Ohana, it is just me?

[Mamu]

I know that lots of people rave about Ohana. We ate there last summer, and thought it was horrible. The meat was either fatty or dry, the noddles and the dumplings tasted like they were from the box. And, we barely ate one bite of one course and the next one came out. I was so disappointed in this meal.

No it's not just you, not on my list to return. I wanted to love it, it get such good reviews. Tried breakfast once just OK. Tried dinner twice, both times service was aweful, meat was dry, now I'll admit I'm not a big meat eater but my DH is. He also though service was bad and meat was just too dry.

 

[disneydreamkate]

We went to 'Ohana our last trip. Three of us are vegetarians and we *loved the food that was prepared for us! My older two ate the the food traditionally served there and said it was their favorite meal of the trip! Yes, it was loud...and very very busy, but we were prepared for that going in.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

We just ate at Ohana last week for dinner, Wednesday, Dec. 15 and the meal was FANTASTIC! We had little wait to get seated. We had two servers that were great and the food, OMG, the food was wonderful! No complaints here

 

[verticalchaos]

Its not just you - we ate there last week and had to wait a long time to be seated (yes we checked in well ahead of our ADR) and found the food to be OK but not good enough for the price we would have paid if we were not on 'free' dining. The meats were dry and the hassle of peeling and deveining the shrimp made it so we did not enjoy the main course; the appetizers were both oily but good and the salad and bread pudding were wonderful! Next trip we've decided to put the $$$ toward some signature dining since the cost of Ohana's would pay for some nicer entrees.

I haven't eaten there yet - I got outvoted so we'll be there Christmas night - but the menu (even the one listed on this site) does state that the shrimp are non-peeled, so that shouldn't have been a surprise. I'm not a huge shrimp eater (pretty much only do if it's fried) to begin with, but a little research told me that much. And if the shell is still on, there's not really a way they can de-vein it is there?

 

[6bowmans]

We ate at O'hana on 15 Nov and had a great experience. The noodles and brocolli were good. The shrimp, beef, and chicken were all delicious especially the beef (a very nice medium rare). We liked the dessert but miss the pineapple and carmel. Our service was excellent and we love being on the parade route. Our kids are older and don't participate, but we love to watch the kids go at it - we are not there for a "quiet" evening. Two complaints - the potstickers were overcooked (too crunchy) and the pork was a smidge dry. We did not have an ADR, showed up at 8:00, and were seating in 45 minutes. We have been to O'hana probably 7-8 times over the years. We have noticed a decline in service from the hosts/hostesses. However, we have also noticed an increase in extremely stressed out parents and uncontrolled kids.

 

[PinkEars]

Other than the pineapple bread and chicken wings we didnt care for the food. The dessert didnt even wow me and i am a foodie! I honestly wasnt that impressed with the food at Disney. Had a few favs but not as much as i had thought before going.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

Other than the pineapple bread and chicken wings we didnt care for the food. The dessert didnt even wow me and i am a foodie! I honestly wasnt that impressed with the food at Disney. Had a few favs but not as much as i had thought before going.

If the Hawaiian Bread Pudding with Bananas Foster Sauce can't wow you, I'm not sure what would! lol! That was some of the most heavenly stuff I have ever put in my mouth

 

[Jaimie1911]

I probably would not go back to Ohana. I liked some of the food--the steak, shrimp, salad and noodles were good. The turkey and pork were dry and flavorless. And our service was lacking, and as two adults felt a little uncomfortable with the little show they put on. Also we had been to a real Brazilian churrasceria(sp?) the week before so I think we were a little spoiled from that. If we had kids I think they would enjoy it though.

 

[traylorc]

I have eaten at Ohana numerous times and never had an issue. Looking forward to eating there again when we return Aug 2011.

 

[JerseyDisneyGirl]

If the Hawaiian Bread Pudding with Bananas Foster Sauce can't wow you, I'm not sure what would! lol! That was some of the most heavenly stuff I have ever put in my mouth

I thought the bread pudding at Boma was much better.

 

[Tara]

My family did not enjoy 'Ohana - I wouldn't go back.

