Boma Review - Not for me - LONG

[lucas]

Ok - here goes. I know there are a lot of Boma lovers out there but we ate there this past Wednesday night for the first time and it is not for me. I heard such rave reviews that dh and I were really excited to finally try it. First let me say that I like to try different foods, I love spicy foods and I love spicy/sweet foods. I guess the food was ok - the best things for me were the soups, meats, coconut rice, and cheesecake squares. (I really didn't see the big deal in the zebra domes that I had heard so much about.) Based on the food alone I don't think we would return. But what really turned me off was seeing people licking their fingers while eating or while going thru the buffet line and then touching the serving spoons and plates!! I guess this happens at any buffet but maybe due to the ribs/chicken factor it was really noticeable to me. While going thru the dessert section, a boy not only was licking his finger tips but his entire fingers - and then he reached for the serving spoon handle. And then he used the same fingers to scrape the chocolate mousse right off of the serving spoon and put it back for the next person! YUCK! Thank goodness I saw him so I passed on the mousse! It just turned me off!! I also saw kids and adults either touching or picking up plates from where they are stacked and then putting them back. On some cruises I have been on they have servers hand you the dishes and they serve you and I think Boma should seriously think about making changes in that direction. I dunno, maybe it is just me. This was the first night of our long weekend and I really didn't want to get sick and have the whole weekend ruined.

 

[pennyplanner]

Ick!

We have never been big buffet fans. Customer habits are part of the reason. Lots of people have NO clue!

--penny

 

[DeterminedOne]

I didn't care for Boma either. The food was over the top and a little spicy for my tastes. One good thing about the experience - service was great! Sorry about your experience. As you know those things will happen at any buffet.

 

[Christine]

Ok - here goes. I know there are a lot of Boma lovers out there but we ate there this past Wednesday night for the first time and it is not for me. I heard such rave reviews that dh and I were really excited to finally try it. First let me say that I like to try different foods, I love spicy foods and I love spicy/sweet foods. I guess the food was ok - the best things for me were the soups, meats, coconut rice, and cheesecake squares. (I really didn't see the big deal in the zebra domes that I had heard so much about.) Based on the food alone I don't think we would return. But what really turned me off was seeing people licking their fingers while eating or while going thru the buffet line and then touching the serving spoons and plates!! I guess this happens at any buffet but maybe due to the ribs/chicken factor it was really noticeable to me. While going thru the dessert section, a boy not only was licking his finger tips but his entire fingers - and then he reached for the serving spoon handle. And then he used the same fingers to scrape the chocolate mousse right off of the serving spoon and put it back for the next person! YUCK! Thank goodness I saw him so I passed on the mousse! It just turned me off!! I also saw kids and adults either touching or picking up plates from where they are stacked and then putting them back. On some cruises I have been on they have servers hand you the dishes and they serve you and I think Boma should seriously think about making changes in that direction. I dunno, maybe it is just me. This was the first night of our long weekend and I really didn't want to get sick and have the whole weekend ruined.

This is pretty typical buffet behavior, unfortunately. When I was at Boma last year, I didn't see any of that, but I had a 5:00 p.m. ADR and I was in and out of there before the *real* crowds started. But, I have seen PLENTY of this type of stuff at Chef Mickey's. Besides the mediocre food at Chef Mickey's the kids mishandling the buffet was a real turn-off to me. No adult supervision. YUCK.

Anyway, as for the cruise ships, they do all the serving because they are FANATICAL about keeping Norwalk virus to a minimum. Apparently, it's not such an issue on land.

 

[CoolDisneyCat]

It sounds like to me that the main problem was in the unsanitary habits of people, not the food. Unfortunatly, this is found at so many buffets.

 

[Minniespal]

I do like Boma although I am not a fan of buffet restaurants.

Have you tried Jiko?

 

[kaysmommie]

Sound like this people have the same manners as the ones at the local Shoney's. This is why I don't like buffets that much.

