was superb and provided a nice contrast to the spicy sauces as it's chilled.

 

[Disney Mom 7272]

We really enjoy Sanaa! Try the bread with all the sauces! It's great

 

[Shanti]

We have a Sanaa lunch booked for our trip because we thought it would be cool to watch the animals as we dine. I've had several people say that while it's a nice restaurant and the animals are fun to watch, it takes a big chunk out of your day because of how far away it is from the rest of the resort. Thoughts on whether or not it's worth it?

We really liked dining at Sanaa.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Adding my $.02 to say that I think it's absolutely worth it. Sanaa is one of my favorite meals at WDW and as others have said, the bread service is amazing. My #1 thing to eat at WDW If you aren't staying at AKL schedule it on your AK day and take Uber. It's the best $20 round trip you'll spend

 

[vettegirl]

We love it and will go out of way to eat there. Their naan bread is the best I swear I have ever had worldwide.

 

[sleepydog25]

I forgot to add that the bread service also represents one of the better values at Disney, as well.