I travel to Walt Disney World on a fairly regular basis. In fact, if I go more than 90 days without a Disney fix I get a little bit twitchy. I’m a Disney addict and I really enjoy the adult Disney dining options. There are only two restaurants that have specifically adult dining options. Victoria and Albert’s recently added a age requirement of 10 years of age. The wine dinner at the chef’s bar at Flying Fish Cafe is 21 years of age or older because the cost of the meal includes wine parings. However, there are several restaurants outside of those two very expensive options that are geared to adults!

I really enjoy lunch at Sanaa! You can enjoy both the animals available at Sanaa and a terrific white wine from India that is only available at Sanaa in the United States! The food is mostly Indian and comes in a range of very spicy to pretty mild. I am a mild girl and really enjoy the green curry shrimp, the salad samplers and the bread offerings. I suggest lunch, because unless you go for a very early dinner you won’t be able to see the animals that are roaming about. It is a good break from the heat of the day if you happen to be touring Animal Kingdom park.

Dinner on Animal Kingdom day is another story all together. While the food at Sanaa is some of my favorite on property, the wine list at Jiko takes the cake, making it one of my top dining destinations for adults. Jambo house has the largest collection of wines from South Africa outside of South Africa. (You just learned something new, didn’t you!) Even if you don’t want a glass of pinotage, where else at Walt Disney World can you find Inguday Tibs on the menu? That’s a mushroom sauteé with Ethiopian spices!  The ambiance at Jiko is wonderful as well. The room is large, but divided and lit to make all of the spaces feel cozy. Make sure you remember that while the amazing mac and cheese is no longer on the menu, others have reported being able to get it anyway if you ask nicely. Jiko is also the site of an afternoon wine tasting on Wednesdays, but that’s a whole post in and of itself.

On our adults only trips we always visit Hollywood Brown Derby on the day we tour Disney’s Hollywood Studios. While this restaurant is very expensive we order a couple of cocktails and some appetizers and the Cobb Salad. The Brown Derby offers both a margarita sampler

Yes, I finished it . . .

and a martini sampler as well as wine flights. These options make it a very good option for an adult trip. If you eat like we do and order a whole bunch of appetizers and a salad you can exit the HBD for about $40 for food–if you chose to add alcohol it will raise that cost! If you splurge on the margarita sampler, I highly advise going back to your room for a nap after lunch, so plan to eat at the end of your morning touring time.

I’m going to discuss the Magic Kingdom Signature restaurants and Epcot resort area restaurants in separate posts in the coming month, because I have too much to say about both areas–don’t fret–lots of them are perfect for adult dining.

However, if you are in the Magic Kingdom and looking for some place to relax for dinner, get on the monorail and go to Epcot. Just kidding! Except that I’m not . . . I think the best option for a somewhat romantic dinner at Magic Kingdom is to go to Columbia Harbor house and find an out of the way table in the upstairs dining room. None of the restaurants in the Magic Kingdom allow you to have a glass of wine with your meal and that’s okay with me. What I dislike is that all of the restaurants in the Magic Kingdom are noisy. What about Tony’s Town Square, you might ask? I don’t love it at all. I’d rather eat at Columbia Harbor House!

Now over at Epcot there are tons of options, but there are two that I particularly feel are perfect for just adult groups. The first is La Cava del Tequila. You thought it was just a bar that serves amazing margaritas. You’re half right. They also serve  appetizers to go along with those margaritas. You can have your avocado margarita along with chips, salsa, guac, queso, and shrimp cocktails! I might stop in here before going to La Cava’s big brother: La Hacienda. The second restaurant that comes immediately to mind is Bistro de Paris. What? You’ve never heard of it? It’s a secret. It’s upstairs from Chefs de France in the France Pavilion. There’s a tiny little sign and a tiny little stairway up to the dining room, which offers a far more refined menu than the restaurant downstairs. The menu is small, but offers two prix fixe options: with or without wine that I think are reasonable. If you’d rather eat at Chef’s I’ve got another secret. You can order off of the Bistro de Paris wine list at Chef’s de France, as long as you’re buying a bottle.

So that’s it for now. Remember Animal Kingdom: Sanaa and Jiko, Studios: Hollywood Brown Derby, Magic Kingdom: to to Epcot, Epcot: La Cava and La Hacienda or Bistro de Paris. Snap! Your whole trip’s meals are planned for you!

La Hacienda Restaurant at the Mexico pavilion