Dining Review – Boma Allergy Friendly
Boma is located at Animal Kingdom Lodge, Jambo House. It’s a signature buffet/family style table service restaurant that serves African flavors from over 50 African countries, along with American classics for the picky eater. Animal Kingdom Lodge features some of the best restaurants you can find at any resort- Jinko, Sanaa, and Boma. All three serve uniquely different African inspired food. Don’t mistake Boma as your generic tasteless buffet, though. It’s considered badass and can compete with the best that Walt Disney World has to offer. Come as you are because there isn’t a fancy dress code. As with all table service restaurants, reservations can be made 180 days prior to your stay, and a reservation is highly recommended.
After spending an action packed first half day at Animal Kingdom Park, we took a connecting bus to AKL for our diner reservation. I highly recommend arriving early because this incredibly designed resort is part of the experience. The amazing architecture and carefully selected, authentic art are sure to make you feel as if you are actually in Africa. (The art collection just happens to be the largest damn collection outside of Africa). We also checked out one of the four savannas that are home to over two hundred hoofed animals.
Once we checked in for our reservation the cast member confirmed our allergies. They provided a detailed pamphlet that contained an allergen guide of the whole damn buffet menu, minus dessert. I have found Disney goes the extra mile to accommodate their guests and this is just another example. I was wondering how the hell they would pull off an allergy conscious buffet because typically buffets are a real shit show. 
As we were being seated I took in the sights and sounds of the restaurant. Giant pillars are designed as African market food containers with colorful draperies hanging from the ceiling. There are also uniquely designed chairs that give the impression they are hand carved. With the addition of the onstage kitchen you feel as though you’re walking through an African marketplace.
Boma offers eight stations (called ‘pods’) and a rotisserie station. After the server explained each station, we made our journey towards the food. I’m not going to lie, I don’t waste my damn time on the salad part of the buffet, so I immediately went towards the rotisserie station. I filled my plate with BBQ Ribs, African Spiced Strip Loin, and Orange Almond Salmon. After loading up on meat I decided to add Broccoli with Paprika Olive Oil and a bowl of Carrot Ginger soup. My wife also enjoyed Chermoula Peel and Eat Shrimp, Kool Slaai (African coleslaw), and Chrieme (Tunisian Fish Stew). We made several trips back and forth and enjoyed many other items. Everything we ate was high quality, but three items stuck out to me as my favorite-BBQ Ribs, African Spiced Strip Loin, and the Carrot Ginger soup. The strip loin was cooked medium rare and was very tasty, but the ribs were the show stopper in my opinion. The seasoning/sauce left a symphony of flavors in my mouth. It was off the hook legit. Finally I’m not a soup guy, but that Carrot Ginger soup was shockingly the shit. Neither flavor was dominant and complemented each other perfectly. We ended the night with gluten free zebra domes that are as good as advertised.
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The overall experience of Boma ranks it near the top of my list. The food is fantastically full of flavor and offers plenty of options for everyone. Boma offers a wonderfully unique experience and I would, without hesitation, recommend it.
