Ohana--bad reviews lately--should I cancel this ADR?

[RMAMom]

I have never eaten there but hubby and I will be there in a couple of weeks and the restaurant is booked from open to close. I would love to try it but no luck. It can't be bad if they have no availability at all for 9 straight days.

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

Ohana is not one of my favorite places. That being said, we have an ADR there for our Thanksgiving trip because it IS one of my brother's favorite places. I think it just depends upon your tastes. But you should never let someone else influence you. Your kids might really enjoy the participation they have there. And hey, some people say the salad is disgusting but it is one of my favorite parts of the meal, the dressing is sooo good!

Just go and enjoy the experience. The Polynesian is a gorgous place to visit and hopefully it will be a different and enjoyable eating experience for your family.

 

[disneymom2003]

We were there on Monday night and it was GREAT! On of the best TS we had all week. We would definitely go again.

 

[Dcvintage]

Ohana is one of my fav restaurants but one time we ate there and it was so-so and other times we ate there and it was awesome. The desert they had last time banana bread pudding, I'd go for that alone. I usually book late dinner reservations for Ohana but it's still usually very crowded even in January.

 

[beroh2253]

I'll be going the last week in October and can't wait. If this is so bad how come it is one of the hardest ADR's to get??

 

[anabelle]

we tried ohana's for the 1st time 2 weeks ago, 9pm ressie. We were not rushed but our server was also not overly attentive. The food was fine but it was a lot of work to keep getting everything cut/peeled for 2 little ones. Nothing was wrong with anything it just didnt make our must do's

O'Hana is a family favorite. We were there last week and enjoyed the food. The wings were heaven. The meat is very dependent on the day, but we loved all the offerings this time. The only real issue I had with the place with the server interaction. Our main server was cordial, but short. The second server was more like a robot. I am one of those wierd people that like to talk to my server. But these two were too busy to interact.
But none of that is major enough for us to skip it.

 

[Sleeping Becca]

Keep it, try it out and decide for yourself.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

We ate there twice last March, and again in August. Interestingly enough, the service on our first visit last MArch was just so-so, but everyone liked the food. The second time, in the same week, our server was fantasic.

This summer, we ha had very new server who was obviously training. he wasn't perfect, but he made up for it by being nice.

I will also say, there is some luck of the draw. Sometimes one cut ofmeat is overcooked or slightly dry, but somethign else makes up for it. Teh first time Ididn't caref or teh turkey, but the next time the shrimp were not as great and the turkey was super juicy.

One thing I would say about Ohana's is that it's one of few places where a REAL portion of veggie is included with your meal. Most DDP meals only have a token veggie, if that. More like a garnish.

I'd eat there again, but alwasy my expectaions are reasonable.

Having been onthe DIS for a while, most restaurant reviews go in a cycle. First people post rave reviews, then come the people who read the rave reviews and come back hating a place. Eventually some good reviews come back again.
There's only a few place sI can say are probaly truly bad: Mama Melrose's pretty consistenly gets bad reviews, Sci-fi is god for burgers and shakes, but other stuff is not great, Tony's is just okay - spagetti is WAY overpriced if not on DDP. EVen those places have plenty of folks who rave about them.

Best is to make up your own mind.

 

[DisneyWisher]

DD16 and I have been numerous times, we taken my parents (it was right after the menu change in 2005) it was so-so. I took my niece and her family in 2003 and it was great. A few weeks ago I took DD16, DD23, DGS3, DD25, and DSIL27(he was who I worried about, he is German, will try anything and will let you know if he doesn't like it) I knew DGS would like it since he is a huge meat eater. I tell him all the time he was Simba in another life. The night before we had eaten at WCC and DSIL kept commenting that he was glad it was free because he would not have paid $250 for us to eat there, he thought the food wasn't THAT good. 4 of us had the skillets and 2 had steak. At Ohana the waitress was very attentive but there were 7 of us (including DGD5 months, DD25 fed her as soon as we were seated and she promptly feel asleep right after)Our drinks came followed by the trimmings. Love their pina coladas there and DD23 got the Lapu Lapu (said she had been waiting to try it since she was 20) Everything was very good (one of the best times that I could remember, we've been about 10 times since 2003). I don't think the meat depends on the day of the week but how thick the cut is and where on the skewer it is. DD16 loves her steak rare so anyone who got their steak like that passed it to her, We ate all of the salad and wings (oh so good, I have never had a problem with these), We barely touched the brocoli, pot stickers or the noodles but then again we were given 2 bowls of everything. When it came time for dessert I told the assistant server to only bring enough bread pudding for 1 (SIL) and just ice cream for the rest of us. I still miss the caramel and pineapple. SIL tried it and said it was the Best bread pudding he ever tried, he got DD16 to try it and now she's hooked too. After the meal SIL claimed that it was a meal worth paying for and that when they go back again they will eat there again. I jokingly said Good Luck getting an ADR. DD25's birthday is Oct 25 and they are going to upgrade their tickets. I booked them a hotel for the night and I am keeping the kids as a birthday gift to them (SIL's Bday is Nov 3). I was able to get them an ADR for 9:40pm. DD16 and I are going back Dec 12 to upgrade our tickets and there is no availability.

