Disney Springs’ newest restaurant, eet by Maneet Chauhan, has officially opened at Walt Disney World. We were there on opening day to check out the space and the food.
eet by Maneet Chauhan Tour
Exterior
This “modern, fun, Indian-inspired” restaurant was first announced in July 2023. The new enterprise is owned by Chauhan and her husband Vivek Deora. Chauhan is an Indian American chef who has appeared on several Food Network programs, including “Chopped,” “Iron Chef America,” and “Worst Cooks in America.” She won the network’s “Tournament of Champions” competition in 2021.
The restaurant has taken over the space formerly occupied by Wolfgang Puck Express, which closed permanently in late 2020. The exterior of the building has been painted with red accents, and images of Maneet hanging on either side of the entrance.
The large sign overhead features the wordmark and icon for eet by Maneet Chauhan, featuring a yellow elephant holding a spoon. The sign is bordered by dark teal metalwork and lights.
Menu
On either side of the entrance are signs featuring the menu for the restaurant, and a note from Maneet and the team.
There are also paper menus available to peruse.
Interior
Inside, the restaurant takes on red and yellow hues with dark teal accents.
A menu screen hangs above the order counter.
The restaurant also includes an open view into the kitchen.
A self-serve soda station is nearby.
The soda machines have eet by Maneet Chauhan graphics on them.
The main seating area is comprised of both booths and tables. There is also merchandise available for purchase, kept in clear display cabinets.
Patterned curtains and orange lights hang from the ceiling.
The windows are lined with bright yellow trim to match the yellow ceiling.
There are also tables and chairs outside if seating is scarce inside the restaurant.
eet by Maneet Chauhan Review
We got the Walking Taco, Tandoori Chicken Poutine, eet Bread Service with Pimento Whipped Paneer, Chicken Tikka Naan Pizza, a Build Your Own Bowl, Gulab Juman Cheesecake, and Chocolate & Strawberry Naan.
Walking Taco – $12
Crunchy Indian puff snacks, spicy pork chili, Indian pico de gallo, tamarind chutney, cojita cheese
This is spectacular. The bagged snack that everything is piled on is like crunchy Cheetos and it brings a nice saltiness. It’s spicy and the cheese comes in on the backend with some bitterness that perfectly balances the spice.
The puff snacks aren’t necessarily the best vessel and you have to try to balance a bit of everything on the fork. But it’s worth it for this phenomenal dish.
Chicken Tikka Naan Pizza – $14
Chicken kabab, rich tomato butter sauce, mozzarella, parmesan
If we had had this before the Walking Taco, we might feel differently about it, but it didn’t wow us in the same way. The naan bread is soft and doughy. The chicken is great. It’s tender with a good flavor. The cheese complements everything well. It’s solid but there are a lot of pizza options in Walt Disney World.
Tandoori Chicken Poutine – $14
Chaat masala fries, tandoori chicken, white cheddar curds, rich tomato butter sauce
The fries are way better than Disney’s; they remind us of Wendy’s old fries and are a good, thick cut. The cheese is more like globs than curds, but it’s good. The tomato butter sauce is spread throughout the dish and it’s amazing. This is a heavy portion that two or three people could easily share. It’s great.
BYOB – $18
Includes pickled red cabbage, indian pico de gallo, and masala chickpea pearls | choose base, kabab, and sauce
The Build Your Own Bowl options are:
- Pick Your Base: cumin basmati rice | turmeric riced cauliflower | fresh salad greens
- Pick Your Kabab: tandoori chicken | paneer tikka | basil cilantro shrimp | masala roasted cauliflower
- Pick Your Sauce: tikka (aromatic buttery tomato sauce) | saag (rich earthy spinach sauce) | moilee (golden coconut curry sauce) | korma (cashew saffron sauce) | bhunna (classic Indian curry sauce)
We wanted to try a vegan option. All the bases and three of the sauces are already vegan. We got the cumin basmati rice, masala roasted cauliflower, and bhunna.
The bhunna sauce is unbelievable. It’s super spicy but it has a lot of flavor. The cauliflower is cooked perfectly. The rice is good and the chickpeas add a nice crunch to the texture.
eet Bread Service with Pimento Whipped Paneer – $18
Buttered naan, garlic naan, pimento whipped paneer cheese, masala vegetable sticks, Indian pickle, coriander honey, chutneys
We’re obviously big fans of the bread service at Sanaa, so eet had a lot to live up to here. Like with the pizza, the naan is soft and delicious. The garlic naan has lots of flavor.
The sauces don’t come labeled so we were trying them blind, but they are:
- Honey coriander
- Mint chutney
- Garlic pickle
- Tamarind chutney
- Lime pickle
We loved the honey coriander. It’s sweet and may not be good for a whole piece of naan, but instead for cleansing the palate after the spicier sauces. The green sauce — maybe mint chutney — is good but not our favorite, which is the same at Sanaa. Next was a sauce with a spicy tomato flavor and big chunks of garlic, so was probably the garlic pickle sauce. It was spectacular with a nice burn to it. The next sauce was very sweet, but also a little bit savory. It’s probably the tamarind chutney and we loved it, too.
The last sauce was weird to us, and honestly tasted like how a Halloween Horror Nights house smells. It’s a slightly spicy jelly and we can only assume this is the lime pickle. We didn’t like it.
The creaminess of the pimento whipped paneer cheese goes well with the bread. They recommend spreading the cheese on your bread before dipping it into the sauces.
It’s not better or worse than Sanaa’s bread service, because they’re just two different things. We absolutely recommend both. Also, keep in mind that many of the sauces here share names with Sanaa’s bread service, but can be totally different in flavor.
Gulab Jamun Cheesecake – $9
NY-style cheesecake, gulab jamun, strawberries, saffron, cardamon
This is weird but good. Gulab jamun is a sweet fried dough dessert and it tastes excellent. It’s almost like a sweet berry donut hole. The cake is dense but soft. It’s easily the best counter-service cheesecake at Walt Disney World.
Chocolate & Strawberry Naan – $8
Chocolate sauce, strawberry sauce, white chocolate, diced strawberries, fresh mint
As crazy as this looks, the flavors are subtle. You mostly get an oversweet artificial strawberry flavor and very little chocolate. There are chickpeas on top and we like the crunch of those. It’s messy and not bad, but not up to par with the rest of this menu.
Mango Yogurt Lassi – $5
The mango isn’t overpowering, and has just enough bite at the backend. It’s good.
Final Thoughts
eet has instantly become the best counter service option at Disney Springs, and despite the marketing potentially leading you to believe it’s all purely Indian cuisine, there’s something on the menu for everyone — even the pickiest of eaters.
So many of the Disney Springs counter service restaurants’ fare is very basic, whether it’s burgers, hot dogs, or chicken nuggets — so it’s nice to have another option that is so unique and fantastic. We worry with it being sort of hidden away thanks to its location, but we assume that word of mouth will get around quickly and in no time, eet by Maneet Chauhan will be one of the most popular dining establishments in all of Walt Disney World Resort.
You can watch our full video review below:
Have you visited eet by Maneet Chauhan yet at Disney Springs? If so, what did you think? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
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The post REVIEW: Walking Taco, Bread Service, and More Delicious Dishes at eet by Maneet Chauhan, Now Open in Disney Springs appeared first on WDW News Today.