Tusker House at Animal Kingdom

Musicians perform near the waiting area for Tusker House

After this last trip, I have a new favorite restaurant at Animal Kingdom. Flame Tree BBQ is still my favorite counter service, but for table service, Tusker House can't be beat. We went to Tusker House for lunch on a very rainy day. Because of the rain, they were taking the included PhotoPass photos out front by the windows, but normally, they take the photos by the wall of masks in the back. After the photos, we were seated and our drink orders were taken.

Tusker House is a buffet full of foods inspired by Africa, with some American foods for picky eaters. The food was fantastic! For Bean, who is a picky eater, there were mini corn dogs, chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, cold cuts, corn, green beans, and even a peanut butter and jelly station to make your own sandwich. For the rest of us, there were a wide variety of foods. They had many different salads, such as Tunisian couscous salad, curried rice salad, and green salads with dressings. There were also several breads: pitas, multigrain rolls, sliced bread, and an interesting African bread filled with chocolate and dried mangoes. A wide variety of meats were available including roast beef with horseradish sauce, peri-peri salmon, Cape Malay curried chicken, roast pork, and a seafood stew with tamarind. There were also several sides to choose from: sambals, hummus with pitas, Marrakesh couscous, vegetable samosas, and Basmati rice with toasted almond slivers. There were tons of other items as well and everything we tried was delicious.

There was quite a selection of desserts as well. There were cookies and brownies, mini chocolate lava cakes, warm banana bread pudding, berry cobbler with warm vanilla sauce, mini chocolate mousse cups with zebra straws, baklava (which I found to be overly sweet, although it's usually one of my favorites), macaroons, lemon bars, tiny fruit topped tarts, and plenty of fresh fruit.

During lunch, the characters make there way around to all of the tables. We saw Donald, Daisy, Mickey, and Goofy all dressed in safari gear. Each one came to our table to give a hug, pose for photos, and sign autographs. And about halfway through the meal, all of the children were handed animal shaped tambourines and paraded around with the characters. They turned on some fun music and the kids sang and danced. It was a great way to get the wiggles out.

At the end of the meal, a cast member brought us a large photo in a fun paper frame and 4 4x6 photos, one for each member of our party. My sister was rather disappointed with the photo and asked if it was possible to have it retaken. They said sure and after a little figuring, sent us out near the masks for a new photo. A few minutes later, a new photo had been printed and brought to us. They even gave us one of the original photos, too. I've heard other people say that the photos weren't included in the meal price and that the package we received was an additional $31, but no one told us that it wasn't included and we weren't charged extra for the photos, so that may have changed recently.

Everyone at the Tusker House was super nice and very helpful. The food was wonderful and different from anything else at Animal Kingdom. The atmosphere was exciting and the characters were great. I would definitely eat there again.