Animal Kingdom's Only Signature Restaurant
Tiffins is Animal Kingdom's only "signature" dining location, a distinction that's given to 25 restaurants in Disney's dining system (give or take). Recently, Disney has added the words "fine dining" to the signature category — so now it reads "Signature / Fine Dining". I'm not sure I totally agree with that combination of words. To me, the "signature" designation could mean the location offered "fine dining", but it could also mean that the environment was so unique and special, that it couldn't be replicated anywhere else (for example, the view at California Grill is one of a kind).You'll probably need to be a slightly adventurous eater to fully embrace the menu at Tiffins — but I wouldn't consider Tiffins to be "fine dining". In fact, it would be a real shame if guests were skipping this restaurant because of the "fine dining" designation. Yes, the menu is on the pricey side (all of the signature restaurants have pricey menus), but the food is very accessible with flavorful sauce and spice accents — and you can dine here wearing shorts and put your elbows on the table all you want. The environment is not stuffy and the food is actually really great.
The Environment and Dining Rooms
The dining areas haven't changed much since Tiffins first opened, and that's okay — it's nice inside. Once you open the cool looking wood front doors and step inside, the first room guests encounter is the sparsely decorated check-in/lobby room.
The faux-copper treatment for the ceiling is quite nice in the lobby area at Tiffins, as is the wood carvings that are part of the door inlay. The area is, rather tight though.
It's never really felt large enough to me, but I guess it gets the job done. Jumping ahead slightly, the Nomad Lounge is located inside the Tiffins building (with some additional seating outside, on the Tiffins patio). Guests that want to make use of the indoor seating at Nomad should check-in with cast members here in the same check-in/lobby room. If you're checking-in for dinner at Tiffins — there's a good chance you'll want to check in — and then stand around outside for a few minutes while they get your table ready.
Like I mentioned earlier, the main Nomad Lounge prep-bar and indoor seating areas are located inside the Tiffins building — and that area is so large, I'd consider it one of the four main dining areas in the building. Nomad has it's own menu of tapas style food items and of course beverages. So far as I know — the Nomad Lounge is still considered a walk-up location (i.e. you can't make reservations) and the area is not used as overflow seating for Tiffins. If you have reservations for lunch or dinner at Tiffins, you should be seated in one of the three main dining areas that are dedicated to Tiffins guests.
In order to get to the "Trek Gallery" dining room, you'll be escorted through the Nomad Lounge (which is a little confusing) but once in the dining area… I think you'll find it's a little quieter than the Nomad Lounge.
The core seating areas in the Trek Gallery room are spaced out nicely, so you don't feel like you are crammed right up next to another party.
The dining area is really open though so if there's a loud table or two in the Trek Gallery room, all bets are off for quiet conversation. The room itself does have some unique art on the walls, the flooring is a mix of carpet and tile — the ceiling treatment is also very cool. Is this a "signature" dining environment? You'll have to decide for yourself. To me, it is very nice — but when comparing it to the unique spaces like California Grill or Topolino's Terrace — it's not quite as "signature".
This is probably the shot of the Trek Gallery that supports the idea that the location isn't well-appointed enough to justify high "design or environment" marks. It's just somewhat nondescript and sparse.
The second dining area at Tiffins is the "Safari Gallery" and to me, it feels like the smallest of the three dining locations.
This is the "Safari Gallery" at Tiffins, and is said to contain art elements that led to the design of Animal Kingdom's "Harambe" area.
Like the Trek Gallery room, it's open and it's "quiet conversation" level is going to be determined by other guests in the room. The main concept of this room — is the display of artwork that led to the design of Animal Kingdom's Harambe area.
An art piece called "Skydoor" in the Trek Room at Tiffins. In a museum or gallery-like fashion, you'll see a small box (to the bottom right for this piece) with the title and a description for each of the wall art elements at Tiffins.
Here again, the area is nice, there's some artwork to look at on (most) of the walls. I could totally see most of these pieces being in some kind of gallery art room at Animal Kingdom… the chairs are very nice — but is it a "signature" dining space?
