Do you know which Disney World restaurant has TWO locations?

Yep, that’s right — Rainforest Cafe! The chain restaurant has spots in both Disney Springs and at Animal Kingdom Theme Park. But despite having multiple locations in Disney World and around the globe, Rainforest Cafe doesn’t exactly have the best reputation when it comes to the eats. Is it really as bad as people make it seem? I stopped by recently to try out some menu items and bring you a full review!

Atmosphere

For this particular review, I’m taking you along with me to the Animal Kingdom location of Rainforest Cafe! This location is just outside the park entrance, so you can dine here without a park ticket.

However, if you have a ticket, Rainforest Cafe offers a private entrance in and out of the park. I visited Animal Kingdom before my lunch here, so I came in through the in-park entrance. They’ve got a separate tapstile and everything!

In the courtyard behind the restaurant, there’s an outdoor bar, as well as plenty of seats where you can wait for your table to be called.

But the real draw? The gift shop! Not every Disney World restaurant comes with a gift shop, and this one is pretty spectacular. It’s decorated to look like you’re in the rainforest, and they sell all kinda of wild merchandise.

Seriously, you may want to plan a little extra cushion time around your meal just to do some shopping!

Once my name was called (over the intercom, no less), I was escorted to my table. They really go hard on the rainforest vibes in here, with vines hanging from the ceiling and animatronic jungle animals all over the place.

During my visit, they were decorated for the holiday season — check out the little Santa hats!

There are multiple dining rooms, and a LOT of seating in here. They have a pretty large capacity compared to some other restaurants in the parks.

Now let’s decide what to eat!

Menu

The Rainforest Cafe menu is pretty similar to other locations around the world, serving Americanized versions of popular dishes. Their appetizer menu is made up of things like flatbreads, mozzarella sticks, nachos, and spinach dip. To start your meal, you could also try out one of the soups or salads.

The entree options land all over the place. They’ve got seafood, burgers, sandwiches, beef, pork, chicken, and pasta — really something for any kind of taste. You can go with the classics (like the Rainforest Burger), or try something more adventurous (like the Pastalaya or Korean Spicy Stir-Fry Chicken).

They also serve a number of beverages, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. You won’t go thirsty!

And of course, we can’t forget about dessert. There are only a few options, and they’re pretty standard.

So what did I order?

Eats

To start out, you’ve gotta hydrate! I opted to get the Rainforest Ricky to drink, which is made with apple, pineapple, orange, strawberry, and grapefruit juices served over ice. It was definitely fruity and very sweet, but pretty delicious as well.

One of the cool things about this drink is that it comes in a souvenir cup with a projector on the bottom — as you hold it away from the table, it projects the Rainforest Cafe logo.

As far as food goes, I wanted to get a fair sampling of what Rainforest Cafe has to offer, so I grabbed an appetizer, two entrees, and a dessert!

First up, we’ve got the Shrimp Scampi Flatbread for $16.49. It’s topped with alfredo sauce, mozzarella cheese, red onions, red pepper flakes, and green onions. Honestly, the description alone had my mouth watering a little bit!

Of the food items I ate during my visit, this was my personal favorite! The sauce was creamy and very cheesy, and the shrimp had a great chew and were nice and tender. The onions add a little punch of flavor, but some of the bites were a tad overwhelming with garlic and red pepper. Even so, I still really liked it and would probably order it again!

For entrees, one of my choices was the Pulled Pork Burger for $21.99. It’s a burger patty topped with BBQ pulled pork, coleslaw, and crispy-fried onions served with a side of Safari Fries (which are essentially just seasoned fries).

This one was pretty difficult to eat due to the sheer amount of things on top of the burger. However, the pulled pork was tender and there was a decent portion of it. The sauce is mostly sweet with a hint of smokiness. The slaw added a nice crunch, but there was way too much of it overall and it made things pretty messy.

The burger itself was cooked exactly to my specifications — I asked for it to be done medium. However, the meat definitely needed to be seasoned more. It was pretty plain. Significantly better than Disney World’s quick service burgers, but not nearly as delicious as some of the table service burgers I’ve had around here.

