Jiko Cooking Place Disneys Animal Kingdom Lodge Walt Disney World Resort John Clark Jiko---The Cooking Place
African cuisine and African wines highlight this unusual Disney restaurant.
Openings: Dinner nightly

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Jiko---The Cooking Place, Lake Buena Vista, FL


Jiko---The Cooking Place Restaurant Review:


Jiko---The Cooking Place is the signature restaurant of Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, where cuisines from the 52 countries of Africa are harmoniously melded with influences from Europe, India and Asia. Twin wood-burning ovens highlight the open kitchen, and guests can enjoy a view of dishes being prepared. The seasonal menu is authentic without being too exotic, and it's all appealing. Start with the “Taste of Africa” bread service with pappadam, poppy seed lavash, house-baked naan presented alongside spiced African dips, or one of the wood-fired flatbreads topped with beef carpaccio and feta cheese with berbere spices. There’s an entire menu designed for vegetarians, while meat-lovers can try the fall-off-the-bone tender spicy Botswana-style Seswaa beef short ribs or the spice-crusted Berkshire pork loin served with a coconut sadza and braised greens. The wine list offers exclusive South African vintages that rarely are available in the U.S., with many of the 65 options available by the glass. For a sweet ending, go for the rich Kenyan coffee crème brûlée along with a cup of traditional Kenyan press pot coffee. Jiko's artful interior, the work of noted restaurant designer Jeffrey Beers, is inspired by Disney's The Lion King, with muted earth tones and stylistic white birds (representing good fortune) gracefully suspended from the ceiling.