What happened to Jiko?

[MickeyNicki]

The first time we went to Jiko we fell in love with the place, the filet and mac and cheese was incredible. We went back last year and ordered it again but the filet was overpowered with a heavy smokey taste and the mac and cheese was terrible. We did enjoy the salads and the desserts but we left very disappointed.

I will say alot had to do with our service. The first year we had a woman that was amazing, the second time we had a dud..the guy was never around and had zero personality.

When we dine at a signature restaurant I expect the service to be as top notch as the food. I can honestly say out of all the times we have dined signature this was the first time we had less than stellar service.

 

[tinacaplan]

The first time we went to Jiko we fell in love with the place, the filet and mac and cheese was incredible. We went back last year and ordered it again but the filet was overpowered with a heavy smokey taste and the mac and cheese was terrible. We did enjoy the salads and the desserts but we left very disappointed.

I will say alot had to do with our service. The first year we had a woman that was amazing, the second time we had a dud..the guy was never around and had zero personality.

When we dine at a signature restaurant I expect the service to be as top notch as the food. I can honestly say out of all the times we have dined signature this was the first time we had less than stellar service.

I read a "foodie" gourmet memoir a while back and she was talking about how, quite often, she preferred to stay at home and cook because there is more to creating a truly stellar night at a restaurant than just food. Her point was that while food is very important, obviously, ambiance, and service, in particular, are also super important.

So I absolutely agree with you about service...and, seriously, what was up with that mac and cheese? Real mac and cheese with cheese flavor you can really taste is one of my favorite things and what I was served at Jiko was not that.

 

[Belle5]

I am not a big fan of the new Jikp Chef as it seemed EVERYTHING had an Asian-Fusion twist to it.

Are you serious? That is a crime!

 

[mickeymotto]

I am also extremely disappointed to hear of these changes. The short ribs were one of the reasons we made ADRs there. Its one of our favs.....or should I say "was"

We are going in February, maybe they will have decided to bring some of the fan favs back. If not, we won't be back.

Its frustrating to find something you like so much and then have it taken away. Doesn't Disney listen to feedback from their guests? They really should start surveying families regarding the dining. There have been so very many topics about the decline of the Wonderful World of Disney Dining since the free dining was unleashed. Maybe it might be time to start rethinking things especially when it comes to your signature locations Disney.

 

[disney queen]

okay, y'all are making me nervous. jiko is/was one of my late husband's favorite restaurants and we were/are planning on eating there in december. i have to agree about the filet. way back right after opening it was served w/the most wonderful BBQ. then it was changed several years later. not as good but acceptable. that is very disappointing to read about the mac/cheese as i would have liked to lick my plate. i am wondering now if i should change to another signature??? what do y'all think--cancel or keep???

 

[Priorityonecb]

Hmm..we are leaving in four days. We decided against the dining plan, and we researched and chose just ONE ADR to make during the trip. We decided on Jiko, and now I am second guessing! Decisions...decisions...I'd hate to only have one ADR, pay that much money and be disappointed!

 

[disney queen]

priorityonecb, i know how you feel. as this is a healing trip for me and my sons i want everything to be wonderful.

 

[JenSop]

Well, we just ate at Jiko at the very end of July and it was fabulous as always. We've gone every year for the past three years. We also had great service! I had the shrimp curry on this past trip and it was great!

 

[jdisnut]

My girlfriend and I enjoyed a fabulous dinner at Jiko at the end of May and hate to read this criticism. I tried the new fish stew another poster referenced, and she ordered the popular lamb dish. We shared the spring rolls with goat cheese as an appetizer and the donuts with coffee ice cream for dessert. The food and service quality easily matched the lofty expectations.

It sometimes takes a new chef a bit of time to adapt to his new surroundings. Even if the restaurant dipped recently, I advise against permanently condemning it. In a few months, I suspect the current kitchen staff will grow comfortable with Jiko and begin the daunting process of improving one of the best restaurants on property.

 

[kmk1180]

okay, y'all are making me nervous. jiko is/was one of my late husband's favorite restaurants and we were/are planning on eating there in december. i have to agree about the filet. way back right after opening it was served w/the most wonderful BBQ. then it was changed several years later. not as good but acceptable. that is very disappointing to read about the mac/cheese as i would have liked to lick my plate. i am wondering now if i should change to another signature??? what do y'all think--cancel or keep???

keep it.
one person complains here and others pile on.
but resturants are a personal taste. If it sounds good to you try it.
One of my favorite places to eat is usually trashed here on the boards but I still enjoy it everytime.
Don't let others scare you away from what you think yo would enjoy.
And in the end you can decide for yourself.

