Jiko -- Dinner -- Table Service -- Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House

*This dining experience took place in December 2016.Jiko: The Cooking Place, a signature table service restaurant, is located at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge. African inspired, it features an upscale menu with unique flavors. I've had hit or miss experiences with Jiko, but I had a wonderful experience last fall when dining at the chef's counter.On this particular occasion, we dined at Jiko for Brandon's birthday. Last year, we went to Artist Point which was fabulous, but we knew we wanted to do something different this year. We both love the atmosphere and ambiance in Jiko, especially that the restaurant actually changes color throughout your meal, in order to represent an African Sunset.We went with a medium size group and were seated in the cozy booths in the back of the restaurant.Jiko carries an allergy-friendly menu, though it's important to note that you can ask for a chef at any time. I chose to order on the menu, without a chef consult on this visit, though I often do ask to speak with a chef.I'm not sure what it is about signature dining restaurants, but they always seem to carry Ener-G rolls, which are allergy-friendly and vegan. I'm not a big fan of these, as they turn hard as a rock almost immediately, so I was definitely disappointed to see these rolls. I much prefer the Deanna's Gluten Free (formerly known as GNI Brand Rolls), which are also allergy friendly and so much tastier.I was served a side of butter with sea salt, but you can easily get extra virgin olive oil upon request. I didn't really eat the rolls because they were not very well heated.On a side note, Brandon did order a cheese plate, and I'm assuming you could easily get it gluten free with some slight modifications.While the rolls were really disappointing, I was more than pleasantly surprised with my entree. I decided to get the 7 oz Oak-grilled Filet Mignon with Pumpin Pap “Isidudu,” Brussels Sprouts, Caramelized Onions, and a South African Red Wine Sauce. This dish contains dairy, but can be modified to be dairy free, as well as gluten free (you'd get marble potatoes instead of pap, etc.)Wow. The flavors in this dish were outstanding. The filet was perfectly cooked and tender (served butterfly style) and the pap was creamy and delicious. The absolute stars of the dish were the Brussels Sprouts (my favorite), caramelized onions, and red wine sauce. I could have drank that red wine sauce; it was that good!There were a lot of dishes on the menu that I was interested in. Normally, I don't go for beef, but I'm glad I did. This was super delicious and a perfect meal for a birthday celebration. I'm also partial to the maize crusted fish, which I've had gluten free & dairy free on several occasions and is delicious.Have you been to Jiko? What is your favorite menu item to order when you go there?

Jiko -- Dinner -- Table Service -- Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House

*This dining experience took place in August 2015.Jiko, located at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House, is the signature dining location of AKL. Set to resemble an African sunset, the restaurant is a gorgeous place to have a celebratory meal or romantic evening. Even more amazing is that the lighting in the restaurant subtly changes throughout the evening to reflect the actual African sunset. How amazing!On this particular occasion, I dined at Jiko but wanted to sit at the open air chef's table, which is a lovely and approachable way to dine solo at Disney. I also knew I didn't want a full meal, so getting a glass of wine and a gluten free flatbread seemed like a great option.I haven't been to Jiko in a few years, and a recent stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge gave me the perfect excuse to visit. One of Jiko's amazing features is that they have the 2nd largest collection of South African wines in the world (the first location is actually IN South Africa), so if you are a wine lover, this is a restaurant for you.If you're dining solo, I can highly recommend the Chef's Table. You get a chance to watch the action and even interact with members of the culinary team.Since Jiko is known for their South African wines, I ordered the Black Pearl which is a mix of Cabernet Sauvignon & Shiraz. It was delicious and a great red wine to order with my meal.Though the restaurant does have an allergy friendly menu, I did ask to speak to the chef, as I was hoping they might be able to make me a flatbread gluten free. As the chef noted, they don't normally carry the Udi's gluten free pizza crusts at Jiko anymore, but he offered to get one from the Mara so that I could have a flatbread. He said this might take a bit of time, so he brought me some Udi's Gluten Free rolls with extra virgin olive oil, and I ordered a salad.I opted for the Jiko Salad which was Poached Pears, Heirloom Spinach, Kobocha Squash and Pear Vinaigrette and marked gluten free and dairy free on the allergy friendly menu. I can't say I loved this salad. It seemed underdressed, a little too bitter, and bland.For my flatbread, I ordered the Roasted Cauliflower flatbread which had Bhuna Masala, Roasted Cipollini Onions, and normally comes with Lamb Chopper Cheese. I have been trying to experiment with non-cow's milk cheese, so I asked if they could add a small amount of goat cheese to the flatbread. The Purple Haze goat cheese worked really well with this dish, and I'm excited that I am being able to add some sheep and goat milk into my diet successfully on occasion.This flatbread was outstanding, and one I wouldn't hesitate to order again. The flavors were so good, and if you loved roasted cauliflower (like I do), you will love this. Hands down a big winner for me.I love going to Jiko for an appetizer and drink. It's such an affordable way to experience the restaurant without breaking the bank. As a DVC member, I also saved 10% which also helped with affordability. You can read Gluten Free in Orlando's full dinner review on her blog.Have you been to Jiko? What did you order when you dined there? 

