Boma has returned! This Animal Kingdom Lodge buffet is back at Disney World (in full ACTUAL buffet format!) and we couldn’t be happier to be back!

We did a Boma double feature on re-opening day having both breakfast AND dinner! (What can we say? We did it for you. And Zebra Domes. But more on that in a sec.) So after letting our massive breakfast digest, we stopped back by Boma’s dinner buffet to see if it matches up to the buffet from the “before times.”

Atmosphere

Boma is located inside the gorgeous Animal Kingdom Lodge Resort, which is full of beautiful, natural decor and, of course, a savanna full of animals right outside the windows!

If you’re heading to Boma, you’ll need to make sure to head downstairs. One of the unique characteristics is that when you enter the lobby of the Jambo House at Animal Kingdom Lodge, you’re actually entering on the second floor! So, make your way over to the stairs or elevator and follow the signs. You can use Mobile Check-In when you arrive. Just scan the QR code…

…and you’re checked in! After we scanned the code and checked in, we got confirmation.

 

Then, we got a text when our table was ready and we made our way over to the check-in desk.

We were led over to our table and we got a chance to admire the beautiful decor inside of Boma. If you’ve never experienced Boma before, let’s give you a little background (because everything in Disney has a story)! The term boma loosely refers to a fence fashioned of sticks, and you’ll see this motif throughout the restaurant’s interior. A wrought-iron version of boma borders either side of the wide, winding path into the restaurant.

Colorful swaths of African prints are draped across the ceiling to soften the look and mimic the canopies of tents that you might find in an African market. Boma is a buffet with a big dining room with plenty of seating options, including booths and seats!

Boma, much like the rest of Animal Kingdom Lodge, has beautiful decor with lots of natural wood elements and subdued lighting.

Also, remember that since Boma is a buffet, you pay a flat fee for your meal: $49 for adults and $29 for the kiddos ages 3-9!

So, let’s see what we get for that price. Here is a look at the menu. Starting with soups and stews. Note that the menu specifies “rotating” so your options may vary from ours.

Next, we’ll see options they may have for salads.

A hearty choice of entrees.

A nice variety of side dishes.

Some options for the kiddos, though they can also choose from the main selection, and vice-versa, grown-ups can indulge in some mac and cheese, if they want!

No meal is complete without something sweet! Save room for Zebra Domes!

And if the standard fountain drinks (included with your meal) won’t slake your thirst, there are also some specialty cocktails to tempt you (but they do come at an extra cost).

Wait, wait! Before we charge over to the buffet line, let’s make sure we’re adhering to all of the safety precautions. Make sure your mask is secured whenever visiting the buffet line.

And plenty of sanitizer is near the buffet line to sanitize those fingertips before handling the common utensils.

Ok, we’re masked, we’re clean, let’s grab some grub!

Eats

We grab a plate (or two) to start loading up!

Boma’s bread service included three bread options: Mealie Bread, Pita Bread, and French Rolls.

The French Rolls are pretty standard…

While the Mealie Bread (AKA corn muffins) and Pita are a bit more unique!

The bread service also featured three dip options: Hummus, Coriander Hummus, and Sun-dried Tomato Hummus.

For something lighter and more refreshing, the fruit section offered Grapes, Strawberries, Watermelon, Boma Fruit Salad, and…

…Spiced Cottage Cheese with Berbere-glazed Pineapple! You don’t see that every day!

The fruit is exactly what you’d expect…fruit. There are grapes…

…strawberries…

…watermelon…

…and Boma Fruit Salad (which TBH looks like most normal fruit salads but with a bit of mango mixed in!).

In terms of salad, you have a few options. First you can start with a base of Mixed Garden Greens Salad with Cucumber, Onion, and Tomato…

…and then you can add toppings!

There are red onion slices…

…tomatoes…

…lentils…

…chickpeas…

…Kalamata olives…

…Feta cheese…

…Sag Dahl Buttermilk Dressing with lentils and cilantro…

…and a Chili Cilantro Vinaigrette.

Other options for sides include a variety of cold premade salads.

There’s Tunisian Couscous Salad with Shrimp…

…North African Cauliflower Salad…

…Tabbouleh…

…Berbere Chickpea Salad…

…a Pasta Salad with curried mayo…

…and Kool Slaw (yep, spelled like that!) that’s similar to your typical coleslaw.