The largest of the dining areas at Tiffins is the "Grand Gallery" room. Here again, the "quiet conversation" level is a mixed bag. On one-hand, it is very open, so you think there would be a lot of echo and that it would be a loud area — but in practice — the extra space kind of provides a pad between you and other guests. So, while it's not a small private space — it's not loud either.
Most of the tables in the Grand Gallery at Tiffins offer great views of all the artwork, and are spaced far enough away from one another so that you don't feel too crammed into the table next to you.
The best thing about this room is, there's tons of stuff to look at — and because of that — this is the room that I would consider a "signature" dining area.
Some of the new art pieces in the Grand Gallery at Tiffins are these animal shaped "paper lanterns". This style of art had been used in the Rivers of Light show at Animal Kingdom.
The room itself used to be part of Pizzafari — but no worries, access to the counter service pizza location has fully been blocked off, so guests with plastic trays of pizza won't be wondering into your signature dining experience.
The "Grand Gallery" dining area at Tiffins had been part of Pizzafari's dining area.
Some of the art pieces and wood carving in this space used to be on the walls in Pizzafari way back when that restaurant first opened. Other design elements like the paper lanterns are new, while the wood carved wooden totem poles were saved and repurposed from the now closed Camp Mini-Mickey.
The Bugs-on-a-Wall piece in the Grand Gallery at Tiffins is actually quite detailed and expansive, when you realize that no two bugs were hand-painted alike.
While everything in this room might seem like a hodgepodge of items from other locations — it actually comes off as being an on-point, eclectic mix that reflects the more colorful and artsy themes from all over Animal Kingdom.
There are many animals on the five unique pillars located in the center of the Grand Gallery dining area at Tiffins.
Signature Service
Honestly, I can't really say that I've experienced the "best" service at Disney's "signature" locations. That's not to say the service was bad at Tiffins — it's just that the service at all Disney locations seems to depend on the quality of the waiter or waitress — and not what location they're working at. I've experienced some really great servers (or "dining area cleaning cast members" I guess) at counter service locations... that were helpful, happy and knew a lot about the menu at the location they're working at. Like most Disney locations — the service here at Tiffins is usually really good.Our server on this particular visit didn't seem to know much about the wines on the wine flights, other than which wines made up the flight — which is something a person working at a signature location should know (he might have been new). Otherwise, the waiter seemed attentive and did a fair job of keeping up with things.
Signature Drinking
One of the things that most signature dining locations have in common is an extended wine, beer and cocktail selection — and Tiffins doesn't disappoint. As I mentioned before — the Nomad Lounge is located directly in the Tiffins building, so there's a couple more beers on tap, and a couple more cast members dedicated to make cocktails and mocktails for everyone dining at Tiffins or Normad.
This is the Lamu Libation from Tiffins (also available at the Nomad Lounge).
There's usually flights of wine and beer available from mostly international providers with a couple of domestic beverages in the mix as well. Wines from South Africa and South America seem to be most present — along with a couple of unique beers from Asia. There's also an ale on draft that's produced in the US just for the Disney parks called the Kungaloosh Spiced Excursion Ale which includes sorghum and blend of cinnamon, cardamom, and other spices.
Around a dozen cocktails themed just for Tiffins and Nomad are available, along with a selection of press-pot loose leaf tea (which you don't find at many Disney locations).
The Lamu Libation combines Starr African Rum, Cruzan Banana Rum, Guzve Puree, with Orange, Lime and Pineapple juices. It's topped with Gosling's 151 Rum.
Rounding out the list are some press-pot coffees and coffee based cocktails — like one of my go-to after dinner favorites — the Mustang Coffee.
It might not look like much, but this Mustang Coffee from Tiffins is one of my go-to favorites for after dinner.
Unless I'm mistaken, you can't find the Mustang Coffee anywhere else at Disney. The blend of Crown Royal, brown sugar, butter and Indonesian coffee is a real after dinner treat.
