Jiko Review

[connorlevismom]

We just got back fom a week at AKV and I have to say, the meal I was most looking forward to was Jiko. I knew exactly what I was going to order before I even stepped foot in the place.

First, we had stopped down to see if we could make our reservations a little later because we were not going to be hungry at the time of our ADR. The girl at the desk gave me a bit of an attitude about it but said that was fine, she would switch the reservation. We we went down at our new time, they could not find us in the system. They finally found us under our old time and acted like we were no-shows but were going to do us a big favor by letting us eat. Mind you, the restaurant was not even 1/4 full. I think there were maybe 6 or 7 tables of people, at most.

Our waiter was Mike and he really did not have the personality of someone who should be working in an upscale restaurant. He too, acted like everything we asked for was a huge pain for him. He would disappear for quite a long time and then reapear and seemed put off if we asked for another drink or something like that. I have no idea if this had something to do with the fact that we were not on the dining plan? Don't know, he seemed to be paying a lot more attention to the coupled seated right next to us.

Now, onto the food. Like I said, this was the meal I was most looking forward to so I scheduled it on the 3rd day of the trip. We ordered the Taste of Africa for an appitizer and along with that, they brought us some kind of soup and some bread with african butter. DH and I both ordered the filet with mac an cheese and we split the Jiko trio for dessert. Now - I will admit that I am NOT an adventurous eater but my DH is so I thought he would love this meal.

The Taste of Africa - It was not good at all. There was not one dip that was good and we wasted the whole thing because it was gross.

The bread and african butter - again, not good at all. I LOVE bread and I could not eat it. The african butter was OK but not something you can eat continually. I would have loved to have some real butter to go along with it so that we could at least have eaten the bread.

The soup - disgusting. DH did not like it either.

The fillet - now I love a good fillet but this cut of meat was not like any fillet I have ever had. Both of ours were tough and veiny, just gross. I took two or three bites of mine and could not eat anymore. My DH said the same thing. He questioned whether it was truly fillet or not. Outback has better fillet than the one I ate at Jiko. The mac and cheese was OK but I did not finish that either. It was pretty bitter.

The Jiko trio - it was OK. The carmel ice cream was good and I did not have any of the mousse because my DH ate it all. I did not care for the flourless cake, though.

The worst part of this whole meal was that around 2:30am I woke up not feeling very well. I laid there for a few minutes and realized that I was going to throw up. And that I did. My DH said I should have boxed it up, brought it to them and asked for my $165 back.

I did not complain to anyone because I just don't care to do that. I just take it as a lesson learned and never eat there again.

So there it is, I wish that I had anything positive to say about this place but this is nothing that is good there that we ate. My DH hated it almost as much as I did (I did not throw up at least). I was SO disappointed because I just knew it was going to be an amazing meal based on all the wonderful reviews here.

Kristine

 

[jojomoore]

My family ate a Jiko last November. I have to say I was not impressed with Jiko. And do not care to eat there again. I ordered an appetizer and salad. They were both ok but nothing i really enjoyed. I took one bite of my husbands filet and did not like it at all. However, my children were happy with their kids meals and liked the atmosphere.

 

[DisCopper]

That's a depressing review. I've been to Jiko twice, and had the exact opposite of your experience.

First, I'm always amazed at people who look at the menus and decide exactly what they're going to eat before they even get to the restaurant. It's all about the mood, and how I feel at the time. To each his own, I guess. I'm not criticizing... I'm just sort of laughing at how people are different.

Our experiences at the podium have always been great. On our second visit, we actually had reservations for Boma. When we arrived, it was a madhouse. Very noisy, and kids running everywhere. We walked over to Jiko, and they happily changed our reservation and took us in.

The waitstaff was great both times. When I asked about the wines, I told them I knew nothing about African wine. They gave me great, knowledgeable descriptions, AND let me sample 3 or 4 wines at no charge (I didn't ask to, they offered).

