The Mara, Boma, a Jiko

[ToTBellHop]

can someone please describe all of these restaurants for me? Specifically the Mara, where we will get most of our meals...is it a food court? I know they have refillable mugs (yay! I can flaunt that I went to Animal Kingdom Lodge! Yeehaw!! 43 days...so excited!)
Kyle

 

[Megara]

I'll take Boma, haven't been to the others. Boma is on the lower level across from Jiko and has a huge buffett, where you'll have your choice of appetizers, breads, 4 or 5 soups, main courses, and I don't know how many side dishes. And a dessert section of course. You'll have a waitperson to get you your drinks, the rest is up to you. I was hesitant about trying this place and the cuisine (some of which I couldn't figure out) but I'm glad I did, it was excellect. Try the coffee too.

 

[markymark]

Originally posted by Megara
I'll take Boma, haven't been to the others. Boma is on the lower level across from Jiko and has a huge buffett, where you'll have your choice of appetizers, breads, 4 or 5 soups, main courses, and I don't know how many side dishes. And a dessert section of course. You'll have a waitperson to get you your drinks, the rest is up to you. I was hesitant about trying this place and the cuisine (some of which I couldn't figure out) but I'm glad I did, it was excellect. Try the coffee too.

I went and loved it, like Meg says the cuisine seems a bit "strange" at first, but it really is worth a go.

This was recommended to me, and you must try it :-

Zebra Domes :slurp:

 

[K22]

We ate several meals at Mara. It is a food court style place, just as you say. I can honestly say that the worst meal we had a WDW was at Mara. It was a dinner. But, having said that, we went there most mornings for breakfast and it was perfectly acceptable and just perfect for what we wanted at that moment. The great thing about the Mara is that it is very reasonable - unless you want to unload a lot of cash, Mara is the place to go for breakfast. Boma has a nice breakfast, but it is a little costly for a family to do every morning. Sometimes you just want a simple piece of fruit and a bagel or maybe some good old cereal - go to Mara!

I loved it when they said "Have a wild day!" and asked for your "paw print" when you sign a receipt. Amazing attention to detail . . .

 

[Smee]

Mara is quick food, pizza, burgers, salads, etc and as previously stated decent breakfast. The quality is good for the price and the price is reasonable. You can also purchase large bags of snacks, cookies, soda, wine, beer, etc (bulk stuff for the room or pool).

Boma is the African themed buffet, great food, try it at least once. Some exotic stuff but traditional fare too, and a kids buffet as well. I think the dinner was around $14 for adult, a few bucks less for kids.

Jiko is the table service/menu restaraunt. Great food and atmosphere, not a real kid experience. but if your kids are good eaters maybe worth a try.

AKL is like the other luxury resorts, you get all 3 options: counter service, buffet, and table side, priced accordingly.

 

[disney_chic]

I'll take Jiko...

My hubby and I had dinner at Jiko not too long ago. It was fabulous! The appetizers we had were the duck firecracker and the beef roll. For entrees we had the banana leaf steamed sea bass and the lamb. The sea bass was out of this world and my husband said the lamb was great, but I didn't try it. We also had a wonderful bottle of wine from South Africa. I can't remember which desserts we had but, they were good. The menu changes frequently so the ingredients are the freshest. I believe the seas bass has been replaced by banana leaf wrapped shrimp. That sounds good too!

The atmosphere is warm and relaxing and the tables are not too close together. I don't think that this is a great choice for young children, they would probably be bored.

The prices are comparable to the California Grill, but I think it was worth every penny. Jiko has surpassed CG as our favorite because it's much quieter. If you want a nice, relaxing sit-down meal, give Jiko a try!


:slurp:

 

[tcb]

AKL Dining

Hey everybody,
Just stayed at AKL a few weeks ago. MARA wasn't so hot. It was ok to go fill yor mug and grab a quick bite, like a fruit salad or something. We ate breakfast there a few times- the first time we made the mistake of getting the breakfast platter w/ the eggs, choice of meat, & potatoes. Unfortunately something in the way they prepared the taters gave our group indigestion for the day. After that we stuck w/ the breakfast sandwiches, pastries, & fruit, & it was ok. We grabbed a late snack there one night and it was sub par. My girlfriend got a caesar salad that tasted good, but it was almost hot- not chilled like it was supposed to be. I had an asian lo mein type noodle dish which was ok, and the other person w/ us that night got something else -i cant remember what- just that it was bad. BOMA was really good- food quality was good, and a great value for your money. Atmosphere is nice.The breakfast buffet was among the I've had best at WDW. Had a great server named Dilly. Dinner at BOMA was also a great value. Worth it if only for the desserts, especially the Zebra Domes. I didn't care much for the some of the traditional African fare, but some dishes were great- the pork tenderloin w/ coca cola sauce, and the soups especially stick out in my mind as being great. Also had a selection of traditional American food for the less adventurous. JIKO- what can I say about it- shot right toward the top of my WDW favorites list. Nice relaxed setting, dim lighting. Awesome wines, even better service. Our waiter was Josh, and it was his first night at Jiko, after transferring from All-Star Cafe at Wide World Of Sports- he was great, and so was the waitress training him, (but I forget her name). Our table was the last in the place that night so we got great attention. Had the olive flatbread as an appetizer (almost like a pizza). My girlfriend had the monkfish as an entree and I had the wahoo. Neither of us are big fish eaters either, but both dishes were outstanding. Paired it w/a few bottles of a S.African riesling (a light bodied white wine). By the end, it was the most expensive meal we had on our trip but it was well worth it. I highly recommend both JIKO and BOMA

 

[The Mom]

I've stayed at AKL,and will be there again in Feb. Because my son is not a very adventurous eater, and the rest of the family are not "big" eaters, we only bought food from Mara, and after the first day,only bought breakfast there. My vegetarian daughter had lunch there the first day, and it was probably the worst meal she or I have ever tasted at WDW, and maybe anywhere else! She tossed it in the trash after 2 bites, and had a salad instead. My son & I split a burger and fries...edible, but no great shakes. We ate all of our meals elsewhere after that. The resort itself is beautiful! I just plan on bringing lots of snacks, with PB&J fixins for the kids.

 

[disneycentral]

I just have to chime in!

We ate at Jiko a couple of months ago, and I was floored by how good it was. I have eaten at every restaurant in the world, and Jiko is far better than any of them. The lighting is beautiful on that back wall as it changes collor throughout the evening. It is nice and quiet, has a good view of the pool area (you mostly just get the light reflecting off the pool, which is nicer than the pool itself). The food is more creative than anywhere else, but the service is fantastic, and if you have any questions at all, they are very honest. My wife had the monkfish, and it tasted just like lobster. Get there early, the often run out as the work is getting around.

Boma is pretty good, for a buffet. I am fundamentally against buffets. Nothing like food prepared for 200 that sits out for hours under heat lamps until you come. The food was good at dinner, but the desserts were great. It was very crowded for dinner. When we stopped by for breakfast, it wasn't as crowded, and the food was good. Not Kona Cafe good, but good.

Make sure you make priority seating for both Boma and Jiko. We called day of for Boma, and no problem getting in (for dinner, didn't call for breakfast, just went early). We called ahead for Jiko, and still didn't get our choice of times.

Unfortunately, I think that this is the only flaw with AKL. If you stay at the Contemporary, or any other deluxe resort, there are two other deluxe resorts in walking or monorail distance, greatly increasing the total amount of restaurants available. While at AKL, you have to drive or take a bus to get anywhere else. While that increases the sirenity, it also increases the hassle factor. The wonderful thing about WDW is the amazing aray of food choices, and by staying at AKL, you make it more difficult to enjoy all of those choice.

By the way, there were three kids in Jiko when we were there around 9:00 PM, all of them were asleep on the table.

 

[Prezli]

We loved both Jiko and Bomas, but I must add one more flaw that strikes me, neither of them are open for lunch and if you are there you are forced to depend on Maras (limited in selection) or room service (very expensive). I would like to see them have Bomas open for lunch.

 

[tcb]

AKL Dining

I'm sure a tremendous amount of work goes into preparing breakfast and dinner at Boma, which probably is the reason that it's not open for lunch. Given the fact that people get up at the crack of dawn to hit the parks, and the amount of people they are serving, I'll bet that food prep crews are working all night to get ready for the morning, and need the down time between breakfast and dinner to prepare for dinner. Also figure into the equation that the heavy majority of guests are at one of the parks/Downtown/Water Parks, etc. and not at the resort. Can't say for sure, but these are most likely the reasons that Boma is not open for lunch.

Todd

 

[Prezli]

You could be right about Bomas but then maybe they could expand on Maras menu a tad. It just seemed very limited, but really I am not complaining. I enjoyed their fried shrimp, it was more than adequate.

 

[tcb]

Well, I absolutely agree about Mara. Details are in my post a few days ago. It definately needs some work on the menu and food quality. It had some ok items, but alot of items sucked. Even some items that may have tasted ok, it was like if it was supposed to be cold it was room temperature or warm, or some hot items came out kinda cold. It was the only thing close to a disappointment on our trip in Dec.

Todd

 

[Dumbo Deprived]

We've only dined at Jiko's of the three but we absolutely loved it. We had a lovely table and excellent service and wonderful food. We would definitely return again.

We tend to prefer sit down places over buffets as I get overwhelmed by the choices and don't eat enough (which isn't really a problem I have enough padding to spare :lol: but then I get hungry later and hubby complains about the $ :lol: ) and my husband overeats when confronted with so many choices. However, I keep hearing about the Zebra Domes at Boma-- I wonder if they'll ever offer those at Jiko.