The Food at Tiffins
Generally speaking, flavors like curry, tamarind, peri-peri, a little cumin garlic here and there — make up the bulk of Disney's "African cuisine" flavor profiles. Are you really going to find "authentic" cuisine from these regions? No, but that's not a bad thing — the flavor profile that they've built up for Animal Kingdom and Animal Kingdom Lodge will become memorable and familiar to a broad number of guests after they've visited a couple of these restaurants.On this particular visit, the meal started with some fresh multi-grain foccaccia bread with a pomegranate dipping sauce. I guess you could consider this "bread service" or as a small amuse offering — it's not really on the menu, but it always seems to be offered to the table as your placing your drink order.
There's usually only one piece of foccaccia per person (this plate is for the table), because it's really just intended to give you a sense for some of the flavors you'll experience while dining at Tiffins.
There's not a lot of it — usually just one piece of foccaccia for each person at the table — but it really sets the tone for what the rest of the menu at Tiffins is like. It's familiar looking food, with extra spice and condiment flourishes that are associated with Asian, African and some South American cuisines.
The menu at Tiffins has normalized a bit since the location first opened — I'd say it's not quite as unique and authentic as it had been in the beginning, but that doesn't mean the food quality or execution has been lowered at all. The "sells well" items have cemented themselves on the menu and maybe only one or two items will undergo seasonal flourishes rather than having a good bit of the menu change with the season.
One such item is the Gobi Manchurian — which as far as I can remember, has been in the "starters" section of the menu since the restaurant opened.
This is a small dish of Gobi Manchurian. The dish combines crispy-fried cauliflower, Manchurian sauce and green onions. It's one of those items that has been around since Tiffins opened... sometimes as a "starter", sometimes as a "side".
The dish combines crispy-fried cauliflower, manchurian sauce and green onions has become a guest favorite as an appetizer or a side item for any meal. Although it sounds simple enough - the manchurian sauce can be a little tricky to make. It's a high flame sauce (that's easy to burn) combining soy sauce, red chili sauce, tomato-based ketchup and red chili paste. After the cauliflower are lightly battered, they're perfectly fried and then coated with the manchurian sauce. It's a gastronome, pub quality appetizer that pairs great will many of the beers, wines, and even cocktails that Tiffins offers.
The crispy-fried cauliflower, manchurian sauce and green onions is a guest favorite at Tiffins.
While the main element of the entree items doesn't change much (seasonally) anymore, little flourished, sauces and chutneys might. One such entree is this Pan Roasted Sustainable Fish Filet.
The sauces, veggie accompaniments change every now and then, probably based on seasonal trends. On this night, the pan roasted filet featured a green curry sauce and some autumn veggies.
The term "sustainable fish" might sound like a good thing… as if Disney is being super responsible to the planet's ocean — I have a feeling it's more like "if we can get x quantity of whatever fish today, we'll take that". This filet could be a snapper, it might be a sea bass — it's more likely a Mahi-Mahi though. At $45 (price taken from 2024 menu), you should probably ask what kind of fish it is.
The fillet itself was a little dry but the sauce added a nice flavor punch. The "sustainable fish" changes occasionally as well — depending on what "medallion sized" fish is available.
This one was served with a green curry and some autumn veggies along with a couple of pickled radishes — those accompaniments will change a little from time to time — but the idea and setup for the dish has remind pretty consistent over the last couple of years.
So how was it? A little dry, if I remember correctly, but not bad overall — maybe just not super memorable for any reason, with mild flavors overall.
Next up, the Whole-fried Sustainable Fish. Now this one makes it a little hard to substitute in a Mahi-Mahi (because those are quite big). Here again, at $45 (circa 2024) you should probably ask what the whole fish of the day is, before ordering — but it'll probably be a perch or snapper.
The Whole-fried Sustainable Fish from Tiffins is a great visual dish.
While being very good, you will have to work at this one a little bit. I mean, you're basically breaking down your own fish — post-cooking. This entree does look great on your social media feed though.
Just like with the fish filet, the sauce and flourish may change from time to time. Here, a smooth orange curry is paired with forbidden rice — but this was more of an "autumn" presentation. I've also seen the whole fish paired with a darker red curry and coconut rice with papaya slaw.
The Whole-fried Sustainable Fish entree was served with an orange curry sauce a forbidden rice.
