Satu’li Canteen Review
Satu’li Canteen is a quick-service restaurant at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Walt Disney World. The restaurant sits in the back corner of Pandora, World of Avatar, near Flight of Passage. If you’re using the Disney Dining Plan, a meal here counts as one quick service credit.
This Satu’li Canteen review shares multiple dining experiences at the popular counter-service restaurant. We’ll look at photos of most of the entree items and discuss what to expect during your visit. If you’re planning to have a meal here, there are a few things you’ll want to know ahead of time.
As far as the backstory, Satu’li Canteen was formerly the RDA Mess Hall. Years later, when Alpha Centauri Expeditions (ACE for short) took over, they used the mess hall as a dining spot, embracing the culture of the Na’vi people, which is evident in the restaurant’s theming.
Most importantly, this location is busy. It’s the most popular quick-service restaurant at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Guests have the option to place a mobile order or order at the counter. However, when it’s busy, cast members stand outside the restaurant limiting the amount of guests who enter. Sometimes, it gets so busy it’s difficult to find a seat. Thankfully, cast members in the dining room work diligently to help turn tables quickly when a guest leaves.
Cast members at the restaurant’s entrance usually tell guests that it’s quicker to place a mobile order. However, from my experience, sometimes the mobile order times are 25-30 minutes out. I am a huge procrastinator when it comes to deciding where to eat. So I’ll often wait until the last minute. Then it becomes a situation where I need something to eat and don’t want to wait 30 minutes to place a mobile order.
My best advice for you is to place a mobile order well ahead of time. If you have a good idea what time your family will want to each lunch, order your meal early in the morning. When your time slot opens, you’ll receive a notification from the My Disney Experience app. From there, you can select, “I’m here, prepare my order,” and then begin to make your way to the restaurant. This will make the entire dining experience so much simpler.
As far as food goes, Satu’li Canteen is similar to a Chipotle restaurant, except the bowls are not prepared in front of you. When placing an order, you’ll have the option to customize your bowl or salad. Here is a preview of the menu. The current menu with prices is available here on Disney.com. Satu’li Canteen has gluten free and allergy-friendly menus available upon request.
When you step inside the restaurant, you’ll want to stay to the left to pick up a mobile order. The queue to the right is for guests waiting to place an order.
You’ll pass the grill area where the various meats are being prepared.
Here is the ordering area. If you place a mobile order, the My Disney Experience app will display the number of the bay where you’ll pick up your food.
Overhead, we see a few menus.
The first menu board offers the Create-Your-Own Satu’li Bowl. Here are the options.
- Select Your Protein: Combination Bowl of Smoked Chimichurri-braised Beef and Chopped Wood-grilled Chicken, or Smoked Chimichurri-braised Beef, Chopped Wood-Grilled Chicken, Chili-Garlic Shrimp, and Chili-spiced Crispy fried Tofu
- Select Your Base: Rice and Beans, Red Pepper and Sweet Potato Hash, Noodles, Hearty Salad
- Select Your Sauce: Black Bean Vinaigrette, Creamy Herbed Dressing, Charred Green Onion Vinaigrette
An Ocean Moon Bowl is also available. It comes with Blue Noodles, Tuna, Watermelon Radish, Pickled Daikon, Rainbow Carrots, Avocado, Cucumbers, and Red Cabbage with Miso and Sweet Soy Drizzle topped with Micro Cilantro.
Kids’ Meals include
- Satu’li Bowl: Chopped Wood-Grilled Chicken Bowl or Tofu (served with rice and black beans or salad with a choice of milk, water, or a fountain drink)
- Cheeseburger Steam Pods
- Teylu All-Beef Hot Dog Wrapped in Dough
- Cheese Quesadilla
Drink options: Hawkes’ Grog Ale, Mo’ara High Country Ale, Banshee Chardonnay, Banshee Pinot Noir (Sonoma, Earth), Ilu Splash Margarita, Pandoran Sunrise, Coca-Cola Fountain Drinks, Coffee, Tea, and Bottled Water.
Desserts:
- Metkayina Mousse (Flourless Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Mousse, Raspberry Gelee, Mango Coulis, Boba Pearls, and Milk and White Chocolate Garnish)
- Blueberry Cream Cheese Mousse (with Passion Fruit Curd)
Satu’li Canteen has indoor and outdoor dining areas. If the weather is pleasant, we prefer to dine outside. However, if it’s hot, we try to take advantage of the air-conditioning.
On a recent visit, I ordered the slow-roasted sliced steak with a side of noodles. The noodles are mixed with a crunchy vegetable slaw mixed with red bell peppers and carrots.
It’s a delicious combination of flavors that’s not heavy like some noodles.
On my first visit to Satu’li Canteen, I tried the chili garlic shrimp bowl. This bowl was ordered with a base of noodles, and I chose the charred green onion vinaigrette. Here’s a closer look at mine. I always order the vinaigrette on the side because I never know for sure if it will all work together.
The shrimp bowl turned out nicely. It’s a quality meal.
For this next bowl, I ordered the hearty salad base, slow-grilled roast beef, and creamy herb dressing. A serving of quinoa came on the side.
This is one of my favorite things to order. It’s a sizable serving and healthy.
All of the bowls are topped with boba balls. Don’t be hesitant to try them. Disney is the only place I’ve ever had boba balls, and I’ve yet to find one I didn’t like.
This next bowl was prepared for food allergies. It included plain white rice, the vegetable slaw mixture, and slow-roasted beef.
This bowl was actually a good deal larger than it appears in the picture. Not only was it good, but I felt so much better about my son eating this than the alternative. The alternative is usually allergy-friendly chicken nuggets with fries.
On another visit, I ordered the plant-based protein option. This is the Satu’li Canteen chili-spicy tofu bowl with noodles and veggies.
As for the tofu, I loved it. Like many other plant-based items I’ve tried, I found it full of flavor. Additionally, I loved the fact that it wasn’t another plant-based burger option.
We’ve also tried the popular cheeseburger pods that everyone seems to rave about. One of us loves them, but I didn’t care for the meat. It’s a bao bun stuffed with ground beef, ketchup, mustard, pickle, and cheddar cheese. it reminded me of taco meat. I did love the vegetable chips that came on the side.
A mandarin oranges comes on the side.
They are popular, especially with children. I cut mine open so you could preview the inside.
Lastly, we’ve tried the cheese quesadilla with vegetable chips. It’s basically a tortilla stuffed with cheese. It’s hard to go wrong with such a simple item.
As you can see, we’ve had more than a few meals at Satu’li Canteen over the years. Anytime we try something new, I try to remember to photograph it and add it to this review. It’s become one of our go-to dining locations.
For more of our Disney Restaurant Reviews, you might enjoy the following:
- Yak and Yeti Review
- Regal Eagle Smokehouse Review
- Woody’s Roundup Rodeo BBQ Review
- Brown Derby Lounge Review
Have you visited Satu’li Canteen before? What did you think? Leave us a comment below and share your thoughts, questions, or experiences. We would love to hear what you’ve tried or if any of these items look like something you would try.
