Jiko

[BCKatie02]

Tell me about Jiko please! Specifically, how exotic is the food. What did you have? Did you love it or hate it? Are you adventurous when it comes to food anyway?

Thanks!

 

[F1Julie]

I thought Jiko was just okay. It did not live up to my expectations. I consider myself an adventurous eater. I had the octopus for an appetizer, the shrimp for an entree, and some dessert that was like a custard with dried fruits. I was expecting the food to taste a little more exotic and to be more "different" tasting if that makes sense. It tasted like food from any other restaurant. From now on, I'll stick to Boma.

 

[Took]

Different folks certainly do react differently to restaurants!

My DH and I think Jiko is one of the most wonderful dining experiences on property (the flatbreads are amazing and so is the monkfish, IMO). We like the calm atmosphere and good wine list, too. I wouldn't hesitate to go there!

Took

 

[CNMooner]

Jiko is by far my favorite restaurant on property, at least that I've been to. We stumbled on it when the other restaurant in AKL was full, and we were thrilled we did!

We asked the server to recommend the specialties of the house for us, and we got two apps, two entrees and two desserts, even though we're not huge eaters. We wanted to try everything! It was all wonderful-- very sophisticated and exotic food, but nothing that would turn a picky american eater off.

My recommendation is to go in there and do the same as we did for the full experience. Step out of your culinary comfort zone a bit and I believe you'll be happy you did.

The decor at Jiko is awesome, too. I just love it there and can't wait to go back for our honeymoon in November-- it's a "must do."

 

[IndianaDVCMember]

We love Jiko, and the menu isn't all that exotic in comparison to typical high-end North American restaurants.

 

[Bob P]

Hi BC Katie,

As with any restaurant question, you will get different replies based on everyone's specific tastes. We love Jiko and it is in our top three restaurants at WDW along with California Grill and Flying Fish.

The menu is definitely more exotic than most WDW restaurants but it is not that exotic just like Indiana DVC Member said above.

We are going back for dinner again next Friday night, May 6. We've found it is reasonably easy to get PS at Jiko, probably because a lot of people are afraid they won't like the food!!

I agree with what the last few posters said (and that's not meant as a knock on F1Julie). I would recommend you give it a try.

Have fun,

Bob

 

[webray]

We love Jiko, and we do not find the menu exotic. We do however find the food/atomosphere/service/wine list all fantastic.


Jiko is one of the best restaurants on disney property, so if you are in to great food/wine it is definately the place for you. If you are a burger kind of person that doesn't enjoy a great meal/great wine..probably not for you.

 

[disneytraveler]

Seeing what other Disers say about Jiko , i am definately going to make a Ps
for this one . Or is a ADA or Adr!?
anyways the menu looks great
steve

 

[JudicialTyranny]

Which would you consider better - Jiko or California Grill?

I got the MYW dining plan - both are "signature" restaurants and take up two nights credits. I made a PS for both of them, but I didn't realize Jiko was a signature restaurant and we were planning on going to only one signature.

So now I need to decide whether to cancel my PS for Jiko or CG. I'm leaning towards canceling Jiko because CG is in our hotel (CR) and I have a PS for 8:20 PM on the night before we depart, so we will be packing that night anyway.

 

[Forever42]

We much prefer Jiko to CG. The food, service, and atmosphere have always been very good at CG, but the food, service, and atmosphere is *excellent* at Jiko. We're not sure we'll go back to CG except to try sitting at the chef's counter sometime.

Oh, and to answer the OP questions: I suppose compared to the average American, we're "adventurous." I don't find the food at Jiko to be exotic at all, it's exactly our style. Sometimes it's too tame!

And we've had most of the appetizers and desserts, and two of the entrees. We go for the appetizers and desserts (we spend more than we would on entrees, too), and the wine. Oh, my, South African wine...

 

[littleprincessmom]

We love Jiko and it is in our top three restaurants at WDW along with California Grill and Flying Fish.

The menu is definitely more exotic than most WDW restaurants but it is not that exotic just like Indiana DVC Member said above.

Well said, Bob P. Jiko, FF and CG (in that order) are also our faves at the World. We are adventurous eaters but you do not have to be to enjoy Jiko. My mother definitely is not (no sushi, etc.) and she LOVES it - especially the filet over mac and cheese. They also have a fabulous South African wine list. The wait staff is also superb.

By all means give it a try, I think you'll be very glad you did!!!

 

[CoolDisneyCat]

Jiko is one of our favorite restaurants at Disney. We've eaten there several times, including after the Sunset Safari. The only dish we didn't like was the maize tamale appetizer, but that was a texture thing more than a flavor thing. The crispy cinnamon spiced beef roll appetizer is *wonderful,* and so are the duck and pork firecrackers - and we don't really like duck!

As someone mentioned above, the filet on mac and cheese is delicious. During the Sunset Safari dinner we also had the chance to try the monkfish and the chermoula roasted chicken; both were wonderful!

I absolutely recommend the pistachio creme brulee. It's the sous chef's special recipe, and it's incredible! We never would have ordered it b/c as a general rule we don't like creme brulee. We had it as part of the Sunset Safari dinner, though, and we still talk about how good it was! The Tanzanian chocolate chandies are also very good, but really sweet.

Here is a link to the menu on Deb's site if you haven't see it yet. The food is truly superb, and the atmosphere is incredible. I'd recommend it over CG, having eaten at both.