Boma's - We've never been - Please tell us about it

[slo]

03-14-04 Hello!!

We are very interested on why everybody loves Bomas so much. We have never been there and I never even heard of it until I registered on this website. By the way everybody is raving about it, we are just dying to know why everybody loves it as much as they do.

We actually have some questions:
Is Bomas located in AKL? and is it worth a special trip there when we are staying at the Poly?
What's on the menu there? We will be going with 2 DD's, one 6 and one 13months.
Are there characters there?
What is better - breakfast or dinner?
Do you see any animals outside while you are eating?
Is this a restaurant that I should make PS's for? We always go in Sept and the crowds are extremely low.

I know this is a lot of questions - and I feel really funny asking them because normally I feel I am very knowledgable about WDW. If any of you can write in about this restaurant, my family and I would be most appreciative.

Thanks a million!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[K and K's Mommy]

We loved Boma's on our last trip in May. I am going again this coming May, and we are staying at POR so obviously I feel it is worth the trip. I made a 6:00 PS for our AK day so after AK I will take the bus to AKL. After dinner we will go to downtown Disney and take the boat back to POR. Last year we stayed at AKL so obviously transportation was much easier, but oh well. While you eat, you cannot see the animals, but definitely take a walk after or before on the AKL grounds. There are CMs out and about to answer any questions about the animals.

There are no characters. We only ate dinner there, but the breakfast does get good reviews. I would definitely make a PS. You can always cancel. May isn't very crowded, but this restaurant was packed when we were there.

It is a buffet set up with different pods such as meat, salad, sides, hummus and flatbread, desserts, and soups. My favorites were the hummus and soups. There are also children's pods which my very picky son really enjoyed. He would not try any of the African food! We like to try different things so this was the restaurant for us. The food is spiced differently, not hot spicy though. My DH and I tried a little of everything and then went back for our favorites! As long as you like to try different things, I think you will love it. Have fun!

 

[jarestel]

It's a buffet with a few "american" style things on it, but overall I didn't care for the taste of the food there. Smells great though from the AKL lobby!

 

[lucysdad]

We stayed at the Poly last summer and had PS for Boma's on the day we went to AK. It was easy to get the bus to the lodge after AK closed. We enjoyed seeing the lodge and the restaurant so much that we are staying at AKL this summer instead of at the Poly. It is definately worth going.

 

[crisi]

We were underwhelmed, but I think it was because of the hype here.

There are a lot of things on the buffet - when we were there there were over 80 items on the menu. A lot of salads and soups and grain dishes. The soups were very good (the salads and meat dishes were less good - though I did enjoy the bobatie - which is kind of a meat quiche with raisins.) People here really talked up the desserts, but they were so-so. Part of the issue was the shear overwhelming number of choices. There were some quite good things on the buffet, but somehow I wanted to sample everything (which wasn't possible) and most of it was only okay.

It is a buffet, which made us having two little kids with us difficult. We'd have to fill their plates, then take turns filling ours. Then they'd like what was on our plates and we'd go back. The restaurant is large and we weren't seated convienently for the frequency of our trips.

The resort itself is beautiful. I'm glad we went out, although it was a real pain to get to and back from (we took cabs there and back). But having been we won't be in any rush to go back for Boma (I do want to try Jiko at some time).

 

[tiggersmom2]

We are a family of four with two picky eaters and we LOVE BOMA. This is the BEST restaurant at WDW to us and we have been going since 1980!

 

[Chestnut]

I had dinner at Boma a in early February with my Fiancee.

I read alot about it on these boards and was highly anticipating the PS.

Maybe it's because my expectations were too high... but it at first impression it wasn't as magical as I had anticipated. The food was okay.. most of the stuff was sweet(I sampled EVERYTHING) and some just wasn't my cup of tea.

That being said, I walked in at 6pm (opening) and the prime roast was AMAZING (thick and juicy).... the second time around they cut it ALOT thinner because of the long line ups and it just lost the flavour. The zebra domes are very good... and I especially enjoyed the after dinner pressed coffee.

But truth be told.. it was only when I was back home that the magic started to hit me. I wasn't really that worked up during dinner.. but I guess its the company you keep that makes it all memorable.

I guess if you are looking to for atmosphere, looking to try new things and experience Animal Kingdom.. this is really a great place.

 

[Vavasmon]

We went to Boma on a CM's suggestion in Dec 2001 and loved it. It is on my DD (now 8) must do list. Just 18 days until we eat there again.

To try and answer your questions:

It is in the AKL. We usually eat there after a day at the AK. It is easy to reach from any park (use the AKL bus). Commuting back we usually used DTD as a bus transfer point.

The dinner menu is a buffet. It has a lot of African inspired food. There is a kid's buffet with chicken fingers, mac 'n cheese, etc. My DD has enjoyed trying the adult food (Salmon and Curry Califlower were her favorites last time). There is always a beef dish. The staff behind the buffet are very helpful and will answer questins about spices, etc. We also enjoy the soup selection, the salads, and desserts. We have never tried Breakfast but many people rave about it. Several sites have menus with the rotational selections. I also understand you may be able to order from Jiko's kids menu but we have never beed to do this.

No characters or animals while eating. We usually arrive early and walk around to see some animals. Also, last year we caught part of an african story by the fire pit. My DD really enjoyed that.

I suggest always making a PS. This restaurant is very popular. You can always cancel if you change your mind.

 

[holcomb-mania]

You didn't really request it, but my fresh-in-my-mind review from our Oct 2003 trip (my apologizes to those who've read it before). FTR, I'm a very picky eater:

"Looking back, it seems like we did little more than eat on our trip. Boma was hands-down the best experience. The day before was our anniversary...AND WE BOTH COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT IT! I guess we were immersed in that Disney magic or something and didn't realize it until DW's mom reminded her on the phone Wed night. Well, Boma more than made up for it.

We first explored AKL, and we'll definitely stay here on our next trip. Dropped the kids off at Simba's (they needed a break from us as much as we needed one from them), and went to the Victoria Falls lounge. I had two Tusker Lagers, which were great and came in about a 16oz bottle, I believe. DW had some type of wine. They had a Louis XIII brandy or cognac which cost $160. FOR ONE OUNCE!

Checked in at the desk and got seated within 5 min. Our server, Allison, was great. While DW was at the food, I tracked her down, told her the anniversary situation and asked if she could do anything. She said she'd take care of it.

The food was great. We really enjoyed the different offerings and sampled almost everything. Nothing really African jumped out at us. The potato and bacon soup was great, the seafood gumbo pretty good. Nut-crusted salmon was excellent, the chicken was really good, as was the prime rib. The Boma mustard sauce for the prime rib was great. Bobotie was good, but a little too sweet for me. I'm not a raisin person. Liked the potatoes with Afri-tude, but did NOT like the pap. It was like grits, with the consistency of Play-doh. Also didn't like the lamb-stew dish, some word that ended in -ptle or something. Zebra domes were good, but the chocolate mousse bites were better.

Allison was true to her word. She brought out a round cooking stone of truffles, fruit and cookies. Little Mickeys and a treble clef design were drawn (painted?) on with chocolate, as was "Happy Anniversary."

Excellent experience. We will most assuredly go back."