Reviews of Sanaa Lunch/Dinner – Kidani Village
Read prices, menu items, and more
Menus at Sanaa
Reviewed by drosenbe0813 Review Date: 11/28/2013
Rating: (0) Recommended
I hate to be rain on peoples parade, but I'd have to say that my wife and I were slightly disappointing with Sanaa.
First, let me say that we live about 10 minutes from a large Indian populated area, so there are several Indian restaurants very close to us, that we enjoy, so that certainly tinges our thoughts. This is not a negative review per se, but I wanted to express a critical view.
First, the good stuff. We decided about noon to go to a sit down restaurant that evening. Jiko is our favorite restaurant on property, but we wanted to spend a little less, and I had heard such great things about Sanaa. The earliest reservation that we could 'get' was 6:30, which was too late for us. We got through to the actual restaurant, and were told that if we just showed up at 5pm (opening) that they would probably be able to seat us. We arrived at 4:55, were given our beeper, and 5 minutes later, we were brought to a great table by the window.
Our server, Sam, was great. Very personable, and knowledgeable about the menu.
We ordered the Naan service with all of the sauces. Sam explained what each one was, and rearranged the sauces by 'hotness'. We liked 6 out of the nine, but all were tasty.
We were not that hungry, and wanted to save ourselves for dessert, so we shared the Slow Cooked platter, getting Butter Chicken (my favorite) and Beef Short Ribs. One great thing that the kitchen did, was to bring the meal to us, already divided and presented in separate little dishes. That was great.
Unfortunately, the butter chicken was missing 'something'. My wife and I both agreed that something wasn't there, but we didn't know what.
The short ribs meat was outstanding. I usually shy away from dishes like this because, many times, the meat is low quality, but it was excellent. Since I don't usually order it, I thought it was quite tasty, but my wife said that it was also not up to the taste that she was expecting. It is quite possible that the dishes were not as spicy as we are used to, so they tasted bland.
For dessert, we ordered the Rice Pudding. It was not the usual type of Rice Pudding. Sam did warn us about it, and he was not wrong. It was certainly different. Not bad, but it could have been creamyer.
So to wrap this up, I'd have to say that Sanaa's decor, service and location is really nice. But I would probably not bring my family here to eat. None of the food was bad, but for 'Disney' prices, I would rather spend a little more and get an outstanding meal.
Pros:
Service, view, interiiorCons:
main dishes were a little bland for our tastesReviewed by resjudacat Review Date: 06/16/2015
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
Unless you like hot, very spicy food, this place is not for you! I couldn't anything on the menu other than the Indian bread service and dessert! They need to have something for those who do not like hot and spicy food! I found it to be inedible.
Pros:
View of the animals!Cons:
Food!Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 12/31/2018
Rating: (2) Not Recommended
I was so disappointed in this restaurant. I only liked 1 of the sauces from the bread service and my husband only liked 3. The drinks were too strong, the food was over priced and over seasoned. The service was mediocre. It was also obnoxiously loud.
Pros:
Atmosphere.Cons:
Service,food,cost,mixed drinks.Reviewed by FishinGoofy Review Date: 09/13/2021
Rating: (3) Recommended
OK First, The food is not bad. The food is very good. The service is very good the views and theming are cool. It just wasn't for us. I am an adventurous eater. I loved Tiffins in Animal Kingdom (I had octopus) and my spouse is rather picky but will try anything at least once. We had heard the hype about this restaurant and thought this is going to be awesome AND it fell a little flat for us. Even the adventurous options were fairly safe and the safer options were still a little weird. I'm not saying I would never go back by any means but this would not be my first choice UNLESS I was staying at the Animal Kingdom. I just think there are much better places to go.
Pros:
Service is good, food is good, If you go earlier in the day you can watch the animalsCons:
the food is a little different. Not quite adventurous enough for some and too adventurous for others. Make sure to really look at the menu before deciding to eat here.Reviewed by RogerFetch Review Date: 07/23/2021
Rating: (3) Recommended
I was super excited for this restaurant when I got reservations, yet the experience did not deliver. Our waitress was having a difficult time serving and constantly dropped food and silverware. When we did get the food, no one was that impressed. It is one of the most adventurous menus at Disney World, so picky eaters beware. Even the simple rice pudding made my youngest throw up 30 minutes later. The view however, made up for the lack luster food. My whole family spent the entire menu looking out at the animals. That being said, I'm glad we did eat at this restaurant to try new foods and for the experience. We may even give it another try a few trips later.
Pros:
Great viewCons:
Not for picky eaters, bad serviceReviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 04/15/2019
Rating: (4) Not Recommended
We were looking forward to trying this place as we love curried food and had heard good things about it. Very disappointing. Goan Seafood Curry was insipid and watery and was nothing like genuine Indian food. If the bread service is the best thing about Sanaa then that doesn't do it for me
Pros:
Bread serviceCons:
Not spicy, watery sauce, unfriendly serverReviewed by 1283alex Review Date: 05/23/2013
Rating: (4) Recommended
Food was good, but portions were too small! We were still hungry after shortly after we left. Only saw one animal as we were dining. Nicely themed & decorated, but would not go back again.
Pros:
tastefully theme decorCons:
small portionsReviewed by retired605 Review Date: 06/19/2014
Rating: (5) Not Recommended
I know I am going against the majority when I post this review which is why it has taken me 5 months to do it but...
we stayed at Kidani Village in January and this is the only restaurant we ate at in Animal Kingdom. We would not return. Food was OK but nothing to deserve the prices it commands.
I think alot about this restaurant depends on your server and ours was not good. We ate early hoping to get a window view but were back from the windows quite a bit. The review of our waitress is not just sour apples because of our view but she was just not good. We ordered the bread and it was delivered by someone who said our server would explain what it was but she was too busy for that. We never really knew what we were eating.
Food was OK but I guess the reason why it took me so long to post is that I've been reading these glowing reviews of Sanaa and I just had to post that we were not thrilled and would not go back there again. The server was a lot of the problem but the food also was an issue.
Pros:
convenience if staying at Kidani VillageCons:
everything elseReviewed by mbelerique19 Review Date: 12/07/2020
Rating: (7) Recommended
We ate here December 2019 when Sanaa was under going slight refurb. We didnt have a view of the savannah because of the construction but the bread service was great. We ordered all the breads and accompaniments. Highly recommended!
Pros:
Good atmosphere. Good food.Cons:
NoneReviewed by disneymom35 Review Date: 06/06/2019
Rating: (7) Recommended
If you like the flavor of the Boma buffet, you'll love this place. To me, much of it is spiced exactly the same and tastes the same. Portions were on the small side and very little explanation was given either on the menu or by the server. The bread service is amazing. I may go back just to order that. Many different nan and different flavorful sauces. I thought it was a little on the expensive side for the quality and amount of food.
