Kona or Hollywood Brown Derby???

[k_nala]

Hello everyone! We have two reservations, we've never been to either, and would like your opinion! Would you have dinner at Kona or Hollywood Brown Derby? TIA!

 

[autumnpalm]

I would go with Kona! Love the atmosphere of the Poly, ony 1 credit instead of 2 (or, if you're paying OOP, a lot cheaper) and I've never eaten anything there that wasn't delicious. Plus the monorail is fun and if you're there for dinner, you can watch Wishes from the beach after.

 

[magicalfoursome]

I would go to Kona. I have not eaten there but I have heard good things about it. We went to Brown Derby on our trip last month and we were disappointed. The food is good, not great, but the prices are high!! We paid OOP but even with the DDP it takes two table credits. Not worth it in my opinion.

 

[Uncleromulus]

Derby, if for nothing more than ambiance. Kona is a glorified coffee shop.
And Kona is one TS for a reason---

 

[GailT]

I have never eaten at Kona but have heard good things about it. If I was on the DDP I would NOT use 2TS cedits for HBD, just not worth it. I did that in the past when I was a newbie with the DDP but now that I know how they work and places to get the best bang for my buck I love the DDP

 

[KatMark]

We haven't done Kona in too many years to count. However, we did Brown Derby almost six years ago and found it overrated--food was mediocre at best, service was terrible and very expensive (and DH thought the grapefruit cake was the worse thing he'd ever put in his mouth!). I'd say Kona.

 

[tripplanner]

Kona would be my choice. We've always found the food to be good there. Brown Derby is just so much more expensive. The food is good at Brown Derby, it's just that I like the food and the variety and the atmosphere of Kona better. Of course, if you were looking for some place quiet and more upscale feeling Brown Derby is the place to go.

 

[Bev J]

Kona for us! We had yummmy food, great service for both our dinner and breakfast. It is always at the top of our ADR list.

Bev

 

[TiffanyW1]

Kona, Kona, Kona!!

 

[#1MMFan]

Derby, if for nothing more than ambiance. Kona is a glorified coffee shop.
And Kona is one TS for a reason---

In many many trips to Kona Cafe, I've yet to feel like I was in a glorified coffee shop. The meals have always been excellent, as have the staff, and the restaurant is comfy and relaxed.

 

[two-foxes]

They are both pretty good...I love the cobb salad and salmon at HBD and the apps are good there too, but you certainly do pay a premium for the food. Kona is a good choice...the sticky wings are great and the tuna oscar was pretty darn good, too! I have heard you can order sushi from the Island sushi bar, which is even more reason to try it. If you can fit both, I would try both, but if you can do just one, Kona is certainly a little bit of a less expensive option.

 

[CinderellyCinderelly]

I prefer Kona as a breakfast spot. It's like a little cafe and the atmosphere is better for breakfast.

Brown Derby is delicious and I always feel sophisticated when I'm eating there. I like the Old Hollywood feel.

 

[Tam1067]

We had dinner at both in August.

No question, Brown Derby was better. This was our first visit there, and it was very good. Our server was excellent as well.

Kona was a disappointment. We are fans of Kona, having had dinner there three years in a row, but this last time, both service and food had slipped quite a lot from in the past.

Atmosphere is much better at Brown Derby, too.

 

[Lynn5700]

Eaten at both. Both are good but I prefer Kona! YUMMY!

 

[mykidsand_i]

BD is our fav for a good meal, they have an excellant cobb salad!!! My hubby and I split one there last time we at at BD and we also ordered 2 grapefruit cakes- my girls each had a kids meal. We all got full! Kona is more of a "coffee place" in my opinion. They have great food and coffee, but BD has great food, great desserts AND the great setting!

 

[livie1205]

KONA! This was are best meal out of 8 days there...we ate at cali grill at CR and we HATED it and wished we had went back to kona lol I got the terriaki (sp? sorry) steak and banana creme brulee YUMMY.The very best part of the meal was the bread and butter! I liked the butter (not a butter eater) so much that the next night when we went to ohana I had the waiter bring some to the table (they share a kitchen) for our bread lol

 

[DSNY4ever]

BROWN DERBY! We just got back and this was our favorite meal of out whole trip. The food was fantastic- we got the Salmon and the cobb salad and I had the most wonderful pumpkin cheesecake. I am going to post pictures later this week, but it was definitely worth it.

 

[tamclan]

Eaten at both. Prefer Kona.

 

[Tiger926]

Definitely Kona! Good food, good service and nice atmosphere. Brown Derby is horrible - horrible service, terrible waste of 2 credits and unorganized. We had a terrible experience there in May and must say that it turned us off. We've eaten almost everywhere, so have lots to compare to - it doesn't even touch the other 2 credit restaurants like: Cali Grill, Yachtsmen or Citricos.

I had to laugh at the comment that Kona is a 1 credit restaurant for a reason - based on that logic, I would rate Brown Derby a half credit then as it was just horrible all around!!

Happy eating, Tiger

 

[Silver Queen]

I've had lunch at Brown Derby twice and found it to be unremarkable and overrated, especially the Cobb Salad which is IMO too finely chopped up. (I don't like to massacre fresh vegetables.) I prefer the Cobb Salad at the Grand Floridian Cafe.
We had dinner at Kona and felt that the food was excellent (filet and tuna Oscar). The desserts were also delicious. the ambiance can be a bit like a coffee shop and there can be quite a bit of noise in the restaurant and coming up from the Poly lobby. I would recommend trying to get a table against the wall or window.
We would go to Kona again for dinner but are not interested in going back to the Brown Derby.