Disney Dining for the Daring
When you’re on vacation, you should try new things.
Otherwise, you’ll allow the humdrum nature of daily existence to creep into your dream trip.
Palm Room
That statement applies to Disney vacations as well. The culinary team has elevated the concept of theme park cuisine.
Those of you willing to take some chances will be rewarded with stunning flavors.
Photo: Lauren S
Here are some Disney dining options for the daring.
Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
Be honest. Do you have any idea what Gulrøtterm Kjøttkaker, and Kylling are? Yeah, me neither.
During a trip to the Norway pavilion, you should stop at Akershus to learn about the local cuisine.
Those dishes are the Norwegian equivalents of carrots, meatballs, and chicken meals.
However, they’ll taste totally different due to the Norwegian recipes and cooking styles.
Boma – Flavors of Africa
You’ll notice a theme with several of these suggestions.
The most daring Disney dining options don’t serve cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets.
Credit:Disney
Instead, you must expand your horizons and palate when you try the meals.
When you do, you’ll be instantly rewarded by the dazzling flavors of foods like Bobotie, Couscous, and Tabbouleh.
Disney
You’ll find all these offerings at Boma, an All-You-Care-to-Enjoy (AYCTE) restaurant.
So, you can sample each dish to determine which ones impress you.
You’ll find Boma near the Jambo House lobby at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, and it’s well worth the trip.
PS: Don’t forget to try some Zebra Domes!!!
eet by Maneet Chauhan
This is one of the newest Disney Springs restaurants, and it hasn’t caused an immediate buzz.
Chef Maneet Chauhan appears regularly on the Food Network and is even the reigning champion of their Tournament of Champions.
Chauhan brags that she runs the only Indian-inspired restaurant at Walt Disney World.
The menu reflects this fact, with shareable Tandoori and “D.I.Y. Pani Puri.”
You’ll also find a popular Walking Taco here that Disney Springs fans are openly obsessed with.
Chauhan’s culinary reputation has grown by leaps and bounds during the 2020s, yet the menu at eet is shockingly inexpensive.
Jaleo by Jose Andres
Andres recently made headlines for his dutiful work with the World Central Kitchen.
A tragic incident in Gaza took the lives of some noble chefs, but the program’s spirit remains unbroken.
(Kent Phillips, Photographer)
Andres has made it his mission to serve food to those in need.
For this reason, I want to frequent his businesses to support him financially.
Photo: ThinkFoodGroup
Jaleo makes that easy because it’s the meats and cheeses capital of Disney Springs.
You’ll find high-end proteins like ibérico ham here, and much of it is shareable around the table.
Jungle Navigation Co. LTD Skipper Canteen
Soon after this restaurant opened, Disney added a chicken dish with a clearly understandable name.
Management did this because of the sheer complexity of the Skipper Canteen menu.
Photo: junglecruise.fandom.com || Skipper Canteen
So, you can feel secure that “Tastes like Chicken” Because it is! will be fried chicken.
Of course, this article aims to teach about daring Disney cuisine, and that’s…everything else on the menu.
Photo: Disney
You can try “Hardy Har Char” Siu Pork, Curried Vegetable Crew Stew, and Nile Nellie’s Noodle Bowl.
You won’t find any of this at Applebee’s, which is the point.
Photo: Disney
This restaurant expands the concept of Jungle Cruise, which means the meals are world explorers.
The Society of Adventurers and Explorers (S.E.A.) has set up shop here, which adds to the fun during a visit.
Photo: Disney
Most importantly, you’ll discover some of the most decadent cuisine imaginable at…Magic Kingdom?!
Kona Café
Kona Cafe Sign
Whenever Kona Café gets a new menu, an angel gets its wings. And I’m pretty sure Heaven has an overcrowding problem.
Seriously, when the restaurant reopened, MickeyBlog wrote about Kona Café’s new menu.
Kona Cafe Menus
The restaurant has updated since then, and now there’s this video:
That’s a shocking amount of turnover, but Kona Café justifies the aggravation because the menu remains unique.
You’ll find sushi, poke, and quinoa dishes here, all of which embrace their island heritage.
For foodies, Kona Café has always stood out as one of the hidden gems of Disney dining. It’s always worth a try for daring diners.
Morimoto Asia
Image Credit: @MorimotoAsiaFLA/Twitter
Perhaps no television celebrity chef is more recognizable than Masaharu Morimoto.
The star of Iron Chef and Iron Chef America opened Morimoto Asia in 2015, and he’s become a staple of Disney Springs.
I honestly don’t know whether Chef Morimoto lives in the area, but he frequently appears at events.
Some celebrity chefs run Disney restaurants in name only. Morimoto is invested in the success of Morimoto Asia.
Not coincidentally, the sushi-intensive menu here reflects Morimoto’s life’s work as one of the greatest living chefs.
Sushi fans owe it to themselves to try this place, which is to seafood dishes what Shula Steakhouse is to steak lovers. No joke.
Spice Road Table
Disney advertises this restaurant as serving “flavors of the Mediterranean.”
Of course, you’re at the Morocco pavilion. So, most of the menu items would seem right at home on a Moroccan dinner table.
Image Credit; Disney
Recently, Disney transitioned Spice Road Table to small bites, making it more of an EPCOT festival-esque experience.
Still, there aren’t many places in the south where you can order Dolmas, Tagine, and Tiropitakia.
Disney
The Naan Spreads will be plenty for most people, and they only cost $11!
Tusker House
I debated whether to include this one, as it shares some menu similarities with Boma.
They’re both AYCTE eateries with a focus on African cuisine.
Currently, the menus are different enough that you won’t feel like the meal is repetitive when you eat here, though.
Disney advertises the dinner menu House Specialties as “Spit-roasted Tandoori Chicken, Berbere-marinated Pork, Green Curry Shrimp, Doro Wat, (and) Braised Beef Tajine.”
Photo: Disney
Be honest. How many of those dishes would you find within 15 miles of your house? Exactly. That’s why you should try Tusker House.
Yak & Yeti Restaurant
Photo: Facebook/Yak & Yeti
Finally, we have my favorite on this list, Zebra Domes at Boma notwithstanding.
Yak & Yeti offers a pan-Asian menu focusing on Nepalese and Indian menu items.
As I recently discussed, TripAdvisor reviewers have ranked this place as one of the best 70 restaurants in Orlando.
In other words, the consensus public opinion ranks Yak & Yeti in the 98th percentile (!) of Orlando dining options.
That fact’s all the more remarkable once you consider the menu, which includes dishes like calamari, Lo Mein Shrimp, and Chicken Tikka Masala.
Those aren’t foods you would expect to try during an Animal Kingdom visit, right?
That’s what’s remarkable about all these options. When you’re willing to be daring at Disney, you’ll find many exciting options!
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Feature Photo: Disney
