Which do you prefer Jiko or Narcoosees?

[sahlink]

Which do you prefer Jiko or Narcoosees? Why?

 

[Uncleromulus]

Narcoossee's has the view of course, but I think Jiko is a better restaurant for food and service.

 

[Tricia1972]

Well the prior post sums it up for me.

Narcoossee's has a great view, but it's much louder, less intimate, and the food and service just weren't as good.

Jiko is beautiful, quiet, romantic, the food is much better and the service is fantastic too.

We did both Narcoossee's and Jiko in October 2007. When we went back in March 2008, we purposely made sure we went back to Jiko. We didn't extend the same courtesy to Narcoossee's.

It's not that it's horrible and I'd never go there again - it was fine. I just didn't like it nearly as much as Jiko.

 

[Minnie824]

We didn't go to Jiko, but we were just at Narcoosee's last week and loved it. We had excellent food and service, some of the best on the trip. It was in our top 2 actually, and would definitely return.

 

[madalex]

I voted for Jiko as it is my favorite restaurant at WDW (but, in the spirit of full disclosure, I must admit that I have never been to Narcoosee's).

 

[pilferk]

Which do you prefer Jiko or Narcoosees? Why?

Narcoosees is good, and has a GREAT view.

Jiko's is GREAT. It's our 2nd favorite restaurant on Disney property...2nd only to Victoria and Albert's. There isn't ONE thing on the menu that we've tried (and we've tried a LOT) that we didn't think was stellar. The service is likewise top notch. In addition, if wine is your thing, they have a GREAT selection of South African wines at Jiko's...trully stellar.

 

[WDisnut]

Narcoosees was all around bad, I was given the only wobbly table in the place, and instead of them moving us , they just put napkins under the table leg to balance it. Drinks tasted watery , steak was overcooked, portions are really small. Don't even bother with apps. My drink was empty a lot. The place reminded me of a old seaside restaurant that wants to be considered classy and charges way to much for there bad food.

Jiko on the other hand was cleaner , staff, food , everything was much better.

 

[Pakey]

Jiko not only has much better food (including variety, taste and presentation) but it offers that rare more-adult atmosphere that fine dining should. While Narcoosees has a wonderful view (and we used to enjoy it a great deal prior to the dining plan implementation), the restaurant has become overrun with patrons who do not consider it fine dining and it's now noisy, crowded, and casual.

 

[onelilspark]

Jiko is handsdown my favorite restaurant in WDW. Narcoossee's is good, but it's not GREAT and with that, I think Jiko has it beat. Atmosphere, staff, food, all go to Jiko.

 

[Crazy Hakim]

Food wise, Jiko's is better.
Location, Location, Location, well Narcoossee's is better.

We enjoy both, but go more to Narcoossee's.

 

[MickeyNicki]

We had the most to die for amazing meal at Jiko in October....I cannot wait to eat there again

 

[BEASLYBOO]

My family will not eat fish, therefore I do not prepare it at home and generally choose it when dining out. At Jiko I have had the most superbly cooked fish on 3 out of 3 occasions. The food at Jiko is fabulous and the wine list isn't bad either.

 

[John's Mom]

Jiko is our favorite WDW restaurants--great food and wonderful atmosphere.

 

[jonestavern]

Well the prior post sums it up for me.

Narcoossee's has a great view, but it's much louder, less intimate, and the food and service just weren't as good.

Jiko is beautiful, quiet, romantic, the food is much better and the service is fantastic too.

We did both Narcoossee's and Jiko in October 2007. When we went back in March 2008, we purposely made sure we went back to Jiko. We didn't extend the same courtesy to Narcoossee's.

It's not that it's horrible and I'd never go there again - it was fine. I just didn't like it nearly as much as Jiko.

this says it for us.
We just went to both 3 weeks ago.
Even DS19 prefers Jiko.
It's not as if we'd never return to Narcoosies, we will at some point. It's just not a 'must do' for us, whereas Jikos is.
Yep, Narcoosies seems far noisier than Jikos. It does have the expediency of an easy MK proximity, if that is important to you. It's nice to listen to the live music at the GF, either before or after a meal.
We liked the Jikos food & atmosphere far more. Very interesting menu selection. Service at both spots was excellent.
As for location: stroll the AKL grounds & enjoy one of the many animal viewing stations. In the evening there are night vision goggles available. CMs are stationed at certain pts to give you information on the animals.
Or relax in a rocker overlooking those beautiful grounds or the firepit.
The gift shop has more unusual items, too. Our favorite is the Kenyan coffee which we bring back to the room to brew, so much better than those packets that are supplied

Jean

 

[jeepgirl30]

I've done both and they don't feel in the same category to me at all.

