Tusker House Dinner Review
*This gluten free dining experience took place in June 2021. It includes information about dairy free options, as well as fish/shellfish, peanut, hazelnut, cabbage, and chicken & turkey allergies.
Dinner at Tusker House
Tusker House, located in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, is an all-you-care-to-enjoy restaurant that typically serves a buffet style meal and features Disney character dining. When the restaurant recently re-opened in June 2021, the offerings switched to family style — meaning you still could enjoy all the food you wanted but the food was brought directly to the table versus going to a buffet and the menu was a bit more limited. It’s been years since I’ve eaten at Tusker House either for breakfast or dinner, and Brandon had never eaten at the restaurant. Since Brandon is such a fan of socially distanced character meals now, we decided to give the restaurant a try.
COVID-19 & Reopening Notes
On this particular visit, we made reservations in advance on the day reservations were first available for booking for Tusker House. If you’re having a hard time finding options for a specific restaurant that you’re interested in, we always recommend checking the My Disney Experience app a day or two ahead of when you’re interested in dining at a restaurant. We actually get a lot of last minute dining options this way, so it’s always worth checking.
When we arrived at the restaurant, we were able to check-in either through the app itself or by speaking with a cast member at the restaurant’s entrance. Both work well, and we had no issues getting seated for our meal. However, we have had a few restaurants require us to also check-in at the restaurant with a cast member in addition to using the check-in feature on the app. So, it’s always good to double-check a restaurant’s current practice with check-in.
On this specific visit, we noted that the restaurant’s social distance seating for guests dining at the restaurant in its main dining room areas at the time of our visit was more or less back to normal pre-pandemic closure seating in most of the main areas. But, because of the way that the restaurant is set-up and how they spaced out guests dining, we felt fairly comfortable with where we were seated. If you have any concerns about seating, it’s always worth mentioning to a cast member to discuss options, and we always recommend doing what you feel most comfortable with.
We also recommend checking Disney’s current guidelines and recommendations. On this visit, mask rules were different than they are currently at the Disney Parks & Resorts, so it’s always worth checking before you go.
Atmosphere
Tusker House is located in Harambe in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. And the restaurant’s exterior and interior reflect this with African inspired decor.
Tusker House Sign / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
The restaurant itself might feel a bit hidden, as it’s located in a corner of Harambe close to Festival of the Lion King. You’ll see large signs directing you to the check-in podium which is near the Dawa Bar.
Tusker House / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
Inside, you will feel like you’re in an open air market and an extension of the outside areas of Harambe. There’s some really neat touches to help you feel like you’re actually outside.
Tusker House / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
There are also a few smaller rooms in the restaurant. Here is a photo of one of those rooms, where the tables are spaced out a bit which is especially helpful as the characters came through all of the rooms on a fairly regular basis.
Tusker House - Daisy Duck / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
We were seated in one of the main areas of the restaurant, which was great for seeing all the characters. Donald, Daisy, Goofy, and Mickey were all there — each in their own safari outfits. The restaurant included a song played every time the characters came out, which was so much fun. Daisy Duck was super sassy on our visit and really made sure to interact with all the guests — even if socially distanced.
Tusker House - Goofy / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
Although I didn’t include a lot of character photos here, we did get quite a few photos plus video. All of the characters were so great, and we had such a fun time interacting with them. Donald and Daisy were definitely our favorites though! If you want to see more of the character interactions and fun hijinks, check our our vlog dining review on our YouTube channel.
The Food
Like most restaurants owned and operated by Disney, Tusker House does have an allergy-friendly menu. On this visit, we were given a family-style allergy-friendly menu, but the restaurant has also offered an allergen guide for guests with special dietary needs, when the restaurant is a full buffet.
Brandon with Tusker House QR Menus / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
Of course, we always recommend speaking to a chef directly, if you have questions or want to discuss additional options for your special dietary needs. We especially recommend speaking to a chef when you have multiple special dietary needs or those that are not covered in the allergy-friendly menu options.
Tusker House - Hard Cider / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
It was a really hot day when we dined at Tusker House. We both decided to start our meal with a cold Angry Orchard Hard Cider — which is naturally gluten free. It was super refreshing and a great way to start our meal.
Tusker House - Salad / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
For our starter and bread service, Brandon and I shared the dishes which were made safe for us. This included African Inspired Salads (Kachumbari and Arcadian Green Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette Dressing). The salads were marked safe for Gluten/Wheat, Egg, Fish/Shellfish, Milk, Peanut/Tree Nut, and Soy Allergies on the allergy-friendly menu. Brandon is also allergic to cabbage and this was cabbage free too.
While neither of us thought the salads were amazing, we both enjoyed them a lot. I think Brandon may have enjoyed the salad more than I did! The main salad was light and refreshing — though it was very minimally dressed with the citrus vinaigrette. If you are fan of lots of dressing, you may want to ask for a side of vinaigrette to add what you like to the salad. The cucumber, tomato, and red onion salad was also very refreshing and simple. It was a nice way to get started on our meal.
