On Wednesday we spent the day at Animal Kingdom. We decided to stick with our African theme of the day and eat at Boma. The restaurant is located in the Jambo House section of the Animal Kingdom Lodge, so it's not actually in the park. We had to catch a bus to the resort, which was no problem. Boma is an all-you-can-eat buffet, so it's a good value for your money.
The decor was amazing! Everything was in dark wood with thatched roof accents throughout. And the food was spectacular. Well, I thought so. Charles didn't care for the sweetness of many of the dishes. But I could have licked my plate, over and over. I didn't, though, just so you know.
I especially enjoyed the Carrot Ginger Soup and the Coconut Curry Chicken Soup. There were also a variety of yummy salads, including a curried pasta salad that was delicious. For picky eaters, there were many chicken choices, as well as standard rice and potatoes. Mr. Lego loved the Durban spiced chicken, returning many times for more.
As much as I loved the main dishes and salads, I knew I had to save room for dessert. And am I glad I did! The dessert bar consisted of a variety of cookies as well as sample-sized servings of African favorites. I enjoyed being able to sample them all without filling up on one.
Everyone but Charles gave this restaurant 5 stars. And even though he wasn't wild about the cuisine, he is glad he tried it. There was a balance of sweet and spicy dishes and the serving staff was helpful and friendly. We all enjoyed Boma very much.
Thursday's meal was eaten as Les Chefs de France located in the French pavilion at Epcot. I had read mixed reviews of this restaurant, so I wasn't sure if we should try it. But in the end I'm glad we did.
Before we got started with our meal, Remy from the movie Ratatouille stopped by our table. That was a nice touch, we thought. He moved from table to table with his handler while we were there.
The wait staff was friendly, but as the restaurant started filling up, it took longer and longer for refills and food to be brought to our table. That was the biggest drawback, in my opinion.
The food was adequate, but nothing was absolutely amazing except the chocolate mousse for dessert. I had beef short ribs in a Cabernet sauce and Charles ate a salmon dish served with a red pepper/tomato sauce. Without the sauce, the salmon would have been very bland. And while my Cabernet sauce was very tasty, the beef had a lot of fat. Our friend Matt enjoyed his duck confit very much.
The atmosphere in the restaurant was wonderful. We really felt like we were in France. We would rate this restaurant with 3.5 stars.
Our final table service meal was lunch at the Liberty Tree Tavern in the Magic Kingdom. The theme of this restaurant is a colonial-era tavern with servers dressed in mobcaps (women) and breeches (men). Since I'm a history buff, I loved it!
The food was very hearty and flavorful. I enjoyed lamb stew with wild rice, while Charles had a very large burger. The Princess had chicken and Mr. Lego ate pasta. The chef was very accomodating to change the pasta sauce to something tomato-based instead of the cream sauce listed on the menu.
We all enjoyed dessert. Mine was an ooey gooey toffee cake, but I have to say I liked Charles' choice better. It was a rich, chocolately cake with heavenly coffee icing. I believe it was called Martha Washington's cake.
We give this restaurant 5 stars for the wonderful food and service.
I hope you've enjoyed reading about our experiences. I realize that everyone has different tastes and expectations, so you may not have the same good experiences we had. But I do hope I've been able to to give some insight at what to expect at these table service dining options at Walt Disney World.
It all sounds sooo yummy! I can't wait to take our kids there :) Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete