PHOTOS & VIDEOS: Jiko Has Finally Reopened in Disney World!

Anyone up for a visit to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge?

It’s a big day for the hotel because one of its most popular restaurants has officially reopened! We loved checking out the reopenings of other restaurants here like Sanaa and more recently, Boma, but we’re excited to be back to eat some food from Jiko!

When you arrive at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, you can do Mobile Check-In for your Jiko reservation! This can be done through the My Disney Experience app.

Atmosphere

Once you’re all checked in, you’ll get a text notifying you that your table is ready. That’s when you head up to a Cast Member who will seat you! Here’s the menu on the exterior of the restaurant.

Once inside, we passed the Cape Town Lounge which had these simple, yet elegant wooden chairs with metal details, as well as a beautiful wine display!

This is what we saw as we walked to our table. Jiko’s columns and unique lighting fixtures are looking as beautiful as ever.

The rings on the columns represent the rings that women wear around their necks in some African cultures.

Another fun touch is that there’s a hidden Mickey on the ceiling above the wood-fired ovens!

Another area of the restaurant has a mural on the walls that is meant to look like an African sunset.

We even got these warm rosewater towels when we sat down. They were a lovely touch to our experience!

It’s good to be back! We missed Jiko’s gorgeous atmosphere, and now it’s time to get into the food!

Menu

Here’s what the menus looked like once we sat down:

Here’s the interior of the menu. We’ll get more into the specifics of the menu in a moment.

Let’s jump into this menu because there is a ton to choose from at Jiko! For appetizers, you can try the Jiko Salad, Braised Wild Boar Tenderloin, Roasted Squash Bisque, Seared Scallops with Nhopi and Groundnuts, and Duck Confit with Honey-Raisin Flatbread. So many ways to start your meal!

For entrees, they have a Moroccan Lamb Shank, Heritage Chicken, Botswanan Seswaa Short Rib, Seafood Tagine, Filet Mignon, a locally sourced Fish Dish, and the Inhera Basket of seasonal, plant-based stews.

You can add enhancements to your meal like Mozambique Peri Peri Prawns, Zulu Oxtail Samp and Beans, or Bobotie Mac & Cheese. These all sound delicious!

Of course, you have to save some room for something sweet, and Jiko has all kinds of desserts like the African Drum ‘Beets,’ a Coconut-Strawberry-Beet Mousse with Chocolate Cake, Candied beets, and Balsamic Strawberries, the Kilimanjaro, a Ghanaian Dark Chocolate Mousse with Pistachio Financier, Pink Peppercorn Meringue, Cocoa Nib Crunch, and Ras el Hanout Pineapples, and more!

Jiko also has a variety of specialty loose leaf teas, with and without caffeine.

If you’re not into tea, they have coffee, dessert wines, and after-dinner drinks!

If you need something a bit stronger, you can try one of their Brandies or Ports, or their Single Malts and Liqueurs.

 

Here’s the wine list we got!

There are plenty of unique options to choose from on the menu, but to drink we tried the Kunda Old Fashioned for $15…

… and the Saychelles Martini for $15 as well! Note that some of the prices on the physical menu in Jiko did not match the online prices. We’re including the prices that we paid when we visited (the ones on the physical menu in the restaurant).

We also got some bread to start off with. Not just any bread, though, we had Giraffe Bread with Rice Flour, and Egyptian Fehijer with Sesame Seeds. It came with Jiko Butter and Black Salt on the side!

The Giraffe Bread was so fluffy on the inside!

We ordered three different appetizers — here’s what they looked like all together!

We got the Braised Wild Boar Tenderloin for $19, which had Creamy Pap, Chakalala Tomatoes, and Herb-smoked Oil…

… the Duck Confit and Honey Raisin Flatbread for $16, which had Preserved Duck, Rocket, Toasted Chickpeas, Mozzarella, Plump Raisins, Harissa, and Spiced Honey…

… and the Seared Scallops with Nhopi and Groundnuts, which had Diver Scallops, Blistered Peanuts, Nhopi, Chestnut Cream, Fennel-Apple Slaw, and a cider reduction! The Scallops were $18.

For our entrées, we started off with the Oak-Grilled Filet Mignon for $54, which is a filet in a Chocolate-Red Wine demi-glace that comes with a side of Four-Cheese Macaroni and Rainbow Cauliflower.

This dish is one of our all-time favorite things to eat in Disney World. The steak itself is delicious, and that mac and cheese is to die for!

We also ordered the Heritage Chicken for $37, which is a Sumac Roasted Brest served with Ancient Graines, Cipollini Onions, Fennel, and Preserved Lemon.

You can also get a few enhancements with your meal (which are like large sides), and we ordered the Bobotie Mac & Cheese for $17, which has Four Cheeses, Waygu, Almonds, Raisins, Kachumbari, and a Red Wine Reduction.

We also tried out the Zulu Oxtail Samp and Beans for $14, which has Cracked Hominy, Sea Peas, Fragrant Masala and Braised Oxtail.

We couldn’t resist a few options for dessert!

We tried the Malva Pudding for $13, which has Melktert Ice Cream, Kataifi, Kanu Tuile, and Cabernet Gelée

The Melktert for $12 is an African Milk Custard Tart seasoned with Cinnamon and Cardamom, accompanied by Fresh Fruit.

And finally, we had the Kilimanjaro for $15, which includes Single-Origin Ghanaian Dark Chocolate Mousse, Pistachio Financier, Pink Peppercorn Meringue, Cocoa Nib Crunch, and Ras el Hanout Pineapples.

After our meal, we tried out a couple of drinks off the After-Dinner Drinks menu. We had to get the Zebratini for $15, which is Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum, Godiva White Chocolate Liqueur, Frangelico Liqueur, Amarula Liqueur, and a shot of Espresso in a Chocolate Zebra-striped Martini Glass.

We also tried the Keoke Coffee for $13, which has Brandy, Kahlúa Liqueur, Bols Dark Crème de Cacao and Coffee topped with Whipped Cream.

At the end of our meal, our server brought out some complimentary Blood Orange Friandise Candy.

Overall, we’re SO happy to see this restaurant reopen in Disney World, and we can’t wait to return to eat here again.

Keep following AllEars for more of the latest Disney news.

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Have you ever eaten at Jiko? Tell us in the comments!

 

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