WDW Dining Review: Tiffins (Animal Kingdom)

Usually when I take a vacation To Walt Disney World, I like to try at least one new restaurant that I have yet to try. With four theme parks and a slew of resorts, there are many options at my disposal, especially since, growing up, my family had their annual favorites that we had to do each year. I, too, have my favorites that I try to do each year, but I also want to experience new places that might become annual favorites of mine. Yes, I am a Disney Foodie through and through, and proud of it.

This last trip, my friends and I dined at Tiffins, a new signature-dining restaurant at Disney’a Animal Kingdom. Located on Discovery Island on the thoroughfare to the soon-to-be opened Pandora: the World of Avatar, this restaurant is inspired by all of the traveling, experiences, and cultures that the Disney Imagineers encountered while designing and building Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Throughout the menu, there are nods to Asian, African, and Indian cuisines, all with the Disney flair. 

Prior to eating at Tiffins, while waiting for out enter party to arrive, a few of us relaxed in the Nomad Lounge, the bar attached to Tiffins. This beautiful bar has spacious seating both inside and out. Once Pandora opens, I feel that the Nomad Lounge will be VERY popular with guests, as their outdoor seating will overlook the new land. I have a feeling the views from that covered porch in the evening will be beautiful.

Once our entire party arrived, we were seated in one of several themed rooms based on the adventures of the Imagineers. I believe the room we were in was dedicated to Communication, as I remember seeing a lot of telephone wires and drawings of communication devices on the wall. Sadly, because we were pressed for time after dinner, Animal Kingdom was closing in about an hour and we wanted to try to ride at least one more ride and get Dole Whips (we were able to do the former and I got a free Dole Whip because they were closing up and hadn’t yet cleaned the machine) before we were ushered out of the park.

There was five of us that dined that evening… The same five that dined at Skipper Canteen earlier in the trip. If you read that review, you would note that a couple of us can not deal with spice very well. In addition, since we were not in the thick of the WDW Marathon Weekend, the two of the group doing the Dopey Challenge wanted to carb up. The menu was loaded with a lot of different non-spicy options, but surprisingly light on carb-heavy dishes. When inquired, the waiter stated that the chef was working on a new pasta-centric dish, but it was not ready as the special pasta had not arrived yet. Going back to talk with the chef, the waiter came back and said that the chef could prepare a bowl of the kids’ meal bow tie pasta with some grilled chicken on top. My one friend ordered that, with a butter sauce, as it was exactly what she was looking for. 

The rest of us ordered appetizers and entrees to delve into and share. Appetizers included the Marinated Grilled Octopus, the Signature Bread Service, Artisinal Cheeses, the Lobster-Popcorn Thai Curry Soup, and the Charcuterie Board. Additional entrees included the Pan-seared Duck Breast, Duo of Lamb, and the Berkshire Pork Tenderloin.

The plating on a lot of these dishes was simply beautiful. The being said, the design of some of the plates, including actual wood planks, made it difficult for our waiter to properly serve them, as they allowed very little room to hold the dish while presenting it to the guest. There were a lot of cornered and shallow edges, with not a lot of room to grip the plates easily. Our waiter prevailed, however. No spilled plates.

The food was delicious. Fortunately, you can get recipe here. I was able to try a bit of all of the dishes as we all intended to share (our philosophy: you don’t spend the time and money to go to a signature dining and only sample one or two dishes). I personally have never dined at a WDW signature dining restaurant with that many people before, so it was nice making communal “compromises” so we could sample a lot of the dishes that we wanted. In this case, only the Duo of Lamb dish was repeated… and it was worth it, as the lamb was one of the standouts. I don’t think we had a dish that was not liked by one, or all, of the group. In fact, my friend who ordered the Octopus appetizer down most of the dish before she remembered that she wanted everyone to try a piece. It was really good, and an obvious reason why that dish in particular did not get photographed.

Partway through the meal, the chef sent out my friend who was heavy carb loading for the Dopey more pasta in butter sauce. Now granted, since it was a special order and the pasta would have probably gone to waste anyways, it was no extra cost by giving it to my friend. However, the chef was by no means obligated to be generous and making a bit of Disney magic for my friend. It was met with delight, and I actually got to try some of the pasta and chicken. For a dish so simple, it still tasted good… The sign of a great chef and kitchen team. 

Sadly, we did not stay for dessert, as I previously mentioned we wanted Dole Whips and the park was winding down for the evening. I have heard that the desserts there are just as good as the appetizers and entrees, however.  Something to look forward to when I return.

Return, you say? Yes, I do plan on returning to Tiffins, probably the next time I am at WDW this coming September. By then, Pandora should be open, and with it I feel you will be getting the full experience of Tiffins, the Nomad Lounge, and the surrounding landscape of that part of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. I was told that some people have likened the food to that of Victoria and Albert’s, the award winning restaurant at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. Now, I don’t think I will ever be able to afford a meal there, so I am not sure I will ever be able to fully compare. However, Tiffins is easily one of the best signature dining meals I have had at WDW, and I have eaten at a lot of them. 

Care to gander at another review of Tiffins? My friend Becky runs her own small Disney Blog, Disney in Your Day, and also experienced the restaurant with friends when in WDW for the marathon weekend. You can read her take on things here.

Have you eaten at Tiffins yet? What was your experience like?