Since it's been a while, I couldn't tell you everything we ate. I remember trying the Taste of Africa. Not something I'd want every day, but it was interesting to try. I was expecting something different (that's why I went to an African restaurant), and I got it.

What scares me about your review is that I know Disney has problems keeping the standards up at restaurants. Chefs, and other staff move on, and things don't stay the same. I used to love Artist Point at Wildness Lodge, but the last two visits have been TERRIBLE- service, food, everything. I'm now worried that Jiko is headed the same route.

If I'd had your experience, I first would have sent the Taste of Africa back. If it's not good, and you don't eat it, you shouldn't be expected to pay for it.

When leaving, I also would have asked for the manager and had a discussion about the attitudes of the staff. Usually it doesn't do any good, but it can't hurt to give feedback.

As for getting sick... UG! So sorry that that happened to you on vacation. I wouldn't have bothered to tell the restaurant though... they'd probably ignore it. Their attitude would be, "Who knows what else she ate."

I'm very sorry you had a bad experience, and I HOPE it was a fluke. Next time I go there, I'll write a review to see if it was the same.

 

[connorlevismom]

That's a depressing review. I've been to Jiko twice, and had the exact opposite of your experience.

First, I'm always amazed at people who look at the menus and decide exactly what they're going to eat before they even get to the restaurant. It's all about the mood, and how I feel at the time. To each his own, I guess. I'm not criticizing... I'm just sort of laughing at how people are different.

Our experiences at the podium have always been great. On our second visit, we actually had reservations for Boma. When we arrived, it was a madhouse. Very noisy, and kids running everywhere. We walked over to Jiko, and they happily changed our reservation and took us in.

The waitstaff was great both times. When I asked about the wines, I told them I knew nothing about African wine. They gave me great, knowledgeable descriptions, AND let me sample 3 or 4 wines at no charge (I didn't ask to, they offered).

Since it's been a while, I couldn't tell you everything we ate. I remember trying the Taste of Africa. Not something I'd want every day, but it was interesting to try. I was expecting something different (that's why I went to an African restaurant), and I got it.

What scares me about your review is that I know Disney has problems keeping the standards up at restaurants. Chefs, and other staff move on, and things don't stay the same. I used to love Artist Point at Wildness Lodge, but the last two visits have been TERRIBLE- service, food, everything. I'm now worried that Jiko is headed the same route.

If I'd had your experience, I first would have sent the Taste of Africa back. If it's not good, and you don't eat it, you shouldn't be expected to pay for it.

When leaving, I also would have asked for the manager and had a discussion about the attitudes of the staff. Usually it doesn't do any good, but it can't hurt to give feedback.

As for getting sick... UG! So sorry that that happened to you on vacation. I wouldn't have bothered to tell the restaurant though... they'd probably ignore it. Their attitude would be, "Who knows what else she ate."

I'm very sorry you had a bad experience, and I HOPE it was a fluke. Next time I go there, I'll write a review to see if it was the same.

I hope that I just had an off night. I was really expecting a great meal and got anything but.

Kristine

 

[LuvLuvLuv]

we had a not-so-good experience there on friday. he didn't bring us the bread and butter. my bf got one beer, and i don't drink so he was mad the bill was raising and gave the attention to the 3 surrounding tables that were drinking like fish. i sat for 35 minutes without a refill. only got refilled once when normally i drink about 4 drinks in a sitting. the taste of africa was gross, my filet was a horrible cut, he was wrapped up and it took him a half hour to get our desserts after we were finished with our meal... and lets not talk about trying to get a check. as fast as we ate, we should have been in and out in less than an hour and we were there for 2 1/2 hours, just sitting looking at each other, and not even having a drink to sip. won't go back. ever.

 

[badblackpug]

I have to agree with the OP. We had a bad experience at Jiko, too. The food was mediocre, at best, definitely not worth 2 TS. The service was just bad. The waitress was slow, and had to be asked multiple times to refill drinks. She never came back to the table unless called over. The cocktail I ordered was so strong I think I got 3rd degree burns in my esophagus. I sent it back, and the replacement was just as bad.

