Reviews of Jiko – The Cooking Place – Jambo House
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Menus at Jiko - The Cooking Place
Reviewed by alyssavm Review Date: 02/13/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
This is still one of the best restaurants at Disney. Love the hot towels that come out before the meal. Our waiter was very knowledgeable about the wines and steered us in the right direction. The "taste of Africa" starter is great! You can still get the filet with the mac & cheese as it was served a few years ago. The short rib was great but needed a different side. Desserts were pretty good, but the tea and coffee are the real stars. We LOVED our meal here!
Pros:
wine list, tea list, service, interesting foodCons:
mostly hits, but a few missesReviewed by Arden Review Date: 03/12/2013
Rating: (4) Not Recommended
Food was acceptable but average. Was expecting more based on reading previous reviews. Service was slow and waitress did not seem that interested in our table, we had to keep trying to get her attention. We were on the dining plan with a large group, perhaps the mandatory tip amount impacted her motivation.
Pros:
AtmosphereCons:
Service, average foodReviewed by CB3THATSME Review Date: 03/30/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
This really is a Fantastic Restaurant I think it is the most formal restaurant on property (besides V&A's) Food is outstanding and different than anywhere else on property really enjoyable and would recommend to anyone! The Wild Boar App and the Filet are both great! If you like tea I recommend the Tea Safari for Dessert...
Pros:
Food, Atmosphere, Location, Host's, Wine ListCons:
ServiceReviewed by dgurgens Review Date: 04/15/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
My husband and I ate here on 4/7 and we ordered a bottle of African Wine and both got the fillets. The meat itself was perfectly cooked and well seasoned, though it was a bit overly salty for my taste. The steaks were served with some sort of grain, which neither my hubby or I were keen on trying. There were also some Brussels Sprouts, which I was looking forward to. I found the Brussells Sprouts in edible.
The bread we got before dinner wasn't quite my style either. (since when does a fat girl pass up bread?!)
Dessert was delicious, but service was very slow. I'm glad we went, because now I never have to go back.
Pros:
Perfectly cooked filletCons:
Service and some favors that a picky eater may not like.Reviewed by cappy7651 Review Date: 05/17/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
MY FAMILY AND I EAT THERE EVERY YEAR. IT IS A MUST!!!! WE ACTUALLY EAT THERE ONCE IN THE BEGINNING OF THE WEEK AND AT THE END OF OUR VACATION.WE HAVE BEEN GOING THERE FOR THE LAST SIX YEARS NOW. THE FOOD IS AMAZING AND THE DIFFERENT FLAVORS THAT YOU TASTE IN THE FOOD IS PHENOMENAL.CANT WAIT TO GO THIS YEAR AGAIN.
Pros:
EXCELLENT FOOD AND SERVICECons:
NONEReviewed by John Review Date: 06/19/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
My wife and I ate at Jiko recently and found the food to be great. The atmosphere was wonderful for a nice quiet dinner. Much better than Le Cellier and California Grill.
For an entree my wife had the Pan-seared Yello Tail Snapper and I had the Seared Barbarie Duck Breast. Both were fabulous! For appetizers I had the Grilled Wild boar tenderloin and my wife had the Jiko salad.
The service was also very good and the cast members were very attentive to our needs.
Pros:
Great food and service, atmosphereCons:
NoneReviewed by Ebersole2 Review Date: 08/11/2013
Rating: (0) Recommended
Jiko is by far the best restaurant on Walt Disney World property. As honeymooners, it was the perfect restaurant to choose to start our stay. It was quiet and romantic. The waitress gifted us with a complimentary crème Brule and a signed, congratulatory message from the wait-staff. Both gifts made us feel special. We had a beautiful evening.
The only snag was that it is not entirely clear that Jiko is located in the Jambo house. When headed to the Animal Kingdom lodge one may have to take a shuttle between buildings. Make sure one knows in what lodge one’s restaurant is located. Not all dining places are IN the same place. This made us a bit late for our reservation, but at the same time, it taught us that a restaurant will hold the reservation for at least 15-20 minutes.
Pros:
It was quiet and romantic.Cons:
The lodge is remotely located. Make sure one knows in what lodge one’s restaurant is located. Not all dining places are IN the same place.Reviewed by hstuck Review Date: 10/23/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
Another excellent dinner at Jiko. Was able to sit at the kitchen and chef Ryan and all the chefs took great care of me! Had the amazing Jiko salad, the taste of Africa (don't miss that), the flatbread (all are great), oysters (can miss this one), and the chocolate dessert which was INCREDIBLE. I do wish I had listened to Chef Ryan and ordered the pork loin but I was just too full! Next time! I can not imagine visiting Disney and not eating here....it is the BEST restaurant on Disney property....hands down. Thank you Jiko for another amazing dinner. I didn't even mention the wine...which is the BEST wine list ever.
