I’m ashamed to admit that of all four parks at Walt Disney World, I’ve eaten at Animal Kingdom the least. The last time was my mostly raving review of Satu’li Canteen. I’ve been inside their Rainforest Cafe to look around. I do eventually want to eat at several restaurants inside the park, it’s just that some of them are a little difficult to get a reservation for.
This trip, however, I made it a point to try one of their counter service restaurants, Flame Tree Barbecue. I like barbecue. I’ve been to Regal Eagle Smokehouse at Epcot and it was mostly okay, in my opinion. I get the irony of enjoying pulled pork while inside a theme park dedicated to animals. Look: some animals are cute, some animals are amazing, and some animals are delicious.
Shall we dine on some swine?
I’ve heard people rave about the Baked Macaroni & Cheese with Pulled Pork ($12.49) at Flame Tree, so naturally I had to try it. Baked Macaroni and Cheese topped with Smoked Pulled Pork, Onion Rings and Coleslaw. I would have enjoyed this more without the onion rings. Even worse, the barbecue sauce that was drizzled on top was almost entirely on the onion rings.
After the onion rings were gone, the remains were a sauce-less pulled pork laying between macaroni and cheese and coleslaw. Overall, this was just okay. For $12.49, it was a decent serving with some heft to it. For the portion size, I cannot complain too much about the price. I can complain about the pre-packaged bbq sauce cups that were on the tray. I was really hoping for a house-made sauce here, but alas.
Maybe this will be better.
I could have tried their barbecue chicken and ribs, but instead opted for the Smoked Pulled Pork Sandwich ($11.79). Smoked Pulled Pork Sandwich topped with Coleslaw and served with French Fries. Similar to the above entree, this is served with coleslaw on top of pulled pork. I didn’t really notice a barbecue sauce on the sandwich, but I did have some bbq sauce cups I could pour on instead.
Sadly, since it was a brand name instead of something house-made, I was turned off on putting it on the sandwich. I was really craving a sauce made in-house, or at the very least a sauce unique to Disney. They could have even used one of the sauces from Regal Eagle. Something other than Ken’s.
Once again, this was just okay and rather disappointing, in my opinion. The French fries were just that: normal theme park French fries. The same you can order at other counter service restaurants around the property.
But look at this view!
What Flame Tree Barbecue lacks in flavor, it more than makes up for in it’s location. From the outside, this restaurant doesn’t look like it has a lot of seating, and the average guest doesn’t venture too far from the restaurant counter to find a table.
However, if you wander around the seating area, you’ll find some great places to sit and relax. Here, I’ll show you!
Even just walking down the path behind the restaurant leads to a group of hi-top tables with a great view of Expedition Everest!
Since many guests do not venture too far into the seating area of Flame Tree Barbecue (and there’s even more seating than these couple areas), the area in front of the lake was fairly quiet, with just a few people at the surrounding tables. It’s almost as if this seating area is a hidden secret of Animal Kingdom, and now you, dear reader, are some of the few who know about it!
The wrap-up.
I really wanted to enjoy lunch at Flame Tree Barbecue, but unfortunately the lack of flavor and wow-ness, accompanied by pre-packaged bbq sauce, left me disappointed. The view, on the other hand, was phenomenal! I couldn’t have asked for a better view at this park!
It’s possible, perhaps, I simply ordered the wrong items at this restaurant. They do have several combination platters, along with a 1/2 chicken plate and a St Louis ribs plate. For non-meat eaters, they offer Impossible Burnt Ends. I love Burnt Ends, so trying a vegetarian version of this sounds intriguing.
On the sweeter side, Flame Tree Barbecue offers a Flamingo Cupcake ($6.29), which is not made with Flamingoes. The restaurant isn’t too far from where the Flamingoes area at Animal Kingdom, and I do recommend stopping by to check them out. They move in groups and walk in formation. It’s really quite fascinating to watch!
Flame Tree Barbecue is located on Discovery Island at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. They are open for lunch and dinner, from 10:30am – 7:00pm. Entrees range from $11.79 – $18.99. Flame Tree Barbecue does have a kids menu and an allergy-friendly menu. Annual Pass and Disney Visa Cardholder discounts do not apply to counter service restaurants, unfortunately.
Thanks for reading!
Disney Rover 