Dinner with the Savanna- Dining at Sanaa at Animal Kingdom Lodge-Kidani Village

Animal Kingdom Lodge is known for their savanna view rooms complete with munching giraffes, grazing gazelles, and galloping (well, maybe not galloping, but graceful meandering) zebras. This gem of a restaurant is tucked away in Kidani Village with large glass windows so you can watch the animals of Animal Kingdom Lodge ,without having to drop serious dollars on a savanna room view, all while enjoying some very tasty food.

The highlight of the restaurant is obviously the views, so if you do go, make sure you go for lunch or an early dinner so you don’t miss out on the East African Crowned Cranes hanging out right next to your window. Sanaa is also a beautiful restaurant with carved chairs, colorful dangling lights, and bright colors.

We started out our meal with the Indian-style bread service. This is an assortment of Naan bread in different flavors accompanied by a large variety of sauces. Some of our favorites were the roasted red pepper hummus, the garlic pickle, and the mango chutney. You also get a large portion so you’ll have less opposition to sharing with the rest of your party.

For dinner, everyone in my party got a version of Potije Inspired which you get basmati rice with your choice of butter chicken, goan seafood curry or braised beef along with your choice of chickpea wit, aloo masala or cilantro coconut vegetables. One member of our party was going to order African-inspired biryani which you can top with chicken or shrimp, however, our waiter steered him in another direction. So take that as you may, but to me that screams “NO ONE REALLY LIKES THIS!” I ordered butter chicken with aloo masala. They presented the dish in three seperate bowls ( one rice, one for your protein, one for your side), but I highly recommend dumping them out on a plate and eating them casserole style.. The butter chicken was amazing. The sauce was delicious and rich. The chicken was well cooked and tender and really absorbed all that great flavor from the sauce. The aloo masala is a dish of potatoes with onions, tumeric and other great spices and paired really well with the chicken. The only negative of the plate was that there wasn’t enough rice or they needed to provide a piece of naan to soak up all that great sauce. No sauce left behind!

Sanaa has amazing views of animals, great food, and a wonderful atmosphere. In Swahili “sanaa” means “ work of art” or “shining light” and for once the name might just live up to the hype.