Best Animal Kingdom Restaurants List, Reviews and What to Skip

Best Animal Kingdom Restaurants List, Reviews and What to Skip

We love Animal Kingdom Park. As lovers of animals both wild and domestic, it’s always wonderful to head to the wilderness in search of new things to explore. And while we don’t typically head to Animal Kingdom just for the food, there are a few great restaurants at Animal Kingdom that warrant the trip. Of course, there are always a few disappointments there too, so we added those to our Skip It section of this list, so that you can only focus on the good stuff. Mind you, as foodies we come with some pretty high expectations. Yes, even for theme park food. But at the same time, we don’t necessarily need food to be exotic to be impressive, just good. Here are our restaurant reviews of the Best Places to Eat at Animal Kingdom. 

Animal Kingdom Rides

If you’re looking for the Best Animal Kingdom Restaurants look no further. From Colossal Cinnamon Rolls, to Sliders, Power Bowls to Fried Rice, we’ve done a roundup of where to eat in Animal Kingdom, no matter what you’re craving! As one of the parks at Disney World with some of the Best Snacks Animal Kingdom can also boast one of our favorite lounges, and a hard cider to add to your must-try list. And if you’re looking for a counter service meal that needs to be cheap, AK has quite a few of those too! Check out the Best Quick Service Restaurants at Animal Kingdom for more ideas on where  to eat next. Okay, here’s everything we recommend (and don’t recommend) for your next Animal Kingdom visit. 

satuli canteen quick service food at disney

 Satu’li Canteen | Pandora

By far some of the healthiest food at Disney World, the power bowls at Satu’li Canteen combine veggies, proteins, carbs and healthy fats for an amazingly balanced meal that will keep you going all day. Add in Bao Buns and interesting desserts, and you’ll find yourself wanting to eat here all the time. 

  • Where: Pandora: World of Avatar
  • Views: Base cafeteria decor and Na’vi artwork
  • Theme: Avatar, Environment-centric
  • Character Dining: No
  • Food: Protein bowls, and whole fresh foods
  • Quick Service
  • Style: Individual Menu Items
  • Cost: $5- $15 per item

We Recommend it Because:

Satu’li Canteen has gotten praise from just about everyone, so we’re going to jump on that bandwagon and say- yes, it is absolutely that good. Blame it on the special sauces, or seasoned meat and veggies. With generous portion sizes of very good, whole, healthy foods it’s easy to love these dishes. On a vacation, it’s the closest you can get to fresh food in the parks. We visit this restaurant without fail almost every trip to Walt Disney World because it’s a restaurant that does not disappoint and has a varied enough menu we can get something different every time. Satu’li Canteen Menu

Nomad Lounge sliders

Nomad Lounge | On the Bridge to Pandora

One of our favorite places at Animal Kingdom is Nomad Lounge. This riverside restaurant offers small plates, and drinks, and even churros! Good for both kids and adults, you can also get an amazing lineup of Disney Mocktails and Zero-Proof Drinks here. Add in amazing views of Discovery River, cozy seating and excellent service, and it’s absolutely one of the best restaurants in Animal Kingdom. 

  • Where: Walkway to Pandora
  • Views: Stream, Trees
  • Theme: Adventurer
  • Character Dining: No
  • Food: Drinks, Small Plates and Salads
  • Table Service: Reservations Recommended
  • Style: A La Carte
  • Cost: $15-$35 

We Recommend it Because: On a recent visit to Nomad Lounge for appetizers and drinks, we were pleasantly surprised at the small plates. A great variety of dishes, you can grab sliders, bread service, and even vegetarian options here. Whether you’re grabbing cute non-alcoholic drinks, so your little one can sip something pretty with you, or just need a quiet spot for rest and renewal, Nomad Lounge is the place. With a deck out back lined with couches, it’s the perfect place to get away from the crazy. Nomad Lounge Menu

Kusafiri Bakery Animal Kingdom Breakfast Totchos

Kusafiri Coffee Shop and Bakery | Africa

Totchos, and Egg and Croissant Sandwich, and Overnight Oats all make the breakfast menu here, while people actually wait in line for the 11am arrival of the flatbreads, wraps and house made chips. This unassuming podium is situated right across from the Fruit Market and boasts not only some great options for breakfast and lunch, but also snacks and drinks. While there is sometimes a bit of a line, we recommend you just wait in it. Because when it comes to good food at Animal Kingdom, this is where you find it. 

