Reviews of Boma Flavors of Africa Dinner – Jambo House
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Menus at Boma - Flavors of Africa
Reviewed by Arden Review Date: 03/12/2013
Rating: (1) Recommended
Have dined here several times in the past and have never had an experience like this.
The service was very slow, our party had to keep asking other wait staff to find our waitress. Had ordered a glass of wine upon arriving, when the glass of wine arrived, we were almost finished dinner.
We were a large group on the dining plan, we reluctantly left the required 18% tip.
The food was very good, but could not overcome the
poor service.
Pros:
foodCons:
serviceReviewed by David Carrano Review Date: 09/20/2013
Rating: (3) Not Recommended
We had the dinner buffet at Boma on September 13th, 2013. We were staying at the AKL so it was convenient. We have eaten at Boma before; however, this time around we found it to be very noisy and unorganized. Although it was busy, we did get our table rather quickly. Our party consisted of 6 adults, 4 on the dining plan, two not. I tried to explain that to our waitress when we sat down but she seemed confused and said she would take care of the details later. We used the wrist bands all week, so we knew what to expect. To be truthful, she never did take care of the details, at the end, we got billed for the full amount as well as an 18% gratuity charge. Believe me; the service was not worth an 18% gratuity. We finally did get the bill straightened out. Overall, the food was just mediocre, not bad, but nothing to write home about. More than likely we will not go back. Maybe the breakfast buffet is better?
Pros:
Nice theme, convenient if staying at AKLCons:
Noisy, unorganized, low quality food, poor wait staffReviewed by DisneyDana Review Date: 06/30/2016
Rating: (4) Not Recommended
I have given this restaurant several chances just because I love the atmosphere, but in all honesty I have never had a good meal here and definitely not worth the price. I'm pretty adventurous, in fact Indian is one of my favorites, and love a good buffet where you can find your favorites and go back for more of the things you love. but for me, this just doesn't happen here. I never can find anything that I want to try more than once. Nothing on the buffet is THAT good except for maybe some of the soups. However, I just can't justify $60 worth of soup. Even the much touted zebra domes are nowhere near worth the hype that they get. I mean they are good, but I can't figure out why people go on and on about them as if they are the best thing on the planet. They're good. I would leave it at that. At Boma I always have that scary, "I'm not sure what I'm eating" feeling that you never want to have. I try to remind myself that this is Disney and nothing is going to be too far out there, but the descriptions on the foods are very vague. I'm adventurous as far as food combinations but I'm not one to stray too far from chicken, beef or pork. I don't do gamey stuff or lamb etc. and the combinations just don't sound appealing at all. Nothing about watermelon rind salad sounds fabulous IMO. Just a little too out there for me and I don't want to pay a fortune for a carving station like you'd find at Golden Corral. If they had just one or two dishes that were to die for I might have a different opinion, but as it stands, unless you want to try bizarre foods and things you're not likely to run into ever again.
Pros:
Atmosphere is great, beautiful hotel worth visitingCons:
bizarre foodsReviewed by jluck Review Date: 10/04/2014
Rating: (4) Not Recommended
Visited end of September 2014.
I really wanted to like this place. We came after a full day at Animal Kingdom and had been told by the dining reservation lady that we could use the time until our 7pm res. to explore the resort. We walked out, saw the pool, found an "overlook" and saw giraffes in the very far distance, looked at flamingos, found a little playground that we used (not sure if we were allowed or not) then went back to the lobby to wait. And wait.
Finally time for our res. so we went down. The restuarant was PACKED. The buffet lines are so poorly planned. You get in line for meats and when you reach the end of those stations, you can't just merge over to side dishes because that is a completly separate line and if you do merge, you will be cutting in line. So this means Multiple trips to the buffet just to get to all the stations.
The choices were not great. I know we were going to experience international cuisine, but I expected plenty of American style choices as well. There really wasn't much except a large roast beef. The ribs were coated in an extremely spicy paste, the chicken was marinated in spices that while good, were not for anyone looking for American flavors. About the only foods for picky/non-adventurous eaters was pasta and sauce. So, if you have a child over the age of 9 who just wants plain food, you get to pay $40 for them to eat a plate of pasta.
