There are a handful of Disney Resorts that are great for vegans. One of those resorts is Animal Kingdom Lodge which houses 3 table service locations which either have separate vegan menus (Jiko), already vegan items (Sanaa) or chefs willing to make excellent meals for their guests (BOMA). Recently the whole Vegan Disney World gang was in town so we decided to all get dinner at Sanaa.
Sanaa is located in the Kidani Village part of Animal Kingdom Lodge on it’s lowest level. Here you have excellent views of the Savannah and sometimes you may even have a Giraffe pass your window.
One of the best things about Sanaa is their Indian-style Bread Service which you can order to be vegan. Not only is the bread vegan but it’s also gluten free! Gluten free vegans rejoice! The bread service can come two different ways, with 3 dips or 9. One of the 9 dips is not vegan, cucumber raita, so you can just substitute that out for an extra of any other dip.
The dips are laid out from spiciest to least spicy, so if you know you don’t like heat you can stay towards the least spicy side. The dips are Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, Mango Chutney, Tomato-Date Jam, Tamarind Chutney, Coriander Chuntey, Garlic Pickle, Red Chile Sambal, and Spicy Jalapeño-Lime Pickle. The Coriander Chutney is our favorite so we got doubles of that. For 6 adults and 3 little ones we ordered 2 portions of the 9 dip bread service. The bar offers samosas and you can order those even though they are not on the restaurant menu if you want a different appetizer. Or if you just want to eat at the bar you can also order the bread service there.
For our entrees we all ordered different variations of the Potjie Inspired dish which comes with basmati rice and your choice of two items. Of the 5 Harvest (vegetable) dishes 4 of them are vegan; Aloo Masala, Chickpea Wat, Lentil Dhal and Cilantro-Coconut Vegetables.
Sanaa changes this entree with the seasons, but the Chickpea Wat and Lentil Dahl have been around for the last few years. The Chickpea Wat was on the sweet side for me, but as a whole was very good. The Aloo Masala was great, the potatoes were cooked perfectly. I wish I didn’t have to share this one with our tiny human. That being said, the Aloo Masala and the Chickpea Wat were not spicy at all.
The Cilantro-Coconut vegetables were great, the coconut milk made it more like a soup but the vegetables in it were great. The Lentil Dahl was simple and had a nice earthy lentil flavor, I enjoyed it more than Corey.
For dessert we skipped ordering off the menu because Tara special ordered us a cake from Erin McKenna’s Bakery in Disney Springs. This is something anyone can do when visiting Disney. Erin McKenna’s Bakery will deliver them to almost all Disney restaurants (note that many of the restaurants in World Showcase in Epcot are not Disney owned) and you can even have donuts or other sweets delivered to your resort. I recommend calling at least 2 weeks in advanced to order a special dessert. Here is the number to order 855-462-2292, more info here.
Price? $$
Review from March 2018
Does anyone know if the gluten free vegan bread contained corn? A lot of vegan GF bread contains it and I can’t have corn. Thanks!
We liked the food at Sanaa, but thought the price was quite high for the amount you get. We ordered the Potjie which was $28 each for two vegan choices and a small bowl of rice. It seems like if you’re not getting the meat option, they could at least increase the size of the Dahl or veggies which must cost them less. I’d say if you’re on the dining plan, go for it, but otherwise I don’t think it’s worth it.