Alex Coleman
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Nov 4, 2017
Introduction
Tusker House Restaurant is a large restaurant in the Africa pavilion in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. This restaurant is one of several Table Service options at Animal Kingdom. I think that Tusker House is an above-average theme park buffet with a fun twist: characters! Sarah and I visited during our October 2016 and November 2017 trips.
Originally, we chose Tusker House because my mom wanted to have a character meal while we were visiting. I had no idea what the food was, but I wanted to find something to make my mom happy. Such a good son, if I do say so myself! Once we visited, I knew that we would need to return. I am a huge fan of the food at Tusker, Sarah is not as convinced.
Atmosphere
Disney’s Animal Kingdom is truly a work of imagineering brilliance. Each step a guest takes draws them deeper into the story of each area. Tusker House Restaurant is built to be a bustling African marketplace. The restaurant definitely feels like it would not be out of place in Africa. Except, an alternate-universe Africa where Disney characters wear khaki and share meals with guests.
This theming is large and small-scale. Guests enter through the busy streets of Harambe and walk through a small courtyard to the front doors of the restaurant. Once you enter, you encounter a beautiful “open-air market” which houses the buffet. You can see it above. It is an amazing display of creativity and execution.
There are several dining rooms that branch off from the buffet. I honestly lost count when we were there last. This place is massive. After doing research, I found out there are four. Maybe I am bad at counting, maybe I was more focused on curry! The nice thing is that most of these dining rooms are very close to the buffet. There is nothing worse than walking back to the table with three plates and having to walk a mile!
Did I mention characters? They have them here! I have announced our lack of enthusiasm for character meet-and-greets previously on this blog. However, I think our November 2017 trip has started to melt our frozen hearts (see what I did there?!). I have to admit, these interactions are awkward. It feels weird talking to someone who will not be responding. Sarah and I have started to understand and embrace the awkwardness.
Tusker House used to have a meet-and-greet with Safari Donald Duck and friends for breakfast, but now there is a chance to meet all your favorite explorer pals during lunch and dinner! If your family is looking for a chance to meet Disney friends, this is an excellent opportunity.
Food
The Walt Disney World website categorizes Tusker House as African and American Cuisine. Surprisingly, Tusker leans much more heavily on African items, rather than the unambitious and uninspiring American buffet items. The buffet includes various rices and side dishes, delicious meats, and mediocre desserts.
My approach to buffets is to load as much as physically possible on each plate, take a short breath, and then return for more. So far, so good! I started with bread, couscous (the food so nice, they named it twice!), rice, Curry Shrimp, and Red Curry Chicken. As I stated in my Harambe Market review, I LOVE curry. Curry over everything!
I thought the bread, couscous, and rice were decent, but insignificant. I thought the Red Curry Chicken was excellent. There was a really good flavor profile and it combined sweet and spicy really well. The chicken was only overshadowed by the Curry Shrimp, which was unbelievable. It was so spicy that I needed to hydrate several times. Fortunately, they serve my favorite drink in the world: Pomegranate Lemonade! I love a good spice and the shrimp delivered that and then some. I was so happy.
Sarah started with rice, Mac and Cheese, Jalapeno Cornbread, Green Beans (greens, what a NERD!), and Pork Shoulder with Mustard Sauce.The Mac and Cheese was disappointing. It was really thick which is great, but it was devoid of flavor. Just because it is at the kid’s station doesn’t mean that it has to be bad! The cornbread is the entirety of why Sarah allows us to continue to eat at Tusker House. She LOVES it as much as I LOVE curry. The pork really stood out. As good at my shrimp were, the pork was just as good. It was so incredibly moist. I don’t even like mustard, but the sauce was incredible.
The only negative at Tusker is that the dessert menu is below-average. We chose several pastries, but only one of them was good enough to comment about. The Strawberry Cake was almost touching average. Not high praise, but probably fair. Fortunately, we were both so ridiculously full by the time that we got dessert that it didn’t matter. I also consider Pomegranate Lemonade a perfectly adequate substitute for anything.
Cost
According to the Disney World website, Tusker House is classified with “$$-$$$” which means adults should expect to pay roughly $15-$59.99, per adult. If you are paying out-of-pocket, you can plan on paying $18 for children and $30 for adults for breakfast, $23 and $38 for lunch, and $25 and $42 for dinner. That makes it a fairly expensive Disney meal.
For the Disney Dining Plan users, this restaurant requires one Table Service credit per person. This is one of the better uses of a Dining Plan credit at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The food is good and all-you-care-to-enjoy and there is a character aspect, which will add value for most families. Hot tip: If you really want to squeeze as much value as possible out of Tusker House, book the Rivers of Light Fastpass option! Normally there is plenty of seating for Rivers of Light, but that is still an added perk. For the Tables in Wonderland users, Tusker has a 20% discount.
Who Should Eat Here?
I think that Tusker House Restaurant appeals to a large audience of Walt Disney World travelers. The easy answer of EVERYONE, but that seems a bit oversimplified. I also recognize that some people may not prefer the ambitious approach to the buffet. Sarah feels that way and I totally understand.
Even though there will be people who do not prefer Tusker, I think there are plenty who would find it appealing. The first population are families with children. The obvious appeal for many children will be the character interaction. There are a few restaurants that are on character experiences for one Dining Plan credit. Tusker House is the only one at Animal Kingdom.
The other population is a party that is looking to be a bit adventurous with their buffet choices. Many Disney buffets (I am looking at you Chef Mickey’s) are culinarily boring. They are comprised of the same handful of uninspiring (verging on inedible at Mickey’s) dishes. Tusker is certainly not boring. There are big, unapologetic flavors. If you want to try something different, you will find it at this eatery.
Have you eaten at Tusker House Restaurant? What what your experience? Share your thoughts in the comments section! For other reviews including resorts and other restaurants, check out our Reviews page!