 

[carol-lamb]

We ate dinner at O'Hana last Tuesday night and we loved it. We were just talking about our trip yesterday and both my adult son and daughter (and myself) agreed that it was our favorite meal of the trip. We had also ate there this past August and enjoyed it too, but this time it was even better. We had a great table right by the grill and we all commented on how accommodating all of the servers were. Everything tasted so good. My favorites were the salad (so good), the noodles, the chicken and steak and the dipping sauces. I did not eat the pork or the shrimp, but my son said the shrimp was really good and he had several servings! The dessert was also equally tasty. We will definitely be eating at O'Hana on our next trip.

 

[Eventer98]

I think Ohana was much better in 06/07. When they changed up the menu I think it went downhill a bit. We ate there in Oct and we were disappointed. We have it tentatively scheduled again for May...not sure if we are going to eat somewhere else. We do love the atmosphere though!

 

[Colleen27]

It isn't just you. I didn't think it was terrible or anything, but I don't get what everyone raves about. We loved breakfast there, Stitch is my son's favorite and the character interaction was fabulous, but dinner was just okay. It was very loud (breakfast probably would be too, except the place was more than half empty when we were there), none of the food really stood out as amazing, and the service was a little on the slow side.

To be entirely fair I'm not a huge meat eater; I'm no vegetarian but meat alone does not a meal make in my view and Ohana dinner felt like "meat with a side of meat". The noodles were sort of bland, the salad was just dressed lettuce, the broccoli was nicely cooked but very plain, and the sides felt like they were there out of obligation rather than as true, tasty accompaniments to the meats. Meat appetizers with the endless meat entree is just overkill, and I think I'd have liked the place a lot better if the "feature" meat-fest was counterbalanced with more/better veggie dishes.

 

[PatsMom]

We don't care for Ohana - we've tried it twice and won't be returning. The food was not really bad, just not really good. Overcooked beef and dry turkey. The shrimp were OK but a bit on the spicy side for me. I detest brocoli but I knew in advance it would be served. So we asked that it not be brought to our table because I hate even the smell. It was about the only dish that was promptly served!

The noodles were just tasteless and the salad dressing was gross. My husband and daughter liked the dessert and the bread was good.

We haven't tried the breakfast despite the great reviews but we might at some point. We believe that we need to try stuff ourselves and not rely on reviews since tastes are very different.

 

[psac]

The food was not really bad, just not really good.

Agree with this semtiment. We find Kona Cafe right next door a much better alternative.

 

[carol-lamb]

The noodles were just tasteless and the salad dressing was gross. My husband and daughter liked the dessert and the bread was good.

It's funny how everyone has different opinions of restaurants and food. We all thought the noodles had lots of flavor and I think the salad dressing was delicious. In fact, the salad was the only side dish I had them bring seconds of. My husband and daughter are vegetarians and we eat a lot of salad, and in no way shape or form did I think the salad was gross. You liked the bread and that was what I thought was the only uninspiring thing served!

My parents go to WDW once a year and we have total opposite ideas of what restaurants have good food. They think the Yakatori House and the Columbia Harbor House has the best food in WDW. I tell them they need to venture out more and expand their choices! I love Le Cellier and they ate there once at my suggestion and didn't care for it at all and said they would never go back. We all have our own idea of what tastes good to us.

 

[tzolkin]

Every person in our group of 7 (ages 4-49) named our Ohana dinner as their favorite meal of the trip and going back to Ohana is the only thing DH still talks about. We even tried to book another dinner before we left the Polynesian that evening.

My parents (who were with us) had a horrible experience at Ohana breakfast last year and never would have given the restaurant another try if I hadn't insisted on the dinner reservation. They were expecting a miserable repeat of the previous year, but were pleasantly surprised.

I think some of it is personal preference and some of it is other circumstances (the server, the time, who prepared the food, where you're seated, etc).

 

[BLTLDZ]

I probably would not go back to Ohana. I liked some of the food--the steak, shrimp, salad and noodles were good. The turkey and pork were dry and flavorless. And our service was lacking, and as two adults felt a little uncomfortable with the little show they put on. Also we had been to a real Brazilian churrasceria(sp?) the week before so I think we were a little spoiled from that. If we had kids I think they would enjoy it though.

See and DH & I love the atmosphere, childless and all...
We found the food to be REALLY good....But the experience made it that much better,,, Different strokes for different folks

 

[leeholmes1]

we ate there for the first time last Feb and thought it was amazing. We really enjoyed the food. My son (6) loved the entertainment. I thought it was the best kept secret in the resort.