INDEV
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2015
- Messages
- 21
We've just returned from a WDW trip for the Marathon weekend - great trip, even with a 38 degree, 6am start for the family 5K with 2 boys (10 & 8).
But one of the best parts of the trip - and biggest surprises - for us, was our first dinner at Jiko. We arrived a little late for our reservation because we didn't realize how long it would take us to get, by bus, from AoA to a park and transfer to an Animal Kingdom Lodge bus. But they took us right away - a benefit of being there mid January I guess.
The service was great, the food was amazing - delicious and beautiful presentation.
We started with drinks - my wife was recommended a glass of wine (all wines are from S. Aftrica) and to her surprise, the wine that was recommended was not one of the most expensive, but one of the least! She was very pleased with it. I had their version of a margarita - pretty much a margarita, but well made.
As an app, we started with the Taste of Africa which was four dips, of varying spiciness and 3 different breads. This was also very tasty and enough for the 4 of us to share to start.
For entree's my wife chose to have the Carrot soup (with a scoop of Olive ice cream) - sounds crazy, but it was crazy good. And the Tomato Salad - again, lovely presentation and she said very fresh and tasty.
I ordered the recommended short rib - delicious, great flavor - a little bit of kick, but cooked perfectly with lovely sides of a potato puree, mushrooms and fava beans.
Our kids probably shocked us the most - our eldest, who is mostly a cheese pizza, pb&j and mac and cheese man picked - wait for it - the WILD BOAR app as his entree. And he couldn't have been happier - he let us all try a bite after he proclaimed it as "the best steak he'd ever had". Even his younger brother tried it and loved it. I have to admit, it probably was better than my short rib - although the portion was really just an appetizer size.
Our 7 yr old ordered a kid's portion of grilled grouper with potatoes instead of the ancient grains setup and he too was very pleased. And there wasn't much kid size about his meal. I have been served that same plate at many fancy restaurants as an adult entree. It was beautifully presented and deliciously prepared.
We did pass on dessert as we'd promised them ice cream Mickey's, so I can't comment on those, but assume, based on the rest of the experience that they would have been delicious and beautiful too.
While it was a bit of a splurge, it was as good as many expensive meals that we've had in highly rated restaurants and I would not hesitate in recommending it as a great meal, worth the ride out to the AKL.
But one of the best parts of the trip - and biggest surprises - for us, was our first dinner at Jiko. We arrived a little late for our reservation because we didn't realize how long it would take us to get, by bus, from AoA to a park and transfer to an Animal Kingdom Lodge bus. But they took us right away - a benefit of being there mid January I guess.
The service was great, the food was amazing - delicious and beautiful presentation.
We started with drinks - my wife was recommended a glass of wine (all wines are from S. Aftrica) and to her surprise, the wine that was recommended was not one of the most expensive, but one of the least! She was very pleased with it. I had their version of a margarita - pretty much a margarita, but well made.
As an app, we started with the Taste of Africa which was four dips, of varying spiciness and 3 different breads. This was also very tasty and enough for the 4 of us to share to start.
For entree's my wife chose to have the Carrot soup (with a scoop of Olive ice cream) - sounds crazy, but it was crazy good. And the Tomato Salad - again, lovely presentation and she said very fresh and tasty.
I ordered the recommended short rib - delicious, great flavor - a little bit of kick, but cooked perfectly with lovely sides of a potato puree, mushrooms and fava beans.
Our kids probably shocked us the most - our eldest, who is mostly a cheese pizza, pb&j and mac and cheese man picked - wait for it - the WILD BOAR app as his entree. And he couldn't have been happier - he let us all try a bite after he proclaimed it as "the best steak he'd ever had". Even his younger brother tried it and loved it. I have to admit, it probably was better than my short rib - although the portion was really just an appetizer size.
Our 7 yr old ordered a kid's portion of grilled grouper with potatoes instead of the ancient grains setup and he too was very pleased. And there wasn't much kid size about his meal. I have been served that same plate at many fancy restaurants as an adult entree. It was beautifully presented and deliciously prepared.
We did pass on dessert as we'd promised them ice cream Mickey's, so I can't comment on those, but assume, based on the rest of the experience that they would have been delicious and beautiful too.
While it was a bit of a splurge, it was as good as many expensive meals that we've had in highly rated restaurants and I would not hesitate in recommending it as a great meal, worth the ride out to the AKL.
