I think the DIS has murdered another restaurant!

[Harambe]

Well, it may still be breathing, but I definitely hear the death rattle.

I've notice a trend, since I've been posting and reading on the Disboards. One restaurant seems to get rave reviews, and we all jump on the ADR train for that particular restaurant. Then it becomes hard to get an ADR there, and securing one allows for bragging rights.

Then the restaurant can't keep up . . . service is slow . . . food quality slips . . . "great expectations" aren't met . . . restaurant is flamed . . . people stop seeking ADRs . . . restaurant recovers, and is once again a pleasant place to eat.

Past "darlings" have been Coral Reef, Boma, Chef Mickey's. More recently, LeCellier.

But I fear the next one to take a tumble: KONA CAFE

Our meal was sub-par, and I just read a few other sad reviews over on the reveiw board, complaining of bland food. The service is still excellent, but that won't pacify folks for long.

 

[PrincessBride07]

I went to Kona last December, and I wasn't too impressed. The food was just okay, but the service was not that good. It was my first time to the restaurant, and I didn't know it was one of the recommened restaurants. I can tell you that I don't see myself going back there for dinner.

 

[musicmom3]

Oh, bummer! Kona Cafe has always been sort of under the radar, which is why we have liked it. We have an ADR there soon...we'll see, I guess.

 

[Micca]

It might seem so, but I doubt that the increased traffic from here is significant. I think statistically the number of Dis-ers going to any particular WDW eatery over 365 days makes the impact minimal. That doesn't mean that the reviews here aren't valuable. I think it's more likely an indicator that enthusiastic reviews increased expectations beyond the norm. BTW, I really enjoy Kona for breakfast.

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

It might seem so, but I doubt that the increased traffic from here is significant. I think statistically the number of Dis-ers going to any particular WDW eatery over 365 days makes the impact minimal. That doesn't mean that the reviews here aren't valuable. I think it's more likely an indicator that enthusiastic reviews increased expectations beyond the norm. BTW, I really enjoy Kona for breakfast.

I'd agree here. Too much hype for something that is good, makes people think it's beyond amazing=big let down. For example, I like Le Cellier, but it's not even remotely a top 5 for me. Will I go there again, of course, but I won't cry when I cannot go.

Lol, I do have two ressies for Kona Cafe though, but I made my ADRs according to location and menus. My mom really wanted to try Tonga Toast so I thought it'd be nice to take her there for breakfast for her birthday and another because of the many greens in the menu... I love brocolini (sp?).

 

[EPCOT is a verb]

Well, it may still be breathing, but I definitely hear the death rattle.

I've notice a trend, since I've been posting and reading on the Disboards. One restaurant seems to get rave reviews, and we all jump on the ADR train for that particular restaurant. Then it becomes hard to get an ADR there, and securing one allows for bragging rights.

Then the restaurant can't keep up . . . service is slow . . . food quality slips . . . "great expectations" aren't met . . . restaurant is flamed . . . people stop seeking ADRs . . . restaurant recovers, and is once again a pleasant place to eat.

Past "darlings" have been Coral Reef, Boma, Chef Mickey's. More recently, LeCellier.

But I fear the next one to take a tumble: KONA CAFE

Our meal was sub-par, and I just read a few other sad reviews over on the reveiw board, complaining of bland food. The service is still excellent, but that won't pacify folks for long.

How sad. We have always enjoyed their menu and have had great meals there in the past.

 

[jenjersnap]

We noticed the slip last September. :-( We have always loved Kona and had stellar meals but it wasn't as fabulous last time. I didn't make ADRs this time.

 

[Island_Girl]

We just got back and ate at Kona and were not impressed. I had the steak - it was tough and the tart for dessert was mostly whip cream. One thing that really bugged me was how small the tables were - for a family of 4, there wasn't near enough room for everything.

The bread was yummy though!

