O'hana is no longer on "the list"

[disneyforme33]

We ate at Ohanas on 5/18/07 and it was excellent. This is one of our favorite restaurants and I have eaten there quite a few times. We had a dinner back in 2004 that was just okay at Ohanas every other time it has been excellent. I guess every restaurant occasionally has a bad night, but it would not stop me from trying it again. I'm glad I did.

 

[DLBDS]

Just wanted to say...It's 'Ohana. Not O'hana (or O'hanas/Ohanas). I know, I know....Get a life. Sorry....It's a pet peeve of mine.

Oh, and for what's it's worth....we didn't like 'Ohana when we went in Nov./Dec. last year.

 

[Snow_White]

My family has black-listed 'Ohana as well. We just find the food to be very sub-par (especially the meat) and the whole experience to be very odd (rushed when you don't want to be rushed, and painfully slow when you are waiting for a certain meat to make it to your table). Service is iffy in our experience.

ON THE OTHER HAND, we've never ever ever had a bad meal (or bad service) at Kona Cafe. The Beef Teriyaki is to die for, along with all of their desserts! We go to Kona every single time we are at WDW, but won't be going back to 'Ohana any time soon.

 

[SA53]

We were there for the 1st time in March and I would say you need to go for yourself to decide. We had the most awesome table for Wishes so the rest of the meal was in a blur of contentment. We said we would wait for a table with a vier but one was ready and we were right by the window right in front of the castle. In any meal I really only remember the really good and the really bad. There wasn't really anything really bad but the potatoes and bread pudding were really good!!!!!! We had the great lady cousin for our games and hula and we all got up there and received our lovely leis. We were not rushed at all and there seemed to be a lot of room not too squished. I did see those table behind the grill and I wouldn't want to be there, just act excited about getting a good table and you should be fine.

It was no Le Cellier for us but we still had a good time and it was fun eating in all the resorts I can't afford...

K in SA

 

[ptrbryant]

We had ADRs for 'Ohana on May 14 and, esp. after hearing Kevin Klose's review of his awful experience there, wanted to cancel. I even called WDW Dining and the CM, hearing that I was going to cancel 'Ohana for Tony's Town Square (I know, I know!), pointed out that you can get Italian food anywhere, but there're very few places you can have the dining experience 'Ohana offers. I had to agree, plus my steak-loving son really wanted to go.

After reading the boards, I was prepared to ask our server not to rush us, etc. We were seated at a quiet window table with a beautiful MK view. Our server, Sumi(?), was so thoughtful and, honestly, perfect with his service that I never got to ask for us not to be rushed. We were able to take our time with everything, yet he checked in occasionally so we never felt forgotten...drinks were refilled with faultless timing. The salad was delicious; the wontons and sauces so-so; the shrimp was moist and fresh; the chicken wings could have been hotter; the steak was incredibly great! Juicy, tender, yet cooked--not "raw" like some have had. The other meats were okay, but we were all so fixated on the steak, we didn't do more than sample them. The dessert was delicious!

It was our first time using the DP and the 3 restaurants we want to return to our 'Ohana, Whispering Canyon Cafe (DS wants this one) and Prime Time Cafe, where the food was surprisingly good.

I don't know what to think...does 'Ohana vary between fabulous and horrific nights for dinner?

Karla B.

 

[ADP]

We had ADRs for 'Ohana on May 14 and, esp. after hearing Kevin Klose's review of his awful experience there, wanted to cancel. I even called WDW Dining and the CM, hearing that I was going to cancel 'Ohana for Tony's Town Square (I know, I know!), pointed out that you can get Italian food anywhere, but there're very few places you can have the dining experience 'Ohana offers. I had to agree, plus my steak-loving son really wanted to go.

After reading the boards, I was prepared to ask our server not to rush us, etc. We were seated at a quiet window table with a beautiful MK view. Our server, Sumi(?), was so thoughtful and, honestly, perfect with his service that I never got to ask for us not to be rushed. We were able to take our time with everything, yet he checked in occasionally so we never felt forgotten...drinks were refilled with faultless timing. The salad was delicious; the wontons and sauces so-so; the shrimp was moist and fresh; the chicken wings could have been hotter; the steak was incredibly great! Juicy, tender, yet cooked--not "raw" like some have had. The other meats were okay, but we were all so fixated on the steak, we didn't do more than sample them. The dessert was delicious!

