Is 'Ohana good? I keep reading such mixed reviews!

[JCornell]

We just ate there for the first time in August and all of us loved it. It's near the top of our list for ADRs next trip, too.

 

[Jasperann]

Can you get to Ohana's from the boat? We are going to be Staying at FW and are going to make reservations to eat there. Thanks.

 

[WillCAD]

The boards are full of negative reviews of 'Ohana, and of every other Disney restaurant, resort, and attraction.

'Ohana is my most favorite place to eat at WDW, hands-down. But that doesn't mean I walk into the place with rose-colored glasses on my eyes and pixie dust coming out of my ears; I still evaluate the service and quality with the same criteria I use anywhere else. Most of the time, 'Ohana rates very high on my scales. Other times, not so much.

I have gotten surly, inattentive waiters, and I once showed up 20 minutes in advance of my ADR (for one person) and waited nearly two hours to be seated (while groups of 2, 3, and 4 who had ADRs later than mine were getting seated in 20 minutes). And once in a while, some of the dishes are sub-par, too.

Complaints about feeling "rushed" are common at 'Ohana, but I believe that it's mostly a misunderstanding. 'Ohana likes to put lots of food on your table all at once, and keeps on bringing it until you cry "Uncle!" To some people, the fact that they haven't finished their appetizers when the meats start coming means they're being rushed, but in reality, that's just the way family style restaurants serve you. It's not serial; it's parallel.

I've also seen people complain about the large amounts of food that get put onto their tables, which they can't finish, and that this promotes waste. But again, that's a side effect of family style dining; it's all-you-can-eat, so 'Ohana (and LTT, too) tend to attract big eaters who want to consume mass quantities of seared animal flesh. If you're not a big eater, but still want to experience the bliss that is 'Ohana, all you have to do is tell your server when he first approaches that you would like smaller quantities of each item, and they will be happy to accommodate you. I usually get a single small dish of the dessert, instead of the normal separate dishes of ice cream and bread pudding.

'Ohana is a unique place that doesn't appeal to everybody. But everyone should try it at least once, and judge it on it's own merrits rather than comparing it to dissimilar places. Most people love it, so you have a pretty good chance of liking it, too.

 

[stefanospops]

We have done Ohana breakfast and we love it. The bread is awesome and we like the juice they bring too. Will need to try the dinner on our next visit!

 

[Boston Tea Party]

big eaters who want to consume mass quantities of seared animal flesh.

Seared? Darn, I want charred animal flesh, not seared. I guess that I will skip this one...

 

[tdsbu]

I think it gets mixed reviews, because the food was wonderful and more "Hawaiian" before all of the menu changes. Many of the people that consistently went before these loved it and have been disappointed ever since. Those that did not experience/remember the food from prior years have no complaints. I personally think the changes were relatively minor relative to the overall experience/food atmosphere/etc.

 

[B-Ride]

'Ohana is one of our favourites, and a favourite of many others judging by just how hard it is to get a reservation.

Ironically, given that the fire pit is the central theme, that is our least favourite part of the meal. Last time we went the steak was great but the turkey and pork were both a bit dry.

However, we absolutely love the salad, wings and pork dumplings so we order lots of those. And, of course, the dessert is the best there is so we always save room for several orders.

Just remember, the servers are your "cousins" so they want to make sure you get lots to eat. We just ask for one piece of each of the meats until we decide which we would like more of. That way food doesn't go to waste.

 

[mollygirl13]

We love, love, love 'Ohana!

We just ate there last week and had the best meal of our trip!

We usually eat at 'Ohana on every trip and it never disappoints us!

 

[ShannonMB]

I've only been once, and I found the food to be 'okay'. It is definitely worth trying once, and it's great to visit the Poly if you're not staying there. I'm in the process of trying all new things when we go, but one day I will definitely go back. Try it for yourself so you can know what all the hype is about!

 

[3mickeys&me]

We had dinner there and totally loved it. Would def do it again.

 

[takemetomickey]

The food at Ohana is reallllllly good! My only complaint is that it is very meat intensive. Aside from the meat there is salad, DELICIOUS pineapple bread, noodles and broccoli but not much else. If you don't eat meat I would pass, but if you do this restaurant is a must!

 

[2cats1kid]

Ohana is the first restaurant on our TS list whenever we visit. Rule used to be that the family could agree on ONE repeat visit (there are so many restaurants I want to try them all, and if we keep repeating we never will) and that was always Ohana. Last time though, we visited Coral Reef for the first time and I've had to relax the rule to two repeats! So even though we won't be going again till 2011 I already know two restaurants that I'll be using my 90+10 for!