Food Reviews - Days 1-3

[aprilzw]

Well, better late than never!!!

Day 1: Friday 1/24

Dinner: Jiko

Drinks: one soda, one milk, water
Appetizer: Taste of Africa
Meals: Filet & Chermoula Chicken
Total Cost (with tax and tip): $71.89

We had PS for 6:50 and arrived around 6:00 and were seated with no wait. We asked for a table with a view and got one of the round booths at the back of the restaurant. I guess they thought this had a view of the whole restaurant, so that made it preferable. It was fine, because it was getting dark and all the shrubbery were covered with cloth because of the cold temperatures. We were very much looking forward to starting our stay with a meal here – it was a favorite on the last trip – and to sharing it with the inlaws. However our waiter, Michael, was not the best – which made our dinner not as enjoyable. He had a bit of an attitude. When my MIL told him what wine she wanted by the number he said “that doesn’t really help me” and when she tried to say the name, he just grabbed the menu from her. She then tried to point to the wine and was getting a little annoyed at this point when he defended himself sharply by saying “someone was talking and I could not hear what you were saying.” He then described the menu to us in a detached, lackluster way and seemed less than enthusiastic about what he was doing (often not making eye contact as he spoke to us). He forgot DH drink twice and the restaurant was not at all crowded. The food, however, did not disappoint. The Taste of Africa appetizer is one of my favorites – very tasty! The filet was very tender. The red wine reduction was good – but very strong. I think I would like the mac-n-cheese better without it. DH loved the chermoula chicken and thought the food was just the right amount. Overall we still like this place and will probably go back. Food: 5, Service: 3, Atmosphere: 4

DAY 2, Saturday 1/25

Lunch-Sunshine Season Foodfair

Tuna sandwich combo $6.49 (includes chips and cookie)
Side salad $2.49
Med Drink $2.00
Total w/ tax $11.75
used voucher: $11.00 (not a great deal, but I wanted to unload the voucher)

Chix Fingers w/ Fries $6.49
Chocolate Milk $0.99
CC Cookie $1.49 $9.56
Total for lunch: $20.56



Dinner-Kona Café

Drinks: one soda, one milk, water
Appetizer: Chicken Noodle Soup
Dinners: Beef Teriyaki, Seared Scallops and Shrimp, & Kids’ Spaghetti
Dessert: Kona Cone
Total w/ tax and tip $70.00

PS at 6:40 – arrived at 6:00 or so and we were seated right away. Everything on the menu sounded good, but seemed a little pricey for the ambience of the restaurant. Actually I found it to be something of a contradiction – a seemingly very casual setup with white linen napkins and fairly steep prices. But the food was very good. DH liked the chicken noodle soup – he had a sore throat so this was perfect for him. The scallops and shrimp were very tender and tasty and just the right portion of food. The pesto and red sauce drizzled around the plate complemented the seafood very nicely. However, I could’ve done without the strange coleslaw served with it (although it didn’t taste too bad). This is a lite dish , but actually filled me up. DH thought the beef teriyaki was pretty good, but nothing special. MIL had the Mahi Mahi and said it was excellent. FIL had the asian pan noodles with shrimp and chicken and really enjoyed it, as well. All dishes had excellent presentation. DS had spaghetti and it was a pretty large portion – and of course he thoroughly enjoyed the Kona Cone. FIL had the banana crème brulee and I had a taste – yummy! Food: 5, Service: 4, Atmosphere: 3.


DAY 3, SUNDAY

Character Breakfast – Donald’s Breakfastsaurus
2 breakfast vouchers @ $17.50 = $35.00 + 12.54 = $47.54
vouchers were included with tickets from Ticketmania, but I used the voucher price to calculate

PS 10:00 – arrived at 9:45 and were seated right away. We had a pretty good table in the main area near the buffet. Neil was our server and he was a real hoot. He was having fun embarrassing people (“everyone look out here comes Don to the buffet and he’s really hungry”) – thank goodness I was never the target of his pranks. The one time he had a tray of cups and he tripped and spilled them all over someone – it gave me a heart attack when I saw it, but they were empty of course! Anyway, he was fun and added to the ‘campy’ atmosphere. There was SO MUCH food – I almost didn’t remember how much. The quality of the food on the buffet was, in general, not as good as I had remembered. The breakfast pizza, eggs, and quiche weren’t very hot. However the bacon was out of this world. The last time we were here, I somehow missed the chef making omelettes. This was excellent. And I was so happy they used cooking spray and not a bucket of oil to sauté the vegetables. The fruit was especially lacking today – the canteloupe and honeydew were almost gone when we arrived and they never refilled them the whole time we were there. DS loved the cinnamon French toast. The characters all came around pretty quickly – it seemed like we were out of there in less than 30 minutes. At some level I would’ve enjoyed a more leisurely breakfast, but on the other hand it was good to get on the go. DS loved seeing the characters at breakfast again and got their autographs. This was good because he didn’t seem particularly interested in waiting in line to see the characters this trip (which is fine by me!) Overall a fun – and way too filling – breakfast. I would do it again for DS because he loves Dino Land – but it’s not my favorite breakfast. Food: 3.5, Atmosphere: 4, Character Interaction: 4


