Tiffins Restaurant: A Terrific Tasting Oasis at Disney’s Animal Kingdom!
When it comes to signature dining in Disney’s Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World, you may find the options less plentiful than many of the other parks. However, if you want a cozy and vibrant dining experience that evokes international flavors without falling back on traditional theme park cuisine, we have the perfect spot for you. Tiffins Restaurant is the premier signature dining location at the Animal Kingdom!
Adventurous Appearances
Designed to represent the key feature of the park – adventure and travel – Tiffins is located at the center of Disney’s Animal Kingdom on Discovery Island. This location at the heart of the park places it as easily accessible from any of the areas and very close to the entrance. Tiffins opened in May 2016 to great reviews, which have remained consistently positive over the years. It’s also home to our favorite little getaway in Animal Kingdom, The Nomad Lounge (but more on that later).
The name Tiffins comes from an Indian English word for a type of meal served in the early afternoon that more closely resembles tea-time foods or a midday lunch. The name also comes from the metal tiffin carriers – or lunchboxes.
The interior feels more akin to an adventurer’s club than a standard theme park restaurant. The décor is upscale, and the dining rooms are smaller and thus not as loud as some of the other popular dining spots on the property. The three dining rooms are each lavishly decorated with specific décor that ties into the greater theme of Tiffins:
- Trek Gallery. This area is focused on adventures in Asia. They have a lovely sculpture of prayer flags from Nepal that captures the movement of the wind on the mountains.
- Safari Gallery. This dining room is appropriately designed to invoke the spirit of African travel. There is a wall of wooden and stone textures from African textile artists and Imagineers that makes up one side of the room. It evokes a sense of wonderful wanderlust.
- Grand Gallery. Filled with notebooks and sketches (some of which hold Imagineer designs for the park and restaurant), this area is focused on the animals of the park and their natural habitats. Wildlife lovers will relish the atmosphere of this room.
Dining, Drinks, & Discoveries
You won’t find standard theme park entrees at Tiffins. Instead, their menu features a selection of Asian, African, and Latin flavors imbued in unique dishes that you won’t find anywhere else in the parks. With selections that include surf and turf, delectable vegetarian options, and exciting appetizers, you’ll certainly find something to make your taste buds sing. While entrees here generally have more spice and flavor than other dining locations, picky eaters won’t find themselves left out! There’s nothing too spicy or unusual to keep everyone from having a meal they truly enjoy.
Exploring the Kids’ Menu
Their kid’s menu is a little more exciting than some of the other locations. You won’t find the typical chicken fingers or pasta here. However, along with some more adventurous dishes, they do have options for those picky eaters, too! Overall, the kids’ menu is small but not bad! You should be able to find something for your youngest ones here. Just be aware this isn’t necessarily a kid-centric restaurant when compared to other options in the park.
Tantalizing Tea & Coffee Selection
Part of what makes Tiffins wonderfully unique is the extensive tea and coffee selections available here. In addition to several proprietary blends of Joffrey’s Coffee and espresso, they also have a wide selection of hot teas served in individual press pots. With favorites like Darjeeling, chamomile, and black chai on the menu, this is a delightful little treat if you’d like to sit back, relax, and have afternoon tea. (Life doesn’t get much better than that!)
Cocktail Menu
One of our favorite parts of Tiffins is the drink menu. While several locations offer alcohol in the park, we highly recommend Tiffins for anyone looking for something more sophisticated than sweet. The restaurant serves a good mixture of cocktails and mocktails, so no one feels left out from having an adventurous drink with dinner. (We highly recommend the Tempting Tigress and the Annapurna Zing – but everything we’ve had on the menu has been delightful!)
What Intrepid Explorers Should Expect…
Before you make your dining choice, here are a few of our notes on Tiffins Restaurant and the experience of eating there.
The Price Point. Compared to other Animal Kingdom dining options, Tiffins comes with a higher cost per plate (especially since the location isn’t one of the character dining restaurants). However, the combination of the menu and the ambiance more than justifies the cost.
The ambiance is everything at Tiffins. The restaurant is designed around travel and a love of the natural world. That makes it a good little hideaway during a busy park day. The atmosphere feels laid back and very chill, giving you a chance to relax before (or after) you queue up for another trip to Expedition Everest. The menus look like travel journals, further immersing you in the décor’s theming, and the drink menus resemble sketch journals for the animals and places you’ll “visit” during your stay.
Get the Signature Bread Service. If you want to try one appetizer on the menu, we highly recommend Tiffins Signature Bread Service. The mix of sweet and savory flavors is appealing to everyone’s palette and the selection offers some fun things you don’t usually see.
Reservations Required. If you want to eat at Tiffins, you need to plan for it. This is the most popular restaurant at Animal Kingdom (especially if you are going without kids). While there are occasionally a few walk-up reservations available, you’ll have better luck if you get that reservation as early as possible!
The Nomad Lounge. We have to talk about Nomad Lounge. Attached to Tiffins is a smaller, more intimate location that serves small plates, appetizers, and beverages. Often called the “oasis” of the Animal Kingdom, Nomad Lounge has a large circular room with wide windows and large comfy sofas to sit in. Outside, you can find a wide, covered deck facing green foliage and a steady stream beneath your feet. You can find everything on their extensive cocktail menu here as well as some smaller plates.
Overall Experience
Stepping into Tiffin’s can make you feel like you’re no longer in a Disney Park. We’re not saying that it’s not magical or well-themed! However, it feels quieter and a little more sophisticated than most other dining locations at Animal Kingdom. That is by design, as the Imagineer team wanted to combine an art gallery with a restaurant. With this price point as high as it is, you expect a great experience. Tiffins always delivers.
Tiffins is our favorite dining location at Animal Kingdom. The menu is unique in a lot of ways. It’s perfect for those not afraid to try internationally inspired cuisine or bold flavors. The food is always delicious, and the service is outstanding. Even if we don’t grab a reservation for the restaurant, we always make it a point to plan a pit stop at Nomad Lounge for a drink and a snack. The ambiance of this “jungle hideaway” is one of our absolute favorites at the park, and we hope you’ll love it, too!
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