Jiko or Sanaa?

[MaryJ]

We will be staying at AKV (Kidani) in November. I would like to try either Jiko or Sanaa while we are there. I have eaten at Jiko once, but DH has not. I have to say that I did not have a good experience there, but it was no fault of the restaurant. I all ready had heartburn when I walked in the door (I even left after I placed my order and went to the gift shop to buy some Tums!), so I just could not enjoy my meal.

I would love to hear from people that have tried both. We have eaten at Boma, but prefer it for breakfast.

 

[Pakey]

I thought Sanaa was good and I would eat there again. But it's a 1TS place and doesn't compare equally to Jiko, which is a 2TS place. We ate at both just a few weeks ago (first time at Sanaa, at least the 10th time at Jiko) and I think Jiko is still quite a bit better.

 

[engle]

They are soooo different...check out the menus and decide. I find Jiko more American type food with African inspiration where Sanaa is definitely "spicier"...not hot, just spicy. I really liked both and find Sanaa a bit more casual than Jiko in atmosphere and service.

 

[grace&philipsmom]

We ate at Sanaa once. We thought the food was okay, but the service was really bad. We had 2 small kids and we were there for almost 3 hours - the last half hour trying to just pay the bill! Granted they had only been open for a few weeks so they may have just been working the kinks out. And I REALLY wanted to love it.

Jiko was great. We loved the food and had fantastic service.

 

[BillSears]

JIKO!

I really wasn't impressed with Sanaa. Maybe it was what I ordered but it really wasn't all that great. I had the Sustainable Fish with shrimp and scallops served with seasonable vegetables in a light curry broth and the Vanilla Coconut Rice Pudding. Nothing really special about either one.

 

[myweegirls]

We ate at both late in May (still sad to be back!) and had great experiences at both. Apologies in advance that I can't remember our full ordering details! I can't remember most of what DH ordered - I was too focused on my food.

Jiko was a date night for us, so our 2 DDs were not with us. We asked to look at a kids' menu, though, and I was impressed with the variety of offerings. I started with the crispy savanna rolls, which I absolutely loved. DH had the artisan cheese plate, which is pretty much always a winner for us - no exceptions here. I had the filet with the mac and cheese and was oh-so-very-happy with that choice. Our server was wonderful, and our meal was at a very leisurely pace - nice without the kiddos!

Sanaa was with all four of us, and we were very impressed. Our service was absolutely outstanding, and the food was delicious. We shared the bread sampler as an appetizer, and it was great. I had the tandoori lamb and cannot recommend it highly enough! Our girls had the sustainable fish of the day (arctic char the day we were there) and the pizza. Our older DD wolfed down her fish - it was an extremely generous portion, and she ate about 2/3 of it. Our younger DD is a pretty picky eater, and, after turning up her nose at the standard WDW kids' pizza, she devoured this one. We found out they make the kids' pizza fresh and with naan - we snuck in tastes and were impressed. I'd eat that!

Desserts at both locations were wonderful. Nothing that particularly stood out as life-changing but well presented and delicious.

The atmospheres are quite different. Jiko has the feel of a hot upscale restaurant, and Sanaa feels much more low-key. Our table was also near the door out to the savannah, so we had a decent amount of side noise. I think that can be avoided by not sitting in that alcove, but choice in that regard might be limited. All in all, I have to recommend both on food and service merits. The difference comes down to the type of atmosphere you want, I think.


Liz

 

[TillyMarigold]

The two of them are our two favorite restaurants at WDW, so it would be hard to choose. Jiko is more formal, classy, beautiful decor, fancy food. Sanaa is more laid back, whimsical, colorful decor, and has animals outside the window. Quality of the food and service are good at both, so it depends more on what sort of experience you're looking for. Honestly we stayed at AKL (Jambo) last month and couldn't resist booking _four_ meals onsite (Jiko, Sanaa, and Boma for both breakfast and dinner).

I will say that the flavors at Sanaa might be more unusual to some people. I say "might" because Sanaa has very Indian flavors, whereas Jiko has sort-of African flavors. So if you're not familiar with ethnic foods at all, then Jiko will be more familiar than Sanaa; but if you're used to Indian food (which is common in many places), then Sanaa will be familiar and Jiko will not.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Jiko has been a favorite of ours since AKL first opened. We try to eat there on every trip. We ate at Sanaa for the first time this past December and loved it. The food and service were outstanding. We started with there bread service from where you choose from four breads, Naan, Roti, Paratha or Paneer Paratha. Choice of three accompaniments. Mint and onion Raita, Cucumber Raita, Coriander Raita,Mango Chutney, Garlic-ginger Pickle, Mango-lime Pickle, Roated Red Bell Pepper Hummus, Tamarind chutney. I than had the Chicken with Red Curry Sauce for my entree. Everything we had that night was fantastic.