Dawa Bar

9/12/15 Update: Menu updated.

Location: The Dawa Bar is located near the entrance to Tusker House Restaurant in Africa. After you cross the bridge to Africa from Discovery Island, you’ll see it in the back on your left. It moved a bit to the right after the Lion King theater moved to Africa.

Menu:

Request those drinks without the souvenir cup to save $6.

Dawa recently added four Bloody Mary cocktails, purportedly only available from 9am-11am, though they may be available after if supplies allow. I am not a tomato juice person, but the pictures I’ve seen have looked good if you are.

While outside, the Dawa Bar has a ton of seating and is covered, providing a nice dry place for sampling a variety of authentically African wines and beers. This is the easiest place to find a quality alcoholic drink at Animal Kingdom.

African Margarita:

Sauza Gold Tequila, Van der Hum Tangerine Liqueur from South Africa, Sweet-and-Sour, and Lime Juice.

Tangerine Liqueur or not, this was a ho-hum margarita at best. It tasted mostly of cheap sour mix and cheap tequila – which are the primary ingredients.  It wasn’t bad by any means, but there isn’t much to it. I would have liked another ingredient that helped bring out the flavor of the liqueur.

Sugar Cane Mojito:

The Dawa Bar’s Sugar Cane Mojito – Starr African Rum and Sugar Cane Syrup mixed with Fresh Mint, Lime, and a splash of Soda. I enjoyed this more than the African Margarita – I’m not sure if that’s just because I’m predisposed to enjoying rum cocktails.  I almost never buy rum, so maybe it’s a treat. Anyway, this had a nice minty flavor that seemed to mask the alcohol from the rum well. The addition of a chewable sugar cane was a nice touch. It wasn’t quite Bongos-mojito-quality, but I found it to be refreshing. Recommended.

Lost on Safari:

Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum, Bacardi Superior Rum, and our refreshing Pangani Punch. This is fruity without being too sweet or artificial and it has more alcohol in it than most of the other drinks at other locations.

Dawa Colada:

Bacardi Black Razz Rum blended with Pina Colada Mix and Raspberry Puree. This is one of those pre-mixed cocktails, but it was creamy rather than that Slurpee texture that a lot of frozen drinks have. The raspberry puree is what carries the drink – another sweet drink that’s better than the competition.

Tusker Lager:

Of the beers available, I like the Tusker House from Kenya, particularly on a hot afternoon. I would probably skip the Casa Lager, which is also available over in Morocco at Epcot. They recently removed my favorite, the Bedele Pilsner.