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Capturing the essence of the vibrant African marketplace, this family
buffet restaurant is a great way to savor the African experience
and its multicultural influences. Serving a wonderful array of dishes
for breakfast and dinner, and featuring an exhibit kitchen, wood-burning
grill and rotisserie, Boma is a celebration of the African feast
under traditional thatched roofs.
Boma in Africa is “an open, natural space that provides safety
and shelter in the bush.” The 270-seat “marketplace” restaurant
is open for breakfast and dinner, featuring an exhibit kitchen and
bakery that allows guests to walk up to a half-dozen side-by-side
cooking stations and have their entrées freshly prepared. Curries,
chutneys and other Indian and Asian influences add fabulous flavors
to grilled fish, meats and vegetables. Diners find authentic soups,
stews, tossed-to-order salads and other market-fresh fare on the
daily menu. “Choices can be as simple as rotisserie grilled chicken,
but the fun begins when adventurous eaters add a flavorful cucumber
sambal or a sweet chutney,” says Chef Jay Smith, who oversees the
team of chefs in Boma’s kitchen.
Soups, from hearty seafood gumbo to curry-infused mulligatawny,
are a highlight, along with salads such as pan-fried red peppers
and capers, and roasted chicken with chili-cilantro vinaigrette.
Entrees include grilled salmon with a tamarind barbecue sauce, lemongrass
shrimp with peanut sauce, and pepper steak, accompanied by couscous,
saffron rice or foofoo (mashed yams). Add chutneys, a peppery sambal
or a sweet-and-sour chile papaya sauce for a delightful international
treat. Breads, too, are African-inspired, including golden-brown
naan, light and flaky chapatis or a blue cornbread.
Cultural representatives from Africa serve as hosts and hostesses,
greeting guests as they enter the thatched-roof eatery. “This personal
interaction helps our guests understand African culture,” says Clement.
“Diners will find food they’re used to, but also new and unusual
versions of African cuisine.” For children, there’s a separate cooking
station with its own chef.
Prices - $10-$20
Specialties - Grilled seafood, roasted meats,
vegetarian dishes and salads.
Hours - Breakfast 7:30am-11am. Dinner 5:30pm-10pm
Priority Seating recommended. Call (407) WDW-DINE
(939-3463)
Reviews
"This is a buffet costing 23.00 basic fee. I
ate there this past Sunday night. So loud I thought I was in a school
lunchroom. If you do not crave African food, eat elsewhere. It is
the whole price buffet or not at all - coffee and dessert may not
be had unless you have the buffet, but don't wait for a waitress/waiter
to offer coffee. They won't . They want to move you out quickly
as others are waiting, many people waiting almost an hour to be
seated - and that is after calling ahead for reservations. Familiar
foods like watermelon not replinished following kids' foraging.
Fries and mac and cheese and watermelon all there any kid would
eat!! I would not eat there again and cannot recommend that you
waste a vacation meal at Bomo. Touted highly, but doesn't stand
up to the image Disney presents in ads." (5/04) CLB
"We were seated right at our priority seating
time and had a friendly, if overworked, waitress. The buffet was
super and they have refined and enhanced it since our visit last
year. The dessert table defies description and all the selections
were clearly marked as to what they contained. The wine list was
reasonable and had some interesting South African wines. All in
all a good evening. A+ We will be back next year!" (5/03) Ann
M. Jones
"We have visited Boma on 4 different occasions.
Even bought my 86 year old parents and they LOVED it! Breakfast-
seated in about 5 minutes with PS. Excellent service. Didn't like
the special juice, but the next time i ordered something else- with
no problem! Excellent vaiety. The grain cereal, roast pork, ham,
omlettes, eggs, all the american breakfast you can wish for and
beautiful breads and pastry assortment. Yet, the africian influence
was delicious. Trying new items was fun. We offered tastes to the
rest of the family--just to induce them to get their own! Wonderful!
BUt if breakfast was great- Dineer was even better. The best breakfast
and dinner at Disney and a great value when you think of what you
have to pay in the parks. Get PS. Had PS and the place was full!
Yet, out wait was under 10 minutes. Desserts are the best. Choice
of meats, veggies and 4 differnt soups. We loved it! Our only complaint...(AND
not BOMA) ... taking a bus to get another bus! Sometimes it took
more than 75 minutes to get from Boardwalk to AK Lodge. OK for younger
healthy folks, but with a wheelchair and scooter-- its a long ride!
Took a taxi for $30.00 (1 way) next time. Worth it -just to miss
the aggravation of waiting for the "next bus" to come!" (3/03)
carol
"If this is the restaurant downstairs in the
Animal Kingdom Lodge, it was the most fabulous experience of my
life. The food was great and the decor is wonderful. I love the
way you can walk out and see the animals or sit on the balcony and
rock the night away." (1/03) Sonya
"We had priority seating and we did have a wait.
