Pandora, the newest land built within Disney World’s Animal Kingdom, is home to arguably the best attraction in all of Florida – Flight of Passage. While Flight of Passage and the quest to get a Flight of Passage FastPass may steal your attention, make sure you also plan to visit Satu’li Canteen, one of the best quick service restaurants in all of Disney World.
Satu’li Canteen is tucked away within Pandora in a building that, like the rest of the land, has limited signage. The location is themed to be an old mess hall and has some outstanding, unique food.
We tried out Satu’li Canteen during our trip near the end of 2017, and our experience was so good that we have more or less agreed that it needs to be a place we eat at whenever we visit Disney World.
Satu’li Canteen offers food that’s a step up from the usual quality found at quick service locations. That’s not a slam on those quick service locations (chicken fingers and fries have their place), but it is a complement to the fresh, rich flavors found at Satu’li Canteen. You get high quality food for an extremely affordable price (especially when talking Disney pricing). You also enjoy your meal on real plates/bowls and real utensils. That may not seem like a big deal, but it’s a unique feature not found at many other quick service locations.
Consider the menu, which you can view here. We opted for one of the build-your-own bowls where you pick the protein, base and sauce that make up your bowl. We went with the grilled chicken and mixed whole grain rice with a creamy herb dressing. We also went with the cheeseburger pods (think a Bic Mac within a Bao Bun), which came with vegetable chips.
Of course, we had to try the blueberry cheesecake mousse thing that was super colorful and super tasty.
Apologies for the blurry photo, but here you can see all three items we ordered.
In our most recent 2018 trip, we matched our 2017 order because we found the food to be that good. We were with two non-Disney fanatics during that 2018 trip and they too were in love with the food.
As far as drinks go, the only one we’ve tried is the Hawkes’ Grog Ale. This is a very green, very fruity beer that is a nice complement to the meal, but comes in at a pretty steep price. At $9.50 (as of January 2018), the beer was almost as much as the entire chicken bowl ($11.49).
The theming is also worth noting and is very enjoyable. With the setting taking place in an old mess hall, you might not expect much. Instead, you’re surrounded with hand-crafted pieces of art that look like genuine Na’vi artifacts. The music complements the music heard on both attractions in the land, Flight of Passage and Na’vi River Journey.
You may be distracted by your tasty food, but make sure you take in and appreciate all of the work that went into the decorations within Satu’li Canteen. It’s really impressive and must have taken an insane amount of time to weave together.
In summary, Satu’li Canteen provides a quick, quality meal at an affordable price. It may not be a hit with every guest, but it’s easily in the running for the best quick service location in all of Disney World.