It was our first time using the DP and the 3 restaurants we want to return to our 'Ohana, Whispering Canyon Cafe (DS wants this one) and Prime Time Cafe, where the food was surprisingly good.

I don't know what to think...does 'Ohana vary between fabulous and horrific nights for dinner?

Karla B.

I think it really comes down to this:

As for the food quality it just depends on who is cooking the food that night. You are going to have some cooks that are better than others. It's that way all across WDW restaurants. Some cooks believe in overcooking meat, while others may believe in using a lot of spice (salt & pepper). It's a cook's personal preference; and hopefully it matches your pallette.

 

[Lisacarolr]

It is one of our favorite restaurants. We were disappointed with the menu change a couple of years ago, but the potatoes and bread pudding are great. We miss the dumpling appetizer.

I think we were slightly less impressed last time, but definitely not greatly disappointed.

 

[WatchinCaptKangaroo]

We ate there for the first time 3 days ago. I posted a brief and light overview of all my dining experiences. Here is my honest review. And I don't care who it upsets.

It is over-rated. The food was ok at best. The steak was so overcooked that we barely touched it. If it was rarer it would have been good. The turkey and pork were ok. The sausage was dry but good. I found the shrimp (sweet n sour, served in a bowl, not on skewers - just an observation, doesn't matter how it was served) was alright. I love shrimp but this is the first place where I have ever experienced peel and eat shrimp that was not deveined. And I found that to be to disgusting to overlook.

Service was great. Got in right at our seating time. Our server was attentive without being overbearing. Drinks were full and drinks from the bar were great. But the person serving our food forgot to come back with the other meats (after the steak) and we had to ask our server. No one asked us if we wanted more of anything (just as well, we were stuffed).

The potatoes and the bread pudding was the best part. Completely amazing.

We're not foodies. We like to eat and we're not picky. Neither of us were impressed and there are too many other places we'd like to try before going back.

 

[50 years Too!]

We ate at O'Hana's in March.
We also felt the service was super rushed. I felt I had 10 seconds to decide on a cocktail, so instead of looking over the drinks menu, I just ordered a rum cocktail.The salad, potatoes, and vegetable were very good. The meat was not! It was either overcooked, undercooked, or tough. And I am not a picky eater.The bread pudding was to die for. I wish I could just order it on a to go basis.Sadly, won't sit through another meal, (even if it only lasts 35 minutes from sit down to check ), for the pudding, though.

Deb

 

[WDWBetsy]

We ate there earlier this year and I wasn't impressed with dinner, except for the salad and potatoes. Didn't eat any dessert - it was our last night there and I was ready to get out of there. Loved the breakfast though and will be returning for that.

We definitely loved Kona Cafe - ate dinner there twice and lunch once. Wonderful food, although a bit noisy.

 

[IWISHFORDISNEY]

WOW I found the food here to be great and we are returning this upcoming trip. Our waiter (forgot his name) was great! he even brought out kids food for the little one without us even asking for it. I never felt rushed. We had 3 bowls of shrimp but skipped the sausage. The turkey was really good. I didnt like the potatoes but I am not a potatoe kind of girl. The only minor complaint and I do mean minor was the lady running the games was a little on the loud side. Everyone is different I would give it a try.

 

[Database]

Thanks for the reviews. We're heading for our anniversary trip in January and I was surfing this board for ideas. Ohana's is off list.

 

[JennyDrake]

It is also on our "never again" list. We are NOT picky eaters by any mens. the meat was overcooked and dry. Service was slow and negligent. We had to ask several times, each and every time for more meat or drink refills. Not a great expereince for the price at all.

 

[huntconn]

I'm kind of confused on how anyone could feel extremely rushed while dining here. Mainly because of how the meal is set up. After the initial appetizers come out, servers periodically stop at your table to see if you would like some of whatever meat they have on their skewers. It's a simple matter of saying "nothing right now" if you are not ready for any. I'm sure if they did not come by as frequently as they do, there would be a thread on here about how people "feel ignored" by the servers at 'Ohana. If the check comes before you are ready to depart, simply do not pay it until you are ready to leave. This is an all you can eat meal and you are able to stay as long as want. Now as far as the quality of the food is concerned, I would not argue with someone if they were not happy with it. I've never been unhappy with the food, but taste is a very subjective thing. What's "undercooked" to one person is "perfect" to the next. I've never found the meat to be dry or tasteless. However, I do not care for the new pork offering at all (can't remember which of the 2 new pork items it is). If you are planning to dine there for the first time, my advice would be to give it a try. I can't gaurantee you'll like it but I've never been dissapointed and our family eats there every year.

