WDW Dining Review: Tiffins Revisited (Animal Kingdom)

While at Walt Disney World last month, my friends and I had the opportunity to dine once again at Tiffins, the newest signature dining restaurant in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. We all first dined there this past January. Since then, each time both Adam and Kaila have come back to the parks, there was dining that happened at Tiffins. This time marked my second adventure there, while for Kaila it was her third, and Adam his fourth. While the menu has changed a bit since opening, the atmosphere and food here continues to be some of the best in Walt Disney World.

Now, I will say that, straight off the bat, Tiffins was a lot more crowded this time than when we went in January. A lot of it has to do with the fact that the restaurant is located at the main entrance to Pandora: the World of Avatar, which more recently opened at the park. While this is great for the restaurant (which was very dead back in January), this means that walk-up reservations are becoming harder to get. So, if you can make reservations for when you are visiting Walt Disney World, I would recommend it.

The current menu

The first thing that I would commend the team at Tiffins for is the feeling of being welcomed back. This was done not only by the friendliness of the hostess staff and our waitress, but by the uniquely inscribed card on the table that greeted us when we sat down. It is a small token like this that carries a lot of weight with me, and another wonderful and special touch of Disney magic.

 

While I normally do not drink, I had a lovely Coke with my meal. Adam and Kaila, however, each tried one of the signature cocktails: Adam the Annapurna Zing and Kaila the Jenn’s Tattoo (yes, the candied flower is edible). Both of them enjoyed the drinks.

For our appetizer, we wanted to take it lite (we had a long evening ahead of us), so we shared the Tiffins Signature Bread Service, which is one of my favorites.

Dinner once again saw us getting different meals so we could share and taste all of the flavors. I had the Pomegranate- Lacquered Chicken, Adam had the Wagyu Striploin and House-Smoked Brisket, and Kaila had the Seared Hokkaido Scallops. The only downside with the dishes was that there was a lot of different forms of pea with Kaila’s scallops, which she didn’t particularly care for. What would have been better would have been more of that bacon jam… which was so delicious but almost non-existent on the plate. Aside from that little note, they were all delicious entrees.

 

 

For dessert, I did not get anything (opting instead for a DOLE WHIP down the way in the Harambe Market area of the park) but Adam got the Lime Cheesecake. I did not taste it, but based on him clearing the plate, it was good.

Not pictured was a bag of dark chocolate bark, made in house and given out at the end of the meal. It didn’t last long.

 

Overall, another great meal at Tiffins, a Disney Dining location that has quickly become one to not miss for us when visiting Disney. A little expensive? Perhaps… but well worth it.

 

A Sidetrip to Nomad Lounge

 

Later on in the trip, we ended up finding ourselves at the Nomad Lounge, part of Tiffins, for drinks and small plates with my friend Leah. Now, Leah has quite a few allergies, and both Tiffins and Nomad Lounge are wonderful in accommodating these allergies.

So, in addition to the delicious (and plentiful) cheese board they put together for her allergies (not pictured), we also tried the Pork Ribs and two newer additions to the menu: the Vegetable Pad Thai and the Kobe Beef Brisket Poutine.

 

 

Adam had the poutine and really enjoyed it (at least I assume he did, because neither Kaila nor I got to try any… it was gone that quickly). Kaila’s pad-thai was a lot spicier than we were led to believe by our waiter, though still had a great flavor. My pork ribs were delicious, and resulted in Kaila also getting an order of those for herself. Overall, though we enjoyed these dishes, I know for me the price point might have been a little too high (at a range for $9-$14 for the small plates). That being said, in comparison to some of the Food & Wine Festival Pricing, they were a steal!

 

Will we be going back to Tiffins again? Of course! We already have a reservation booked for our January vacation in a few months. It really is one of the highlights of our trips these days, and a spot we know we will always get a great meal.

 

Have you ever dined at Tiffins? If so, I would love to hear your thoughts below on what dishes you’ve liked, or haven’t liked, there.