Oh, Jiko, how I love thee.
I was never understanding of the love of Jiko because I'm just not too big a fan of African food. But we decided we might as well try it, and we are SO glad we did. We STILL talk about those shortribs at almost every meal.
As opposed to breakfast and lunch were it was loud, crazy, typical Disney insanity, Jiko was perfect. We got off the bus, walked in, found our way, checked in, and sat down. The air conditioning was just right. The music was perfect volume. It wasn't so quiet that you feel weird talking, but not so loud you get stressed.
We were taken to our table right next to the windows, where we had this beautiful view:
We sat down, and Michelle, our wonderful goddess of a server came over, bringing yummy treats.
The bread here is SO good. YUMMMM.
She took our drink orders. I ordered a virgin Pina Colada.
Delish. And Nic ordered a virgin Strawberry Daquiri, but the picture got missed.
She came back with our drinks, along with the head chef, and they talked us through the menu and helped us with any questions. We were one of three parties in the restaurant, so we didn't feel rushed. I love that they take time to do that. And they stayed the perfect amount of time and knew when to leave.
I ordered the Taste of Africa:
Okay, naan bread. Freaking delicious. The dips were very good. There was (from left to right) a marinara-ish sauce, which was good but not too too special. Then there was an olive spread, which I usually don't like, but I liked this. And then, my favorite, the hummus. YUM. Perfect. The other breads (can't remember the names) were delicious too. There's a bread for everyone.
Nic ordered the BBQ Chicken Flatbread:
Again, SOOO so good. The apples were an awesome compliment to the chicken and sauce and warm softness of the bread. Perfect crunch. It was very filling. You could totally make it a meal. But, that's not we did!
I went with the filet:
Very very good. Our favorite all week. The mac-n-cheese was a little weird, but good. The meat was tender and not too fatty and delicious.
Nic went with the short ribs:
I wrote two words on my note pad for this. "THE ****." Oh my god, they were SO delicious. Nic tried to move it, and the bone literally came out clean. The sauce was perfect, the meat was tender and wonderful. So freaking delicious. The waitress came over and I was literally forking the plate for every last drop. She laughed and asked if we were glad we'd gotten it. YES, YES, a thousand times YES. I want to go back to Disney and have this for every meal.
Okay, I'll shut up. Order the short ribs.
Dessert time. I got the S'mores off the kids meal:
It was good, but sickeningly sweet after a few bites.
Nic ordered the Tanzanian Chocolate Cake:
It was our favorite dessert, by far. Really really good. Perfect chocolate factor.
For our honeymoon, they brought us the Pistachio Creme Brulee:
This was very good, too. Not my favorite creme brulee, but still pretty delicious.
During the meal, the manager had come by and talked to us. We had mentioned we were headed to Mara afterwords to get some Zebra Domes, and she laughed and said they were a favorite of hers.
Well, as we were doing the check thing, she walks up to our table with a box, and sets it down.
She had gotten some for us!! We were so happy.
Food - 10/10
There is literally not one thing I could pick on. It was all so so delicious.
Service - 10/10
Server's Name - Michelle
She was so sweet and so wonderful. We had a blast talking with her, and was so perfect in her clearing of the tables, refilling of drinks, speed of dinner, everything.
Atmosphere - 10/10
I rambled about this at the start, but we LOVED it.
Overall Experience - 11/10
Yeah, with Jiko, it goes to 11. And, also, with Spinal Tap, but that's something else. We had so much fun. It was by far the best meal of our trip. It had the quality of food of the other two-credits (and beyond!), and while it was very classy, it wasn't as... obnoxious as Yachtsmen or Citrico's. There weren't kids running around or anything, but we felt like we could talk and laugh and have fun with the server, where we felt a little more uncomfortable at the other 2-credits we did. Like I said, I came into it thinking it wasn't going to be that good, but wow, was I wrong.
Total Cost of Food: $126.29
... Go to Jiko. Now. Go. Quickly.