You should try it.

 

[CandleontheWater]

Ohana can be hit or miss but it is still one of DH and I's favorite restaurants. You have to remember that this is dining on a mass scale, and sometimes you will get a lesser cut of meat, and sometimes you will get the end of the end of the noodle batch and it will be a little dried out. The good thing is, that you can always ask for another bowl of noodles or ask to be brought a different skewer of meat. If you go in and expect everything to be wonderful, that every piece of meat will be cooked perfectly, every side brought out at the exact right moment, and your server to be above and beyond attentive, then you probably will be disappointed. If you go in with reasonable expectations and remember that this is a VERY popular, VERY crowded, VERY busy restaurant and go with the flow, I think you will have an enjoyable dining experience. Personally I think the bread pudding alone is worth the price of admission, but that may be just me.

 

[mollygirl13]

We ate there 2 weeks ago and it was just as good as ever! Very fresh and the service was excellent!! We did have ressies for 5:00, checked in at 4:45, got seated by 5:05 and our servers started to bring our food almost immediately!
Everything was wonderful!

 

[tlynk]

I would definitely keep your ADR. This was one of the funnest meals of our trip and the food was really good. MMMMMM and if you like bread pudding- they have the best around! With that said I tried the pork and shrimp, but didn't eat much of it. I LOVE shrimp, but this time I enjoyed the beef more. I think you should try it at least once and judge for yourself. It is another cool dining experience put out by Disney. With that said some of the other posters suggested some good ideas that I'd like to try on my next trip. Have fun.

 

[Pirate Me]

We were at 'Ohanas for dinner less than a month ago and loved it. The food was good. Loved how it kept on coming to the table. My favorite were the pot stickers and wings. I also really liked how they gave you different dipping sauces for the meats. The bread pudding was amazing!

 

[honeydiane1953]

My family and I ate at Kona and the food was good. The staff was awful!! I was on a scooter because of back surgery. One (not mine) of the waiters asked me to move the scooter outside. I told him I couldn't and he and MOST of the staff ignored me and my family the rest of the meal. I started to tell the manager however, the way they were acting I don't think it would have done any good. I won't go back even though I will stay at the Poly in Dec.

 

[aanderson5]

We went in Aug and loved it. It is one of only 2 repeat ADR's I made for our trip in Jan. We really enjoyed the food. Not everyone loved everything but we each had enough favorites to be stuffed by the end of the meal.

I hate to admit I don't remember the service. So it couldn't have been terrible or fantastic. DS(3) was having such a great with the parade, coconut races and hula dancing that is what we were focusing on, (that and the food). We also spent time chatting with the family next to us while DS played with their boys.

The overall atmosphere and the tasty food have made it one of our favorites. It fits our family right now. I can see where people who aren't into the festivities would not enjoy it as much.

 

[kat3668]

We ate there the first week of October and my review is 50/50.
The server was extremely busy and while I did not feel rushed you could tell they wanted you in and out. The noodles,salad,broccoli, chicken and dumplings were sooo goood. The meat meh... I did not care for the smoky, grilled flavor (but never have). The bread pudding was TO DIE for! I would go back (and intend to someday) just for that!

 

[SuzieN]

I was all set to love this place when we went 2 weeks ago because of all the great reviews. It was definitely the biggest dining disappointment of the trip. The ONLY thing I thought was good is the dessert - which is REALLY good. The noodles, salad, and wings were all sweet - I can't stand when normally savory foods are sweet. I realize that that's just my opinion though. The meats were all dry and tough. I really don't think 'Ohana will be getting a second chance from me.

 

[Disneyaunt4]

We ate there for the first time in Sept. a little on the noisy side but we liked the food and service. DH has requested it again for our trip in January.

 

[ToyStory]

We use to like Ohana's but the last two times it was a disappointment, therfore we won't be eating there this trip.

The OP is done with their trip. I hope they post if they went and what their experience was like.

 

[dalstitch45]

I have never been to Ohana's for anything but breakfast. I have always loved it. Sometimes the service leaves a little bit to be desired, but it is still one of our favorites. We are going to have to try dinner one of these days. Of course, I am just one of those people that are really into the character breakfasts.