Jiko -- Dinner -- Table Service -- Animal Kingdom Lodge

Jiko Interior

*This dining experience took place in October 2013. It includes my gluten free & dairy free review as well as reviews from blog readers Linda & Brandon T. with a gluten and soy free review and gluten free review. Thanks again to Linda & Brandon and their friend Andrea for joining me for dinner!

Picture of open kitchen at Jiko

Jiko: the Cooking Place is located in Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House and offers African inspired cuisine at a signature dining location. The interior is set to mimic the African sunset and the lighting aptly changes throughout your dining experience. This location offers terrific gluten free & dairy free offerings and even has special menus for specific dietary needs, making it much easier to order items off the menu. On this particular occasion I visited with several blog readers who also have special dietary needs and really enjoyed the experience with them.My previous experience at Jiko had been several years ago, and it was bad. And I mean BAD. The worst dining experience I've ever had at Disney. Which is unfortunate for a variety of reasons. You can read that review HERE. So needless to say, I was a bit nervous about dining here. It's been about 3 years, and I figured at this point, hopefully things had improved. Our server discussed drink options with us and then brought over the chef. The chef was very nice & really knowledgeable. He also brought us out special dietary menus, which was very helpful in making decisions about what we might want. It helps not making decisions on the fly when there are so many choices! We were actually able to keep our menus, and I have scanned versions of the gluten free menu HERE and the dairy free menu HERE. I also enjoy being able to match things up & cross reference the sheets quickly. Very handy.First up, our table split the Taste of Africa sampler. Essentially this is a variety of dips & lentil pappadums. We also received extra pappadums for the table, so we had a lot! I will say that the dip sampler seems a lot stingier than it used to be. It seemed fairly small for the price, and between 3 of us splitting it, we did OK mostly because our entrees came quickly. We did not get a really good description of the dips, but there was a Kalamata olive hummus and several other spicier dips (I think they still have the chermoula and some others). In my opinion, the dip sampler at Sanaa is vastly superior both in taste and in quantity. For $10 you get all the dips at Sanaa which is a lot!

Lentil Pappadums

Taste of Africa sampler

For our entrees, both Linda and I ordered the Maize crusted monkfish. Linda is gluten & soy free, so she was able to get the tomato butter sauce that this dish normally comes with, while mine was prepared dairy free and had a rich tomato sauce. All other components to our dishes were the same.

Gluten free & Dairy free version of maize crusted monkfish

For my part, I will say that I like this dish very much. It was on the menu at my last visit (and what I ended up ordering) and I found it to be quite good. The vegetables were perfectly sauteed and very flavorful. The tomato sauce was nice and light. And the fish was perfectly cooked and very well seasoned. I like the maize crusted coating on it. This is one of those entrees that I would definitely order again.