There’s also Harira, which is a Moroccan tomato soup with lentils, lamb, and spices. 

And there’s Avocado, Papaya, and Grapefruit Salad for anyone looking for another cool, refreshing side!

The African Carved Strip Loin was absolutely fabulous! A Cast Member is stationed to carved it fresh for you. This is one of the best steaks you can grab at Disney without going to a more expensive Signature restaurant. The steak was cooked perfectly. The delicious flavor of the beef shined here. If you’re at all a meat-lover, we highly recommend trying this!

We added some Horseradish and the Boma Mustard to give a little extra kick!

The Spiced Pork Ribs with Tamarind-Honey Barbecue Sauce had an excellent smokey flavor. Without any extra sauce, these ribs are on the dryer side. With extra barbecue sauce (stationed nearby), it had some heat and was a bit saucier!

The Durban-Style Roasted Chicken was super moist and flavorful! The spices aren’t heavy-handed but they add a lot to the chicken. We also added Boma Mustard to this one too (Boma Mustard is really good — sweet and kind of spicy — if you can’t tell!).

This is everything you want in a rotisserie chicken. You can really taste the roasted, smokey flavor because it’s been cooked with real FIRE!

Another great protein option is the Senegalese Salmon with Yassa Sauce! Yassa sauce is a delicious condiment made using caramelized onions, lemons, and mustard.

The Sweet Corn Pudding with Spinach and Chakalaka Jam was a great combo of flavors and textures. We really enjoyed the sweetness of the corn mixed with the spice of the Chakalaka! This was definitely something different and we loved the cute little bowls it came in. The Chakalaka is like a spiced tomato relish. It gives a good sense of balance with the hit of acid in it to offset the sweetness of the corn pudding.

In terms of hot sides, you have a few choices.

The Spiced Green Beans with Golden Raisins came chef recommended and we thought they were yummy! The green beans had a nice crisp snap and crunch, plus the spices on the green beans and the sweet golden raisins made for a fun flavor combo.

There was West African Black Eyed Peas with Stewed Tomatoes…

…and the ever exciting Rice.

We cannot stress how delicious the Peanut Rice with Coconut, Soy Sauce, and Ginger was! It was SO GOOD! This was definitely one of our favorites here at Boma and reminded us of Pad Thai or a similar dish with peanut sauce. The Peanut Rice was well-balanced and had just the right amount of sweet and savory! We were stuck with a moral dilemma of if we fill the little remaining space in our tummies at the end of our meal with MORE Peanut Rice, or save room for Zebra Domes.

A carryover from breakfast, you’ll find Bobotie, an African spiced meat mixture topped with an eggy topping.

There were a nice variety of soup options. We saw Ghananian Oxtail Stew, Butternut Squash Soup, Cote d’Ivoríe (a seafood gumbo), and Sambal Chicken Corn Chowder.

The Sambal Chicken Corn Chowder was another favorite for us. This chowder had just the right amount of spicy kick and that creamy smoothness you expect from a chowder. There were also nice, hearty-sized chunks of chicken that we loved.

The Butternut Squash Soup was the quintessential fall soup. It had a nice cinnamony spiced flavor that makes a butternut squash soup the comforting treat that it is. It was creamy, well seasoned, and most importantly, it was delicious!

For the kiddos, there’s a whole spread too! Don’t worry — adults can choose from here too. NOTHING WRONG with wanting some chicken nuggs and mac and cheese to go with all your “fancy” adult food.

On the veggie front, there’s Corn, Peas, and Carrots. Notice the carrot portion seems to be a bit of an afterthought. LOL.

Penne Pasta…

…Marinara with Meatballs…

…glorious Mac and Cheese…

…and Chicken Nuggets round out the kiddo buffet.

Here’s what our spread looked like for the main meal — it was quite the feast! Thankfully, we saved room for dessert.

Oh desserts, how we love thee.

Do we even need to say anything about the Zebra Domes? In case you aren’t familiar, let us introduce you to our long-time dessert-crush, the Zebra Dome! It is a thin cake base topped with Amarula cream liquor mousse, coated in delicious white chocolate, and finished with chocolate stripes and shavings. This dish is a favorite here at DFB maybe almost as long as plastic cheese! You’d be shocked how easily you can knock these back. They were JUST as good as we remember!!

The Passion Fruit Mousse had a very light and airy texture that matched perfectly with the bright tropical flavors. The passion fruit flavor is very strong, so make sure you like in-yo-face fruity desserts before you try this one.