And the fries? Well, they were fairly basic. The ones that were seasoned well were pretty good, but not all of them got thoroughly seasoned. They were pretty soft — no crispiness to be found here.

The burger was alright, but from there, things took a sharp dive downhill! The next thing I tried was the Creole Mac and Cheese for $22.99. It’s penne pasta topped with shrimp, andouille sausage, peppers, red onion, cheese sauce, and chili butter bread crumbs.

I’m going to be honest with you guys…this was one of the least enjoyable things I’d eaten in a while. The only flavor of the pasta is spice — a strong, blazing heat that rips through on the first bite and refuses to go away. There was no cheesiness or creaminess, and I couldn’t even really taste the shrimp or the sausage underneath.

The veggies weren’t cooked nearly long enough, as they were still quite chewy and didn’t add any flavor to the dish. And there were SO many toppings overall that it felt like they just shoved the whole kitchen in a bowl. The bread that comes on the side was very garlicky, but also quite stale.

The only thing I actually enjoyed about this was the breadcrumbs — they added a nice texture to the dish. But boy, I would have a very hard time recommending this to anyone.

After that small disaster, I was ready to move on to dessert…and what’s more enticing than something called the Sparkling Volcano?! It’s a pretty basic treat made with chocolate sauce, brownies, vanilla ice cream, and whipped cream, but it looks pretty cool!

The brownies were thick and fudgey with caramel in the middle, and nice and sweet. They’re not the best brownies on the planet, but they pair well with the vanilla ice cream. Really, there’s nothing particularly standout about this except for the looks, but I think kiddos would enjoy it!

So how does Rainforest Cafe land for me overall?

Overall

Y’all, I’ve done quite a few restaurant reviews in my time working here, and I think this one might be one of the most underwhelming table service spots, food-wise. The prices here are too high for the eats to be as mediocre as they are — especially when you can get stellar food inside Animal Kingdom at Tusker House, Tiffins, Nomad Lounge, and Yak & Yeti.

The flatbread is probably the only thing I would eat again, but it’s not quite enough to save Rainforest Cafe for me. However, there’s still an audience for this restaurant! I think probably the best things to order here are the basics: regular burgers, normal kinds of pasta, chicken dishes, and maybe salads. Don’t go for anything too bizarre or inventive. If you’ve got picky eaters in your party, it might not be a bad meal for you, especially if you’re enthralled by the rainforest vibe and the fun animatronics.

The atmosphere is definitely cool — I mean, where else do the lights flicker and rainstorms happen every quarter hour or so? But there are also plenty of other Disney World restaurants with really cool vibes and much better food.

Nosh or Not?

Take a trek into the rainforest if…

• You have really picky eaters and you’re visiting Animal Kingdom. The eats at the other table service spots in Animal Kingdom are a bit more adventurous than they are at Rainforest Cafe. If you’ll just be getting burgers and chicken tenders, you might not be as bothered by the food here because the basics aren’t bad.
• You (or your kiddos) love the rainforest vibe. The intermittent rainstorms, animal animatronics, and dark, jungly atmosphere make for a very unique meal. You can’t help but be impressed with the setup!

Run far, far away if…

• You’re a foodie. Love good food? This probably doesn’t need to be the first, second, third, or even tenth spot on your list. There are SO many places in Disney World with really amazing cuisine that this is an easy one to recommend you skip.
• You’re on a budget. This meal definitely isn’t cheap! It was pricier than other table service spots in the park that I’ve been to. And Animal Kingdom has pretty good quick service options as well!
• You have a Rainforest Cafe near you. This restaurant is a chain, so if you’ve got one closer to home, there’s no need to dine here while you’re in Disney World! Save it for another time and try something exclusive to the resort.

That’s a wrap on my trip to Rainforest Cafe at Animal Kingdom! Stay tuned to DFB for more restaurant reviews and all the updates you need to know from the parks.

Click Here for Our Ranking of Animal Kingdom Restaurants!

Have you ever been to Rainforest Cafe? Tell us in the comments!

The post REVIEW: Go to This Disney World Restaurant for the Vibes, Not the Food first appeared on the disney food blog.