4 Essential Animal Kingdom Meals

There are so many places to pick from for where you will get your next meal in Disney World.

Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom is loved for its great access to wild animals on the Kilimanjaro Safaris, its amazing views in Pandora, and the fun characters you can meet there! However, Animal Kingdom is not necessarily known for its food like EPCOT, but you might be surprised at the unique options it does have!

We’re taking a look at the 4 essential meals we recommend for your next trip to Animal Kingdom!

Table Service

1. Yak & Yeti

We would argue that the best and most iconic table service restaurant in Animal Kingdom is Yak & Yeti!

Yak & Yeti

Yak & Yeti not only has delicious food but also really cool theming, so you’re getting a well-rounded and fun dining experience. It is an Asian fusion restaurant that uses Chinese, Japanese, Thai, and Indian flavors in its dishes.

Decor

For an appetizer we highly recommend the Firecracker Shrimp. It’s golden fried shrimp with a yummy spicy, firecracker sauce with an Asian slaw. For $13.99, this is a delicious way to start your meal!

Firecracker Shrimp

We seriously love the Chicken Tikka Masala for our main meal at Yak & Yeti! It’s tender, boneless chicken in a traditional Masala sauce that is oh so good. It’s served with a bed of rice and some garlic naan. We like to dip our naan right into the sauce for all the flavors! This meal is in the midrange price for their specialty dish options at $27.99.

Chicken Tikka Masala

On to dessert at Yak and Yeti! You cannot go wrong with the dessert-style fried wontons. They are filled with cream cheese and served with skewered pineapples, vanilla ice cream, and honey-vanilla drizzle. They’re mouth-watering. At $13.49, we recommend saving room for this dessert!

Ice cream AND a honey drizzle, say what?

We also mentioned the theme at the Yak & Yeti! It is a really cool, exotic atmosphere. While you’re waiting for your food we highly recommend walking around and checking out all the interesting decor.

Yak & Yeti

It’s a great spot to enjoy great food, a fun atmosphere, and some well-deserved air conditioning!

Check out our full review of Yak & Yeti here!

2. Tusker House

The Tusker House has historically made number 3 on many of our lists of Animal Kingdom restaurants. Today, we’re adding it as number 2 for the sheer fact that if you’re looking for an iconic Disney experience, this meal is a great option.

Tusker House Restaurant

The Tusker House is a character-dining buffet with foods inspired by African cuisine.  It is located in the Village of Harambe, and you’d likely bypass it on your way to catch the safari. You’ll get to meet some iconic characters like Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Daisy — all dressed up for an African safari!

Meet Mickey at Tusker House

While you can get breakfast here, we prefer going for lunch and dinner to get even more of the African-inspired food. For starters they have several different bread options including naan and mini zebra loaves. Then grab some hummus, mango chutney, or Tazatiki sauce!

Naan and rolls on the buffet!

For main entree options they have some of our favorites such as Spit-roasted Tandoori Chicken, Green Curry Shrimp and Chicken Curry. For less adventurous eaters, you’ll also find items like corn dog nuggets, macaroni and cheese, and mashed potatoes on the buffet.

Two different curry options!

The curry and Tandoori chicken goes well with the varying side options such as the Feisty Green Beans and Jasmine rice! For dessert they have cupcakes and cookies, but don’t count them out! The cupcakes are oh so good!

Cupcakes!

This is also an immersive experience due to some great theming and an African-inspired atmosphere.

Tusker House

Meals here are priced at $59 for adults and $38 for kids for lunch and dinner. If you want to experience a character buffet, get out of the heat, and enjoy some African-inspired food, this is a great option!

For our full review of the Tusker House click here! 

Honorable Mention- Tiffins

Tiffins is a signature option in Animal Kingdom. It has exquisite food and a cool atmosphere. This is the most expensive restaurant in Animal Kingdom because of its upscale nature. We couldn’t create this list and leave it out because it really is just that good!

Tiffins

If you go to Tiffins you HAVE to get the Signature Bread Service for your appetizer. It’s so good. It comes with Thai Red Curry Milk Bread and Pão de Queijo and several sauces for dipping or spreading on the bread. The sauces are Coconut-Curry Sauce, Guava Sauce, and Ginger-Pear Chutney. The bread service at Sanaa at Animal Kingdom Lodge is probably a bit better, but this is seriously a close second!

The Signature Bread Service is $16 and so worth it.

Signature Bread Service

For the entree, we LOVE the Tamarind-braised Short Rib. It is PACKED with flavor, is super tender and rich. The sauce on it is a bit sweet which pairs really nicely with the savory meat. It also comes with a variety of veggies, but the star of this dish is seriously the short rib. This dish is currently $50, so it is definitely on the higher end.

Tamarind-braised Short Rib

For dessert, we love the Blueberry-Lemon Gâteau for something fruity or the Chocolate Tres Leches for the chocolate lovers. These are both excellent options! Both of these desserts are $14!

©Disney

If you are looking to celebrate a special event, this would be a great option!

We did a full review on Tiffins!

Quick Service

1. Satu’li Canteen

This is a must-stop for us any time we visit Animal Kingdom. From the cheeseburger pods to the customizable bowls, we don’t think you could get a bad thing here!

Satu’li Canteen

This restaurant has an out-of-this-world theme, keeping you immersed in the experience of visiting Pandora. The food here is very popular. We personally love the cheeseburger pods! The dough is so soft and chewy with the inside being a delicious cheeseburger! Many people think they taste just like a juicy McDonald’s cheeseburger. You get the pods and the sides for $13.29!

Cheeseburger pod meal

The Metkayina Mousse is a great dessert option! It’s so smooth and has a raspberry gelée and boba pearls. There’s so much going on, it’s a sweet ride for your mouth! The Metkayina Mouse is priced at $6.29.

Inside the mousse

While you’re in the restaurant, you feel as though you’re in the base cafeteria on Pandora.

Inside Satu’li Canteen

We really enjoy this location, and the food is delicious. It is a quick and affordable meal option that is definitely not lacking in theming!

Review of Satu’li Canteen

2. Flame Tree BBQ

For my dad, it isn’t a trip to Animal Kingdom if we don’t stop at Flame Tree BBQ. This is definitely one of his personal favorites.

Flame Tree Barbecue serves up hearty eats for a good price!

One of our go-to here is the Baked Mac & Cheese and Pulled Pork.  This comes with a hearty helping of mac and cheese topped with delicious pulled pork, onion rings, slaw, and drizzled with BBQ sauce. It is so good and won’t leave you hungry! This is a cheaper option on the menu at $12.49.

YUM

Currently, only one dessert is offered here, the Flamingo Cupcake. It’s a strawberry cake with a strawberry compote filling and a guava buttercream, then decorated with a sugar flamingo and white chocolate wings. It’s certainly sweet for $5.99!

Of course, we had to take it to visit its flamingo friends!

Flame Tree BBQ offers mobile order and outdoor seating. It’s a great way to catch a quick meal and rest your feet in the middle of the day. This is another great quick-service meal at Animal Kingdom that we recommend not missing!

We have a full review of Flame Tree BBQ here!

And that’s it, our 4 (plus one honorable mention) DO-NOT-MISS restaurants in Disney’s Animal Kingdom!

For a full list of Animal Kingdom’s restaurants click here!

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Which of these is your favorite? Let us know in the comments!

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