Is It Just Me, Or Is Jiko Going Downhill?

[Skippy's Pal]

We just got back from an amazing, indulgent 12-day stay in the World. Did our share of preferred dining - including California Grill, Flying Fish, and Jiko. We were last at Jiko 5 years ago and had an amazing meal, assisted by a wait person who spent much time with us discussing the different points of South African wines, which best fit with our meals, etc. This time, I thought the menu was uninspired, basically variations of the same ingredients we'd just had at Flying Fish, much less interesting, and as for wine advice: this time, the "advice" was the suggestion was that since I had ordered shrimp, I might want a "white." Really?

The Jiko meal was the biggest disappointment of our trip. Had a much better meal at Boma (and, for that matter, also at House of Blues).

 

[coachwnh]

sorry to hear that. just ate there in august and loved it!

 

[Sweet Melissa]

I've been to Jiko on our last four consecutive trips and haven't thought that at all. We'll be going there again in a few weeks. I'll let you know when I get back if it's still my favorite Disney restaurant.

 

[Zummi Gummi]

I had a fantastic meal there last September! Sorry to hear you had a bad experience. It's my favorite restaurant on the property.

 

[ScoutN]

I heard the same thing back in May.

 

[dreamscometrue]

Yeah, I think it's just you.

 

[Ariel484]

I can't say I agree. We went twice in 2009 (May and November) and again in June 2011...each time Jiko knocked it out of the park. We'll be back many times in the future.

 

[Did Knee]

Never been to Jiko's, but had a similar experience at Artist's Point a couple of years ago after great service there over the years. The last time we had a waitress whose english was not the best and had no knowledge of wine. Could it be that they sometimes have to put in people that are untrained due to staff shortages? Is this a personnel issue perhaps? Could this account for this sort of thing happening at signature restaurants?

 

[Skippy's Pal]

Never been to Jiko's, but had a similar experience at Artist's Point a couple of years ago after great service there over the years. The last time we had a waitress whose english was not the best and had no knowledge of wine. Could it be that they sometimes have to put in people that are untrained due to staff shortages? Is this a personnel issue perhaps? Could this account for this sort of thing happening at signature restaurants?

Since you mention it, this individual's English wasn't the best, and as I indicated in my OP, he seemed to have little knowledge of wine. It was frustrating to have looked forward to a dinner for 5 years, only to have it such a disappointment. An annual passholder whose acquaintance we made during our trip gave us insight into what she saw as major staffing cuts Disney has made over the last several years, which could have been a factor with our Jiko experience.