Jiko's, disappointing, maybe an "off" night

[Mackey Mouse]

Last week, we ate at Jiko's......it was quite busy there. I believe the Animal Kingdom Lodge was also lodging some of the participants in the ESPN's Bass Fishing event..

My husband had the sirloin and macaroni and cheese special. He said the steak was ok, but his macaroni was bordering on cold. I had the pork tenderloin with sweet potato dumplings, the pork was chewy and ok... I did not eat the dumplings, mushy and no taste. We also did appetizers, taste of Africa, a lamb one, which was tasty, and they firecracker spring rolls, which I did not taste as I do not do spicey...

Our server seemed harried and would disappear for great lengths of time...not great service. I have to say I was disappointed in the meal and the service....I know others love this restaurant, but I will not go back there in a hurry.. I always believe in second chances so I may try them again, but this time was disappointing.

 

[shellybaxter]

Mackey Mouse I'm so sorry your meal wasn't good. Jiko is my favorite restuarant in WDW. I've had both of those meals and loved them. The potato dumplings were awesome, not mushy at all. It does sound like an off night. We've had wonderful and just okay waiters there so your wait expirience doesn't surprise me. I hope you will give it another try. And I hope Jiko is not going down hill. I would be soooo sad!!

 

[DisOrBust]

First off isn't Tenderloin anymore??? We have eaten at Jiko 4 times two were outstanding and one was OK. IMHO I think the Tenderloin is a bit overrated here. The lamb shank is wonderful as well as the scallops. Maybe thieri chef changed. WDW does that every now and then just to keep us guessing!!!

 

[PrincessAurora]

As of early February Chef Annette was still there. I'm really sorry your food wasn't good, they are usually MUCh better than that. I've eaten there 4 times now and each one was really good. Perhaps the convension had something to do with it.

 

[madalex]

Jiko is my favorite spot at WDW and I eat there every time I go (at least a half dozen times over the years). We also ate there last week and had both the tenderloin w/mac and cheese and the pork tenderloin, both of which were as good as advertised. That being said, no kitchen gets it right every single time and I am sorry your experience was not wonderful.

I did also notice that Jiko was more crowded than in years past (we arrived early and we had to actually wait until our ADR time to be seated; in the past, we always got seated right when we showed up, even if it was early). That being said, the service was still wonderful.

 

[LindaR]

I don't like Jiko. The first and only time we went there, we had a horrid experience. The food was fine (not extraordinary) but the service...........it goes down as one of the worst experiences we've ever had. We won't go back. There are too many other places we like to waste time on second, third, fourth chances.

 

[majortom]

My husband had the sirloin and macaroni and cheese special.
... snip ...

We also did appetizers, taste of Africa, a lamb one, which was tasty, and they firecracker spring rolls, which I did not taste as I do not do spicey...

Sorry to hear about your experience. As I noted in another thread, their Mac and cheese is one of my favorites and I have always enjoyed taste of Africa.

I always believe in second chances so I may try them again, but this time was disappointing.

I hope you do and that your next experience is great. Did you mention what happened to a manager? My brother is in the restaurant business and is the author of abook on customer service. He says that it is always important to say something to a manager about a bad experience as there is no way for them to know that there is a problem if you do not tell them.

Telling them may or may not solve your (or their) problem, but not telling them is sure not to help.

As others have said, Jiko is one of my favorite restaurants at WDW. I also love Boma, which you might want to try.

/carmi

 

[jk1]

Mackey Mouse, I am sorry you had such a disappointing meal at Jiko last week. I know how that is.

I ate at Jiko this past Sunday. Yes, it was busy. And I too noticed many people with the ESPN's Bass Fishing event. We had a party of 4, one never having dined at Jiko previously. Our server was very attentive and wonderful. And the food was outstanding! We had the filet and the short ribs. Everyone's dinner was wonderful.

The last time I dined at Jiko (October), we had unattentive service like yours. Maybe we had the same server? But our food was still good.

Did you speak to the manager about your food?

 

[Uncleromulus]

Yikes!! One of my "must do's" each trip..and on the list for May.
Hope it was just an "off night"--but there did seem to be more than a few cylinders not firing.

 

[Bob P]

I agree with Uncleromulus...we're going on April 7th and I sure hope it was an off night!

 

[LukenDC]

I had a disappointing dinner at Jiko last September. The service was good, the food not so good. I too, however, am willing to give them a second chance since any restaurant can have an off night. The steak with macaroni and cheese sounds very tasty.

 

[Eeyore2003]

I would have to agree. Jiko is one of the restaurants that is on our "never do again" list. I think it's one of those that you either "love" or "very much dislike".

 

[janice1234]

we were planning a dinner possibly at jikos for our august trip. i was reading another thread on citricos today. can anyone offer an opinion on jikos or citricos? we would love to try a new restaraunt this trip. thanks.

 

[disneytraveler]

Oh heres hoping the dinner was just an off nite. I am staying at Akl this summer with my first adr being Jiko. I are there last September and i ordered
the filet with mac and cheese . I had a great waitress and the food was wonderful.

 

[ElizabethB]

We find that our experience at Jiko is directly related to how crowded it is. We've decided that if we get there and it is jam-packed, we'll pass and go elsewhere. If it's not that crowded, we always have a great dinner there.

 

[jdvm]

There's no right or wrong in this world and everyone is entitled to their opinion. Also, no matter how good a restaurant is, accidents happen. We adore Jiko and have eaten there well into double digits. On occasion, we've had a slight issue (usually with a non-South African server) but any problems were always promptly corrected. Go there with an open mind, try to get a South African server, ask questions about anything you're uncomfortable with and tell your server when something "wasn't what you expected." That's the key phrase. It doesn't mean that something is bad.....its just not what you expected....and you know what, there's nothing wrong with that

 

[richard_andmel]

Can anyone recommend a particular server?

 

[Kycha]

The braised short ribs I had at Jiko's last September were very good. But, everything else was just OK. I think the restaurant is overpriced and overrated. We didn't have bad service, but our server really didn't seem too enthusiastic. She didn't offer any information unless we asked her a direct question. Like we had to ask her for the daily specials instead of her just telling us when were seated. Now, contrast this with the table next to ours. Their server was very attentive. He offered suggestions on everything from appetizers, wines, to entrees and desserts. Next time we will skip Jiko's and go right to Boma's. The food was good, and I don't need to worry about the service because I will do it myself.

 

[majortom]

we were planning a dinner possibly at jikos for our august trip. i was reading another thread on citricos today. can anyone offer an opinion on jikos or citricos? we would love to try a new restaraunt this trip. thanks.

I have not been to Citricos for a while, but it was pretty good last time. I like Jiko a bit better, but I do not think that either is a slam dunk.

/carmi

 

[MandaPerry]

My mother got to pick one restraunt that she wanted to go to for her B-Day she picked Jiko's. I ahve to say the food was okay not the best but not the worst. The server was the worst we have had yet. He seemed a little put out that we were not going to order wine (were not a wine drinking kinda family ) He took our order we talked to him exactly four times when he took our order when we got our food when he wanted to know if we wanted desert and when we finally flagged another server down to find him for the check. It's not that we didn't see him he spent a great deal of time at the table behind us talking about the wine It's still a joke in our family when we talk about where to eat "Hey what about Jiko's"