Day 9 - Wednesday the 11th - Part 6 - ‘Ohana Means Family
We had ADR’s for the entire group to eat at ‘Ohana that evening at around 5pm. It couldn’t have been more appropriate for a big group meal, because as Lilo says in the movie, “Ohana means family” ‘Ohana is one of my all time favorite WDW restaurants. It doesn’t necessarily have the best food, but the combination of its location at the Poly, the cool tiki atmosphere, fun entertainment, and good food make it hard to beat. And who doesn’t love coconut races and Lipoa with her ukulele?
We hopped on the monorail and headed around the loop to the Poly. Luckily, we didn’t have any of the transportion issues that plagued us earlier in the week. We walked across the lobby and my mom got us checked in.
I LOVE the Poly, but it was strange being inside with all the construction going on. They had the center area boarded up, so it felt like walking through a hallway instead of passing through this amazing two story atrium with a fountain in the middle. Oh well, it only affected the general vibe you get outside the restaurant, but once we were inside, it was classic Ohana through and through.
My dad and I headed to the bar to grab a couple drinks. I had a Mai-Tai and my mom and Stephanie had these frozen drinks.
It’s funny because my dad ordered them and couldn’t remember what they were called and they weren’t on the menu. He called them volcano’s or something. They were coconut based, and Stephanie was in heaven with hers. Does anyone know what they are called?
A few minutes later, they called us from the lobby waiting area to the "staging area” just outside the restaurant.
While we waited to be seated, we had fun hanging out and soaking in the ambiance.
Stephanie enjoying her mystery drink
Cassie and Randy
And Louie
A few minutes later, we were escorted past the main kitchen on our way to our table. I love that you can watch so much of the food being prepared.
We were seated in the main dining area in front of the fire pit. Nice!
It's funny though… We stayed at the Poly in 2003 on our first big family trip with my parents and Cassie’s family. We’ve all been back separately several times, but not as a big group again. This is the exact same table that we sat at back then. With today being "Throwback Thursday" and all, here's Princess, Huey, and Louie from that meal about 11 years ago.
I couldn’t resist walking up to the grill area to take a closer look!
It must be hot back there!
Looking good!
So we all took our seats and then they brought out some bread pretty quickly. It was the ‘Ohana Pineapple-Coconut Bread. Very tasty!
And then bowls of Mixed greens salad (with lilikoi dressing) to share. And from my dabbling in tiki cocktails, I’ve learned that lilikoi is actually passion fruit. Also very tasty!!!
And then a few rounds of appetizers.
The Pork dumplings (tossed in garlic-ginger sauce.) One of the highlights for me… these things were outstanding!!!
And then we had some honey-coriander chicken wings, noodles (tossed in a teriyaki sauce), and fresh vegetables. So good!
And lettuce wraps
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) Thanks so much for sharing!
)The Gasparilla Island Grill looks really nice and the food looks great.
