Jiko, Dinner, 09-17-08
This was a fun day at Animal Kingdom! All 3 of us big kids traded lots of pins and had pictures taken with all the Characters at Camp Mickey!
We had a 7:55 dinner reservation at Jiko and there was evening extra magic hours that we wanted to take advantage of. So instead of having to leave the park early and spend a long time on the bus back and forth to our resort, we packed a bag with evening clothes and things to freshen up with and rented a locker for the day. We made our way to the front of the park around 7pm freshened up and changed and made the short bus ride to the Animal Kingdom Lodge.
Upon arrival we still a few minutes, so we took a walk around and looked at the animals. We checked in at 7:55 to the restaurant. They gave us a pager and we took a seat in the bar area. We had requested a seat at "The Cooking Place" but were informed that is was very full that evening and it would probably be about an hour, so we decided to take the first available. At about 8:15 it was our turn to sit!
I am happy to say that for our whole trip... this was our longest wait!!! Only 20 minutes, this was quite a blessing after some of the horror stories I have heard!!
What are the chances with all the people and all the different places that you will end up seated right next to the same couple that you sat next to at lunch on the same day!! Well anyway, we had some great conversation and before we all left our server took a picture of us all.
One of the things that left an impression on me here is sort of a negative one, though overall I really loved this place. Boma is right next to this restaurant, and the noise level coming from there is extremely high. I would just think with the status that Jiko is trying to be part of, that they would place doors at the entrance to help block the noise to help control the ambience. If you're are seated near the entrance you can still catch some of the noise level, but further in isn't a problem.
I loved the lighting level here which is on the very low side and the seats were so very comfortable! I was also very impressed by the way the wine was all on display!
The Bread!
The Spread for this was absolutely yummy!
Appetizers
DD
Kenyan Coffee Barbequed Chicken - Flatbread with grilled onions, apple julienne, and four cheeses. - $10.00
A very large appetizer full of flavor! We all tried this and liked it, very good for flatbread, which you will notice we didn't order very often.
DW
Jiko Cheese Selection - Cypress Grove's Humboldt Fog and Mt. McKinley Chevre, Midnight Moon, Laura Chenel's Cabecou, and French Abbaye de Belloc with spiced fruit jam and crostini. - $14.00
This was the first cheese plate that we ordered on the trip. We ordered them at three different locations total, but this was our favorite one! Mary and I are huge cheese fans and this plate offered big enough portions that she was kind enough to share with us, which I loved... but JoJo not being the Mouse that we are could have done without just as well. I think that on top of the cheese being very good, what made this one our favorite is the sides that came with the cheese.....mmmmmmmm!! Very Very Good and Very Well Presented!!!
ME
Ostrich - this dish is not all the online menus and also on the receipt it is listed as "Special Appetizer 2".
I enjoyed every single bite of this, and to think I was nervous about ordering it! This appetizer rates on my list in the top 3 for the entire trip! I will say that it had a strong, but good flavor and I finished off every last bit including the sauce!
Entrees
DD
Pan-roasted Jumbo Scallops - Served with golden brown mealie "Pap", and spicy tomato-onion "Chaka-Laka." - $29.00
This dish was delicious, the scallops were seasoned and cooked to perfection!
DW
Oak-Grilled Filet Mignon - Served with Macaroni & cheese and red wine sauce. - $34.00
I did not order this, I was nervous about the Macaroni & Cheese part of this dish and the way it would blend.... I was very impressed with it when I got to try Mary's and have to say I will order it next time(if it is still there of course). The wine sauce made this dish for me! This would be in the top 3 for steak/meat courses!
ME
Tamarind-Braised Beef Short Ribs - Served with Idaho and sweet potato gratin and onion-garlic sauce. - $37.00
This was very good, a very large portion. There was some fat, but after all they are Ribs, so there will be some of that. There were some portions of this that were so tender a knife was not needed, but then there was a portion that did need it. I have to say that I really enjoyed the sweet potato too!
Desserts
DD & DW
Pistachio Creme Brulee - With a Chocolate Layered Bottom. - $8.00
This was probably the biggest mistake we made the whole trip when we ordered these. Not only did one of us not care for this but none of us really liked it and both dishes were more than half left! Now I'm not sure... maybe we just aren't Creme Brulee kinda folks, but the burnt taste was just way too overwhelming on these.
ME
Inspired by "The Year of a Million Dreams"Warm Peach Crumble, with spiced caramel sauce, white peach sorbet, and ginger ice cream. (thanks DisneyFav4Ever for the help with this menu information!)
I had looked at the online menus and it list this as being a white chocolate mouse pyramid with banana and other things..... This is not what they are serving anymore! I already knew this wasn't what I was getting from looking at the menu so no problem. What I actually got... Very good and Yummy Peach Muffin type thing with sorbet on it.
Beverages
DD Milk
DW Coke
ME Marsala Black Press Pot Hot Tea
There is a very nice tea selection here and I had only water to drink with my meal, and got this to finish off the meal with dessert! The press pot that was brought for this was also much larger than the typical single serving size!
Food & Beverage $176.38
Tax $ 11.47
Total $187.85
Service
The service here was excellent at the beginning and toward the end it just fizzled to an average service, but still no problem whatsoever! Our server was very nice and gave special attention to JoJo, being the princess that she is! Our drinks were attended too, and our food was handled in a very timely manner!
Atmosphere
I really like the atmosphere here, and I think we would have enjoyed that part much much more if we would have been sitting further back into the restaurant, away from the door, or at the cooking place. It is definitely a more elegant setting with a higher class of service than you will get at most locations. Again I love how the wine was displayed! We felt the most comfortable here of all the restaurants. I would also suggest to dress up a bit for this one, although not entirely required, you will probably feel out of place in your jeans.
Food
With the exception of the Creme Brulee... this place has got it going on! The dishes were all great with wonderful presentation, great portions, and delicious! The wine list here was also very nice, although we did not have any, next time we will make sure to indulge!
Overall
In my top 3 choices for signature locations. We will definitely be back here for a dinner on our future trips! I would suggest this restaurant to anyone and everyone, the menu had enough on it to satisfy the more adventurous and enough selections for those who are pretty basic. This place could be a very romantic meal if you wanted, on our visit it was more of an adult crowd and gave enough peace to sit and relax. I also did not feel at all crowded here like it is at many places.
She mentioned that the shrimp seemed to be heavily battered, and I agreed. Just by the looks of it, I would probably like to see a lighter tempura batter on them, but that's just my own personal preference. 
And the pot stickers. And the dessert. Bravo. 