  • Where: Africa
  • Views: Harambe
  • Theme: American, Bakery
  • Character Dining: No
  • Food: Basic Lunch and breakfast foods
  • Quick Service
  • Style: Individual Menu Items
  • Cost: $5- $15 per item

We Recommend it Because: With a lovely assortment of baked goods and coffee you can also grab the Colossal Cinnamon Roll here. While you won’t find seating here, you can head to the gift shop seating area across the midway to eat outside. An excellent option for breakfast or lunch if you’re not too far into the park already and looking for a quick bit to eat. Kusafiri Coffee Shop and Bakery Menu

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Eight Spoon Cafe | Asia

Another favorite place to eat at Animal Kingdom is the Eight Spoon Cafe. While not a sit down restaurant, the loaded macaroni and cheese dishes are the quintessential street food. Piled high with amazing toppings, the mac and cheese here comes in lots of varieties and can double as a quick lunch or dinner. 

  • Where: Bridge from Asia to Discovery Island
  • Views: Asia
  • Theme: American
  • Character Dining: No
  • Food: Mac and Cheese
  • Quick Service
  • Style: Snack
  • Cost: $5- $15 per item

We Recommend it Because:  You can grab this mac with nothing on it or load it up with shrimp or pork. As a flavorful substitute for your standard Mickey Pretzel, it’s well worth the 6 bucks.  Eight Spoon Cafe Menu

Tusker House Plant Based Dining at Disney

Tusker House | Africa

In Animal Kingdom, Tusker House is the Character Dining Restaurant featuring Mickey and Friends in their safari gear. The only place you can see them in these outfits, this is a buffet style meal featuring basics with an African flair. As such, you can count on finding things for both kids and adults on the menu here. As with most character dining, we like it best for breakfast, but all the meals here are nice. Keep in mind that the experience at Tusker House is more about the characters and less about the cuisine. Check out our Tusker House Restaurant Review to make the decision for yourself. 

  • Where: Africa
  • Views: African Marketplace
  • Theme: Safari
  • Character Dining: Yes
  • Food: African Cuisine
  • Table Service: Reservations Recommended
  • Style: Buffet, All You Care to Enjoy
  • Cost: Breakfast $47 per adult $30 per child, Lunch and Dinner $62 per adult, $40 per child

On par with the other character dining at Disney World, Tusker House offers a slew of buffet options. And as each character stops for photos and autographs, there is plenty of time to see them all. And of course, don’t forget the Zebra Domes for dessert. Tusker House Menu.

Yak and Yeti Quick Service Animal Kingdom

Yak and Yeti Local Foods Cafe | Asia

In the Asia area of Animal Kingdom you can find the Yak and Yeti Restaurants. These include a Quick Service restaurant called Yak and Yeti Local Foods Cafe, and the Yak and Yeti Table Service Restaurant. Serving up couscous, veggies, dim sum and more Asian specialties, there are plenty of options to eat here. At the quick service counter, you can grab a fantastic breakfast bowl, sandwich, and more. 

  • Where: Asia
  • Views: Asian Ruins
  • Theme: Adventurer
  • Character Dining: No
  • Food: Asian 
  • Quick Service
  • Style: A La Carte
  • Cost: $5-$15 

At Yak and Yeti you can also find sandwiches, tikka masala, chicken and fried rice. Plus, there is ample seating outside for whatever meal you’re headed here for. An eclectic lineup of foodie options means that you can enjoy many different things here no matter when you visit.  Yak and Yeti Local Foods Cafe Menu.

