New menus at the Polynesian's Kona Cafe

[PK Disney Dork]

We only ever do Kona for breakfast so this doesn't effect us in the slightest. However the menu does appear to be all over the place thematically.

 

[DISNEY1975]

Not for me. Never has been and never will be. We go for breakfast and I havent broken the news to my husband yet that they no longer have the Big Kahuna! Ill need to bring some tissues to that breakfast!

 

[busymomma123]

We ate at Kona for dinner last week and were soooo disappointed. Its usually a must do for us but not anymore. We wont be back until the menu changes again.

 

[NYCgrrl]

We ate at Kona for dinner last week and were soooo disappointed. Its usually a must do for us but not anymore. We wont be back until the menu changes again.

What did you eat that disappointed?

 

[melbatoast]

Ugh, so sad about this menu. We were planning on going there as we usually do, but cancelled my Ressie when I saw the new menu. We used to love the Kona Salad, coconut crusted chicken and the teriyaki steak and the chocolate banana creme brulee. And the kids always loved all the fun desserts like the Kona Cone. The new menu doesn't even seem like polynesian food. Such a bummer!

 

[busymomma123]

What did you eat that disappointed?

My kids had the noodle bowls and they were not very good. My dh and I tried them and didn't like them either. The rib eyes were tasty, but the arugala side we didn't enjoy. We felt the menu didn't offer choices that our family would enjoy. With that said, I'm sure other people will enjoy it, but we were very disappointed.

 

[jerseygal]

My kids had the noodle bowls and they were not very good. My dh and I tried them and didn't like them either. The rib eyes were tasty, but the arugala side we didn't enjoy. We felt the menu didn't offer choices that our family would enjoy. With that said, I'm sure other people will enjoy it, but we were very disappointed.

Yes, the menu has certainly changed, I am "on the fence now". We have enjoyed it in the past. We have a reservation there also, probably will order one of the steaks. So the side was arugala lettuce, a salad? Thanks!

 

[cadien]

Considering the usual size of their "caviar" pearls, I'd be afraid to bite into the wasabi version.

 

[soccermom54]

DH and I only go to Kona for breakfast. I sure hope they don't decide to change the breakfast menu, too! Love, love, love those pineapple/m-nut pancakes

 

[LuvMyEAR]

Kona Cafe had been a favourite for us, but the changing menu items over past 6 years have never been a hit. After looking hard at this one, it is totally off my list for the foreseeable future. The sushi-style items look interesting but over-priced. Will miss the place, but many others to try,

 

[jerseygal]

Kona Cafe had been a favourite for us, but the changing menu items over past 6 years have never been a hit. After looking hard at this one, it is totally off my list for the foreseeable future. The sushi-style items look interesting but over-priced. Will miss the place, but many others to try,

Yes, we nixed our ADR. We really enjoyed eating dinner here several times, menu isn't appealing to us now.

 

[grannyminnie]

Yes, we nixed our ADR. We really enjoyed eating dinner here several times, menu isn't appealing to us now.

We dropped our upcoming dinner ADR as well, after reading the menu. We are however keeping the breakfast one.

 

[TeeKo]

We had dinner at Kona this week and found it pretty lacking.
I had read the previous posts and thought about canceling but we were staying at Poly and it was convenient. And again, despite reading the previous posts, I ordered a noodle bowl. The protein was a dry, bland, chewy white fish and the broth mostly tasted salty.
The sushi was fine. My DH enjoyed the poke.
My son had been picking up the prepackaged California rolls at the Kona Island all week for $10. He ordered the exact same thing for $16 at the Cafe Only the wasabi was different (in a little ball instead of in a foil pack)

 

[NotUrsula]

Just had dinner tonight, and it was so bad that I am staying up to post a review after coming back from EMH.

DH made the reservation just after Xmas and surprised the rest of us with it this morning -- he had NO idea that there had been a menu change. When we saw the changed menu we wanted to just leave, but could not without getting charged, so we stuck it.