Gluten free & soy free version of maize crusted monkfish

I know that Linda loved her fish dish and said she really enjoyed it a lot. I was glad that she enjoyed her version as much as I did!

Wonderful dinner with terrific company!

Brandon and Andrea both ordered the Filet Mignon on the menu, which has been known to be very good. Andrea doesn't have a special diet, but she seemed to really enjoy her entree. Brandon didn't love his filet, but it just goes to show you that everyone has different tastes and food reviews are certainly relative!

Gluten free beef filet mignon

Brandon also ordered the tomato soup, which he said had a very smoky almost BBQ sauce flavor to it. My guess is that they roast the tomatoes in the wood fired oven.

Tomato soup

For our desserts, I chose the coconut milk panna cotta which was made with soy milk & coconut milk. Linda ordered the flourless chocolate cake. Her dessert looked incredibly rich and delicious!

Flourless chocolate cake

Coconut milk panna cotta

I will say that I wasn't wowed by my dessert. I found the taste to be a little strange, and I think they could have made a nice tropical mix of fruit with the mango coulis which would have played better with the panna cotta. The plain fresh berries didn't seem to mix well, in my opinion. I also had a slight stomach ache after dinner, and I wondered if the soy milk might have been Kikkoman (which I heard later that it used to be) and is not gluten free. In general, I wouldn't order that particular dessert again.Overall, I did enjoy the meal. I really loved my entree, and I know Linda did too! The appetizer sampler was good, but I think I have been spoiled by Sanaa way too much and have high expectations of a dip sampler. The only thing I really didn't love was the dessert.In general, I would definitely visit Jiko again, but my personal preference both for type of food, price, and atmosphere would be Sanaa hands down. This is a great special occasion place to visit, and I very much thank Linda, Brandon, and Andrea for joining me the night before my first 5k (review HERE). It really made the meal special!

Jiko -- Table Service -- Animal Kingdom Lodge

This used to be one of my favorite restaurants for allergies. My mom really wanted to go here for her birthday dinner, so I was more than happy to venture out to the AKL. Unfortunately, a series of unfortunate events began to occur through this meal, and I was very very sick by the end. Not good. To begin with our waiter was very argumentative. He did NOT want to get the chef. He wanted to tell me what I could and could not eat. *sighs* After insisting on talking to the chef, he huffed off and got him. Chef Josh was one of the youngest chefs I've encountered. He was friendly enough, but not as knowledgeable as he could have been. I asked about the dip sampler, which he said he would check all of the sauces for me (last time I had a marsala sauce that was not safe...we'll replay this in a minute) and bring pompadams. This was fine. As far as the entree, I really wanted the curry shrimp, which I had the last time and was good. However, he kept saying that coconut milk was dairy, which it's not. I was getting seriously confused. He offered me a vegetarian option and a fish option as well. I decided on the shrimp. The waiter came back and was very rude, he asked, "so do you feel better now?" which is a perfectly fine statement, but the tone was soooo rude. Then he brought out the dip sampler and gave me my own dips and my mom and stepdad theirs.

Dip sampler and pompadams...the one on the far left is the masala, which I gave to my mom. The far right is the one that made me sick and was horribly spicy.

However, I had the exact same dips as them. I asked what they were and the one was the masala dip (same as the time before) and I explained to the waiter that this one was NOT dairy free on the last trip, and was he sure this was right. He snapped at me and said that the chef checked and that it was fine. I took a couple of bites of it and ended up giving it to my mom b/c I was pretty sure there was dairy in it by the taste and my reaction to it. I ate a hummus and spinach one which seemed very good. Then I tried another one which was spicy and sweet. It did NOT go down well. I stopped eating it b/c I felt bad after I consumed it. Not good. I don't think it was necessarily allergic reaction but perhaps crohn's related. In any event, they bring out our entrees and my shrimp dish looks very concentrated--the sauce is very dark and no coconut milk is in it (how many times did I have to say coconut milk is not milk).

