We arrived early for our lunch reservation so my friends (Paula & Hunter) and I had a cocktail at Sanaa’s well-stocked bar.
Two of our drink choices were from their Specialty Cocktail menu…
I had the Kande Coconut Cooler…
Kande Coconut Cooler – A refreshing combination of Starr African Rum, Coconut, Vanilla Ice Cream, and Orange Juice
I had had this before at Sanaa during my very first visit back in 2011 and really enjoyed it but this time I was disappointed. I couldn’t really tell that there was any ice cream in this…or at least the “ice” part of ice cream. This basically tasted like coconut milk with a splash of rum.
Paula also chose a Specialty cocktail…
Painted Lemur – Amarula Fruit Cream Liqueur and Van der Hum Tangerine Liqueur from South Africa combined in a Chocolate-striped glass inspired by the distinctive striped tail of the Madagascar Lemur
Paula liked her cocktail and Hunter liked his off-menu choice too…
This was a Dirty Mother (aka Brandy Separator). I believe this had brandy, coffee liqueur, and cream.
Then we were seated at a table by a window as requested…
Because if you are seated by a window at Sanaa you usually get to see animals on the savannah…
Also some birds…
And sometimes the birds will come up to the window to look at you…
But I guess we weren’t all that interesting, lol…
Ok, now on to the food. We started by ordering the Indian-style Bread Service…
We got all 9 accompaniments…
This is a favorite of Paula and Hunter and I can see why. The naan bread was delicious and it was so fun to try all of the different chutneys, hummus, etc. My favorite was the roasted red pepper hummus (in the orange bowl).
I tried not to eat too much of the bread though because I had ordered an entrée which included naan bread. I chose something listed under the “From the Tandoor Ovens” section of the menu…
Tandoori Shrimp served on naan bread (open-faced) with Minted Greens, Tomato, Red Onion, and topped with Cucumber Raita Sauce
And several more looks because this was so photogenic, lol…
This was good but a bit difficult to eat like a sandwich. I gave up and just ate it with a knife and fork. The shrimp was especially tasty.
Paula and Hunter decided to share an entrée from the Potjie Inspired section of the menu…
Their Journey selection was the Butter Chicken…
And I think their Harvest selection was the Aloo Masala…
Aloo is a South Asian term for potatoes.
And then this also came with Scented Basmati Rice…
This was all good but they especially enjoyed the butter chicken. Paula said it was rich and delicious. It has a mild spice to it but it’s not strong at all.
Regarding the Sanaa menu, this included glossary of terms used is a nice touch…
So that just leaves the ratings and rankings. The last time I dined at Sanaa was for dinner and it wasn’t very good. But I’m glad I gave it another try because this lunch was much better. I would probably rate it a 4 but my friends would no doubt give Sanaa at least a 4 1/2. And 4 1/2 is also the rating given to Sanaa by both Trip Advisor and Yelp reviewers. As for the rankings, Sanaa ranks in the top 100 best restaurants in the Orlando area according to Trip Advisor, coming in at #65. And narrowing it down to just those in the Disney World area, Sanaa ranks an impressive #14.
Taste of Disney 