Early Dinner – Rainforest Café
Drinks: one soda and two waters
Appetizer: Quesadillas
Dinners: Surf-n-Turf (with crab legs) and kids hotdogs
Dessert: Volcano
Total Cost w/ tax and tip: 1 VK Lunch voucher ($30.00) + $10.38 = $40.38

PS for 4:15 – arrived at 3:50 and we were seated right away. We requested a seat by the aquarium and were given our request. We had only eaten at RFC one other time and were not impressed (in fact, we thought it to be a bit of a money pit), but decided to give it a fair shot this time with the vouchers. The atmosphere of our table was much better than the previous time, so this was a good start. DS4, now a bit older, could appreciate and enjoy the Rainforest coming to life much more than before. Our waiter was very enthusiastic – almost too much so. But we decided he must be bored because – at this point – the place was pretty much empty. Anyway, I hate to complain because a non-attentive waiter is much worse. He was happy to help us out with the vouchers and encouraged us to get ‘whatever we want.’ DH and I used one voucher and split the Surf-n-Turf. It was a ton of food – I can’t imagine one person eating all of it. DH ate the filet and I ate the crab legs. The filet was very tender and the crab legs were very good. There was a huge mound of mashed potatoes that we couldn’t finish between the two of us. After the appetizer this was more than enough food. MIL and FIL used their own vouchers and got the buffalo wings and shrimp cocktail as appetizers and Cobb salad and hamburger as meals. The buffalo wings were quite good. The shrimp cocktail wasn’t so great in my opinion: the shrimp, while big, seemed dry and the cocktail sauce was strange with chunks of pineapple in it. I didn’t like this. Both dinners were very huge portions and they both seemed to enjoy the meal. DS enjoyed the mini-hotdogs (which weren’t actually that mini) but couldn’t finish them. DS really wanted the volcano, so since my MIL wasn’t going to eat dessert we used her voucher plus ours to get it. I was not too impressed with this dessert – basically it consists of brownies with vanilla ice cream and doesn’t really resemble a volcano all that much, if I must say so myself. Anyway, this was for DS – otherwise I would not get it again. On the positive side, this can feed WAY MORE than 2 – even 3 – people. FIL got the Diablo cake with raspberry sauce and thought this was excellent. So overall this was a good experience – nice atmosphere and a great bargain using the vouchers. Food: 4, Service: 4, Atmosphere: 4


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[BCV23]

Enjoying your reviews. I agree that the setting at Kona is incongruous with the fine food and presentation. it took us a while to get around to trying it for dinner. I'm so glad we did. I love the mahimahi, too.

We dined at Jiko's in December and were disappointed in our waitress, too. Worst of all, my DD and I ordered the filet medium and they were both charred and tough. I had been raving about it to my family after a previous experience so I was very disappoointed. On to read your second set of reviews...

 

[slp87]

Enjoyed the reviews!!

 

[Krissalee]

Thanks for the reviews!

I have to agree with your assessment of Jiko. The food is wonderful, but our service in December, was as bad as yours was. We had several questions about wines - our waitress seemed to have little interest in our questions about wines, and gave answers, such as, "If you like dry, order _____." She rarely returned to the table throughout the evening. Because the food was incredible, I will return, but I was dissapointed by the service. Even with good food, the service can make or break your meal!

 

[Meagansmom]

WOW DETAILS! Can't wait to read more!

 

[bridgettesmom]

I have to agree with you and I'm sorry I didn't post a review of our meal at JIko. We also received lousy service, I don't remember the name of our waitress ,but, she also had an attitude problem.She seemed to be more interested to talk to another waitress about her upcoming vacation to jamaica .The food was excellent ,but , the service was poor it is such a shame.We left her a 10% tip and I believe we over tipped her, she was that bad.I would go back for the food and ask for Ron, who I have heard is wonderful.I swear If we get her again,I would just walk away and eat at Boma's where we received exceptional service.

 

[Uncleromulus]

Well--at least the food was OK at Jikos. That sort of service is simply unacceptable at a WDW restaurant. Bad food is one thing--but SERVICE is what WDW is all about and to have folks like Michael waiting on tables is sure to drive people away. I hope these boards are "monitored" by WDW (?) so they can see what sort of bad taste poor service leaves behind...