I was disappointed, too. This was a meal I was really looking forward to, based on the reviews. It's a lesson learned, we will not return.

On a positive note, Sanaa was one of the best meals we had on the trip, and is only 1 TS credit. We have re-booked them for our next trip.

 

[Meteora]

One of the things I have learned from lurking on this board for the better part of the year is that Jiko is, in a word, inconsistent. And it seems like it's always hit or miss--people have either great or terrible experiences. For me, just the knowledge that there's a chance I'll have a terrible meal at a very high price keeps me away from this restaurant. We actually booked it for our last trip, then switched to Citricos after seeing how variable people's Jiko meals had been.

 

[polineedyan]

Never eaten at Jiko, but I think Ive yet to come away from a table service meal at Disney that I liked.
The Darden restaurants in the area, I.E. Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Bahama Breeze, Longhorn..make for better eating and service.
And the OP is right, the filet at Outback is tough to beat.

 

[MrsLS]

We didn't care for the filet either and didn't think it was a good cut/true filet either. But the short ribs were incredible as were the mussel app. I don't remember what my DH had for an app but it was good, so overall we really enjoyed it and will be back but won't be getting the filet. Sorry you had such a bad experience.

 

[connorlevismom]

we had a not-so-good experience there on friday. he didn't bring us the bread and butter. my bf got one beer, and i don't drink so he was mad the bill was raising and gave the attention to the 3 surrounding tables that were drinking like fish. i sat for 35 minutes without a refill. only got refilled once when normally i drink about 4 drinks in a sitting. the taste of africa was gross, my filet was a horrible cut, he was wrapped up and it took him a half hour to get our desserts after we were finished with our meal... and lets not talk about trying to get a check. as fast as we ate, we should have been in and out in less than an hour and we were there for 2 1/2 hours, just sitting looking at each other, and not even having a drink to sip. won't go back. ever.

Did you have Mike as a waiter? Because that sounds EXACTLY like the service we received.

And that fillet - I am still gagging everytime I think about it. Thank god it was dark in there or I probably would have had to leave if I could actually see what I was eating. That was not fillet.

Kristine

 

[DeeCee735]

I'm so sorry to hear this, it's one of my favorite restaurants. We were there in November and it was one of the best experiences of the trip.
Food was amazing, wine was delicious, service was impeccable, and the atmosphere was wonderful and relaxing.

I'll definitely eat there again, based on this and hope that it hasn't turned into something undesirable.

 

[LuvLuvLuv]

we actually had eduarto (sp?)

we had just discussed our november dining and we were originally going to do all new restaurants so we could try new things. we're having trouble comparing anything to the amazing dinner we had at yachtsman. so we definatley have to do that again we're also re-doing captain's grille--it was very good!!

 

[67mike]

I am GLAD I cancelled my res at Jiko and booked Boma.....

Despite all the people telling me how great Jiko is and running Boma down....Boma is BETTER value and MUCH more variety, and last time I was at Boma, the food was TERRIFIC!

 

[connorlevismom]

I am GLAD I cancelled my res at Jiko and booked Boma.....

Despite all the people telling me how great Jiko is and running Boma down....Boma is BETTER value and MUCH more variety, and last time I was at Boma, the food was TERRIFIC!

Good plan. We did Boma for breakfast and it was amazing. We wil do dinner next time. Never Jiko again. Nope.

Kristine

 

[LisaInNc]

Jiko is my favorite restaurant in all of Disney and I am a bit of a foodie, do mostly signature dining.

If you got something that you didn't care for you could have sent it back. I would never have ordered a filet and only take a few bites of it. I would have nicely asked for either another entree or a different cut of beef. I do that at Lone Star, every once in a while I get dragged there and they can't a filet decently. I usually tell them ahead of time what I want (mainly ONE cut of meat, not a few pieces held together witht bacon) if i get it and it's not right. Back it goes.

I think that you have to take some of the responsibility for the meal. If it was that bad you should have said something and given then the opportunity to make it right.

Lisa