This entree looks pretty, but the taste was so concentrated and strong, that I couldn't eat it.

I took 3 bites and nearly got sick. It was the same sauce that made me sick previously...and worse, it had reduced b/c of how they simmered it. It was awful. Even my family said it tasted terrible. Now, I will say that I have never ever in my life sent something back. Never. Even if I didn't like it I would eat it. This was so bad and I felt so sick that I had to send it back. The waiter was really mad at me. I felt terrible too and apologized over and over. I really hated doing that. The chef then came out and he said he wasn't sure how it was going to taste b/c he omitted the coconut milk and that he thought it would be really intense. Um, ya think?! I decided to go w/the tilefish b/c it was supposed to be mild. It was. It was just a nice maize crusted fish with a light broth and plantains. A much better choice of entree.

Tilefish...much more mild, and tasted very good.

The chef was at least nice enough about it, but the waiter got madder and madder at us as the night progressed. He seemed irritated that we didn't order alcohol or any desserts, etc. The worst waiter I've had on Disney property ever. It was a bummer too b/c the meal could have been so nice, but the waiter brought everything down. I ate my fish, but I was really sick by the end of the meal. I felt terrible all around. Overall, it was a pretty unfortunate meal. I know that they have a new head chef there and that the menu has changed quite a bit, so I think it will be a long while before we head over there again. Overall a 4 out of 10 for bad service, lack of allergy knowledge and lackluster food.

Dining Review -- AKL Jiko Dinner

If you have the chance to eat at Jiko, you should! It is simply amazing. A stunning restaurant, not only is it beautifully decorated (the lighting even changes to reflect the sunset!) but the food and service is phenomenal. It is now one of my favorite restaurants at WDW, and I'm sure it will continue to be for years to come. Upon arrival, I made sure my restrictions were noted on our reservation. After being seated, I had to mention it to the server Sassan, and he said he would get the chef. He said that they do wonderful dietary foods there and that I would have a great meal. A few minutes later the chef arrived with a menu JUST FOR ME! Ok, it was a pre-done menu for lactose intolerance, but still. It was nice to just look at the menu and pick what you wanted, not ask for substitutions. The chef said that everything but 1 item was GF on the Lactose free menu. (*Note: this menu did have goat cheese on it. I am lactose intolerant, but tend to just do CF as well; however, I can tolerate goat cheese and such, but I just rarely eat it. If you are CF you will most likely get a special menu for that...although honestly goat cheese was only in 1 dish everything else seemed truly dairy free). I decided on a dip sampler as an appetizer (as they could do pampadams instead of the bread basket and a chermoula dip in place of the marsala that typically accompanies it). My mom and I shared this, so they brought out a separate bread basket for her and a separate one for me. They brought out all three dips and the marsala separately for my mom. I will say this was very impressive. We didn't ask them to do that, and they said they wanted to make sure everyone was taken care of. Now, if you have a child who is GF/CF and you also eat that way (so that no one feels bad, etc.) you would probably want to mention that so you don't get tons of bread at your table. Me, I am perfectly fine with my own and others eating gluten and cheese as long as I get something tasty and wonderful too! Here's the dip:
You can see my stuff in front and my mom's stuff in the back. So, good she even is in the midst of eating it!

On to the entrees! I choice the Swahili Curry Shrimp (made with coconut milk) and it was fantastic. I could not believe how large of a portion it was. Their were 12+ very large shrimp in it. The rice and sauce were extremely tasty and the shrimp were out of this world! I highly recommend this.

I had the option for fresh fruit and sorbet for dessert, but I was too full to eat anything else. I did, however, get some Rooibos tea (it is said to have great anti-inflammatory properties, very good for Crohn's disease) and Jiko has a great tea menu. Here's my pot of tea:
What a wonderful dining experience and an amazing meal. An excellent choice for dietary restrictions and for everyone else too! 10 out of 10.