As you will see on the “Our Story” page of our website, I’ve developed a gluten sensitivity that is pretty strong so I eat entirely gluten and wheat free. This is the next installment documenting my experiences eating gluten free around Disney World. Here in our Satu’li Canteen Gluten Free review, I’ll cover the food but other topics related to the restaurant too. This will include my experience, service, and anything else I think others trying to eat gluten free may care about.
Even before my personal health issues and gluten sensitivity reared their ugly heads, I have always enjoyed eating healthy foods. After one or two quick service meals of burgers and fried foods, I was always ready for something lighter and cleaner. I was extremely excited about the concept of Satu’li Canteen for that very reason.
Satu’li Canteen Overview
Before we dive too deep into the specifics of Satu’li Canteen’s gluten free offerings, we should probably step back and hit the highlights on how the menu is set up. This is important because it isn’t your typical burgers and fried type of counter service location at Disney World.
In simple terms, Satu’li Canteen is a build your own meal set up. You do this by picking 3 components of your meal. You pick a protein, a base and a sauce.
Starting with the protein, you have the option of sliced grilled beef, chopped wood-grilled chicken, fish fillet, or tofu.
Among the bases, you can choose from red and black beans, red & sweet potato hash, mixed whole grains & rice, or a hearty salad.
Finally, for sauces you will find three options. They are a black bean vinaigrette, creamy herb dressing or a charred green onion vinaigrette.
Not all of these options are allergy friendly, but this gives you an idea of what the process is like.
You can read more details on this in our broader Satu’li Canteen review. There we also talk about the restaurant’s atmosphere, décor, food for Anna and Elsa, and more.
Satu’li Canteen Gluten Free Menu
As you can see from the picture below, the Satu’li Canteen allergy menu is expansive and well organized. I loved the layout where you can easily see what options were available for each allergy for building your meal.
While I wish the fish was an option for gluten allergies, I was thrilled that both the beef and chicken were safe, as was the tofu in order to create a vegetable-based bowl.
In regards to the sauces, it was disappointing that the black bean vinaigrette was excluded for gluten/wheat allergies. Given that I still had two to pick from, I was happy. Having the menu in front of me made ordering easy and seamless.
Satu’li Canteen Gluten Free Food
I indulged a little on my bowl (hey, I am already missing out on a lot food-wise, so sometimes I “comfort” myself by choosing the more “decadent” options). For my protein I went with the beef, the red and white potato hash as my base (hmmm guess I was craving meat and potatoes…). Where I really indulged is in choosing the creamy herb dressing as my sauce. I was torn between the two. Since Mike choose the charred green onion vinaigrette, I knew I could try his to get the taste of the sauce.
Wow – I was beyond impressed with my bowl. The beef was well seasoned and a perfectly cooked “medium.” I liked my steaks rare – medium rare so I was curious if the beef would be well done and to my surprise and relief it was not. Well done fans don’t worry, there was just a slight pink tone and it was clear the beef was cooked through. Due to how it is sliced, it would be rubber if it was well done.
The potato hash was excellent; however, I must admit I did get tired of the flavors as I ate through the bowl.
Finally…the sauce. Oh, the sauce. I was really looking forward to the creamy herb dressing every since I saw the menu released when it opened. It was delicious and I do recommend it, especially with the beef. However, when I sampled Mike’s charred green onion vinaigrette I was completely blown away at the flavor. I made a mental note to order it going forward. The creamy herb dressing was amazing, but like the potato hash, I did get tired of the flavor as I ate the bowl. In addition, it became a little too creamy and heavy as I kept eating. Sounds like I shouldn’t have indulged as much as I did. That being said though, I thoroughly and completely enjoyed my meal here.
Note that the boba balls are not included for gluten allergies, however I didn’t miss them at all.
Do note that Mike’s order also constituted a (mostly as his included the boba balls) gluten free dish at Satu’li Canteen, but that was more by chance than any real planning. You can see his dish in the picture above. He ordered the chicken, with whole grain/rice and the charred green onion vinaigrette. Like I said earlier, I really enjoyed it! He did too!
I love blueberries and wished I could order the Blueberry Cream Cheese Mousse. However, I was still able to enjoy a sweet treat as Anna and Elsa both ordered the Pandoran Sunrise drink and neither of them liked it. As a fan of tropical flavors, I thought the drink was refreshing and complimented the saltiness of the components of the bowl. Note that I did not confirm that the Pandoran Sunrise was safe for allergies, I relied on the Powerade base to feel comfortable trying it.
Overall Impression of Eating Gluten Free at Satu’li Canteen
Satu’li Canteen certainly lived up to the hype for me as an excellent and unique (for Disney World) quick service option. The quality of the ingredients and overall preparation far exceeds most, if not all, counter service locations at Disney World.
I would rank it as one of my top quick service choices in the World (Be Our Guest and many of the Epcot World Showcase selections are high on my list as well). The allergy menu was easy to follow and ordering was just as easy as ordering a regular meal. I highly, highly recommend this for everyone, not just those with food allergies/sensitivities. For those of us with food allergies and sensitivities, it was a relief to have a healthy, flavorful quick service meal that wasn’t just yet another salad.
Wrapping Up
If there’s more information on gluten free dining you would find helpful in these reviews, feel free to drop down in the comments and tell us. Alternatively, you can email us from the contact us page.
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