 

[SLM]

You pretty much summed up why we don't do buffets- -children really need to be supervised (and some adults!)-too bad there isn't a CM to keep an eye on things and help with serving.

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

Lucas,

So sorry about your experience. I've never been to Boma but will be going when we stay at the AKL in December. Met some friends who were staying at the Lodge three years ago for a dinner at Jiko and the whole experience was first rate and not being a buffet, Jiko might be more to your liking.

I'm not usually a buffet person for many of the reasons already stated in addition to the fact that it seems to me that it is difficult for many kitchens to get the quality of most buffets up to the same standard as tradtional a la carte menu.

Well, as I said I am going in December and plan to try a dinner at Boma once, so when is that first reservation I wonder.....

Patricia

 

[Christine]

Lucas,

So sorry about your experience. I've never been to Boma but will be going when we stay at the AKL in December. Met some friends who were staying at the Lodge three years ago for a dinner at Jiko and the whole experience was first rate and not being a buffet, Jiko might be more to your liking.

I'm not usually a buffet person for many of the reasons already stated in addition to the fact that it seems to me that it is difficult for many kitchens to get the quality of most buffets up to the same standard as tradtional a la carte menu.

Well, as I said I am going in December and plan to try a dinner at Boma once, so when is that first reservation I wonder.....

Patricia

The first ADR is at 5:00 p.m. I will tell you that for the first 30 minutes of my dinner, I was almost alone up at the buffet. Well, not alone, but I was comfortable. There was also a lot of the staff standing around the buffet, answering questions, cleaning up. By the time I left, though, I was getting pretty frustrated at some of those slow buffet people. I was having a devil of a time getting one of the desserts. Get there at 5:00, get in, get your food. It won't get chaotic until about 5:45.

 

[Alicnwondrln]

we dont like boma either
we are picky eaters, it would be a waste of a ts for us

 

[gatour]

I think you have valid points about the actions of other guests at Boma, I think the subject you gave this thread is misleading. When I see something labeled "xxxx review" I think it will give comments on the quality/choice of food, service, closeness of tables, noise levels etc. not just commenting on other guest unsanitary habits.

 

[maggs]

I am not a Boma fan either, although the kids are. I agree totally with what you say about the food. As far as I am concerned it is just OK. It is in no way authentic African food and not nearly spicy enough for my tastes.
As for the desserts they were overly sweet and the zebra domes were..........well, horrible. I loved the banana bread pudding with vanilla sauce though.

Maggs

 

[Redmic]

I just wanted to add that we saw the same thing on the Disney cruise, which is why I always bring hand sanitizer to the table with me.

 

[Dorisk3]

I agree with the above poster- I usually have a small bottle of Purell with me just in case! I needed it today in church- the person behind me was sneezing and blowing their noses the whole mass and then shook hands for peace be with you- I kept hoping it was allergies, but had a blast of Purell for me and the family just in case!

 

[MartDM]

You pretty much summed up why we don't do buffets- -children really need to be supervised (and some adults!)-too bad there isn't a CM to keep an eye on things and help with serving.

The sanitation factor is exactly why we usually avoid buffets. Even when we do chance it on one, we serve all food onto our plates with our left hands (because we eat with our right) and always clean our hands with a antibacterial wipe or gel before eating. Of course, this won't protect you from anything in the food but it's a start.

Funny you should say that about adults - I recently had a very gross experience with an adult and often find they are worse than the kids when it comes to buffet hygiene. We were on a cruise & eating lunch at a counter service fish restaurant. It wasn't a buffet but you walked through cafeteria style and, after being served your choice, there was a selection of sauces you could ladle into paper condiment cups to take to your table. The lady in front of me asked me what one of the sauces was and, when I said I didn't know, she stuck her finger into the vat of sauce to taste test it. Ewwwwwwwwwww! Why the heck she couldn't just put some in a cup is beyond me. I just stared at her with my jaw agape & my eyes wide and she just wandered off.

