Kona Cafe - Second Thoughts

[cdrn1]

We ate there last Friday and everything was WONDERFUL.

 

[oeshpdog2]

Sure looks like the positives are outweighing the negatives right now. We really thought it was one of our better meals on our trip.

 

[rdevine10]

I just added Kona Cafe as an after thought for dinner in 2 weeks (I was amazed I was still able to get a rezzie today for 6 people). We are going to try this instead of the Rainforest Cafe (which we loved, but ate at in May, and there is one 45 min from our home). Food looks awesome to me. Hopefully we wont regret it!

 

[TheDisneyGirl02]

I'm eating at Kona on Sunday for dinner and I'm very excited! I've never been there before so I'm really looking forward to it!

I do have a question though. Is the terryaki steak like spicy terryaki or sweet terryaki? I'm thinking about getting it, but I wouldn't want to order it if it's too spicy.

 

[devonsmommy]

I'm eating at Kona on Sunday for dinner and I'm very excited! I've never been there before so I'm really looking forward to it!

I do have a question though. Is the terryaki steak like spicy terryaki or sweet terryaki? I'm thinking about getting it, but I wouldn't want to order it if it's too spicy.

I didn't find it spicy at all. It's more sweet.

 

[debbs0723]

Looks like Kona is getting some great reviews for breakfast and dinner, but what about lunch? we have a lunch scheduled there in early december and since park hours at MK are short we are using it as our mid day break.

Debbie

 

[ZoZo]

Don't let a few negative reviews scare you off. Every single restaurant at WDW has its loyal fans (and each has its share of negative reviews). As another poster said, take reviews with a grain of salt and give any restaurant that sounds interesting a try.

I went for 8 days last October, and the only restaurant I didn't like was Raglan Road. I must have caught them on an "off" night, because lots of people love this restaurant! Might have been a bad server (who let our food get cold) or a problem with the kitchen that night. You just never know!

BTW, we went to Kona two or three times last October - it's one of my favorite restaurants! I tried the sticky wings and seafood chowder last time (yummmm).

 

[TheDisneyGirl02]

I didn't find it spicy at all. It's more sweet.

Thank you! That was what I was hoping to hear!

 

[BlakeNJ]

I did not care for my meal at Kona. I read about the macadamia nut crusted mahi mahi but was told it was taken off the menu. Maybe that was part of the problem, I was disappointed from the time I picked up the menu. Would I eat there again? Probably not but I do think it's worth trying. If I did decide to eat there again, it would be for breakfast for the Tonga toast.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

I have eaten there and really like the experience. Nothing bad to stay. I too just called to confirm a reservation at Boma and while on the phone the girl ask me if there were any other reservations she could help me with. Well I had been trying to book the Spirit of Aloha show but it was sold out. So I asked to her check and sure enough they had availability for the early show!!!

 

[Tinkerbell_84]

We have eaten here 2 times. The most recent time was in July. We were a little dissapointed in Kona. The previous time we have eaten here it was great, and that's why we wanted to eat here again. We didn't think it was as good as the last time, the kids didn't like the food, and it was just nothing special. A family that is really close to us ate here in August for the first time and were dissapointed. They said it was the worst meal of the trip!

 

[richsilver]

We had dinner there last week.The food quality was great but the service was less than we hoped.We were there for 5pm start up and didn't leave until after 7pm. Server was not the most friendly/helpful either.

Hopefully just a fluke for us as the food itself was very good.


rich

 

[AJA]

We ate at Kona last week and LOVED it! DH has a food allergy so the Chef usually comes out and talks to him about the menu before we order. The Chef was great, the waiter was awesome as was the food. DH and I both considered it the best meal of the trip!

 

[SeaSpray]

someone asked about lunch at kona cafe; here's a link to one of my web pages with a few pictures from our lunch there: http://www.brownfamilyvacations.com/html/May08Restaurants.htm

Here are many pictures from dinner:

http://www.brownfamilyvacations.com/html/restaurantsjul2007.htm

 

[BriarRosie]

someone asked about lunch at kona cafe; here's a link to one of my web pages with a few pictures from our lunch there: http://www.brownfamilyvacations.com/html/May08Restaurants.htm

Here are many pictures from dinner:

http://www.brownfamilyvacations.com/html/restaurantsjul2007.htm

I ended up checking out the link, Terry. And I burst out laughing because I recognized every stinkin' person at your Kona dinner table!

Loved the photos of everything, including one of John as "Camouflage Boy", right in the middle of some thick foliage.