Even for those of the party who wanted to explore the different foods and flavors, it was difficult. The signs marking the food were not up to date. You go up and get something and it was yummy so you want more, and when you return, the sign is still there but the dish is totally different.
I was very disappointed in the whole experience and to pay well over $200 for a meal that was not enjoyable is really unfortunate.
Pros:
some interesting foodsCons:
incredibly crowded, not worth the priceReviewed by kathie859 Review Date: 01/30/2014
Rating: (4) Recommended
I go for the great soups and unusual salads but others in my party (there were 7 of us) go for the full experience including the meat station. On our recent visit the line for the carving station was never less than 20 people deep and service was slow. 2 adults ended grabbing chicken legs off the kids station. Several people also felt the side offerings had decreased from our previous visits.
Since we payed out of pocket and used the Tables in Wonderland card, the tip for the meal was over $40. There's no way the server earned that amount during the 75 minutes we were there.
Pros:
Great soupsCons:
Long line for entree serviceReviewed by Donald_13 Review Date: 02/04/2018
Rating: (5) Recommended
We came here expecting a good culinary experience.
Found out it was the local favorite buffet and I was trying to figure out why?
The wait time in the buffet line was around 5 minutes and the selection was good from nut encrusted salmon, mash potatoes, sautéed vegetables, carved meats etc.
The locals bragged about trying the Fufu but to me ( A Chef of 19 years) it was a sweet potato purée that taste like baby food.
The Deserts weren't impressive at all, small selections of cup cakes, zebra domes, coffee tarts and cherry cobbler.
The only thing that was delicious was my drink, the African Rum Runner.
It was impressive to see that everything on the buffet was healthy and nothing deep fried, but it wasn't impressive enough to come back.
Pros:
Great staff, Decent foodCons:
Long wait time, not much for deserstsReviewed by ChallengerHK1 Review Date: 01/23/2017
Rating: (5) Not Recommended
The food was good. That being said, it wasn't great. Furthermore, I detected very little by way of exotic flavors. It was basically a nice Disney buffet. My opinion, Jiko is no more expensive and much better food.
Pros:
OK to good foodCons:
Not at all what I was expectingReviewed by Momof4 Review Date: 02/14/2015
Rating: (5) Recommended
We first ate here about 8 years ago and had not returned until this year. I thought my kids would enjoy it more now that they are older. There is a large variety of food and we enjoyed trying different things. The soups and stews are really good especially the curried chicken stew. However, the buffet/ pod system is total chaos and it is really difficult to figure out where things are located. I would never eat here with little kids because it is packed and difficult to maneuver through the buffet and we were there 1/14/15 (off season).
Four of the five of us enjoyed our meals but it was definitely not worth $40 pp. We basically had soups and side dishes and my 12 year old barely ate anything. Plus we had to fight your way to the food. My biggest pet peeve was watching unsupervised kids playing in the food. Obviously not the fault of the restaurant but nonetheless annoying.
Unfortunately, we will not be back. Sanaa is a much better option.
Pros:
Variety of foodCons:
chaos at the buffetReviewed by milesmom17 Review Date: 03/14/2013
Rating: (5) Not Recommended
First time dining here, and we booked it based on reviews from family. I am definitely not a picky eater and I do enjoy trying new things, but this was a little far out for even my tastes. One major thing I think they need to work on it describing what the different foods are, and contain. I was leery of a few dishes that I didn't know the ingredients. My 4 year old refused to eat anything, and we didn't get charged for his meal. Probably won't be back, even the desserts were disappointing.
Pros:
great serviceCons:
Food, size of restuarantReviewed by rspyburn Review Date: 09/01/2015
Rating: (6) Recommended
Years ago, we would say Boma was our favorite restaurant. However, compared to others, now I'd say it's about average. The variety of foods is interesting. I'm a picky eater, but I found enough to fill my plate. For a big restaurant, I'm surprised the lines on the buffet are not that long, maybe two or three people in front of me at the most. Our biggest disappointment was the zebra domes this year. They used to be "melt in your mouth drops of heaven". This time, they tasted like they were defrosted and dropped on the buffet line. If you are not staying in the AKL, the bus ride and cost is not really worth it. Plenty of better options in Epcot.