Jiko is so much more of a fine dining, adult, upscale feel all the way around. The food is wonderful as are the wines.

Narcoosee feels very loud and almost informal. I went with a coworker and we both felt "so what" about it. She always has me order wine for her, she'll tell me if she feels like red or white and i go from there! I generally order us 2 glasses to start but different and then we decide which we want a bottle of, unless it is an off night like this was and i wanted white while she had red. Well at Narcoosee the waiter asked and i gave him our glass orders, he rolled his eyes can came back pouring her a completely different wine. He poured her pinot grigio and i had order pinot noir. He insisted I had ordered wrong since I was having Sauvignon Blanc she had to have a white too. I said perhaps i did say the wrong thing but she would like the Noir. He kept arguing with me and made a comment about her not ordering her own wine. it was strange! Everywhere else we had such wonderful wine service.

At Jiko the waiter even brought us a taste of a different wine that he enjoyed.

I left Narcoosee feeling like it was over priced and lacked any ambiance.

 

[davinakb]

Jiko has the larger, more varied menu, the awesome SA wines and everything. Narcoosees has the view, and IME we've been lucky to have good service and smaller, quieter crowds. We enjoy both, but almost always manage to do Jiko every trip. FWIW.

 

[LowesChevy]

We tried both of these restaurants for the first time this past October. I can say I am more likely to return to Jiko next year. I generally do not complain about the price of food, but Narcoossee's for what it was, is a bit overpriced.

We were a little unwhelmed by the food, but to be fair we also ate at Citricos, California Grill, Yachtsman Steakhouse, Il Mulino, Artist Point this trip-pretty stiff competition. I feel Narcoossee's was about average for us.

Jiko, with the exception of a whiny kid sitting next to me, was more peaceful. My DM, the picky eater, was content with her meal. The bbq chicken flatbread was excellent, the other appetizers (corn soup, salad, cheese plate) were great and the entrees were exceptional (halibut and filet with mac & cheese).

The setting for Jiko is a little more adult oriented, whereas Narcoossee's had more children. Without a car Jiko is a little more difficult to get to or from depending on where you stay as well.

I would say if you like to be adventurous and are open to new tastes I would try Jiko.

I hope you enjoy either choice

 

[wezee]

Sept. '09 we ate at Narcoosees twice ad Jiko once. Narcoosees is still the winner in our book. We have always had great service and wonderful food. I always hear such great reviews of Jiko and was really surprised that we did not have a very good experience there. Our table for two was about 12in. away from the tables on each side of us, with one of the tables having a very loud discussion. Our server was not willing to offer us any food suggestions or wine suggestions, which really surprised us! And the mac/filet entree that everyone raves about.......defiantly did not "WOW" us. The mac and cheese was not just down right chewy and the filet was good, but I actually think I preferred the mushroom filet at LeCellier.
I keep telling DH we must have hit a bad night......but I think I will be hard pressed to get him to return next Sept.

PS....We also dined at Yachtsman twice, during our stay, and had fantastic meals and service both times. The first night I had an ADR and we liked it so much, I spent 3 days calling from WDW to try and get in one more time before the end of our trip.....luckily it worked.

 

[Vijoge]

My vote goes to Jiko! I don't believe I have ever had a dining experience that I enjoyed more. The food, the atmosphere, the service. . .very, very, nice. Narcoosees does have excellent warm bread, though. Seriously, there is nothing wrong with the food at Narcoosees-it's just that Jiko is so extra good!

 

[GatorLady]

We had the most to die for amazing meal at Jiko in October....I cannot wait to eat there again

Nicki, if you are still reading this thread........

I am trying to plan our 10th anniversary dinner and have been torn between where to go. Family wants Narcoossee's, I am leaning toward Jiko.

My family didn't like Tusker House (Boma Lite) at all for dinner and they are concerned that the flavors at Jiko would be too similar for them to want to eat here. I think I remember from one of your dining reports that you didn't care for dinner at Boma and I know you love Jiko. What were the differences for you?

Sorry, I had to ask, since you are after all the dining guru!