Jiko is the signature dining restaurant at Animal Kingdom Lodge in Jambo House and I would contend it is the most romantic restaurant in all of Walt Disney World. The atmosphere of the Lodge at Jambo House is sensual even as you pull up to the port cochere, where incandescent lighting and lush foliage transport you on a safari halfway around the world. The smell of burning wood and smoked meats beckon you into the grandiose lobby where your eye wanders four stories up to the thatched roofs and imposing chandeliers comprised of romanticized, translucent shields.
As you meander down the winding staircase, past Victoria Falls, and the aptly named lounge, the earth tones of mahogany and ebony envelope and draw you in. To the left is the bustling Boma, while to the right is they more subdued Jiko.
Jiko's decor elicits an almost prehistoric aesthetic, with it's pterodactyls in flight, free-form wrought iron dividers, and its wood-burning cooking ovens embedded inside bulbous monumental pillars in the center of the restaurant.
A rushing creek flows and bubbles past the large pictures windows near the front of the space, which fascinated my daughter the entire time we were there. Too bad we were sitting across from the windows in one of the booths, as she kept walking over to another family's table to peek outside the windows...
One of my favorite details at Jiko was always the Tandoori butter that came with the bread basket, which, they sadly, seemed to have done away with, at least on this particular visit. It was just plain, old butter, which is a bit disappointing when you're expecting something a bit more exotic. But our daughter pretty much has first dibs on all the bread anyway. I preferred to stuff my face with the appetizers we picked; the Peri Peri Chicken Flatbread and Ingunday Tibs in Brik. Both were outstanding and we were picking the crumbs and bits off of both plates long after we polished them off. The Peri Peri flatbread had Lamb Chopper cheese, pickled peppers, and roasted chicken on a crisp, and chewy millet crust.
The Ingunday Tibs in Brik is something I've seen on the menu for years now, but for whatever reason, haven't thought to try. We ordered it this time, and it was absolutely delicious. No wonder they perennially have it on the menu. It was basically filo triangles stuffed with mushrooms, spinach and cheese, with an apple slaw nestled in a puddle of curry vinaigrette. They were crisp, airy pillows of goodness, that I contemplated ordering seconds of. It was that good.
I think I would have ordered another round of Ingunday Tibs in Brik, but my husband and I also ordered a Jiko salad to share. Which was also quite tasty. It was a mix of various lettuces with Point Reyes blue cheese crumbles, heirloom apples, and candied walnuts with a maple vinaigrette. I didn't really care for the edible flowers on top, even though it did look pretty, but they were easy enough to fling to the side with my fork.
For my entree, I made a meal out of the side order of macaroni and cheese, but it was kind of a hassle to order. I wanted the Macaroni and cheese without the sausage that came in it, so basically a vegetarian version, which they said they could do, but they have to enter into the POS system some certain way, like instead of "macaroni and cheese, no sausage," they have to enter it as "kids's macaroni and cheese, add chakalaka." It seemed overly complicated, to me, and I felt like I really didn't need to know in what way they have to enter it into the system, because I was fine paying the full price or $14 for the mac and cheese, because it is that good, But because it was sans sausage, it only came out to $10, which is quite a steal for the hot, bubbling crock of macaroni cheese laced with bursts of tomato and peppers.
My husband ordered the Garam-Masala Spiced Sea Scallops, served with spinach, and tomatoes on a bed of what seemed like risotto that they called "pilau." He absolutely loved this dish; he couldn't stop talking about. He loved the spices seared into the scallops, as it was just the right level of heat and flavor. It was expertly seasoned, and the pilau was creamy and full of flavor too.
My mom was also with us on this visit, and she got the Botswana-Style Braised Short Rib, with a potato puree, roasted carrots and sauteed mushrooms. The short rib was super tender, and well-seasoned. I liked the sambal sauce that lined the plate, but it was a bit on the spicy side for my no-heat tolerance mom.
I, like usual, made us share a couple of desserts, because that's basically the only reason I even like to go out to dinner; to eat composed desserts. We decided on the South African Milk Tart, with a passion fruit curd frosting the top. I would say a milk tart is akin to like a Southern-style buttermilk or custard pie, but looser in texture. When you plunged your spoon into its yielding filling, it sort of oozed out like a suspended lava flow. It was adorned with fresh raspberries, and a jagged sugar shard; dotted with raspberry and passion fruit sauces, and an odd drizzle of whipped cream. It was a very refreshing and light dessert.
But the star of the whole show, was quite possibly the Ghanaian Chocolate and Kenyan Coffee Pots de Creme. It was topped with sugared almonds, fresh raspberries, whipped cream and an abstract chocolate curl, though it did make the dish visually appealing, they were just obstacles standing in between me and that sweet, creamy chocolate. This particular chocolate was just the right level of sweet milk verus rich dark, so it was craveable and satisfying from start to finish. I don't like chocolate desserts that are so rich you can only have a couple bites. That's a culinary shame, but his plate did not disappoint. The texture of this pots de creme was like velvet; cool, chocolate velvet. That's really the only way to describe it. That's really the only way to do it justice. Ugh, I want it right now...
That is a dish I hope they never take off the menu. We also received a complimentary after-dinner macaroon filled with a passion fruit gelee, and laced with chocolate, which were delicious little bites, in their own right. The pastry chef at Jiko is on point.
This has been one of my favorite restaurants at Disney World for many years and with good reason. It's romantic dark wood hues and inviting earth tones, it's ancient quality; almost a Jurassic-Park feel, the enticing aromas wafting out of the wood-burning ovens, and the imaginative and delectable dishes make it one of the most unique restaurants not only in the World, but in the world.
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