 

[JustforDisney]

I am a long time lurker - very long. I came out of the woodworks just for this post.This is sort of off topic and (personally) annoying. I just have a quick question. How long are people going to keep talking about /'after/before the menu change...." Wasn't that like 2 years ago??

Like I said it's petty and just a personal gripe but goodness.

Ok - carry on

 

[starbox]

I'm kind of confused on how anyone could feel extremely rushed while dining here. Mainly because of how the meal is set up. After the initial appetizers come out, servers periodically stop at your table to see if you would like some of whatever meat they have on their skewers. It's a simple matter of saying "nothing right now" if you are not ready for any.

As a former waitress, there are some things that are done to give guests the "hint" that you would like them to leave so that you can get another table. You bring the check, you take the check back up, you clear the table of all dishes, you stop coming back and offering drink refills.

Now, I have eaten at Ohana and gotten my appetizers and food as soon as I sat down, and I did not feel rushed. We simply did as you suggest and asked for seconds/refills until we were going at a pace we were happy with. We also had CM's waiting on us that were friendly and chatted periodically between courses.

On our last trip, we had a CM take our drink orders. A different "cousin" immediately brought out the salad, wontons. A minute later, another "cousin" arrived with the side dishes and we started getting meat. The steak was almost raw - which gave me the impression that they were "rushing" on the cooking in order to herd people in and out. We were asked if we wanted more about 5 minutes later. When we said no, they tried to clear our plates, and we politely explained that we were still eating. Then, the initial waitress CM came and asked for our payment for the meal and had us sign for a tip. She took the check and left. Another cousin came and sat the dessert on the table without saying a word. Nobody came by to talk with us again.

We felt rushed and it was definately a bad night for Ohana. Hopefully, it was just an off night.

 

[The Sweetness]

I'm kind of confused on how anyone could feel extremely rushed while dining here. Mainly because of how the meal is set up.

After we were served salad and chips w/ dipping sauces, it was less than 5 mins before hot dishes were put on the table (side dishes) This was after I specifically requested that we have 15 mins (at least) to enjoy each course. I guess I was asking too much

 

[Katiebell]

After we were served salad and chips w/ dipping sauces, it was less than 5 mins before hot dishes were put on the table (side dishes) This was after I specifically requested that we have 15 mins (at least) to enjoy each course. I guess I was asking too much

It may just be the style of service at this particular type of restaurant. Since you aren't each ordering separate courses individually, everyone in the entire restaurant is eating the same thing. And it sounds like it's not always the same server who takes care of you for the whole meal -- they have runners ("other cousins") who bring out certain courses. Those runners probably don't know which individual tables have requested slower service, or want to linger over their meals -- they are given whatever course (appetizers, meats, salad) and instructed to go serve everyone sitting in a certain area and come back for more. Some nights the runners may be faster than usual, or the kitchen may be cranking out food faster than other nights if it's busy and they have/are expecting a full house. Which sounds like all the time, now.

 

[MeLaNie9]

We didn't find Ohana to be anything special.
We didn't even know that the shrimp was supposed to be sweet-n-sour. It seemed just like normal peel-n-eat shrimp to us - except for the non deveined part which I agree is gross! I will say that we greatly enjoyed the fried wontons and dipping sauces and the chicken wings (and I usually don't eat wings). However, the other food wasn't good - the vegetables were awful, and the meats were generally overcooked. We had to wait forever for all of the meats to be served to us. The steak came out to us significantly later than the other meats and while it was the best of the meats that night, we were full from trying everything else by that time. We really didn't care for the bread pudding. We did get to see Wishes from our table, but we were also seated right by the walkway where the kids games took place - our kids were too young at the time to partake and it was just chaos in that area when the games were going on.
We have also eaten at Kona Cafe and loved it - for our upcoming trip, we will repeat at Kona but not Ohana!

 

[Alltiggeredout]

We have an adr for Ohana (Jan 1st) and i may cancel now.DW doesn't like being rushed when she eats so maybe this isn't the place for us.