 

[lowie]

we were there on the 14th and had an awful experience.

first the 7 of us were sat at a table that should really seat six and three of us were knocking knees the entire time. also we were at 2 tables pushed together and one table was about 1.5" taller then the other. not really a big deal, but annoying.

we did note on our reservations that my DD has nut allergies and i wasn't paying attention when the bread came and she ate a piece with butter. well, the macadamia nuts caused a quick itchy reaction and i had to get her some benedryl that caused her to literally fall asleep at the table.

it was extremely loud and the waiter spoke so softly and either didn't know what he was doing or was just being a jerk. we told him that we wanted to order off the kids menus for the kids and pay OOP, which he told us we could not do. we assured him that we could and he should consult his manager. the manager came over and confirmed that we could indeed order from the kids menu and pay OOP. we also asked her at that point if it was possible to move to the larger (empty) table next to us and she said they were preparing to seat someone right then. no one sat down for at least another 15 minutes.

i ordered the macadamia mahi and it came out cold and mushy, it had an awful metallic taste. the waiter offered to bring me soemthing else but i literally felt sick from the metal taste i declined. later i actually got sick in the ladies room from it and normally i have an iron stomach.

the waiter did not bother to have the manager come discuss my meal and later when the check came he didn't bother to take it off. he thought i'd rather use my credit then have to pay for my soda i ordered!!!

he also charged us for 'junior meals' for the kids and added extra for their drinks and desserts! it was clearly a case of tip extending.

we asked to speak to the manager again and she came out and told us that we misunderstood her and thet we could order off the kids menu but that drinks and desserts weren't included.

so we asked for her manager, and she said there wasn't one. so we actually had to ask for the hotel manager. it was bad enough that the table was too small and uneven for our party, but we weren't warned of the nuts in the butter (which i take final responsibility for even though we noted it on our ressies), my dinner was left on the bill and the kids prices were inflated against what we were told at the beginning of the meal. she was NOT happy that we wanted to escalate our complaint but she just wasn't understanding that if she did what she told us she would do with the kids meals PLUS good customer service would have been to remove my meal completely and maybe give me the darn soda free??

anyway, the hotel manager and chef came out and apologized and ended up giving us most of the meal free. really just paying what we owed and getting the free soda would have made me happy.

on a good note, the other 3 adults enjoyed their meals and the 2 kids who ate were also happy enough.

 

[cheerful chickadee]

someone asked about lunch at kona cafe; here's a link to one of my web pages with a few pictures from our lunch there: http://www.brownfamilyvacations.com/html/May08Restaurants.htm

Here are many pictures from dinner:

http://www.brownfamilyvacations.com/html/restaurantsjul2007.htm

ohh the lettuce wraps look great, I don't see them on the menu at allears though, were they new? Do you remember how much they were?

 

[B-Ride]

My DH and I ate there on 9/11 and I would have licked my plate if I was not in public

We ate there at the end of August and it was fabulous. We loved our appetizers, entrees, desserts and, of course, the bread. And remember, licking your plate in public is okay as long as no one sees you. You just have to wait for the right moment

 

[puzzles]

We ate there twice in Aug. We had a dinner and a breakfast. Both were fantastic!

For dinner we had a waitress that appeared to be training. She was very slow and asked us over and over the same questions because maybe she didnt want to make a mistake. She disappeared a lot, too. Maybe to ask someone questions? not sure. But the food was outstanding! My son ordered seared tuna of some sort that came with a big tempura crab piece and if I would have let him lick the plate, he would have! I had shrimp & scallops which were perfectly cooked. I cant remember exactly what my daughter had, but I think it was pork chops. She doesn't usually eat much, but she ate every bite. Our server was slow, like I said, and that was our ONLY negative, and it wasnt even really a negative at all.

For breakfast we both had Tonga Toast, which I had heard so much about that we had to try it. Wow, is all I can say! It was yummy. Very sweet, and much more than I could eat in one sitting, but it was very good. We had very good service and the food was delivered quickly. Would definitely eat here again.

Everyone is going to have their own opinions, and their own experiences. Dont base your choices on what 2 or 3 people say (good or bad). Go and enjoy it

 

[cam&phoebsmom]

We ate there Wednesday night and it was DELICIOUS!!

My DH had the Tuna Oscar-it was perfectly cooked and super yummy!
I had the Macadamia nut crusted Mahi-Mahi. It was very good and I ate just about every thing on the plate!

Desserts-my DH got the Kilauea Torte and I got the Wite Choc. Cheesecake-both were scrumptious!

Our server was attentive and pleasant-and got an excellent tip for her attention. We would happily go there again