6 Things You Need to Know About Jiko: The Cooking Place at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
Jiko: The Cooking Place is an absolutely amazing culinary experience at Walt Disney World. This is so much more than just dining at a restaurant. This location is at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge – Jambo House. If you have never dined here before, you definitely need to add this to the lineup for your next trip. Here are six things you definitely need to know before you visit:
6 – The restaurant costs 2 Disney Dining entitlements (and it’s pricey if you are paying).
This location is on the pricey side. Because of that, if you are on the Disney Dining Plan, you can expect to spend 2 table service entitlements to dine at the restaurant as a Disney’s Signature Dining restaurant. Gratuity is not included with table-service entitlements, so you will want to make sure to budget for that. If you are paying for the meal directly, then you can expect to pay around $38-59 for the entrée, not including appetizers, desserts, and drinks. You will definitely want to sample everything to enjoy the full experience, so be sure to plan ahead and budget for this one.
5 – There is a dress code.
The restaurant is a bit more upscale than many Disney table service restaurants. Because of this, there is a dress code. With the dress code, men should wear slacks, jeans, khakis, or dress shorts with collared shirts. Women should wear skirts, dresses, jeans, capri pants, dress pants, or dress shorts. No swimsuits, tank tops, cover-ups, hats, cut-offs, torn clothing, or offensive clothing are allowed at this restaurant or other restaurants on the property that requires a dress code.
4 – The menu, including drinks, is completely inspired by African cuisine.
The entire menu was inspired by African cuisine, as well as a little bit of Indian and Mediterranean influences. It was created by expert chefs in the field. The menu is exceptionally flavorful, with fragrant African spices. The menu does change seasonally to match the desired tastes and typical offerings of each of the seasons. The restaurant is only open for dinner, other than special tasting events, so the menu is limited to a dinner menu. We love the appetizer options. My husband can’t get enough of the Oak-grilled Filet Mignon, while I love the Botswana-Style Seswaa Beef Short Rib. I really don’t think you can go wrong with anything that you order. It all smells amazing.
3 – It’s an award-winning restaurant.
The restaurant has actually won the AAA Four Diamond Award. You will quickly see why once you see the complete menu and sample the rich flavors. The ambiance of the restaurant is perfect to enjoy the meal, too. It is a great location to gather with friends, enjoy a fancy dinner for the entire family or even have a romantic date night. We love the diversity of the restaurant, and the culinary delights are definitely award-worthy.
2 – The location has one of the largest African wine collections in North America.
At any given time, the restaurant has more than 1,800 bottles of authentic African wine on hand. This is a huge selection of African wine, which earns it a spot at the top of the list of the largest African wine collections in North America. It is likely you have not even sampled African wine before, so be sure to give it a try when you visit Jiko.
1 – The dining room décor is inspired by The Lion King.
We have mentioned before how the menu and just about everything about the restaurant is inspired by African cuisine and culture. Not only that, the Imagineers actually did pull inspiration from The Lion King when creating the restaurant. The restaurant dining room is designed after scenes from the movie. The dual brick oven is meant to represent the large African sunset, which was also a popular scene from the fan-favorite film.
Editor’s Note: Chad and I recently enjoyed a fantastic dinner here. The service was impeccable. The food was cooked perfectly and was delicious. It’s easily one of the best dining experiences on property, and we feel worth every penny!