Ahoy, skippers! Have you been overlooking an underrated restaurant at Disney World?

Magic Kingdom is home to some great eats (and some not-so-great ones) — this we already knew. But have you been sleeping on an underrated gem at The Most Magical Place on Earth? We’ve been asking ourselves that question after taking a closer look at Jungle Navigation Co. LTD Skipper Canteen.

We’ve enjoyed Jungle Navigation Co. LTD Skipper Canteen in the past, but does it hold up? Read below to find out!

We headed over to Adventureland to visit to conduct a new review, and we think our opinions could help you the next time you decide where you’d like to eat at Magic Kingdom. Let’s take a look!

Atmosphere

Based on the incredibly popular Jungle Cruise ride, Skipper Canteen provides an adventurous dining environment with a punny twist. The lore behind the restaurant is that it started as a tropical headquarters that allowed skippers to rest before their next adventure.

The restaurant features three different rooms: the crew’s colonial-era Mess Hall, Dr. Albert Fall’s Jungle Room, and the once-secret Society of Explorers and Adventurers meeting room.

Full of Jungle Cruise Easter eggs and homages, Jungle Navigation Co. LTD Skipper Canteen is a MUST-TRY if you’re a fan of the ride.

Menus

The Skipper Canteen gets a bit more exotic than your typical American and theme park fare, but its menu is still eclectic enough to likely satisfy adventurous and picky eaters. Here, you can find African, Asian, and Latin dishes in addition to specialty cocktails, beer, and wine.

The menu is certainly elevated for theme park food. From house-made corn pancakes and beer-braised pork appetizers to marinated grilled steak and sustainable fish entrees, Skipper Canteen offers more refined, yet casual cuisine. The kids’ menu even ranges from safe picks like mac & cheese to more out-there choices like coconut curry.

We’ve long been impressed with the menu, but does it still taste good?

Drinks

First up, we tried the House-made Skipper Sangria, which comes with your choice of red or white wine blended with juices, spices, and fruit. We tried the white wine version and we found it to be very light and fruity. We thought it was a safe choice — not the best but also not the worst Sangria at the Walt Disney World Resort. Overall, we think the drink menu is pretty safe, and while it may not blow you away, it is pretty good and shouldn’t be a concern if you’re in the mood for cocktails.

Eats

We started off the eats with a secret menu item — Cheese Bread! A fun take on Brazilian pão de queijo, this cheese bread comes with a chimichurri sauce on the side. On it’s own, we LOVED the bread, and mixed with the sauce, we thought it was even better! Light and flavorful, we can’t recommend the Cheese Bread enough! A bit of warning, however, the sauce does have a bit of kick so expect that if you decide to dip the bread.

Speaking of spicy, next we tried the Mess Hall Fried Rice, which comes with spicy chili-garlic shrimp served over pork fried rice with eggs and peas. Unfortunately, we couldn’t taste much spice! In fact, we couldn’t taste most of the pork and garlic flavors aside from a salty soy sauce flavor. As for the portion size, we found it to be better suited as a one-person entree instead of a shared appetizer.

The first entree we tried was the “Hardy Har Char” Siu Pork. This meal comes with a char siu-marinated pork tenderloin served with house-pickled vegetables and jasmine rice. Once again, if you like soy sauce, you’ll likely love this dish, as that was the first flavor we discovered on the first bite.

The pork itself was very juicy with a sweet soy sauce flavor profile. We find the rice to be pretty on par with basic jasmine rice — nothing that truly separates itself but not bad. We were big fans of the vegetables, which had a great texture and were very well-seasoned. Overall, we would definitely get this entree again and recommend trying it!

 

The other entree we tried was the Baa Baa Lamb Chops, which comes with spice-rubbed lamb chops, chermoula, cauliflower, potatoes, cipollini onions, harissa sauce, and garnished with preserved lemons and herbs.

We LOVED these lamb chops and found them to be truly exceptional! The harissa sauce is akin to a peppery siracha with a moderate kick and our vegetables were perfectly cooked to make a nicely balanced dish. The star of the plate, however, is the lamb of course! The preserved lemons and herbs around the edge add a great flavor and crispiness to the lamb.

For dessert, we tried the Kungaloosh!, an African-inspired chocolate cake with caramelized bananas served with cashew-caramel ice cream and topped with coffee dust. Folks, this is a BIG WINNER!

The flavors that stood out the most were caramel and cashew from the ice cream and the chocolate cake. The caramelization of the bananas also provided a fantastic crunch and, overall, the texture of the Kungaloosh was kind of like a colder molten lava cake. While we wish we got more of that coffee flavor, there really wasn’t anything we disliked about this dessert!

Overall

While Jungle Navigation Co. LTD Skipper Canteen is not among the best restaurants at Disney World, we think it’s definitely fair to say that it IS one of the best table-service options at Magic Kingdom and one we plan on frequenting again and again and again! The pricing is fair, the waitstaff is INCREDIBLE, the atmosphere is unmatched, and the food is pretty tasty! We’re happy to report that even in 2024, Skipper Canteen still holds up!

If you’re looking for an escape from the run-of-the-mill theme park food and want a sit-down experience that focuses on savory eats, we think you should give Jungle Navigation Co. LTD Skipper Canteen a try!

Nosh or Not?

Make Jungle Navigation Co. LTD Skipper Canteen one of your destinations if…

• You’re looking for a fair-priced table service restaurant at Magic Kingdom.
• You’re looking to get a break from the park while you immerse yourself in an adventurous and pun-filled atmosphere.
• You’re craving African, Asian, or South American cuisine.
• You have an appetite for savory eats.
• IF YOU LOVE THE JUNGLE CRUISE!

Give this tropical hideaway a pass if…

• You’d rather save time on a quick service meal.
• You don’t like heavily Asian-inspired flavors.
• You’re looking for even more adventurous food. We think the food here is very good, but a bit more tame than it promised to be.

We constantly post Disney World reviews, news, and tips so be sure to stay tuned here at the Disney Food Blog for all the latest!

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Have you eaten at Jungle Navigation Co. LTD Skipper Canteen? Tell us some of your favorite meals in the comments