How's Mara at AK???

[pennyplanner]

Thinking of taking the AL bus from AK to show my DSs the resort. I was wondering how the food is at Mara? I thought maybe we could get lunch there and then tour the resort.

What do you all think of the lunch choices and quality for a counter service?

Thanks,
penny

 

[CamColt]

We did that during one of our trips. Other than a box of cereal, all we got at Mara was the pizza, but it was pretty good. We also picked up a Nyami Nyami at the pool bar which was delicious!

 

[Miller1412]

It's the standard lunch counter fare...burgers, salads, pizza, sandwiches. We stayed at the AKL and ate there often. The food was very good and the Mara was never terribly crowded. As long as you know it's the basic food, you'll be happy.

 

[lomillerin]

I liked it for counter food. They have hummus and pita chips and cheese platters with grapes. They also serve zebra domes there.
I had an open faced turkey sandwich I liked-it was grilled with melted cheese and a sundried tomato chutney. It was delicious.

 

[newholidayx2]

DS13 & I are planning on checking out AKL after our Typhoon Lagoon day. I was looking at the Mara menu and there's a salad that caught my attention. I looked at both Boma's and Jiko's menues and dont think DS would enjoy them. So we'll grab something quick to eat and hopefully see some animals.

 

[Cindy B]

My DH and I had the African stew which was pretty good. The kids had pizza which they liked as well.

 

[ARR Cap'nJackSparrow]

My family and I went to AKL in 2001. It was the Inaugural Year and it was during the soft opening. Boma and Jiko were nice restaurants. However when we were coming back from the parks and were starving, the Mara was our place. Its great to just get a pizza or chicken fingers there. It is not a sit down someone waits on you type of thing but the food is def great. We still drink out of our mugs! lol. Anyways you should def check it out. AKL is great! Even if you decide not to eat at Mara there are so many other things to check out there. Have fun!

 

[EEyorelover22]

They has wonderful pretzel bread there for their sandwich bread. YUM!!

 

[oogieboogie]

I think Mara is one of the best counter service restaurants in the Deluxe resorts. It's spacious, has the standard fare but it also has Zebra Domes, so you don't have to splurge on Boma if you're just craving the Zebra Domes.

 

[MrsJ Henry]

We really like the African stew and the chicken pizza there.

 

[pennyplanner]

Mrs. JHenry,

What's the African stew like? Although oh my goodness, pretzel bread! We have become addicted to pretzel rolls that Isaac's in PA serves. Since we live in CT, we don't get them enough!

Ooogieboogie,

I know everyone raves about them BUT what exactly are Zebra Domes. I admit it, I have never paid attention to those posts.

Thanks everyone. You are making my plan seem like a good one. A good counter service AND a lovely resort visit!

--penny

 

[gizfish]

The African house salad at Mara was also really good, so good in fact that I had that two days in a row. It is a salad with mixed greens and veggies, chicken and a ginger soy type dressing.

 

[cocowum]

I had a chicken caesar salad that was delicious. We also had pizza and burgers also very good. Have a great time.

 

[MrsJ Henry]

Mrs. JHenry,

What's the African stew like? Although oh my goodness, pretzel bread! We have become addicted to pretzel rolls that Isaac's in PA serves. Since we live in CT, we don't get them enough!

Ooogieboogie,

I know everyone raves about them BUT what exactly are Zebra Domes. I admit it, I have never paid attention to those posts.

Thanks everyone. You are making my plan seem like a good one. A good counter service AND a lovely resort visit!

--penny

African Stew
4 cups water
3 each chicken bouillon cubes
1/3 cup curry paste (or can be dry curry)
2 T. ground coriander, toasted
2 T. granulated garlic
4 cups coconut milk
¼ cup sugar
3 cups soy sauce
2 pounds beef/pork/chicken, large diced
2 cups mixed red and green peppers, diced
2 cups onions, diced
½ cup whole kernel corn, frozen
1 bay leaf
¼ t. cayenne pepper
2 T. cornstarch (make slurry)

And it is served in a yummy bread bowl!

(I got this recipe off of Deb's site.)

 

[KristaTX]

Mara is very similar to a food court at the moderates or values, only a little smaller and with some different selections. As far as the deluxes go, Mara is the best food court type place in any of them. I had a good burger there.

 

[newholidayx2]

gizfish - the African house salad IS the salad Im hoping to have in August

 

[jl3614]

We were there about a month ago. We ate 4 breakfasts and about 6 Lunch/dinner meals there so, I can speak fairly knowledgeable of the place. I agree with what KristaTx (last post on previous page) wrote. There were a few unique items but it was for the most part typical food court fare. If your are use to Value or Moderate resorts you may be dissapointed with the selection, but from what I understand it is excellent selection compared to the other Deluxe resort counter service places. We never encountered very long lines, but the servers were a little slow - if they had lines like the value or moderates had their would have been unacceptable waits.

The food I had was okay, nothing special, nothing bad. The kids had pizza about 4 times - they really enjoyed that.

 

[Harambe]

We love Mara - I had excellent fish and chips, DH loved the African stew, kids enjoyed burgers and chicken fingers, and we all loved the tandoori chicken pizza.

 

[Tiggers&Springs]

We love Mara - I had excellent fish and chips, DH loved the African stew, kids enjoyed burgers and chicken fingers, and we all loved the tandoori chicken pizza.

Ditto on the fish & chips -- I was surprised at how good they were. Had the fish & chips at Epcot and while the battering may have been more "authentic" I thought they were much lighter and tastier at the Mara -- not as greasy. And I was pleasantly surprised by how many shrimp they give with the shrimp & fries -- was expecting maybe 6, but got a dozen! (Pretty good too.)

 

[wildernesslodgelover]

I was impressed by the Mara's selection. Yes, they have "standard counter service fare" but also some interesting alternatives. I had the African stew served in a bread bowl and I still think about it...it was amazing! DH had the fish and chips and he was very impressed...and he is a fish and chips "connoisseur!" LOL! I had a lovely split of South African chardonnay there.

DH also had a big breakfast there and said it was very good...sure looked good to me! As much as I love the WL...I think their counter service, Roaring Forks, is much duller, smaller, and less organized that Mara. I would describe RF as having typical counter service fare, but not Mara!


mmmm...zebra domes!