The intention is for this to be the first in a series of dining reviews from our July '06 trip (to include Victoria and Albert's Chef's Table, 'Ohana, and Les Chefs de France).
As way of introduction, the family and I are rather adventerous eaters in that we'll try anything once (at least the DW and I are that way, DD7 and DD4 stick to the kid's menu and ice cream). We had tried Boma on a previous trip and really didn't like it. But, we were excited about going to Jiko to see if a sit down meal would be better than a buffet.
So, we arrive for our 6:00 pm ADR and wait only a few moments before seated at our table. Our waiter for the evening is Ron, and he is quite good in explaining the different dishes and offering suggestions on meals to experience African cuisine.
For appetizers, I order the Bacon-Arugula-Tomato Flatbread and DW gets the Lemon-Cumin Marinated "Ahi" Tuna. The flatbread is "traditional" with a flat, chewy crust topped with the bacon, arugula, tomatoes, herbs, and a yogurt sauce. The tuna came as a cylinder of raw tuna surrounded by differnt beans and the same yogurt sauce.
Both were very good, though the winner was clearly the Tuna. We were big fans of the yogurt sauce in both dishes (it has a bit of spiciness to it without being overpowering). While the sauce was good for both dishes, it works better with the tuna. Our kids even enjoyed eating the tuna (and they are not big into eating raw fish).
For entrees, I chose the Broiled Filet of Wild Salmon, and the DW gets the Durban Curry Shrimp. The Salmon is a nice size piece sitting atop some a vegetable "salad" of tomatoes, avocado and other vegetables. The shrimp dish is a nice big bowl of shrimp and vegetables (artichokes, tomatoes, peas, and rice as the binding starch). Again, both are very good, though I liked the shrimp better than the salmon (by slim margins). The combination of flavors is well done, and has more of a refreshing quality to it. It's not really sweet or savory per se, but is a nice blend of each (along with a little spice kick). I think it's that blend which made everything so appealing.
For the kids, they both get macroni and cheese. The bowls are huge. The fact that neither one finished is an indication of the amount of food and not that they didn't like it.
We were pretty full from dinner (there was no food left other than the macaroni and cheese), so we decided to share a dessert. In this case, we got the Expedition Everest Sundae. It wasn't quite what I was expecting. It was a stylized banana split. Nothing spectacular, but quite good and refreshing to end the meal.
Overall, we all give Jiko high marks. While we would most likely not go to Boma again, we would go to Jiko again. I would rank this as being comparable to California Grill in terms of food quality and taste.
That's Jiko in a nutshell. I will post pictures in a moment.
As way of introduction, the family and I are rather adventerous eaters in that we'll try anything once (at least the DW and I are that way, DD7 and DD4 stick to the kid's menu and ice cream). We had tried Boma on a previous trip and really didn't like it. But, we were excited about going to Jiko to see if a sit down meal would be better than a buffet.
So, we arrive for our 6:00 pm ADR and wait only a few moments before seated at our table. Our waiter for the evening is Ron, and he is quite good in explaining the different dishes and offering suggestions on meals to experience African cuisine.
For appetizers, I order the Bacon-Arugula-Tomato Flatbread and DW gets the Lemon-Cumin Marinated "Ahi" Tuna. The flatbread is "traditional" with a flat, chewy crust topped with the bacon, arugula, tomatoes, herbs, and a yogurt sauce. The tuna came as a cylinder of raw tuna surrounded by differnt beans and the same yogurt sauce.
Both were very good, though the winner was clearly the Tuna. We were big fans of the yogurt sauce in both dishes (it has a bit of spiciness to it without being overpowering). While the sauce was good for both dishes, it works better with the tuna. Our kids even enjoyed eating the tuna (and they are not big into eating raw fish).
For entrees, I chose the Broiled Filet of Wild Salmon, and the DW gets the Durban Curry Shrimp. The Salmon is a nice size piece sitting atop some a vegetable "salad" of tomatoes, avocado and other vegetables. The shrimp dish is a nice big bowl of shrimp and vegetables (artichokes, tomatoes, peas, and rice as the binding starch). Again, both are very good, though I liked the shrimp better than the salmon (by slim margins). The combination of flavors is well done, and has more of a refreshing quality to it. It's not really sweet or savory per se, but is a nice blend of each (along with a little spice kick). I think it's that blend which made everything so appealing.
For the kids, they both get macroni and cheese. The bowls are huge. The fact that neither one finished is an indication of the amount of food and not that they didn't like it.
We were pretty full from dinner (there was no food left other than the macaroni and cheese), so we decided to share a dessert. In this case, we got the Expedition Everest Sundae. It wasn't quite what I was expecting. It was a stylized banana split. Nothing spectacular, but quite good and refreshing to end the meal.
Overall, we all give Jiko high marks. While we would most likely not go to Boma again, we would go to Jiko again. I would rank this as being comparable to California Grill in terms of food quality and taste.
That's Jiko in a nutshell. I will post pictures in a moment.
We already have an ADR set for our Oct. trip! 
Glad your family enjoyed it!
