Jiko - eat at bar without reservation?

[lklasing]

We ate at Jiko years ago and loved it. This trip, I was hoping to go to Boma but waited too late and can't get a reservation. I was thinking about going back to Jiko and eating at the bar. I think I remember seeing one, but I really don't remember anything about it.

Does Jiko have a bar you can sit at, perhaps get to watch them cook and eat there? Thanks!

 

[Leota]

Jiko has seating at the Cooking Place which is first come first serve. You can't reserve it, but you can wait for a seat there to open up. I'm not sure if you can eat at the bar there or not. It's always been too full for us to sit at when we have gone there.

 

[TDC Nala]

Are you referring to The Cooking Place counter seating or the actual bar? You can order from the full menu at either. By "the bar" I refer to the small bar in the Jiko waiting area, not Victoria Falls upstairs. You can't watch them cook from the bar - that's the Cooking Place seating. If you can't get the counter seating you can try the bar. There are only 4 barstools but most people don't eat there - they are just waiting for a table and will move along. There are a few small tables in that area that can be used, but when the restaurant is busy they will seat regular patrons there.

 

[lklasing]

Are you referring to The Cooking Place counter seating or the actual bar? You can order from the full menu at either. By "the bar" I refer to the small bar in the Jiko waiting area, not Victoria Falls upstairs. You can't watch them cook from the bar - that's the Cooking Place seating. If you can't get the counter seating you can try the bar. There are only 4 barstools but most people don't eat there - they are just waiting for a table and will move along. There are a few small tables in that area that can be used, but when the restaurant is busy they will seat regular patrons there.

I didn't realize there were two different places there. I think what I was remembering was the bar, but I'm much more interested in the Cooking Place (if that's where you can watch them cook). Is that upstairs? I don't know where/what Victoria Falls is there.

Thanks for helping me figure this out!

 

[Simba's Mom]

Is this what you mean?

I made ADRs at Jiko and asked when I checked in. I got the impression that people don't ask to be seated there often, so there's plenty of availability. However, I would guess that you need ADRs anyways, because they'd rather have it available for people with ADRs than for people who are walk-ins. I really enjoyed eating there, and thanks to the generosity of the salad CM, I got a free sample sized salad that she was making that I hadn't tried before.

 

[BriarRosie]

I didn't realize there were two different places there. I think what I was remembering was the bar, but I'm much more interested in the Cooking Place (if that's where you can watch them cook). Is that upstairs? I don't know where/what Victoria Falls is there.

Thanks for helping me figure this out!

Here's a rundown of the layout of what everyone's referring to:

Victoria Falls: The bar that is literally a staircase above the lobby area of Boma and Jiko. They don't serve the restaurant food there.

The Cooking Place. If you head left from the Jiko check in area, there's a long counter with chefs preparing food. There's a special oven there, which I believe is used to cook the flatbreads among other things. There are counter seats along this area. I've eaten there before.

The bar at Jiko: It's located off to the far right as you enter the restaurant. It's somewhat small, and it has the bar itself and a few tables.

 

[Uncleromulus]

And to reiterate that they only prepare a few items at that Cooking Place station--flatbreads, salads and such. The "main meal" cooking is not done there.
As to eating at the bar w/o a reservation--I can't say for sure but my guess is that you probably could.

 

[jeni16]

We've eaten at Jiko every year for the past three years. A couple of times even without a reservation. I would just be there at 5:00 when they open as they are slower then. We sat at the cooking place once too & we ate our meals there as well.