DD was totally put off by the entire menu, so we asked to have simple buttered pasta made for her. She ate about 6 bites & gave up, because the pasta was undercooked and the cook had used drawn butter, which just sank to the bottom of the bowl. There was zero seasoning on it, not even salt.

DH didn't care for any of the entrees (he made the reservation because he had loved the previous menu's curried chops). He settled for ordering 2 apps as his meal: the coconut mussels and some pot stickers. He said there was no coconut in the mussels sauce that he could detect, and they were overcooked and rubbery. The pot stickers were REALLY weird; they were generic pot stickers, but they were served cooked inside a pancake. Oddest presentation ever.

I had the Turkey banh mi, and it was OK, but it was the first time I've ever been served banh mi on ciabatta. The veggies on it were utterly flavorless, and might have been anything from carrots to seaweed to pieces of linen - I literally could not tell. The meat was standard thin-sliced cold deli turkey.

Having by this time gone online to see what others thought, we took heart from the saving grace prospect of still getting a decent dessert, but that also was a bust. We were told that the Kilauea Torte & bread pudding options are in fact gone as well; we didn't ask about the Kona cone, but I didn't see it being served tonight.

We told the server point-blank that although her service was fine, paying top dollar for standard packaged Hawaiian rolls w/ Macadamia butter as the best thing served was a joke in bad taste, and therefore we will not be back while current management and this menu stays in place. Ugh. One of the worst table service experiences I have ever had on-property.

 

[maxiesmom]

Not for me. Never has been and never will be. We go for breakfast and I havent broken the news to my husband yet that they no longer have the Big Kahuna! Ill need to bring some tissues to that breakfast!

View attachment 385816

You can still order the Big Kahuna. It is the only thing my nephew gets, and they have made it a few times for him off menu.

 

[DISNEY1975]

You can still order the Big Kahuna. It is the only thing my nephew gets, and they have made it a few times for him off menu.

Good to know! Im sure my husband can find something else to eat, but if I see any pouting, Ill let him know to give asking for TBK breakfast a try!

 

[Harleydottie]

Dinner at Kina tonight. This was our first meal there, so I can’t conpare to previous menus. It was “fine” but not our favorite meal of the week and we probably won't be back.
We started with the pork ribs which DH really liked. I found them a tiny bit dry, but they were tasty. The kids both had the kids sushi, which DS liked but DD didn’t really (she is less of a sushi eater).
I had the Mahi BLT, which was just okay. The wasabi pearls actuallt were teeny tiny, like sushi roe, but not spicy at all! It was kind of a letdown. The fish was a tiny bit overcooked but nicely seasoned and the sauce was good. DH had a steak, he said it was quite good but even he was disappointed in the bit of arugula on the side (no onions, they somehow disappeared...). In his mind it was nothing more than a garnish.
The best part of the meal was the mickey celebration cake which they don’t even make there. It was really delicious but we were all very full and wound up sharing it with the next table. The chocolate version was quite good and very moist... I had been afraid that it was mass produced and might be dry but not at all!
Like I said, not a horrible meal by any means but definitely not our favorite and we probably wouldn’t book ADRs again even if staying at the Poly. We had the same sushi at the sushi bar and were fine with that!

 

[grannyminnie]

And the complaints just keep on coming...wouldn't you think that what with complaints at the restaurant and comments on the board, that someone would get a clue that this new menu is not wildly popular??

 

[The Mayor]

Just cancelled our ADR for our September trip. The only thing I’d eat off the new menu is a burger or steak but I’m not paying that much at Kona for either!! I wonder who advised Disney to blowup existing menus and replace them with this crap??? It supposed to be a cafe not Victoria and Alberts!!!

 

[wdw&sonny]

I just MADE an ADR for October based on the (I didn't know it was) "new" menu. Looks like some great choices to me. Can't wait!!!!