Sanaa Dinner - Kidani Village at Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas

On Friday, after I attended Blogger U at the Gluten-Free Living Conference, I had dinner at Sanaa with my friend Sarah from Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW, and Jennifer from Gluten Free Go-To Guide.  Sanaa is located at Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas - Kidani Village, which is right next to the Animal Kingdom Lodge.  

One of my favorite things about Sanaa, besides the amazing food, is that they have an extensive gluten free menu.  Update - you can view pictures of Sanaa's new allergy-friendly menu at the end of this post.  

I started with a sangria, then had the seasonal soup, which was butternut squash.  

For dinner, I ordered the tamarind braised lamb shank with coriander pilaf and a wild mushroom sauce.  

I loved everything about this dish.  The lamb was falling off the bone tender, and the wild mushroom sauce was so incredibly delicious and flavorful.  

For dessert, you can choose from tapioca pudding with chai-spiced berries, mango sorbet with fresh berries, or the seasonal kulfi with chef's accompaniments.  I chose the blood orange kulfi with pomegranate.  It tasted like a kicked up Push-Up.  It was incredibly refreshing, and like ice cream, it was easy to eat after a big meal.  I would definitely order this dish again.  

Before we ate, I checked out the animals outside.  Request a table by the window for a great view of the wildlife.

September 1, 2014 Update

Last night, we started our meal with the Indian-style bread service with nine accompaniments.  We ordered mango chutney, coriander chutney, tamarind chutney, garlic pickle, spicy jalapeno-lime pickle, and four servings of the roasted red bell pepper hummus, which my daughters love.  Other gluten free accompaniments include the red chili sambal, cucumber raita, and coconut chutney.  The chefs at Sanaa are now making the most amazing gluten free naan, so we ordered and ate nine pieces of it.  Sanaa's naan, which is an Indian flatbread, is probably the best bread I have had in the 6 years I have been gluten free.  It does contain dairy though, because it is made with Cup4Cup flour, yogurt, and cream.  Update - the chefs at Sanaa have changed the gluten free naan to make it vegan.  You can read about the new gluten free naan in my lunch review.  

My favorite accompaniments are the coriander chutney and mango chutney, but I enjoyed all of our picks last night.  

For an entree, we shared two orders of the butter chicken, and one order of the beef short ribs, which are served with basmati rice.  I love both of these dishes, but next time we eat at Sanaa, I plan on ordering the lamb shank again, which is only available at dinner.

For dessert, we ordered the banana kulfi (Indian ice cream), which is on the kid's menu.  The seasonal kulfi last night was strawberry.  I love fresh strawberries, but don't particularly like strawberry ice cream, so we ordered the banana instead. 

For our second dessert, we ordered gluten free bread pudding, which I special ordered with Chef David a couple of weeks ago, when my daughters and I ate at Sanaa for lunch.  The bread pudding, which isn't even on the regular menu anymore, is a great example of how Disney chefs are willing to go above and beyond for diners with special diets.  It was made with gluten free naan and donuts, and served with a sauce on the side that had a slightly spicy kick.  I was really impressed with how good it was!

My gluten free friend Shelley ordered the tandoori chicken, which is served with seasonal slaw and coriander rice.  The bite I tried was moist and flavorful, and Shelley seemed to enjoy her choice.

Her daughter Bella, who also has to eat gluten free, ate a pizza made with gluten free naan.

November 28, 2014 Update

On Thanksgiving Eve, we always go out to dinner, and this year, we decided to go to Sanaa.  We started off with the Indian-style bread service, which is not to be missed, because of the amazing gluten free naan.  It really is the best gluten free bread in Orlando. 

My aunt, who cannot eat dairy, really liked the falafel chips that are now offered with the bread service instead of the papadum.

The beef short ribs are only on the lunch menu now, so we decided to try the lamb curry with our butter chicken.  If you are ordering the slow-cooked entree, the butter chicken and lamb curry are both excellent choices.  The sauces are very tasty, and great enjoyed over the basmati rice.

For our second entree, we chose the berbere braised lamb shank with parsnip-carrot mash, and tandoor-roasted vegetables.  Our server said it was a life changing dish.  The lamb shank is definitely my favorite entree for dinner at Sanaa.  It is falling off the bone tender, and the sauce is heavenly.  Because they were having problems with some kitchen equipment, we weren't able to get the parsnip mash, but the rice they substituted instead was a perfect accompaniment to the dish and all that lovely sauce.

At this point, I thought my meal could not get any better, but then Chef Carroll told me they had pumpkin kulfi for dessert.  I was so full from everything else I ate, but I managed to eat every last bite of my kulfi, and didn't embarrass myself by licking the plate.  Trust me, I wanted to.  

September 29, 2015

Sanaa recently adopted an allergy-friendly menu that lists options for people with gluten/wheat, milk, egg, soy, fish/shellfish, and peanut/tree nut allergies.

Gluten free options include:

• Indian-style bread service - gluten-friendly vegan naan and accompaniments (cucumber raita, roasted red bell pepper hummus, tamarind, mango chutney, tomato-date chutney, coriander chutney, garlic pickle, red chile sambal, and jalapeno-lime pickle)
• Appetizers - oxtail umngqusho (cracked hominy, black-eyed peas, and braised oxtail), boerewor and slaphakskeentjies (traditional South African sausage and Cape Malay onion salad)
• Entrees - Potjie-inspired (choice of two with basmati rice) - lamb curry, butter chicken, spicy durban shrimp, goan seafood curry, seasonal greens and tomatoes, chickpea wat, paneer tikka; butter chicken; grilled New York strip with Tunisian olive oil crushed potatoes and spice route vegetables; today's sustainable fish served with Berbere black-eye peas; South African Braai sample plate - boerewor, lamp chop, and pork tenderloin with seasonal accompaniments 

Disney's website is showing that my favorite dinner entree, the lamb shank, is still on their menu, so I will definitely be asking to speak to a chef the next time I dine at Sanaa.  A big thank you to my friend Sarah from Gluten-Free & Dairy Free at WDW for sending me pictures of Sanaa's allergy-friendly menu.

You can read more about Sanaa, and make advance dining reservations on Disney's website here.

Sanaa is featured in My Favorite Table Service Restaurants at Disney post.  It is one of the best restaurants at Disney World for special diets, and Chef David and Chef Carroll have made all of our dining experiences there magical.

What are your favorite gluten free dishes at Sanaa?