The Hazelnut Brownie was another yummy dessert. This was a nice, dense brownie that had a nice rich chocolatey flavor. However, if you’re looking for a super-strong hazelnut flavor, this isn’t it! The hazelnut was mega mild here. It’s more of a seamless blend of chocolate and hazelnut (which we loved!).

The Kenyan Coffee Tart was another rich, chocolatey dessert. If you’re a coffee-lover, then you’re in the right place: this tart has a nice strong coffee flavor that cuts through any sweetness and makes this a strong, rich dessert. It’s small for good reason — it’s SO rich!

Out of all the Boma desserts we tried today, the Pineapple Financier was probably our least favorite. The pineapple flavor wasn’t super strong and the cake was very dense and a little bit on the dry side.

Last (but certainly not least!) we HAVE to talk about the Banana Bread Pudding! Now, it’s no ‘Ohana Bread Pudding, but it definitely can stand on its own a bit. The banana flavor was delicious and strong, the vanilla sauce we added on was to die for, and the bread was a nice doughy bite. This was definitely a highlight for us.

Along with the more adventurous dessert offerings, Boma also has some tried-and-true classics. Desserts like these Chocolate Chip Cookies won’t blow your mind, but they definitely get the job done.

Looking for just a simple cupcake? Never fear! Boma also has vanilla-flavored Mini Cupcakes! 

This is what our dessert spread ended up looking like! We got almost everything they had to offer, but how couldn’t we? There are so many delicious dessert choices at Boma!

And that was our wonderful dinner at Boma!

Nosh or Not

Boma is the place for you if…

• You want to try something a little different! There are plenty of adventurous and palate-expanding flavors at Boma.
• You want signature dining-level food for an affordable price! The quality of the dishes here is top-notch, especially the steak.
• You’re looking for a good reason to go check out Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge or looking for a close, yummy dinner after your day at Animal Kingdom.

Boma might not be for you if…

• You’re looking for a small meal! You won’t get your money’s worth here unless you eat a good bit!
• You’re not looking to be adventurous! Although there are plenty of familiar options at Boma, the more adventurous dishes are where the buffet shines. Sure you could fill up on a plate of chicken nuggets but you can do that anywhere!
• You’re looking for something quick! Like any other buffet at Disney World, it does take a bit of time to get your food, eat, get your five extra portions of delicious Zebra Domes, and so on. Plus, the location is a bit out of most guests’ way. So keep in mind the time when dining here!

Overall

Boma is back and as good as ever! We really enjoyed our dinner at Boma; the food, the atmosphere, and everything else about this spot was great! Although a few dishes were misses (looking at you, Pineapple Financier), there were a lot of hits at this buffet.

If you don’t mind being a bit more adventurous, this is definitely a great pick. Boma balances the familiar with the unfamiliar, making African cuisine more accessible for audiences that might not know much about it. Overall, this was a flavorful (and fun!) food experience and we loved almost everything we tried. Keep in mind that many of the dishes are on rotation, so if there is one specific item that you are hoping to experience, it might be worth calling to check to see if it will be available the day of your reservation.

The big concern here for some guests could be the trek to make it over to Animal Kingdom Lodge. If you’re not staying at the hotel or planning it into your day at Animal Kingdom, it’s a bit of a hassle to get to (especially if you don’t have your own car and have to transfer buses!). However, this meal was definitely worth the trip over there.

For the price, we’d say you’re getting what you pay for. There’s a LOT of variety at the buffet and it changes often. You’re paying a higher price but you’re also getting thoughtfully prepared African dishes. This isn’t a generic buffet spread you’d find elsewhere (though they do have some of those more simple foods if you’re looking for that!).

We’d definitely recommend this spot to anyone looking for a filling, delicious buffet that features adventurous dishes that are full of flavor! Boma is a favorite of ours for its bold flavors and really reinforcing the vibes of this hotel. Many guests will never have a chance to experience this cuisine and it’s a fantastic way to step out of your comfort zone — even if only slightly — and find some new favorites.

Click here to see the popular Disney World ice cream spot that now serves milkshakes!

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What do you think about Boma’s dinner buffet? Let us know in the comments! 

The post Review: Time to Stuff Yourself With Zebra Domes! Disney World’s Boma Dinner Buffet is Back! first appeared on the disney food blog.