Tusker House - Gluten Free Bread Service / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
For our bread service, we were served what felt like a mini Sanaa bread service. If you have read our reviews over the years, you know that we absolutely love the gluten free bread service from Sanaa at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. This version was served with three of the dips normally served at Sanaa — Mango Chutney, Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, and Coriander Chutney. They all happen to be my favorite dips from Sanaa too! In addition, we were served poppadums and Bloomfield Farms allergy-friendly rolls.
The dips and poppadum were all great, and we both enjoyed those thoroughly. We normally love the Bloomfield Farms rolls but on this visit, they were not heated…at all. They were extremely cold and dense and didn’t make for a great bread option. We could have asked for bread to be heated up, but we decided to just enjoy the poppadum and dips and mostly skip the rolls. Side note, how cute is the board that the bread service was served on?!
Tusker House - Gluten Free Skillet / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
For our main dishes, we were each brought our own platter of food — although after reviewing what we got and the amount given, we both agreed that we could have had the platter be shared and had the chicken — which was the only thing Brandon couldn’t eat — served on the side.
The main skillet contained the following items:
Moroccan-spiced Beef
Marked Safe for Gluten/Wheat, Egg, Fish/Shellfish, Milk, Peanut/Tree Nut, and Soy Allergies
Berber-Marinated Pork
Marked Safe for Gluten/Wheat, Egg, Fish/Shellfish, Milk, Peanut/Tree Nut, and Soy Allergies
Spit-roasted Herb Chicken
Marked Safe for Gluten/Wheat, Egg, Fish/Shellfish, Milk, Peanut/Tree Nut, and Soy Allergies
Jasmine Rice
Marked Safe for Gluten/Wheat, Egg, Fish/Shellfish, Milk, Peanut/Tree Nut, and Soy Allergies
Roasted Potatoes
Marked Safe for Gluten/Wheat, Egg, Fish/Shellfish, Milk, Peanut/Tree Nut, and Soy Allergies
Green Beans with Carrots and Corn
Marked Safe for Gluten/Wheat, Egg, Fish/Shellfish, Milk, Peanut/Tree Nut, and Soy Allergies
Each of us really enjoyed the items in our skillets. Both of us thought the pork and beef were well-cooked. And, Brandon, of course, loved the potatoes (ever the potato fan). I thought all the rice and veggies were great and that the chicken was very tasty too.
Gluten free mac and cheese is not available, but Brandon was able to get a gluten-filled mac and cheese and said it was very good. We also didn’t order it, but you can get a Durban Curry made with Impossible brand vegan meat upon request that is marked safe for Gluten/Wheat, Egg, Fish/Shellfish, Milk, and Peanut Allergies.
Tusker House - Green Curry Shrimp / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
I did get a side dish of Cape Malay Green Curry Shrimp which is marked safe for Gluten/Wheat, Egg, Milk, Peanut/Tree Nut, and Soy Allergies. This was one of my favorite parts of our meal. The shrimp were very tasty and well-cooked, and the green curry was very flavorful. It wasn’t overly spicy but packed a lot of flavor into a small dish. My only complaint on this dish was that there was not enough shrimp!
Tusker House - Gluten Free Chocolate Cake / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
For dessert, I was given one gluten free dessert — a flourless chocolate honeybee cake. This did contain dairy, so I’m not sure what options would be available if you’re gluten free and dairy free — as the dairy free and vegan mousse available contains gluten.
Though not my favorite dessert ever, I will give Tusker House some kudos for making something that was both beautifully decorated and unique for gluten free guests. The chocolate sponge cake was good, but I have to admit the layers had some rather odd textures to them. So, if you don’t like spongy style cakes, this might not be your favorite dessert. It was also very sweet, so something to keep in mind if you’re not a big sweets fan like me. I could have used a cup of coffee or something else to cut the sweetness of the dish. But, overall, I was super pleased that they offered this and that it wasn’t sorbet or allergy-friendly cookies.
Tusker House - NOT Gluten Free Dessert Trio / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
Brandon received a trio of desserts — two of which contain gluten but were nut free. He liked all of them including the gluten free cake but said the brownie cake in the middle of the photo above was is favorite. Sure, these desserts weren’t anything fancy, but we both appreciated the effort into making them a bit fun and whimsical.
If you want to hear more about our experience at Tusker House, check out the vlog we did for our YouTube channel for more information.
Overall
We were both really impressed with our meal at Tusker House. Everything was solidly cooked and tasted great. We each felt we had plenty of options and a lot of food. We absolutely loved the character aspect of the dining experience and thought that it really made the entire meal. We both agreed that we would definitely come back for dinner and would love to check out the character breakfast at some point too. This might be one of the most fun character meals we’ve had in the past year and definitely had a great time with good food.
Have you been to Tusker House? What was your experience dining there?