I'm not really getting too deep into tasting notes here, because (in most cases) everything that comes out of the Tiffins kitchen is a high caliber dish, executed correctly, with somewhat safe flavor profile (i.e. maybe a little under-seasoned if you're really talking about comparing to "authentic" dishes from similar regions of the world), and very creative plating presentations.
It's just that so much of the flavors are going to be based on the sauces, seasonings, and accompaniments that are served with the dish — it really doesn't serve much purpose to say this and that were great — when the accompaniments might be more "spring" or "summer" themed when you visit.
The thing that I think is a little more important to show — is that the main entrees aren't really served with an overabundance of "side" type items. If the description says "forbidden rice" there's only likely going to be one or two tablespoons on the plate. Much like a traditional American steakhouse, that would only serve a single piece of meat on a plate — these entrees can be a little bare-bones.
From time-to-time, Tiffins has printed a couple of extra sides on the menu… over the years, many of these items have moved to the "starters" section (like the crispy-fried cauliflower mentioned above) … but small dish extra items like theses glazed brussels sprouts have been available now and then.
At certain points in time, Tiffins has "side" items on it's menu. This is a small dish of Glazed Brussels Sprouts that had been on that "side item" menu.
Finally, an entree that I think it kind of a hidden gem at Tiffins — the Shrimp & Grits. At $39 (circa 2024) it's one of the "middle priced" entrees, and it's served with enough grits, veggies and shrimp — that you don't necessarily have to order a side of extra veggies or something else to go with the entree.
The "grits" that are served with the Shrimp & Grits are technically more like a mealie pap (roasted corn) with some cheese (and other seasoning) tossed in... and they were pretty great.
Most of the "grits" that I've encountered at Disney restaurants has been really good and these were pretty great as well — technically, these were more of a mealie pap (roasted corn) with some cheese (and other seasoning) tossed in — but they provided a nice warm bed for keeping those peri-peri shrimp at a nice temperature as I ate the dish.
There were around eight shrimp in the Shrimp & Grits entree. They probably go by weight though — so you may have more, or less, depending on how big the shrimp are that day.
Peri-peri can be a hot sauce — this version was somewhere in the mild-hot spectrum —(because it does have to appeal to the masses)… but it was a very well balanced combination of spice notes from the shrimp with the creamy and cheesy grits.
No one at our table opted for dessert on this occasion (but I did have my Mustang Coffee after dinner) — I have sampled some of the dessert items here at Tiffins in the past (click here to check out our Tiffins photo gallery) — they are quite good, and very artfully presented. They are of the small "fine dining" sized variety though — so don't expect a big chocolate brownie sundae or anything.
Value and Conclusion
If you're in the mood for a big meal, some nice bbq or pub grub — Tiffins isn't a great choice. You would be better off going to Tusker House or Yak & Yeti to find those things. There's an emphasis on beautiful plating here at Tiffins, there's some extra staff and working space to create those extra flourishes like sauces and chutneys, there's an expanded beer, cocktail and wine list — and some dining rooms that are nice, but fall a little short of being "signature", one-of-a kind spaces.Conversation levels in the restaurant are what I would call "medium" — it's not a quiet, romanic hide-away — but there's no TVs going with the "game" on anywhere in the restaurant — the guests tend to be a little older and more focused on enjoying a great meal.
I personally have never had a poor meal at Tiffins and have always enjoyed my time there. While they don't really have a "go-to" item that I would recommend (other than the Mustang Coffee), exploring different starter, entree, dessert combinations each time you visit is part of the charm and experience.
If you happen to be one of those people that take photos of your food for a social media account — Tiffins has you covered there too — pretty much everything that comes out of the kitchen has been artfully plated and look delicious.
All of that being said — if you follow the cocktail, starter, entree with wine, and dessert path — you're probably looking at between $120-$150 per person. If you would like to try Disney's take on African cuisine but don't want to spend quite as much — Sanaa over at Animal Kingdom Lodge (Kidani Village) is a really great location that offers many of the same flavor profiles (and more)… along with a pretty great dining area as well.
There are a couple different reviews in the Mealtrip system from Tiffins — be sure to check out the Tiffins Photo Gallery page (click here) to see all the photos from various visits.