 

[lucas]

I think you have valid points about the actions of other guests at Boma, I think the subject you gave this thread is misleading. When I see something labeled "xxxx review" I think it will give comments on the quality/choice of food, service, closeness of tables, noise levels etc. not just commenting on other guest unsanitary habits.

I'm not an expert writer but I tried to give a review of our dining experience. As far as:
service - very good
closeness of tables - the table for 2 that we had was way to close to another table for 2. It was actually kind of uncomfortable to be that close to another couple. I did notice that the tables for 2 along the windows are more private.
noise levels - ?? seemed fine as I did not notice any noise

PracPerfPatricia: I would like to try Jiko in the future! The first ADR at Boma is at 5:00, our reservation was at 5:20. We were there before the restaurant opened, gave our name and were seated fairly quickly. The restaurant also filled up to what looked like capacity soon after we were seated. But still, the different buffet lines were never very long.

 

[DisneyPhD]

The first ADR is at 5:00 p.m. I will tell you that for the first 30 minutes of my dinner, I was almost alone up at the buffet. Well, not alone, but I was comfortable. There was also a lot of the staff standing around the buffet, answering questions, cleaning up. By the time I left, though, I was getting pretty frustrated at some of those slow buffet people. I was having a devil of a time getting one of the desserts. Get there at 5:00, get in, get your food. It won't get chaotic until about 5:45.

Hmmm, I had to change my ADRs from a table for 4 at 1900 park fare at 6:30, to a table for 8 at Boma at 4:30 to accomdate our friends who decided to come after we made our dinner resevations. I am not sure about both the super early dinner time and the resturant (I have always wanted to try it, we will have a car, as will our friends so getting there won't be a huge issue. It is our 1st day and I am am just not sure how the day will go.)

I am considering calling and seeing if there is anything else open for 8 that day elsewhere. Funny you said they start at 5:00. I don't want to work my butt off, leaving the park early to get there at 4:30 and not have us set us until 5:00, that would really bother me. (especailly at such an early hour, I understand a bit of a wait at more crowded times.)

I am also really concerned that even though I mentioned it on our ADR's there won't be a lot DD and I can eat because of her Dairy and Egg allergies. Most of the stuff that sounds good, also sounds off limits.

 

[Christine]

Hmmm, I had to change my ADRs from a table for 4 at 1900 park fare at 6:30, to a table for 8 at Boma at 4:30 to accomdate our friends who decided to come after we made our dinner resevations. I am not sure about both the super early dinner time and the resturant (I have always wanted to try it, we will have a car, as will our friends so getting there won't be a huge issue. It is our 1st day and I am am just not sure how the day will go.)

I am considering calling and seeing if there is anything else open for 8 that day elsewhere. Funny you said they start at 5:00. I don't want to work my butt off, leaving the park early to get there at 4:30 and not have us set us until 5:00, that would really bother me. (especailly at such an early hour, I understand a bit of a wait at more crowded times.)

I am also really concerned that even though I mentioned it on our ADR's there won't be a lot DD and I can eat because of her Dairy and Egg allergies. Most of the stuff that sounds good, also sounds off limits.

If they gave you a 4:30 ADR then they must be starting earlier. They won't make you wait. I think you should keep it.

We went there with my peanut and egg allergic son and the chef walked us around, told us what EVERY food was and what was in it. He was very nice. There was a lot my son could eat. Not sure about the dairy issue though.

 

[DisneyPhD]

If they gave you a 4:30 ADR then they must be starting earlier. They won't make you wait. I think you should keep it.

We went there with my peanut and egg allergic son and the chef walked us around, told us what EVERY food was and what was in it. He was very nice. There was a lot my son could eat. Not sure about the dairy issue though.

Thanks, I guess I could call the cheif a head of time, but I hate bugging them like that. I don't really need specail accomdations, but I want to be able to eat enough. From what I hear a lot of it sounds dairy bassed. Funny I don't think African food had milk too much.