Tiffins Restaurant-Walt Disney World Animal Kingdom
The entrance to the Restaurant.
When visiting the Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World, there are so many exciting things to see and experience, but one of the things that gets looked over, is the food. During our most recent visit in June 2025, Matt and I booked a reservation at Tiffins Restaurant. It is next door to the Nomad Lounge and is a delightful table service restaurant. Read on to find out about our experience and to decide if you want to book a reservation during your next trip.
Restaurant Information
Inside the lobby waiting for our table. This is a photo of the hostess stand.
The cuisine is described as: African, Asian, Latin, Fine/Signature Dining.
The restaurant accepts the Disney Dining plan.
Annual Passholders receive a 10% discount, Disney Visa Cardmembers also receive a 10% discount when using their card.
They are open daily for lunch from 11:30 AM to 3:55 PM and for dinner from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM.
Theme Park reservations are required to enter.
Prices range from $35-$59.99.
You can make reservations up to 60 days in advance (and I would recommend this) through the website, the My Disney Experience App, or by calling.
You can also join the walk-up list once you are at the park. We made our reservation through the app for 5:35pm but ended up changing it the day of to 2:10pm because we were hungry and decided we wanted to do something else for dinner.
The restaurant has a cancelation policy. If you book a reservation and fail to cancel at least two hours ahead of time, the credit card that you used to secure your booking will be charged $10 per person.
If you enter the park and head towards the tree of life, head to the left like you are going to Pandora, the restaurant will be on that path and on your right attached to the Nomad Lounge.
Screenshot taken from disneyworld.disneygo.com. The restaurant is circled in yellow.
The Decor & The Inspiration
Vintage Tiffins on display in the lobby.
A Tiffin is actually a light snack or a container for carrying food. The term comes from India and the entire restaurant is themed around this. There are three dining rooms, each inspired by Africa, Asia and the elegant creatures that inhabit those lands.
These photos are of the artwork on display in the lobby glass pillars. They are from the sketchbooks of legendary Disney Imagineer Joe Rohde. He was the lead designer of the Animal Kingdom.
Here is a photo of Joe that is in this photo collage inside the restaurant. The collage is a thrilling collection of his world travels and showcases some of the things that inspired his designs around the park and in some of the rides.
From the website https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/animal-kingdom/tiffins : “Lavish artwork—including photograph collages, paintings and sculptures inspired by actual notes and field sketches of the Imagineers who created Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park—can be found throughout the restaurant. Even the name of the restaurant harkens back to exotic, distant places: “Tiffins” refers to the light lunch meal prepared for working men in India, and the tiered containers the meals were served in.”
Below are some photos I took from the different dining rooms and the breathtaking art that entertained the diners as they enjoyed their meals.
In the center of our dining room there were 5 pillars. Our waiter told us that they were each hand carved by a family in Bali (they also carved the front doors and inspired the tree of life). See the video below to really appreciate all of the intricate detail.
The Food
We checked in 20 minutes early for our reservation with a hostess standing outside the restaurant. She invited us to wait inside in the air-conditioned lobby (heaven). We were greeted three minutes later by a different hostess who gave us a little tour and told us what a Tiffin was and gave us some history about the restaurant and the inspiration behind it.
Above you can see the drink menu, prefixed menu, regular menu, and dessert menu. Our waiter walked us through the most popular choices and his suggestions and gave us time to decide.
Tiffins Signature Bread Service
We knew that we absolutely had to try the signature bread service. The menu describes it at Thai Red Curry Milk Bread, Pao de Queyo, Papadam Coconut-Curry Sauce, Guava Sauce, and Ginger-Pear Chutney $18.
The waiter explained which was what but to be honest I was mesmerized by the contraption that was placed before me, and it all happened so fast.
The guava sauce was sweet and the bread that went with it (on the top shelf) was chewy and a bit bland, but it was warm and comforting. We give it a 6 out of 10.
The Chutney has a kind of herbal or medicinal kick that we did not think we liked. The bread was crispy and thin and light and again did not have a ton of flavor (and maybe tasted a bit stale). We give shelf two a 3 out of 10.
The sauce on shelf three was spicy and the bread was soft but heavy. They both had good flavor and were filling and we went in for a second piece. We give this shelf a 6.5 out of 10.
Overall this dish got a lot of hype and we found it to be underwhelming. Sorry!
Andean Beef Short Rib
We had a really hard time deciding what to get as our main dish and ultimately decided to share the short rib. The menu describes it as Peruvian-inspired Beef Short Rib over Saltado Jus, Blistered Cherry Tomatoes, Pearl Onions, and Soy-pickled Mushrooms served with Roasted marble Potatoes dressed with Huancaina Sauce and Chorizo Vinaigrette. $54
The short rib was cooked to absolute perfection and was falling apart on our forks. The sauce on the rib was delicious and there was not a speck left of it on our plate when we were finished. It was sweet, not smoky, but wonderfully flavorful. Then there was the potato side dish. I don’t even know how to describe that sauce. Maybe mild cheese? The potatoes were cooked nicely, just soft enough (tender even). Overall, we give this dish a 10 out of 10.
In Conclusion
At the end of our meal our server presented us with a souvenir card with the artists notes on the back. There are 16 cards to collect each time to dine with Tiffins. It was a lovely way to end our lunch and a thoughtful keepsake.
If you find it in your plans to enjoy a sit-down meal while enjoying Animal Kingdom, we recommend trying Tiffins. The ambiance inside is beautiful and full of Disney history. While the menu is sophisticated and a little on the pricier side, our main course was one of the best things we have eaten on Disney property.
Have you been before? What did you try? Enjoy and safe travels!
