Sanaa is a restaurant in Animal Kingdom Lodge – Kidani Village. Acting as a table-service restaurant for lunch and dinner, Sanaa serves a counter-service breakfast in the morning. With large windows that look out upon roaming animals, the restaurant offers some classic American breakfast options as well as a few that fit the African and Indian hotel theme. In this post, we’ll review the restaurant’s breakfast atmosphere, food and value.

The Walt Disney World ‘hidden gems’ phrase gets thrown around often. Everyone is searching for something undiscovered to enjoy and explore. The truth is that the vacation kingdom is so popular that finding quiet spots are few and far between. They exist, but it takes some searching.

Sanaa used to be an under-the-radar fan favorite before becoming more popular for lunch and dinner. While those meals have gained notoriety, Sanaa’s breakfast remains a quiet respite, paired with good food and a wonderful atmosphere. That makes it one of the best counter-service breakfasts on property!

Sanaa sits at the bottom of Kidani Village, down the stairs from the lobby. The restaurant offers a table-service meal full of Indian and African inspired dishes for lunch and dinner, well known for their bread service. Breakfast is a different format, offering a counter-service experience where guests order at the bar before finding a seat and having their food delivered. In fact, the whole meal goes by a different name – Kidani Village Breakfast at Sanaa. I’m not sure of the reasoning for this but whatever works. Anyone can eat here, regardless of if they’re staying at the hotel or not.

Being a table-service most of the time, the restaurant looks, simply put, nicer than the majority of counter-service restaurants. Tables are more spread out, the seating is unique and the decor advances the restaurant’s theme. That’s augmented by the lack of crowds in the restaurant. We’ve been in Sanaa for breakfast a couple of times and there has never been more than 5 groups in there. With 20+ tables, the mood here is extremely relaxed.

All of that praise comes before mentioning Sanaa’s main atmospheric draw – the large windows with animals right outside of them. Have you ever dreamt of feasting on bacon, eggs benedict or a smoothie bowl while watching giraffes, kudu and zebra pass by? Well, even if you haven’t then it’s still cool!

That’s the main draw of Sanaa but the rest of the restaurant is beautiful as well. There are handcrafted baskets, woven light fixtures and beautiful patterns throughout. At the center of Sanaa sits an acacia tree, with branches spread out through the rest of the restaurant. Overall, we really like everything about the atmosphere here at breakfast. While watching the animals rightfully steals the show, the exceptionally themed Animal Kingdom Lodge shines through.

Some of the menu fits Sanaa’s unique setting including a couple of interesting options along with your usual breakfast fare. I wouldn’t call anything as creative as the restaurant’s lunch or dinner menu but it’s also a step up from most counter-service breakfast options without being much more expensive. Every entree is in the $10-$14 range.

For your waking up needs, there is a little coffee station right next to the counter where guests order. They’ve done a nice job transforming this space for breakfast so that guests can self-serve when needed.

Here’s a look at the Eggs Benedict. The dish consists of Two Poached Brown Eggs, Canadian Bacon, Spice Route Hollandaise, Arugula, and Berries. Our first tell that this was going to taste better than your typical counter-service breakfast was that the Poached Eggs came out perfectly. That paired well with the rich and traditional Hollandaise and Canadian Bacon. I wouldn’t say the flavors were extremely unique here, this is just a really well crafted Eggs Benedict made at a much higher quality than most counter-service breakfasts.

The Arugula and Strawberries act as a side salad that freshens up the heavier dish. That may seem odd to the typical American breakfast but we really enjoyed that addition. At $13.99, we thought this was an excellent value.

If you’re looking for a lighter option, there’s the Breakfast Power Bowl which includes Ancient Grains, Mixed Greens, Sweet Market Berries, Vegan Acai Yogurt, and Caramelized Pumpkin Seeds. This plant-based dish was filling and had an interesting mix. Like the Eggs Benedict, this seemed like a side salad situation but all of the ingredients played well together. If you’re looking for a fresh breakfast dish that offsets all of the heavy theme park food you’re eating, then this is a great breakfast that will still fuel you for the morning. This was another strong value at $9.29.

In the past, we’ve had the French Toast. They have changed the toppings since then but the version we had was delicious and Banana Bread French Toast can’t be a bad thing!

Clearly, we adore breakfast here but it is interesting to try to figure out how it fits into a Walt Disney World vacation. Unless you’re staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge, it’s hard to fit in. I do think this is an ideal spot to have a late breakfast on a resort day. Obviously, that won’t apply to every vacation but if you have the luxury then we recommend it. Catch a bus to Animal Kingdom and then a bus to Kidani Village shouldn’t be a long wait from there. Or you could take a Lyft.

There are other good options for a quick breakfast that might be more convenient, like Primo Piatto. But the Kidani Village Breakfast at Sanaa offers an escape from the usual WDW crowds along with a great breakfast and a view of animals. It’s hard to beat that. I’d go as far as to call it a hidden gem.

Have you tried Kidani Village Breakfast at Sanaa? Let us know your thoughts or questions below in the comments! Planning a trip to Walt Disney World? Check out our planning guide for help! Looking for discount tickets? Check out this site! If you enjoy what you’re reading here on Wandering in Disney, please subscribe to the blog and like our social media pages. You can do both of those things on the right side of this page. Thank you for reading, we really appreciate it!