“Eat This, Not That” in Disney World’s Pandora — The World of Avatar

How much do I love DFB readers? SOOOOO much. Today I got a message from a DFB reader who has eaten nearly everything at Pandora so far during cast member previews, and sent us a ton of really great shots as well as her thoughts on what’s great and what to miss.

Floating mountains in Pandora!

For those who aren’t sure what we’re talking about, Pandora — The World of Avatar, is a new land opening later this month in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Cast member previews are running right now, and we’re super excited to see the menu items from Satu’li Canteen (the land’s new quick-service location) as they’re served (and not a la Disney promotional pics). Let’s take a look! And stay tuned at the bottom of this post for our Eat This, Not That Recommendation List!

Satu’li Canteen Eats

You’ll find that Satu’li Canteen eats are designed to be a bit healthier-for-you than stereotypical theme park fare. (Here’s the Satu’li Full Menu.) A big section of the menu is devoted to “bowls.” Here’s what our contributor says about these: “You choose three things: your protein, your base, and your sauce. Protein choices are thinly sliced roast beef, chicken, chili spice crispy tofu, or sustainable fish.”

“Currently the fish is always mahi-mahi. There are four base options, they are: Romaine kale salad, quinoa with vegetables salad, rice grain blend and red and sweet potato hash. The sauce options are a creamy herb dressing, blackened onion chimichurri, or black bean vinaigrette.”

Screenshot from Walt Disney World website

“The entrée options are really good. The bowls are delicious and a much healthier option than normal, which is nice. The tofu is good, but a little bland. The fish is good, but there have been a few times that it has either been really dry or fishy tasting.”

The Sustainable Fish over Quinoa with Vegetables with a Creamy Herb Dressing. “The creamy herb dressing is so far my favorite, but I have not tried the black bean vinaigrette yet.”

Sustainable Fish with Quinoa and Vegetable Salad and Creamy Herb Dressing

Here’s another Sustainable Fish option with a base of Red and Sweet Potato Hash served with Creamy Herb Dressing. “The red and sweet potato hash is delicious. I was worried that it would be too sweet, but the two potato types really balance each other out.”

Sustainable Fish option with a base of Red and Sweet Potato Hash served with Creamy Herb Dressing

This bowl has Beef over Kale and Romaine salad with Charred Onion Chimichurri Dressing. Our contributor said: “The Romaine kale salad has some quinoa mixed in, but was overall somewhat disappointing.”

Beef over Kale and Romaine salad with Charred Onion Chimichurri Dressing

Next on the entree list are some “pods.” Here you can choose from the Vegetable Steamed Curry Pod, or these — The Cheeseburger Steam Pods, which are probably one of the most anticipated eats on the menu. These are stuffed with ground beef, mustard, ketchup, pickle, and cheddar cheese.

Our contributor said: “The cheeseburger steam pod is absolutely delicious. I have not tried the vegetable curry one as I have heard nothing but really bad reviews of it.”

Cheeseburger Pods

Desserts are definitely Avatar-themed. Neytiri’s Chocolate Cake has a crunchy cookie layer and banana topping. Our contributor said: “They did not disappoint with the desserts. The blueberry cheesecake is very good, but my absolute favorite is the chocolate cake, which is actually more of a dark chocolate mousse and has a delicious banana cream on top.”

Chocolate Cake

The Na’vi Cheesecake is blueberry flavored with a passion fruit curd.

Na’vi Cheesecake

There’s a full menu of drink options as well — both alcoholic and non. Here’s what our contributor said about these: “I like that there are so many unique drink choices. The (non-alcoholic) Pandoran Sunrise, which is described as a mix of melon Powerade with tropical fruit juices, is awful.”

Pandoran Sunrise

“There are two unique beer choices: the Hawkes Grogg Ale and a Mo’ara High Country Ale. I love that the Hawkes Grogg Ale is green! The Mo’ara High Country Ale is pictured as green on the menu board, but disappointingly is actually brown.”

The Hawkes Grog Ale (a new name from when the menu was first published) is a green-colored draft beer with fruity apricot an peach flavors. And the Dreamwalker Sangria is a white sangria colored blue with a little Blue Curacao.

Hawkes Grog Ale and Dreamwalker Sangria

Eat This, Not That

Based on the experiences of our readers and contributors, here’s our recommendation list for Pandora:

EAT THIS:

When choosing your bowl, go with the Beef or Sustainable Fish, and choose the Red and Sweet Potato Hash.

Either dessert seems like a good option.

Cheeseburger Pods are a YES.

NOT THAT:

Avoid the Kale base in the bowls.

Vegetable Curry Pods are getting bad reviews.

Pandoran Sunrise is a NO.

Thanks again to our friend for sending these along! It’s so much fun to get another sneak peek into the restaurants in Pandora. We’re looking forward to reporting live next weekend with even more Eat This, Not That for ya! Stay tuned!

What are you hoping to try in Pandora? Let us know in the comments below!

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