Jiko: The Cooking Place dining review

Location:
Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge

Cuisine:
American, with multi-cultural influences

Overall Rating:

Initial Impressions
As I mentioned earlier in my trip report from this visit, I picked Jiko as the venue to celebrate our 4th anniversary because I’ve heard so many great things about it, and in hindsight I’m happy to confirm from my own point of view that all of the rumors are precisely true! From the ambiance to the impeccable food to the top-notch service, I couldn’t think of a better place to spend a romantic evening with my wife and now I’m happy to help sing the praise of this award-winning dining experience for giving us hands down the best meal we’ve ever had…

The Atmosphere
Although the quick and relaxing vibe of the main dining room seemed inviting enough, we actually found ourselves seated in The Wine Room, a much smaller room off of the main dining room that only had maybe a dozen tables in it and felt by far more intimate than any dining experience that we’ve shared at Disney World to date! It’s kind of funny how after enough theme park dining you sometimes forget how nice a meal without being within an elbow’s jab of other guests on either side of you can actually be, so needless to say having really only one other table even within five feet of ours was a godsend for allowing us to sort of kick back and truly enjoy this special meal that we were celebrating with.

The Food & The Service

• (appetizer) Honey Wheat & Flax Seed Breads with Tandoori Butter
• (appetizer) Artisanal Cheese Selection
• (alcoholic drink) Delheim Chenin Blanc (white wine, from Cape Town, South Africa)
• (entree) Seared White Atlantic Grouper “Kushairi”
• (entree) Sikhumbuzo’s Peri Peri Chicken
• (dessert) Coconut Bread Pudding with Coconut Sorbet
• (dessert – alcoholic drink) Chocolate-Covered Cherry

In a word, wow.

Where do I even begin?! Well, I suppose that any great meal really begins with great service, and let me tell you, our server Mike really did his employer proud with the way that he treated us because it was definitely his expertise and professionalism that made this meal something to remember for us. Case in point – my wife and I wanted to have some wine with dinner, especially considering that there we were in the wine room, however we were very honest in telling him that we knew absolutely nothing about it! And yet without even missing a beat, Mike asked what kinds of flavors we like and came back with two different bottles of South African wine for us to sample, and clearly would’ve brought more had we not cared for either of those upon tasting them. We ended up finding a white wine that we liked so much we actually bought the whole bottle (wine is expensive!), and that was the first of several highlights from our meal…

Our appetizers were more of an adventure – my wife wanted to try a cheese sampler that very much resembled what I imagine rich people savoring while reclining on fancy couches! The flavors themselves ended up being a little hit and miss – definitely different from your ordinary cheddar and swiss that I myself am used to, but it was still entertaining to see each other’s reactions to each one, and then subsequently trying to figure out what all of the little palate-cleansing fig and gelatin-like things were afterwards. Other than the raisins, I still haven’t the foggiest idea what they were, but oh well.

The main course, however, was really where this restaurant earned its place in our hearts because it only took a single bite to confirm that the chefs at Jiko are really true experts in their craft. The meats were so moist and juicy and full of flavor, and the flavors – so many distinct components and every single one of them holding its own, it was almost like a new discovery with each and every bite! You know how when you order something that sounds good on the menu and it ends up just a blended mess of flavors on your plate? Not here – these were dishes that you wanted to really slow down and take your time getting to know, savoring each bite before moving onto the next to see what it has in store for your senses to feast upon. By the end, both of us were each raving about our own individual choices, and as painful as it was to share even that single bite with one another, if anything those bites served as a comforting assurance that the other person enjoyed an equally-decadent meal as they did, and there was much rejoicing!

Final Thoughts
As we rounded out our meal with a delectable coconut bread pudding and sorbet for dessert, I couldn’t help but notice that the serving size wasn’t anywhere near the goliath-sized portions that seem to be paramount for most Disney World desserts, and yet it was still so amazingly bursting with flavor that it was still more than enough for us to finish as it was!

But then again, isn’t that sometimes one of the signs of a truly great meal? Sometimes less really is more, and even though the bill might have been what was goliath-sized that evening, I can happily confirm that it was worth every penny and we both left very much looking forward to returning there again some day.

Review based on a dining experience from October 2011.