 

[Brian Noble]

It has been my experience that, largely, the restaurants haven't changed. It's expectations that have.

Your mileage may vary, but these restaurants are always booked to near 100% capacity, whether they are the current DIS darlings or not.

 

[catne]

Wow.

Well, we ate dinner at Kona just last week (Thursday, 9/4)

And thought the food was delicious, start to finish.

Course, we also really liked Le Cellier in May 2008.

So I guess I'm in the camp that says go ahead and try it for yourself.

 

[Harambe]

Lol, I do have two ressies for Kona Cafe though, but I made my ADRs according to location and menus. My mom really wanted to try Tonga Toast so I thought it'd be nice to take her there for breakfast for her birthday and another because of the many greens in the menu... I love brocolini (sp?).

Oh - definitely try it. As I said, I'm hoping they fix the problems, since we have always loved our meals here.

The other thing I noticed was just a wall of people here at the Poly lobby waiting to get into 'Ohana and Kona. We snagged a table right in front of the singer (I love this guy!) and tried to relax and enjoy him, but the wall of people kept backing up into the lounge area, practically standing in front of the singer with their backs to him.

I think that started my negative vibe! Yep - my "expectations" were getting trampled on right from the get-go.

 

[MichelleVW]

I just ate there 4 hours ago and I'm still stuffed!! We loved it and will go back for sure!!

 

[musicmom3]

Oh - definitely try it. As I said, I'm hoping they fix the problems, since we have always loved our meals here.

The other thing I noticed was just a wall of people here at the Poly lobby waiting to get into 'Ohana and Kona. We snagged a table right in front of the singer (I love this guy!) and tried to relax and enjoy him, but the wall of people kept backing up into the lounge area, practically standing in front of the singer with their backs to him.

I think that started my negative vibe! Yep - my "expectations" were getting trampled on right from the get-go.

What time were you and the Wall People there, Harambe? From reading the crowd posts, I have been deceiving myself into thinking there will be no crowds when we go next week!!!!

 

[ROEDISNEY]

We had breafast at the Kona in April & Sep and both were really good

 

[kileybeth]

MichelleVW

what did you order?

harambe, what time did you eat?


I find booking for off times gives a little better experience. just usually what we do as we liek to eat later anyway.

 

[Praying Colonel]

We ate at Kona in August, and I'm sorry to say we didn't enjoy our meal here like we have in the past. The sticky wings were tough, like they'd been sitting under a heat lamp for too long. DW's favorite is the macadamia mahi mahi, but she didn't like it, either. They changed the presentation to remove the onions on top and the macadamias are ground into a meal that's not as tasty, she said. And she said it was dry, kind of like my wings.

The service was wonderful, and we enjoy the atmosphere there. Maybe we just caught them on a bad night. But we did sense a decline.

 

[skw444]

Wow.

Well, we ate dinner at Kona just last week (Thursday, 9/4)

And thought the food was delicious, start to finish.

Course, we also really liked Le Cellier in May 2008.

So I guess I'm in the camp that says go ahead and try it for yourself.

We were also there on 9/4 and I thought the food was delicious too! Actually, one of our favorite meals the whole trip.

 

[Mackey Mouse]

I have to admit I never thought it was that great, good lunch and decent service.....and people seemed to love it. It is hard when they fall from grace and cannot live up to the hype.

Maybe they are just going through a rough spot and will pick themselves up again.....we can hope.

 

[annie1995]

We ate at Kona twice last week. Once for dinner which we all loved! And once for breakfast which was just OK. I think mostly it was our server though. She would not give us any drink refills for breakfast other then coffee. My DS 9 wanted more milk, but was told no refills . That was the only resturant that didn't allow refills so I didn't understand that much.

 

[hammie59]

We dined at Kona for dinner this past May and really enjoyed the food. Our server was rather strange. Lets' just say that she didn't give us the warm disney fuzzies, but overall it was OK. I'd still go back.