First look at menus for Disney's Sanaa restaurant at Animal Kingdom Lodge

April 6, 2009, 1:18 PM · I just got a first look at the menus for Sanaa, the Indian flavored restaurant scheduled to open May 1 at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Holy cow, is that beef short ribs next to a pork chop? So much for authenticity.

See the menus for yourself at scottjosephorlando.com.

Replies (9)

April 6, 2009 at 1:25 PM · Scott made the point on his blog, but I'll make it again here... at least Disney's offending both Muslims (with the pork) and Hindus (with the beef) and not taking sides. Right?
April 6, 2009 at 1:37 PM · Ok, so not THAT authenic, but then again, what else would the serve?
April 6, 2009 at 2:22 PM · Chicken? Vegetables? You know, Indian food?
April 6, 2009 at 3:00 PM · Well I do know many Muslims who love ribs and many Hindus that love a juicy steak. I think its how you want to practice, but maybe they should take off the Authentic part. Still, the food looks tasty! Likely this will be a fine addition to AKL!
April 6, 2009 at 3:51 PM · Beef one the menu does not automatically make something non-authentic. Not all Indians are Hindu, and therefore not all Indians avoid beef.
April 6, 2009 at 4:13 PM · I would suggest that everyone click through to Scott's website and read the menus. I know that I'm just having fun with them here.

"African Cooking with Indian Flavors" - so they're going for a fusion thing here, but given the presence of "Lightning McQueen Raceway Punch" on the menu, I think one can approach this with a reasonable suspicion that it won't be too high-end. ;-)

It just kinda sounds like it's going to be about as Indian (or African) as Pizza Hut is Italian. Doesn't mean that people won't enjoy it.

April 6, 2009 at 5:24 PM · Sounds interesting to me.

I have several Muslim and several Hindu Indian friends (melting pot FTW!), and dining with them is a different experience every time. Some like beef, some like pork, some like chicken, and some are straight vegetarians. Oddly, none of them enjoy fish.

I'll try to review it when I'm there next.

April 9, 2009 at 9:32 AM · For all the great restaurants in Disney, they are still Disney restaurants. The most authentic food in all of Disney is at the established restaurants that are on Disney property and not the Disney restaurants themselves. I have eaten around the world and around the Epcot lagoon and the most authentic part of the dining experience is the atmosphere; plain and simply put, Disney food is prepared in a line kitchen and therefore loses alot in translation to that cooking format. Not to poke at anyone who is in love with the Disney fare, but it is theme park food any way you slice it. Although, I do like that Yakitori combo for some reason : )
April 9, 2009 at 9:31 AM · ...and the Turkey legs in Frontierland

This article has been archived and is no longer accepting comments.

Park tickets

Weekly newsletter

New attraction reviews

News archive