Nomad Lounge Dinner Review
*This gluten free dining experience took place in February 2022. It includes information about dairy free options, as well as fish/shellfish, peanut, hazelnut, cabbage, and chicken & turkey allergies.
Dinner at Nomad Lounge
Nomad Lounge, located at Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park, is a lounge that serves both small bites and a variety of beverages. We have always enjoyed going to Nomad Lounge for a drink and small snacks when we’re in the park, especially in the evening. The lounge is connected to Tiffins, the park’s signature dining location and includes both indoor and outdoor seating. On this visit, we had an impromptu dinner at Nomad Lounge.
Atmosphere
Nomad Lounge is a cozy and inviting lounge. Like Tiffins, its theme highlights the locations and travels that have inspired Disney Imagineers. Travel and adventure are definitely prominent features of the lounge.
Nomad Lounge Entrance / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
You’ll see that Nomad Lounge is directly connected to Tiffins. At the time of this review, Nomad Lounge does not currently accept dining reservations. You can, however, join a walk-up list to dine here. This is a very popular lounge, so we recommend joining the waitlist if you’re looking to dine there. On our visit, we joined the waitlist and because it was about an hour before the parked closed, we only waited about 5 minutes to be seated.
Nomad Lounge Seating Area / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
Nomad Lounge includes both indoor and outdoor seating. If you’re visiting Disney World when the weather is a bit milder, we highly recommend eating outside. We absolutely love eating outside on “cooler” Florida evenings — and February is one of our favorite times of the year to do that.
As you can see, you get lovely views of the water and nearby entrance to Pandora: World of Avatar. On our visit, it was a lovely sunny evening with breezy, pleasant temperatures — perfect for outdoor seating at Nomad Lounge.
Nomad Lounge Seating Area / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
Both indoor and outdoor seating includes a combination of regular tables and more lounge seating, like couches. On this visit, we were seated at a small two-top table near the water outside.
The Food
Like most restaurants owned and operated by Disney, Nomad Lounge does offer an allergy-friendly menu. However, we highly recommend speaking to a chef at Nomad Lounge because there are often additional options not listed — and the Nomad Lounge Specials Menu is rarely listed on the My Disney Experience app.
Nomad Lounge Menu Specials / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
We ordered almost all of our dishes entirely from the specials menu on this visit, and though items weren’t marked safe, we were able to both order with our server Alex and talk to a chef about options.
Nomad Lounge - Gluten Free Charcuterie Plate / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
Up first, we decided to split the Charcuterie plate. This was able to be made gluten free. The platter does contain pistachios which can be omitted and a duck rillette if you have any allergies to poultry. Though Brandon is allergic to chicken & turkey — he isn’t allergic to duck, but he avoids it due to potential cross-contamination with other poultry that he is allergic to.
When the charcuterie first came out, we were both a little confused, as it looked like we were served regular bread. Our server Alex asked if we wanted to speak to a chef, which we ended up doing. It turns out that Nomad Lounge is actually using Cup4Cup gluten free flour to make an in-house gluten free garlic cheese bread. It was great to chat with a chef, as he went over the ingredients and we got to talk about all the items they’re making GF naturally for all guests dining at Nomad Lounge. It’s pretty impressive that the restaurant is taking these steps to make safe and tasty options for gluten free guests.
Once we determined the ingredients, we dug into our charcuterie plate. Brandon really enjoyed the cheese and Tazo Ham, while I devoured the venison sausage, olives, and duck rillette. We both absolutely loved the garlic cheese bread. While we didn’t think the charcuterie plate was one of our favorites on Disney property — it was still great, and that GF bread really made it a winner. We’ll definitely get that again if we’re just popping by Nomad Lounge for drinks and light snacks.
Nomad Lounge - Tempting Tigress / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
We did also get drinks on our visit. I got a simple rose sparkling wine (not pictured). Brandon ordered his favorite drink from Nomad Lounge — the Tempting Tigress. This bourbon drink is always a winner, and fun fact, they actually make the tamarind syrup in house at Tiffins & Nomad Lounge! How cool is that?
Nomad Lounge - IMPOSSIBLE Plant-Based Sliders / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
For my main meal, I decided to get the IMPOSSIBLE Burger Sliders served with regular French fries. Although it is only marked safe for Fish/Shellfish Allergies on the allergy-friendly menu, it is actually super easy to make gluten free, dairy free, egg free, and vegan. For gluten free guests, simply swap the bun for a GF one (in this case a Bloomfield Farms brand roll). For those who need plant-based options — the only major modification is to omit the chipotle aioli. Definitely speak to a chef, because these are a delicious option!
Overall, I really enjoyed these. The IMPOSSIBLE sliders had a great cook on the plant-based patties — they were super crispy. The slaw that came with it added some nice texture and tangy flavor that balanced perfectly with the slightly spicy chipotle aioli. These were tiny but might sliders packed with a lot of flavor. I would definitely order these again.
Nomad Lounge - Beef Sliders / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
Brandon ordered the regular beef sliders which were also a gluten free and dairy free option with some slight modifications. Because Brandon is allergic to cabbage, his was served without the slaw. He said they were very flavorful and the beef was well cooked. If you prefer beef to the plant-based options, you’ll enjoy these.
Nomad Lounge - Mac & Cheese (NOT Gluten Free) / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
For those who can eat gluten, the lounge does offer a lobster Mac & Cheese. Brandon was able to get this without the lobster because he is allergic to fish & shellfish. He said it was one of the best mac & cheese dishes that he’s had in a long time. However, we both had a bit of sticker shock when we saw the bill. We both though the mac & cheese would be at a lower price point, but we discovered that we were charged the regular rate as if the dish had lobster on it. Yikes!
Though Brandon did love this dish, we both agreed for the price ($25) that it was not worth getting again.
Nomad Lounge - Gluten Free Mandazi / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
And, finally, the best part of the meal has to be dessert! For the month of February 2022 only, Nomad Lounge was offering a special dessert option that happened to be gluten free. They were serving Mandazi which a fried dough from Africa that is similar to beignets. Unfortunately, these do contain dairy, as they are made with the regular Cup4Cup gluten free flour that contains dairy. If you are gluten free and peanut/tree free, these will be a safe option for you.
The Mandazi were served with two sauces, a vanilla creme to replace a sauce that contains nuts and a coffee sauce. We both agreed that the coffee sauce was the winner and paired perfectly with the fried dough. We both really enjoyed these, and though we prefer the allergy-friendly beignets at Port Orleans French Quarter, these were still pretty great too.
If you’re looking for a gluten free dessert at Nomad Lounge anytime of year, we highly recommend the GF Churros! These are a Nomad Lounge staple and are just so good (also contain dairy). You can read more about them in a previous review we wrote here on the blog.
If you want to hear more about our experience at Nomad Lounge, check out the vlog we did for our YouTube channel for more information.
Overall
We are both really glad we ended up dining at Nomad Lounge during this impromptu visit. Not only was the food fantastic, but we also got a chance to check out some new items that we hadn’t had before — including the limited time Mandazi. If you’re going for drinks and small plates, you can’t go wrong with Nomad Lounge. The chefs here go above and beyond to ensure that there are tasty and safe options for lots of special dietary needs — and we definitely need to make another visit again soon!
Have you been to Nomad Lounge? What was your experience dining there?