To throw my thoughts on it....
We've eaten Jiko twice and loved it both times. The Filet was fantastic.
While I haven't been there with a new chef, I accept menu's change.
(and change usually isn't accepted here well.)

 

[Norm1]

Sorry everybody didn't mean to come across as complaining just that I was so dissapointed and surprised. I know what everyone is saying about Jiko. It has always been fabulous for me and the family but like I said we had a bad experience with the quality of the food and I wanted to see if it was just me or if others had similar opinions in the changes in chefs and menu. The waiter also told us there is no longer any signature dishes on the menu.

In all fairness I ate at LeCellier the night before and the Filet was to die for and with an appetizer it was less than my entree at Jiko's.

 

[burberryplaid]

Now I am nervous...

We ate at Jiko in May and it was fabulous as always (although our server wasn't great..just so-so, slow, etc)

I am going to keep the reservation though and will definitely report back. Jiko is our favorite and I dream about the fillet...

 

[ElizabethB]

We ate there in August. Food and service were great. I always order the shrimp curry dish. I was disappointed not to see it on the menu. But, there was something similar, which I ordered. It turned out to be very similar to the shrimp curry -- only the shrimp tasted like they had been grilled first, which made the whole dish even more yummy. We shared some appetizers, which were as good as ever, too, as were the flatbreads. We were disappointed that the warm donut dessert is no more. What we had was only so so and not very memorable (fruit something).

We had an excellent waitress who made some terrific wine suggestions. So, overall, we were pleased with our meal.

 

[robinm1215]

We ate there in August. Food and service were great. I always order the shrimp curry dish. I was disappointed not to see it on the menu. But, there was something similar, which I ordered. It turned out to be very similar to the shrimp curry -- only the shrimp tasted like they had been grilled first, which made the whole dish even more yummy. We shared some appetizers, which were as good as ever, too, as were the flatbreads. We were disappointed that the warm donut dessert is no more. What we had was only so so and not very memorable (fruit something).

We had an excellent waitress who made some terrific wine suggestions. So, overall, we were pleased with our meal.

Glad to hear a good review I'm going in October regardless of any reviews as it's probably my favorite restaurant on property. The shrimp dish sounds great (there was no shrimp curry dish on the menu at all when I was there in May) so I will most likely get that as long as it's still there. I just read a review which had a picture of the new version of the shrimp dish and it looked great. So sad about the donut dessert -- had that last time and it was great.

If anyone is looking for a great server, request either Tiffany or Michelle. They are both fabulous and have always made my dining experience a great one

 

[lilwhiterabbit]

I'm going in a week and a half and Jiko is where I'd planned to have my anniversary dinner with my partner. I've never had a bad meal there, so I'm going to take it on faith and keep my reservation.

I'm not a big meat-eater, so the steak doesn't appeal to me anyway.

 

[jeni16]

We just left Jiko's and was more than disappointed. The menu has changed and my favorite entree, short ribs, was one of the many items left off. Nothing seemed appealing so I ordered the Filet Mignon and the mac & cheese. The steak was less than ordinary and the mac & cheese was not much better than from a box.
I told my displeasure to the waiter and a manager and they apologized and brought me a pistashio creme brulee which they said was also off the menu.

Can anyone confirm for sure that the Pistashio Creme Brulee is off the menu? This is my favorite dessert here. If the dessert is gone & the Filet with Mac & Cheese has gone downhill, we might have to rethink our reservation here. I don't want to use 2 Tableservice Credits if the meal isn't worth it.

 

[Jetta8300]

Can anyone confirm for sure that the Pistashio Creme Brulee is off the menu? This is my favorite dessert here. If the dessert is gone & the Filet with Mac & Cheese has gone downhill, we might have to rethink our reservation here. I don't want to use 2 Tableservice Credits if the meal isn't worth it.

Dinner- http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/me...netMediaType/Dining/Jiko/jiko-menu-dinner.pdf

Dessert- http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/me...etMediaType/Dining/Jiko/jiko-menu-dessert.pdf

The creme brulee is still on the online menu, which makes me think that neither are up to date online!!!

 

[jblrn2b]

We were there in July. Was it prior to the new chef? We loved the filet and mac and cheese.

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

I love the short ribs...going to miss it.

 

[MarieA]

This must be the second change in chefs in the last 2 years. We were there in May 09 and were told that the chef had changed shortly before. My DH and I had dined at Jiko many times prior to May 09 and we thought the food was excellent. Our last experience was not so good. I ordered a pork loin and was given a very fatty pork chop. Our server asked me to talk to the chef to let him know that I was disappointed in my meal (I got the impression that the chef was not listening to servers when they came back to him with complaints).

I was planning on giving it a try again in May however after reading this thread, I'll wait and see how the reviews are before making an ADR.