Jiko – The Cooking Place Restaurant in Walt Disney World is located in Animal Kingdom Lodge. Entrees include Oak grilled Filet Mignon, Pan-seared Yellowtail Snapper, Seared Barbarie Duck Breast, etc.
Tidbit: Even though this restaurant is located at a resort, anyone can eat here. If you are driving, just let the gate keeper know you have a dining reservation and he will let you park. If you are taking Disney transportation, you will need to take a bus from your resort to a park or Downtown Disney and then transfer to the bus for the resort where the meal is located.
Dining Plan:
This is a signature table service restaurant. You will use 2 table service credit when you dine here. Reservations recommended.
Meals offered:
Dinner: Appetizers such as Grilled Wild Boar Tenderloin, the Jiko Salad and more. Artisanal Cheese Selection available in 3 choices. Entrees include Peri Peri Green Circle Chicken, Oak-grilled Filet Mignon 7oz, Seared Hokkaido Sea Scallops and more. Desserts include Pistachio Layer Cake, Vanilla Rooibos Tea Mousse and more. Kids appetizers, meals and desserts available. Drink choices are Single Malts and Liqueurs, Brandys and Ports, Wines, After-Dinner Drinks and an assortment of Specialty Teas.
Characters:
none
Special Events:
Please leave a comment if you know of any parades, events, or festivities that happen in this restaurant.
My recommended reservation times:
Try to reserve an off time such as 11 am, 2:30 pm or 4:30 pm.
My experiences:
We have never dined here.
Your opinion:
If you have dined at this restaurant, please leave your opinion in the comments section!
Featured Review:
Jiko is a wonderful signature dining experience. I think of all the signature restaurants this is the most intricately themed and detailed. Every last detail resonates the theme of the Animal Kingdom Lodge. The menu is full of the bold flavors of Africa and unusual spices. The staff is very friendly and will gladly explain the menu items to you or the specials, our server was very patient and happy to answer any questions we had. If you are a meat and potatoes only type of person, then Jiko won’t be your ideal dining place. If you are a bit more adventurous and like to try new things, this is the place for you!
You might also enjoy eating at The Mara.
Learn more about Walt Disney World Dining and get suggestions for where to eat, how to use the Disney Dining Plan and more.
Jiko means “the cooking place” in Swahili. This is one top notch 5 star rating dinning experience. We took advantage of the Wanyama Safari followed by a meal at Jiko. Be ware – it is expensive but worth every penny or een worth using two Disney meal plan table services. There is a dress code for this restaurant so this is not a restaurant to stop off and grab a bite to eat on your way back from the pool in your bathing suit. In my opinion, this restaurant is really not for small children. I am not saying you can’t bring small children but this restaurant is really more in line with date night, couples, or an adult dinning experience, in my opinion.
The atmosphere at Jiko really does remove you from the modern world and place you someone in the African continent. It really is amazing how Disney can transform an environment and lift your senses so that you imagine you are some place different and magical.
The African-inspired food is incredible. There are two big wood burning stoves and grill area are in the center of the restaurant so you watch your chef prepare your meal.
My husband and I dined at Jiko on 8/23/11. It is a Signature dining location, which means it is a 2 credit meal on the Deluxe and Plus dining plans (not 1 credit as mentioned in the original article.) The wild boar appetizer was incredible but it was too small to really share. It was so tasty, it was hard to stop eating so my husband could have his half! We also had one of the flatbread appetizers, which was also just okay. The duck entree was incredible! I had the filet which was okay, but quite lacking in flavor (the filet at The Brown Derby was much, much, much better!) Our server was very helpful in giving recommendations on the menu and wine list. Since they were just recognized for their wine list, we felt compelled to try some wine. I asked for a recommendation on a sweet-ish wine, and he recommended a sweet red wine called Jam Jar which was very nice.
Jiko is a wonderful signature dining experience. I think of all the signature restaurants this is the most intricately themed and detailed. Every last detail resonates the theme of the Animal Kingdom Lodge. The menu is full of the bold flavors of Africa and unusual spices. The staff is very friendly and will gladly explain the menu items to you or the specials, our server was very patient and happy to answer any questions we had. If you are a meat and potatoes only type of person, then Jiko won’t be your ideal dining place. If you are a bit more adventurous and like to try new things, this is the place for you!