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Trilo Bites | DinoLand USA

While not really a restaurant, this little snack cart over in Dinoland has the most surprising Nacho offering! With regular chips, loads of toppings, jalapenos included, and enough to share, this snack made our Best Non-Dessert Snack list for good reason. It’s a must-try.

  • Where: DinoLand USA
  • Views: Dinosaurs
  • Theme: Jurassic 
  • Character Dining: No
  • Food: Nachos, Ice Cream, Drinks
  • Quick Service: Snacks
  • Style: A La Carte
  • Cost: $5-$15 

 Plus you can sometimes also grab ice cream treats here and drinks too. This little snack kitchen is also home to seasonal treats throughout the year, and well worth the stop. Check out the Trilo Bites Menu.

Flame Tree Barbeque Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom Restaurants To Skip

Animal Kingdom has some decent restaurants in the park, and since we’ve shared our favorites, let’s dive into a few that you should probably skip. Of course Flame Tree BBQ didn’t make our “Best” list, but it may make yours, so we’ve included menus for each, so that you can decide what your favorite places are in Animal Kingdom. For us, this lineup of restaurants don’t warrant our time or money, but take a look at our quick reviews and decide for yourself!  

Flame Tree BBQ

Ok, so we know everyone loves Flame Tree BBQ! And as BBQ lovers ourselves we were disappointed to not be able to jump on the bandwagon with this one. So it almost made the list for those interested in dishes loaded with meat and baked beans. Since we don’t rate food based on how much it costs or how big the portion sizes are, we couldn’t give this one a glowing review.  The flavors weren’t interesting and the sides were basic. And frankly, we liked the BBQ options at Regal Eagle over in EPCOT better. Check out the Flame Tree BBQ Menu.

Rainforest Cafe

This mainstream restaurant can be found in a variety of places. Enough so that you don’t need to take your magical Disney time to eat here. That said, as a restaurant, it offers basic American Cuisine, themed with Rainforest names, and animatronic Rainforest views. We were always a little confused about the Rainforest Cafe in Animal Kingdom. Since theme-wise it doesn’t really match the wilds of Africa, Asia, or even Pandora. We’d say skip this one. Rainforest Cafe Animal Kingdom Menu.

Restaurantosaurus

Also known as the “worst restaurant in Animal Kingdom” by some Disney veterans, Restaurantosaurus is just fast food. Burgers and fries are at their most basic. Since we like to make every meal an experience, if we wanted burgers and fries we’d head to D-Luxe Burger at Disney Springs instead. If you are toting little ones who are obsessed with Dinosaurs, there are only a few things here to appease them. Restaurantosaurus Menu.

Pizzafari

Just Pizza and Flatbreads here and there isn’t much to write home about.  A fine go-to place to eat, we’re rather spoiled with our pizza expectations. We do have a few pizza places we like on Disney property with hopes of them getting even better. For now, we’ll stick to our Best Pizza at Walt Disney World list and skip this one. Pizzafari Menu.

The Best Restaurants in Animal Kingdom

So there you have it. The best restaurants we’ve found so far in Animal Kingdom. Always a work in progress, these favorites could change based on menu changes so we’ll keep this post up to date as we experience more to share! 

The best restaurants in Animal Kingdom offer the best flavors, most authentic cuisine and lots of atmosphere! See our favorite Animal Kingdom Restaurants and a few worth missing. #polkadotpixies #animalkingdomrestaurants #disneytips #waltdisneyworld #polkadotpixies

 

Co-Founder and Director at Polka Dot Pixie Co LLC | Website | + posts

Rochelle Mariah is a writer, designer and photographer with an MLIS in Information Science and a B.S. in Arch and Design. Determined to make Planning a DIY Disney Vacation easier she makes lots of lists and drinks lots of coffee. When not designing apparel at Polka Dot Pixie Shop, she's watching old movies and planning the holidays. She has been traveling to Disney destinations since 2010.


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