Not a problem. The young ladies gave us the beeper and we went about
our business of exploring while we waited. We had a hard time waiting
the second night only because we remember how good everything was
and were excited to get started with our nightly feasting. A taste
sensation. The Boma has something for everyone. My granddaughter
wanted to eat there every meal and she is 8. Our experience with
food and serves was a wonderful one. Our waitress and waiters were
informative and cheerful. All the foods were well prepared. When
we ask the dishes were explained to us. You had combined two of
my favorite desserts, cheesecake and pineapple. My husband, who
never eats bbq, was very impressed with your ribs and sauce. Thank
you and everyone at the resort for the wonderful experiences we
had. October 10th thru 14th. Beautiful." (10/02) The Nestors
"My family and I have eaten at Boma several times
and each meal has been terrific. I had to agree with the comment
of another reviewer regarding the slight disorganization of the
seating staff. On two occassions we had priority seating and experienced
about a ten minute wait. On another visit we simply showed up and
were told the wait would be twenty to thirty minutes. My husband
and I grabbed a pager and jetted up the stairway to the beautiful
bar located on the second floor for a qui c k drink. We had just
enough time to chat with the bartender and enjoy a cocktail before
the pager flashed. We were seated immediately and we began to feast!
You would be doing yourself a grave injustice if you do not come
to this restaurant with serious eating in mind, so in other words,
come hungry! The service was great and the food even better. At
times the lines for each station can become somewhat congested,
but what do you expect when you have so many interesting and delicious
eats to tr y There is also a kids station which we "all" enjoyed
and the chefs are ready at hand to answer any questions you could
possibly conjure up. Definitely dine at Boma, but I wouldn't recommend
it if you're in a rush, way too much to taste and enjoy. The lodge
is so beautiful and we will most certainly feast again!" (7/02)
Christi
"We made reservations at Boma in the Animal Kingdom
Lodge primarily to see the hotel. We returned 3 nights later because
of Boma. I was highly impressed, and according to my wife, I don't
impress easily. I agree with another reviewer - the folks at the
front desk didn't seem to have it together. We waited about 20 minutes
even though we had priority seating reservation. When I finally
went to the desk and inquired, they seated us immediately. However
that was the only disappointment. The food was great!! Others have
raved about the desserts - let me rave about the main courses. I
really liked the meat dishes, but I loved the soups; especially
the seafood stew. Many of the items are not marked as to what they
are, because they want you to take the time to talk with some of
the chefs and serving people to find out what they are. If you haven't
seen or stayed at the AK Lodge, you have to see it, and if you haven't
eaten at Boma, you have to try it. My wife and I have eaten all
over Disney World, and Boma ranks in my top 3 or 4 Disney restaurants."
(5/02) Bill Miller
"We had priority seating, but still had to wait
about 25 minutes, which seemed like much too long, as there were
seats available the whole time. It seemed that the host staff was
not really well organized. The service, once we were seated was
very good. The food was also very good. The variety of hummus was
great and the deserts were fantastic. The one suggestion I would
make would be that all the foods be labeled with a brief description
of ingredients, as many were not recognizable. About 50% were labeled.
I would recommend the restaurant. There were some foods that I've
never seen before, and the atmosphere was pleasant for a buffet."
Lynda
"This restaurant was interesting to say the least,
we waited about 10 minutes to be seated. The place is beautiful
and I really enjoyed the atmosphere,but I would never eat there
again,well maybe if I could order just the desserts. I found all
the food strange tasting,the prime rib couldn't be beef, it was
very odd and no amount of seasoning or sauces helped.The side dishes
didn't even look appetizing.But the desserts were wonderful,my daughter
and I repeatedly went back for more and t h e service was great."
(1/02) claudine
"Priority seting worked a dream, 10 minute wait
at most
Service -exceptional
Setting - Excellent
Food - We ate 5 dinners and 4 breakfasts whilst there and it was,
by a bus ride, the finest food we tastedin our whole florida holiday
5 Stars
The culinary highlight by far of 2 weeks in Florida, the food stood
out in an area that is a good food desert." (10/01) John
"DINNER @ BOMA IN THE AKL. Okay, I have one word
for the whole entire experience.... INCREDIBLE!!!!!! Our PS was
at 6:30 and we were sat promptly at that time. The couple in line
before us was told the wait was about 45 minutes without a PS. I
just grinned. Let me tell you this lodge is beautiful! DH and I
met an incredible artist in the ZAWADI MARKETPLACE also. We were
an hour and a half early for our PS because we drove. I figured
since we were already in the Allstars which is an AK Resort area
it would be quicker....AND IT WAS! We arrived at the lodge in about
5-7 minutes! The artist and dining at Boma was our reasoning for
visiting the lodge 2 more times. (more on that later) Anyway, the
young black gentleman from S. Africa who sat us was just SPECTACULAR!
He welcomed us to Boma and experiencing the unique flavors of Africa!
Let me tell you...unique....that is DEFINITELY the correct word!
DH and I had about 7 plates of food between us and not one thing
on my plate did I not enjoy. I even liked the couscous and that
is really weird for me Our server was Sally it was officially just
her 2nd day on the floor at Boma. She had waited tables at other
restaurants in Disney and decided she wanted to try Boma. Let me
give you one word for Sally.... SPECTACULAR!!!!! The cost of our
buffets at Boma was $39.90. With the gratuity of $5.99, that brings
the grand total to $48.29." Denise
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