Help me choose: Jiko, Artist Point, Citricos

[lamg]

I need help deciding which restaurants to go to for my upcoming Feb. trip. I want to try places I haven't been before and have narrowed my list down to Jiko, Artist Point and Citricos. I only have three nights this time (and one night is already going to be dedicated to California Grill, which I did eat at last time and thought it was amazing so I can't help but go again).

Out of Jiko, Artist Point and Citricos, which two would you recommend for the best food? We are two adults, no kids, and appreciate very good food, a nice setting (doesn't have to be romantic necessarily). We are fairly adventurous eaters and don't shy away from much.

Also, I don't want to "repeat" on the type of food (if a couple of the restaurants basically are in the same style--I'd rather go somewhere different). But I don't think that's a problem with these 4 restaurants. They all appear different to me from reading the menus.

I think I read that both Jiko and Artist Point have new chefs? Don't know if anyone has been there since the changes.

Thanks for your input!

 

[Ajax]

We ate at Jiko on 1/2, and Artist Point on 1/3. Our experience at Jiko is detailed here-

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=312151

And Artist Point here-

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=314811

We much preferred Artist Point to Jiko. But in fairness to Jiko I'd have to take the word of several knowledgeable posters who said that the restaurant is usually superb, and we just hit it on a bad night.

 

[MinnieGi]

We loved our meal at Artist Point. We had wonderful service there in a very relaxed atmosphere. We will be trying Jiko's on our next visit when we stay at AKL. I've read mostly wonderful reviews of this place too. I don't think you could go wrong with any of the places you have choosen. What you did hit this trip, save for another!

Gi

 

[Eeyore1954]

My DW and I did not care much for Jiko -- the food was OK and the experience was just so-so. We weren't super impressed, but then there are other DIS-ers who rave about it.

On the other hand, we loved Artist Point. Wonderful menu, great atmosphere, good service. I will say we did have one not-so-great dining experience there during our last trip in November -- maybe the server was new or was having a not-so-Disney-magic night, and I'll leave it at that.

Citricos is good also. We've enjoyed our meals there.

I would vote for AP and Citricos -- but Jiko does offer a unique and alternative dining experience. If you've never tried it, it may be worth it just for the experience. It just wasn't our "cup of tea" so to speak.

 

[chip1]

For our December trip we wanted to try a few new restaurants. The night we arrived (12/7) we went to Jiko. It was my husband, my son (8-1/2) and myself. We decided that this was not one of our favorites. I know that sometimes it comes down to what you decided to eat, and how it either turned you on or off. For me, I had monk fish, which the waitress said was comparable to lobster. I did not like the taste at all. Our service was fair, not great.

We also tried Artist Point. I have read many threads about the awesome salmon dish they have. I love salmon, and was very eager to try this. Once again, the three of us decided this was not on our list of must do's. Sometimes it's something, hard to explain, that just doesn't do it for you. I think that's how we felt here.

We love Citrico's; however, in our quest to try new things this trip, we did not go in December. Have you ever tried Flying Fish?

I hope this helps.

 

[ahutton]

We had a wonderful anniversary meal at Artist Point on Dec 6. I highly recommend it, and if you like blue cheese at all, you have to try the frisee salad with pear and maytag blue cheese. It was unbelievable. I had the Pork Chop and Tillamook Mac and Cheese (DH's home town!!!) and it was wonderful. We shared the berry cobbler.

While the hostess was very kind with the anniversary wishes though, the message never got to our server, who while efficient was not particularly nice.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

We ate at Jiko's last month for the 2nd time and just loved it as much as the first time. It is our favorite place to eat at WDW. We had the Pork Chop with Sweet Potato Dumplings & Grilled Tenderloin with Macroni & Cheese. The Macroni & Cheese was the best I had ever had. Get there early and stroll around the resort and see the animals.

 

[disboo]

Boy - you have my top four restaurants in WDW to pick from! We love them all! We had a special dinner at Jiko a year ago, and every one of our party of 10 was delighted - even the pickier eaters. The AKL resort is wonderful to stroll around before and after dinner as well.

This past Nov. we ate at Citrico's for the first time, and it was great, too! The squab appetizer was unlike anything else I have had, the entrees were delicious and the deserts were spectacular!

And then there's AP - yum!

I would probably pick Jiko and AP, only because I have not been to AP for several years. You really can't go wrong with any of them!

(If you want another suggestion - we liked Olivia's at OKW, too!)

 

[ScottJoy]

Flying Fish Cafe is my all-time favorite, but I also really love Jiko. Artist Point was good, but I didn't have the same kind of strong feelings about it. I'd like to try Citricos, but I haven't yet.

 

[Straughn]

We ate at all three on our trip last February. We have eaten at Citrico's many times and always enjoyed it. Artist Point runs a very close second to Citrico's and Jiko would definitely be third. We tried it for the first, and probably only ,time last year. The food was certainly different, and enjoyable, however, it just didn't appeal to us the way the other two restaurants did. I also agree with those who have suggested Flying Fish.

 

[JimC]

The head chef at Jiko is from Artist Point. Both are top notch restaurants. Eat at both. The cuisine is different and both are at top resorts that are worth some time to explore if you have not stayed there.

 

[Uncleromulus]

My ranking order would be Jiko, Citrico's, and then AP.
At Jiko's I heartily recommend the Berbere Braised Lamb Shank. At Citrico's the Honey/Paprika Marinated Pork Tenderloin is supurb. I think the menu at AP is a bit to "Pacific Northwestish" to be called adventurous--but still a fine restaurant nonetheless. In fact, we're eating at all 3 of these spots when we go in May!!
All have fine wine lists, but beer lists that can only be described as "lacking". I think (and I hope) AP may still have a Honey Lager on Tap, but they did away with their own Lodge Brew sometime back---

 

[lamg]

Thank you everyone for your input!

 

[Ti2gerrr]

I would suggest Artist Point. We enjoyed it very much last trip, and have PS there for our upcomming trip.

 

[ducklite]

Jiko or Citrico's.

I've eaten at Jiko four times now, and each has met or exceeded my expectations. The service has always been at minimum good, and the food delicious.

I've only eaten at Citrico's once, but the service was outstanding and the food was excellent.

I've also only eaten at Artists Point once, and probably wo'nt go back. I had to send my meal back, my rare steak came out charburned into a shriveled heap. Even the second one was cooked medium. The service was horrible. Way too expensive to screw around with bad food AND bad service.

Anne