Take the AKL food tour!

[GoldieSaysMeep]

Just got back. Was at WDW 9/10-9/15/. We are a party of 2 adults.

The food tour at AKL was amazing! Informative AND tasty! I highly recommend that all fans of dining take it. On our tour of Jiko and Boma, we learned about the design of the restaurants themselves as well as the food. We got samples of delicious flatbreads and dips, zebra domes and the best soup I have ever had (coconut chicken curry stew )

It was fantastic! I can't believe I never did this free tour before.

We ate at several restaurants including Jiko, Il Mulino, Tutto Italia, Marrakesh, Sci Fi Dine In (one of these things is not like the others )

We also did dinner one night at ESPN club.

Had counter at the Yakitori House & Pizzafari and snacks at several other places, including, believe it or not, Bluezoo.

The only place we were not able to walk into without an ADR was Spoodles. To be fair, we attempted to get there in the 7 o clock hour on a Saturday night. The girl at the desk actually had ADRs but we had a few other places in mind and were too hungry to wait. Ended up at Il Mulino that night instead. Guess we'll just have to go back to go to Spoodles.

Everything else, including Jiko, Il Mulino, Tutto Italia and Bluezoo we were able to just walk up and be seated immediately. A poster on my other thread reports that some of the places he went to last week were packed and ADRs were needed. So I guess my BF & I were just really lucky or stopped by to eat at the right times.

All in all the food was incredible. Can't say we had a single bad experience. Jiko was our favorite, and we had the BBQ chicken flatbread & ostrich as apps, I had the filet with crushed potatos (instead of mac and cheese by request) and BF had the lamb. We shared a creme brulee for dessert. We had a bottle of wine, but offhand I can't recall the name. We wrote it down.

If anyone has any questions, I'd be happy to answer.

 

[eddieras]

hi - i would especially like to know about the AKL Food Tour- we'll be staying there in Oct. When is it? is it open to all ages? how long is it?

and it's free??

thanks!

 

[DisGal520]

what time of day was the food tour?

Where did you book it?


thanks

 

[TDC Nala]

If it's still done this way, the culinary tour at AKL takes place at either 4 or 4:30 PM daily. (I can't remember which it was). It starts at the Jiko podium. You do not have to be staying at AKL to participate.

 

[disney1990]

Can you give the specifics on this tour? How do you sign up? What time is it held?

 

[TDC Nala]

You don't sign up. Show up at the Jiko podium. It's either 4 PM or 4:30 PM. I apologize for not being able to remember which.

 

[Simba's Mom]

You don't sign up. Show up at the Jiko podium. It's either 4 PM or 4:30 PM. I apologize for not being able to remember which.

Actually you're right about either time. It just depends on the day of the week. If I remember, it starts at 4:30 during the week and 4:00 on weekends. That's because Boma opens 1/2 hour earlier on weekends. And I agree-the tour's great! I've done it twice. I love all the free samples.

 

[SamSam]

There is a board near the Bell Hop Desk that lists all the events for the day. The correct time for the Culinary Tour should be listed.
It's a really fun tour; if you have time it's definitely worthwhile.

 

[eddieras]

do you guys know how long the tour is and if kids are welcomed-- 9 and 12??

 

[GoldieSaysMeep]

do you guys know how long the tour is and if kids are welcomed-- 9 and 12??

There weren't kids on our tour but I can't see why not. The kids would probably love the samples esp. the zebra domes. Little ones might be bored though.

The tour lasts about 30 minutes and starts around 4:30. You start off in Jiko with a guide who tells you about the design of the restaurant. You then sit down and go over the menu and the different dishes. Then you get some samples. We had flatbreads and 3 dips that were great.

You then move over to Boma. In Boma another guide, one of the chefs goes over the buffet line with you and tells you a bit about the foods, whats in them, where they come from etc. More samples. We had zebra domes and coconut chicken curry stew. Fantastic!

It's free and open to anyone.

 

[MickeyNicki]

Thank you so much for this info, DH and I are headed to AKL for 5 nights next month and I am going to try and squeeze this one in.

 

[GoldieSaysMeep]

Thank you so much for this info, DH and I are headed to AKL for 5 nights next month and I am going to try and squeeze this one in.

It will make you want to eat at Jiko and Boma! Soooo tasty!

 

[beansmom]

I gotta write this down so I don't forget it...right before our dinner ADR at Jiko! LOL

 

[ROEDISNEY]

Thanks for the tip. Must ck this out.

 

[bigbandsound]

On Thursday 8/21/08, the tour started at 4:00pm.

 

[JoyMouse]

I never knew about this. What a well kept secret! Thanks for sharing the info, I will be in the world a week from today and will try to check it out.
Joy

 

[wdwthanksgiving]

how was tutto italia? we have reservations in november - the prices seem high for what you might get ... 12-16 dollars for a salad and pasta starting at 24.00..
did you think it was good enough to warrant the prices? how was the atmosphere?
thanks in advance for your input!

 

[parrothead928]

About 5 years ago, the same tour was offered at the Wilderness Lodge. It was WONDERFUL!!!!!

 

[GoldieSaysMeep]

how was tutto italia? we have reservations in november - the prices seem high for what you might get ... 12-16 dollars for a salad and pasta starting at 24.00..
did you think it was good enough to warrant the prices? how was the atmosphere?
thanks in advance for your input!

It was probably my least favorite of the places we ate. It was good, but compared to other places you can get for the same money, it wasn't worth it.

The atmosphere was nice, but I routinely go to the North End of Boston and have a slightly skewed perspective because the places in the North End can't be beat for that type of atmosphere (aside from actually going to Italy, of course lol).

I did however really enjoy Il Mulino over at the Swan. Slightly more pricey but overall better food and service.

I'd probably not go back to Tutto Italia. Not for those prices.

 

[eddieras]

The atmosphere was nice, but I routinely go to the North End of Boston and have a slightly skewed perspective because the places in the North End can't be beat for that type of atmosphere (aside from actually going to Italy, of course lol).

IL Pomodoro, perhaps?