You know what I love?! Filet mignon! You know what I love even more?! Filet mignon with mac and cheese, and a kick-butt wine menu, in an amazing atmosphere! That’s why I love Jiko at The Animal Kingdom Lodge. Since opening, Jiko has been winning all kinds of awards, including the AAA Four Diamond Award (which is apparently a big deal), and it’s well deserved. There’s nothing this place doesn’t do well.
For starters, we love any restaurants that are inside The Animal Kingdom Lodge. This resort is one of our favorites to visit of all the Deluxe Resorts, with an incredible atmosphere, and it’s own savannah where you can view animals. Jiko is so well themed – you walk in, and one of the first things you see is hundreds of paper cranes in flight across the ceiling. There’s a large wood burning ovens and an open kitchen where you can see the chefs hard at work crafting the delicious food you’ll be enjoying. The most innovative and special thing about Jiko though, is that the walls change colors throughout the evening, to mimic the look of an African sunset.
Jiko has great service. As someone that’s worked in the service industry before – that’s important to me, and I think it can make or break an experience. I’ve found the servers at Jiko to not just be helpful, but to be incredibly knowledgeable about their extensive African wine menu, and willing to offer samples and advice. Something that really impressed me, is that they opened a new bottle of wine for both me, and my husband when we ordered two different glasses of wine. This showed us that we weren’t getting older wine, that might have gone vinegary.
The main star at Jiko is the food – every course, from the bread service, to the signature appetizer, the wild boar tenderloin, to the signature entree, the filet mignon, is phenomenal. They’re desserts are perfectly executed, and perfectly presented. We loved every detail of our dinner at Jiko.
Jiko is one of our number one recommendations for a romantic occasion, or special milestone dinner. We also love how it always seems available for a last minute reservation! Jiko is available on the Disney Dining Plan, but it’s important to remember that you will have to use two credits to dine here. A lot of times, we will split items when using the dining plan at Jiko, so to make it a better value when using the Dining Plan. We enjoy Jiko, and think you’ll love it too!