Pros:
Amazing food and wine!Cons:
—Reviewed by gthurber Review Date: 11/11/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
The filet and the lamb were the hits at our table. The Jiko salad was also very good. The pacing was good because we did not have to wait too long for our food (which was nice with children!) Very nice and attentive server.
Pros:
Wonderful food. Good pacing of the meal.Cons:
None.Reviewed by Nicklissa Review Date: 12/28/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
Our family of 4 (including my husband and his parents) ate here on Christmas night 2013. We checked in 20 minutes earlier than our reservation and were seated within five minutes. Staff were very friendly and genuine. The restaurant is beautifully themed, and the quiet, muted, dark tones are appreciated by people such as myself who suffer terribly from migraines.
Our waiter was friendly and the number one reason we chose Jiko for Christmas dinner is this is one of the few restaurants on Disney World property that has a full, separate vegetarian menu. My husband and I are vegetarian, though my husband still eats fish. Having full options from appetizers and soups to entrees was a welcome change. We usually have to ask how everything is made and then try to negotiate changes to adhere to our dietary restrictions. Having the menu, a regular part of Jiko, on hand was lovely.
After drink orders were taken by our waiter, another staff member brought us an amuse bouche of plum pudding. Very tasty, and I usually hate plums.
We ordered the Taste of Africa and the cheese plate as our appetizers. The Taste of Africa is a selection of breads/flatbreads/crackers with four unique African-inspired/spiced dipping sauces. All was very good, and experiencing new spices was fun. The cheese selections were paired with sweet chutneys/brittle/jam, etc. and were wonderful. The only part of the appetizers we didn't like was when the plates were empty.
For entrees my father-in-law ordered Spicy Botswana-style "Seswaa" Beef Short Rib served with Cassava-potato puree, sambal, mushrooms and fava beans. He was leary of the short ribs being off-the-bone, but said it was delicious. My mother-in-law ordered the Lamb Two Ways which was served with autumn vegetables, pumpkin seed duqqa, grilled olive ciabatta and pomegranate demi glace. She is hard to please, especially with lamb, and she literally wanted to suck the bones (disgusting for us vegetarians), but she said it was the best she's ever had.
My husband ordered the West African Jerked Scallops that came with basmati rice, red quinoa, baby rainbow carrots, and coconut curry sauce. He enjoyed it very much and said the scallops were cooked well, not rubbery, and spiced nicely.
I ordered the Braai Pie that I can best describe as a type of quiche with a crust, filled with squash, carrots, potatoes, garbanzo beans, wilted greens and "tamatie bredie - a type of tomato sauce I think. It also came with some pickled veggies such as radish, etc. and that was terrible - too salty and weird textures. I did not eat that. The pie was delicious - but very small.
The reason I can not give Jiko a score of 10 for this visit is the time we waited for entrees. It took a while, which was fine. However, when the food arrived, everyone got what they ordered except for my husband. Since we told the waiter we were vegetarians, but that my husband still ate fish, the waiter noted the table as two of us being vegetarians. This was fine, but when the waiter put in the order for jerked scallops, the kitchen made the vegetarian version of this - which is jerked tofu. They took the dish back and my husband watched as we all ate. We tried to wait, but the food was getting cold. A floor manager checked in on us and when she found out about the mix up she promised to check in with the kitchen. She was very nice and very apologetic. However, the three of us finished our entire meal before my husband was even served.
It took some time after entrees to get our dessert ordered and served. Mother-in-law and I had the Chocolate and Tea Safari which included Vanilla rooibos-Tanzanian chocolate cake, free form "kit kat" and green tea ice cream. The ice cream was gross to me, but mother-in-law enjoyed it. Everything else, however, was divine - truly truly divine.
My husband ordered the banana bread pudding. It was served with ice cream in a separate dish. He enjoyed it but found it dry.
Father-in-law ordered the milk tart which included fig jam, whole figs with gold leaf sprinkles, and goat's milk balsamic ice cream. He said it was very good, but very small.
Getting the bill took a while as well, but we had a great time overall. We were on the dining plan, so 2 credits per person were used. The meal, had we not used dining credits, was almost $400 (including appetizers, entrees, 3 alcoholic beverages, 4 non-alcoholic beverages, desserts, taxes, and tip).
We will be back and I highly recommend you try it here. They do have a dress code, so you may want to check with the restaurant or Disney Dining when you make your reservation.
