Summary Fine dining defined

Reviewer's Comments

Jiko is fine dining defined. I've heard so much about it, not only here on the boards, but also from people at the parks. I've been meaning to go for a few years now, but it never fit in to my schedule. This time, since I was staying at AKL, there was no excuse.

Upon entering Jiko, after you've checked in at the host stand, there is a small waiting area with a bar and several tables with comfy chairs. I had to wait for my table, so I opted to sit at the bar and peruse the extensive wine list. Only South African wines are featured, and there were many names I didn't recognize. I went with a viognier and thoroughly enjoyed it. Be warned, I noticed that not many were offered by the glass, and the bottles were pricey.

I had barely paid for my drink when the hostess came to escort me to my table. She waited patiently while I gathered my purse and drink and then brought me to a table by the windows. Once I saw down, I took a moment to look around the restaurant. It's a large seating area, but a bit dark. I was grateful for sitting by the windows. Noise level is average. The kitchen area is open. The light fixtures over head were designed to look like a flock of birds in flight. Really very elegant, and very well themed.

My waitress was Kim, and she was great! I was torn between a few items. When I asked her opinion, she made some recommendations that helped me make a decision. I ordered the savanna rolls for an appetizer and the BBQ short rib (singular for a reason!) for my entree. I was still working on my viognier, so she left me the wine list for later.

There was not a long wait at all for my savanna rolls. The rolls were corn, spinach, and goat cheese wrapped in a crispy pastry, directly comparable to Vietnamese spring rolls. A curry sauce was drizzled across the plate. The rolls were good, but I found that they crumbled when I bit in, so the filling ended up on my plate. Good because it allowed me to dredge it through the curry sauce; bad because a spring roll shouldn't be that messy. There were two rolls, cut in half, for a total of four items on the plate. It's perfect for two people. Fortunately, I was hungry.

When Kim cleared my appetizer plate, we got to talking about what wine I should have with my BBQ short rib. I'd spotted an old vine pinotage on the list, and she advised it would be well paired with the short rib. I asked her to bring me glass with my dinner.

Once again, there was a short wait - but not TOO short - before my main course arrived. The pacing of the meal was really well done. As was this short rib. It was a single piece of meat that has been slow roasted to the point that the meat could be pulled from the bone by a fork. This was a fair sized rib, too! It's a good thing there was only one! The sauce wasn't too sweet and was nicely tangy. I wish it had penetrated the meat further than it did, but overall, it was excellent.

I had no room for dessert at all.

This is another place I will certainly be going back to. It's a bit pricey, but I firmly believe you get your money's worth here. I highly recommend it.

Summary Amazing place!

Reviewer's Comments

Quite simply the best dining experience we've ever had in Florida!

From start to finish, service was excellent.

Our waitress asked us what food we like, what we dislike and whether we liked spicy food or not. Based on our answers, she made recomendations and talked us though every item on the menu.

My "Two Way Tuna" to start was perfect. Subtle flavours with a great kick of chilli.

I was then stuck between the Durban Shrimp Curry and the King Scallops at which point our waitress simply said, "Sir, while the curry is good, the scallops are so good I wouldn't even consider the curry!" She was sooo right! The scallops were divine and one of the best meals I've ever had.

Dessert was a refreshing white chocolate and pineapple affair and the meal was washed down with a great Chilean Chenin Blanc - again at our waitresses recomendation.

The restaurant is quite dark with low lighting and dark furniture. The atmosphere is quiet yet relaxed.

There are plenty of staff on hand and each waiter/waitress seems to have sufficiently few tables that they can give tip-top service to everyone.

I'd have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Jiko to anyone and I look forward to our next visit.