Kona or Hollywood Brown Derby???

[Uncleromulus]

Tiger926: Why do you suppose Kona is only 1TS??

 

[GrimGrinningVal]

Personally I prefer the Kona Cafe. I've eaten there since before the name change and have always loved the food. My fav is their pulled pork bbq sandwich with slaw. Fantastic! I had a bad experience at the Brown Durby as a youth and haven't been back since. (my beef stew didn't have the cooking alcohol cooked out and I took a big bite of a spiked onion. The server didn't offer to replace the meal or offer any alternatives) Other than that I remember it being pretentious and not worth the money.

 

[Tiger926]

Tiger926: Why do you suppose Kona is only 1TS??

Why wouldn't it be? Most of the WDW are 1 credit restaurants. My point is that you can't use 1 or 2 credits as a barometre of food quality for every restaurant. The Brown Derby is one of the worst restaurants on property as far as I'm concerned, yet it's 2 credits. Why is that? In my opinion, and many others on here, it's not worthy of being a 2 credit restaurant at all. As I stated, I don't even think it's worth of being a 1 credit restaurant. We've eaten at Kona many, many times and each time, we have experienced good food, excellent service and cool atmosphere - can't say the same for The Brown Derby at all! Of course, everyone's mileage varies, but if I were to compare The Brown Derby to other Signature 2 credit places like Yachtsmen, Cali Grill or Citrico's, it doesn't even compare.

Like I said, our experience at Brown Derby would hardly have placed it in a 1 credit category, Tiger

 

[Wendi2000]

We love both, but I think I would pick The Hollywood Brown Derby if I had to choose between them. We have always had incredible service and incredible meals there. The cuisine at Kona Cafe is also great, but the service isn't quite on par and if you are already going to be at Studios, you don't have to leave the park for your meal.

 

[missminniemouse]

Brown Derby without a doubt! I had a wonderful meal there with my son last May. Seared Ahi Tuna.....to die for! The banana dessert was incredible as well. Service was excellent.

 

[blondinkaya]

Color me crazy, but I prefer the Brown Derby. We went there in May and tried the Kona last month. The Kona just seemed so ... busy, kwim? The Brown Derby was so much more relaxing. At the Kona, we felt rushed to eat and go. And it was much more loud there.

I guess it depends on what you're looking for. I'm glad to be able to say that I tried the Kona, but I won't be returning there. I will be going to the Brown Derby again, however ...

 

[dvc_bwv]

BROWN DERBY without a doubt. DH and I love this restaurant and have gone to DHS only for dinner at BD. The Cobb Salad is the best I've had anywhere, the service and atmosphere are great!

 

[kbmaggs]

I really wanted to love Kona, but the atmosphere was just not to our liking; it was extremely noisy. The tables were so close tht we felt like we were sitting on top of the diners on either side of us. The food was not bad, but it wasn't anything special either.... (I did like the sticky wings appie!)
I haven't been to the Brown Derby, so I can't comment on that.
Whatever you decide, have a great trip!!!

 

[Uncleromulus]

Tiger926: I suspect it isn't a Signature restaurant due to the ambiance--or rather, lack thereof. Disney describes it as a casual and lively cafe. Most of the "lively" comes from the fact that it dosen't have an "entrance" per se and has no front wall . Anyone sitting at one of the front tables can actually shake hands with people strolling by. And has been noted several times, it is noisy, from the lobby below as well as the crowds at nearby Ohana and the Tambu Lounge.
None of which should suprise because for looks, it is mostly a reincarnation of the old Coral Isle Cafe.
Which is why we've never had dinner there. We always eat breakfast there each trip, but it is way too noisy and "lively" for us to enjoy dinner.

 

[Tiger926]

Tiger926: I suspect it isn't a Signature restaurant due to the ambiance--or rather, lack thereof. Disney describes it as a casual and lively cafe. Most of the "lively" comes from the fact that it dosen't have an "entrance" per se and has no front wall . Anyone sitting at one of the front tables can actually shake hands with people strolling by. And has been noted several times, it is noisy, from the lobby below as well as the crowds at nearby Ohana and the Tambu Lounge.
None of which should suprise because for looks, it is mostly a reincarnation of the old Coral Isle Cafe.
Which is why we've never had dinner there. We always eat breakfast there each trip, but it is way too noisy and "lively" for us to enjoy dinner.

That's an interesting idea as to why it's not a Signature, but what about the food quality? I don't think the ambience is much better at The Brown Derby - it was dark and more fancy, if you will, but once I looked around, I saw the same shorts and flip flip laden people who had just entered from the parks (we were dressed up as we always do for Signatures), food on floor, kids running around, very noisy & lively as you put it and confusion upon check-in. These are all things I see at non-Signature restaurants too, and don't even get me started on the food. A 'Signature' dish - Cobb Salad - missing half the Cobb! Huh? Overcooked food, no refills on drinks, forgot kids' food, no bussing of table, etc.

I totally get that there are many elements that make up a dining experience as I come from a restaurant family. So for us, the fact that The Brown Derby is classified as a Signature means that it should take extra care and attention to get most, if not all of those details right, yet in our case, they got most of it wrong. So for us, in answer to the OP's question, Kona Cafe wins out - not sure how not having a wall is that big of a deal. The Brown De Derby messed up food, atmosphere, service and didn't enforce the dress code and those are all more relevant to our dining experience than not having a wall in the restaurant.

To each his own - that's what makes the world an interesting place! Tiger

 

[iluvpluto27]

I've eaten at both and prefer Brown Derby. Kona's been a bit hit and miss for us, the desserts there have always been very good but some of the entree's we've tried have been poorly executed, and our service there last time was pretty much the worst of our trip.

 

[lovmy2girls]

We love the Kona, great atmosphere and fantastic food.....we have never had a bad meal there. Sometimes the service is off because it is so crowded but great food.

 

[ROEDISNEY]

Kona

 

[magicalcouple]

Brown Derby.
DH and I adore this restaurant. The portions are good sized and the food is outstanding. We love the Cobb salad, as every one does, but the crab cakes are good, the pork tenderloin is good, the beef, the salmon, the ahi tuna...man, you cannot go wrong! We had James last week as our server. He noted our anniversary and we got champagne and strawberries on the house! Brown Derby*we love you*!!!!!