One of our favorite Disney Lounges offers up a serene atmosphere along the Discovery River. Serving drinks and small plates, Nomad Lounge at Animal Kingdom can offer a break when you need it! And it’s usually just the kind of place we’re looking for to get away from the crowds, heat, and chaos. With seating both indoors and out on the porch, you can settle in for conversations, making your day plans and more on your next trip to Disney. Here is everything to know about this lounge at Animal Kingdom, worth adding to your day.
This little hut of a bar can be found on the pathway into Pandora, right next to Tiffin’s Restaurant. In fact, these two locations are connected. Purposefully out-of-the-way, you even get access to a cute patio deck that overlooks the river and a treelined bank. The perfect spot to lounge away from it all, this is our idea of an oasis. The lounge opens at 11 AM and serves a variety of teas, small bites, and snacks that could hold you over until a larger meal. That said, we’ve often ordered several menu items here to make up a full lunch and dinner. Here are some of our favorite things to eat at Nomad Lounge.
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Nomad Lounge Atmosphere
The atmosphere at Nomad is rustic and filled with adventure. A little dark, a little cool, this place feels like it’s fresh out of a classy adventure flick from the 1940’s. Think Indiana Jones in Africa. As Disney Imagineer Joe Rhode himself had a hand in the Tiffin’s and Nomad building, decor, menu it’s everything you would expect for an elevated experience in Animal Kingdom.
Once you arrive, you have the choice to eat inside or outside at Nomad Lounge, and we’ll just say we like the both! Indoor seating includes the bar area, large tables with chairs. and lounge spaces that include leather and rattan chair, small stools, and coffee tables. Perfect for small groups, couples, or families. What we most love about the indoor spaces, is that it’s fairly calm and quiet. Very relaxed.
If you choose to sit outdoors, you have your choice of little tables, or sofa and chair settings. Both give you views of the river and trees and offers breezes and fresh air. In the colder months there are even ceiling heaters that keep the space a little cozier.
Nomad Lounge Menu
The menu at Nomad Lounge is varied with a slew of unique foods, and items that play on regular favorites, like Beef Sliders, Truffle Poutine, Bread Service, and churros. The menu also includes alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. It’s literally a watering hole to hang out in until your next meal, or a great place for a nightcap before heading back to your resort. You can also plan on grabbing a wide array of amazing specialty cocktails. Here we’ll share appetizers, and drinks to try on your next visit.
Appetizers at Nomad Lounge
If you’re looking for a light lunch, or just a reason to try some amazing dishes with your next drink, you will LOVE Nomad Lounge. By far one of the best lounges at Disney World. The service is wonderful, the appetizers and drinks varied and offers everything you could want for an easy afternoon, or evening. Here are the Nomad Lounge Appetizers and Small plates available at the lounge.
Tiffin’s Bread Service
Smoked Pork Ribs
Pineapple Glazed Pork Belly
Cuban Frita Sliders
Gobi Manchurian Glazed Cauliflower
Korean Barbecue Mushroom Bao Buns
Grilled Chicken Satay
And Churros…
The highlight of any meal is the dessert. As such, it’s no surprise that churros make the list at Nomad Lounge. Unlike the churros in the park that may have been sitting under heat lamps, the churros here are freshly made. You get 5, in a tiny basket with on-theme parchment newspaper, and dipping sauces. The vanilla sauce is not super sweet, but just the right amount of flavors for a light treat. Served with Vanilla Crema, Strawberry-Guava Sauce
Best Drinks at Nomad Lounge
Whether you’re headed here for mocktails or something stronger, Nomad Lounge offers some of the most unique drinks in the parks. We do like adding a little cocktail to our lunch, and Lounge time and from fruity to spicy, there are a bunch here that we love. Here are our favorites.
Boto-Rita
Kid-Friendly Drinks at Nomad Lounge
While there are appetizing things on the Nomad Lounge Menu kiddies will surely eat, we stuck with a couple fun drinks and churros. Mainly because you can always tell a place by their ability to fry up some dough in the shape of a tube and cover it in sugar. The fun Kid-Friendly Non-Alcoholic Drinks Selection was superb! A variety of sodas and teas mixed with tropical flavors was a great refresher. Note, some of the flavors are pretty strong for little ones, so stick to the flavors you know if hesitant. We got the beautiful Balinese Breeze ( the red drink) and the Zingiber Fizzie ( the yellow drink).
Zingiber Fizzie
Passion Fruit Purée, Mint, Simple Syrup, and Lime Juice topped with Ginger Beer
Balinese Breeze
Mountain Berry Tea, Simple Syrup, Lemon Juice
Happy Macaque
Guava Purée, Coffee Simple Syrup, and Lime Juice with a hint of Cilantro
Kiama Mamma
Watermelon and Sprite
Lilly Gorill-ie
Strawberry and Sprite®
Hibiscus Henna
Watermelon and Hibiscus, Lime Juice and Soda Water
Nomad Lounge Appetizer and Snacks Review
So, if you were a little curious about this small little place on your way into Pandora, hopefully, this post has helped a bit. Know that you are absolutely allowed in with kids ( we saw many parents taking a break with strollers). That there are lounge chairs, a bar and tables, and even a cozy quiet porch area overlooking nature outback. Definitely a place we’ll want to explore a little more when next we visit. If you’ve stopped by, let us know what you loved!
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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