Ohana's Menu Changes NOT for the Better

[SCOTTNJ]

While the new food is not bad, it doesn't compare to the old menu. Most people who ate at Ohan's loved it so much, they would tell their friends about it. That is no longer the case. While the food is okay, Ohana's is no longer on my must-do list.

If you have never eaten at Ohana's before, you might like it.

If you have eaten from the old menu, give a try so that you can see the difference for yourself. You have to peel the little shrimp now. The kids really missed the shrimp on the skewers.

I'm canceling my July ADR for O'hanas. Tried the new menu, no need to do it again.

 

[Peter Pirate]

I totally agree although I know there are still some folks who loved it before and still love it...They are mostly NOT shrimp lovers though...Plus those god auful potatos!

 

[mickeymousemom]

I totally disagree. Nope, we had never been to Ohana before the menu change, but I was very familiar with the menu, and don't feel I missed alot.

I was under the impression that you had to peel the shrimp even when they were on the skewers....if not then I definitely would vote to have them back on the skewers...the beef and pork were the only meats I liked, but the beef was so good that the others didn't matter.

The salad is awesome, and the potatoes are amazing....cheesy, tender...YUM!!

As for the dessert...The banana bread pudding is to die for and I had never liked bread pudding! If I want pineapple with caramel, I can go to the store and buy a fresh pineapple and tub of caramel dip.


The biggest complaints I've seen about Ohana lately are more about the service than the food.

We had great food and good service...can't wait to go back...thanks for opening up a table for us

 

[Peter Pirate]

I think the quality has declined as well. The meats are not as good, IMO although I will give a nod to the quality of the Bread Pudding...But those potatos, uuugh.

 

[maggiew]

The real wontons are gone and that is what I miss the most. Plus the pineapple was a refreshing end to the meal.

Maggie

 

[chamonix]

I really liked the old menu, but find the new one is Ok with me. If I had to choose, I would prefer the green beans and the rice and the pineapple to come back, but the replacements are not horrible by any means!
(Of course, individual tastes may dispute that)

The shrimp on the skewers also needed to be peeled. It's a messy job either way.

You know, I have eaten at Ohana many times and I have always found that the quality of the food varies quite a bit. Sometimes the meat is dry and tough, sometimes it is tender and juicy (for example). I like restaurants to be more consistent, but know from experience that cooking over fire has an element of random danger, lol, that may explain the inconsistencies.

 

[jamal]

Oh no! What's the new menu??

 

[eeyoreiscool]

We also disagree. We have eaten at 'Ohana through several menu changes over the years and while we miss some of the past items, the new ones are also good. There is some variations in how the meat is cooked but as someone mentioned, cooking over an open flame can be difficult at times. We enjoyed the pineapple at the end but it was getting where the pineapple wasn't that good the majority of the time. I think the bread pudding is a much better choice.

 

[MICKEEP]

The menu change didn't take away the fun, the music, the view or the fireworks.

I like some of the changes and dislike others. I prefer the new potato dish over the rice. I liked both deserts but the new one is incredible (this is the best change they made). I miss the lazy susan and the wontons. I disliked the new shrimp, prefered the old one much more. Thought they didn't have to add the sausage.

All in all I would have to say that the changes didn't move 'Ohana up or down on our top five places to eat at WDW.

 

[Maude4Disney]

AArrgggjhhh!!! I'm so confused! We are one of those families that loved the old menu. And we (especially me) haven't been too enthused about returning (just because there are so many places we haven't tried yet) but... SIL and her family will be there while we are (in 3 weeks ) and they want to try it. Of course they want us to join them. I hate to say no because we are only doing one other dinner w/ them and DH would really like to go, but I just can't get my heart into it. (by joining them we are having to cancel our 1st trip to Chef Mickeys )

 

[DaisyD]

ITA. I no longer recommend it to anyone. Before everything was delicious but not anymore. The shrimp are so tiny and they did away with the sweet dipping sauce that made the wontons so good. The only thing it really has going for it is the bread pudding. We have an ADR for our upcoming trip just for that bread pudding!

 

[kjs1976]

I will keep recommending it to people. We love the old and new menus. I never did like the shrimp skewers. I've recommended it to two families who have both loved it...the new menu.

We have an ADR for June and are looking forward to it. We also love the views and the ambiance. Three cheers for 'Ohana's here!!!!!!!

 

[CamColt]

I loved the old menu. I dont eat any fish so I never ate the shrimp or the wontons. That doesnt factor in my opinion. I just loved the rice and that was the 1 thing my DS would eat there. Without that I just cant bring myself to go back. I'm sure the potatoes are good, but to me, they dont go with that meal at all. This is a Polynesian/Hawaiin type of meal, which "requires" rice.

Kona Cafe had been our must do until we discovered Ohana. Then Ohana was our must do. Now we have gone back to Kona and have that booked for our next trip too.

 

[Hannahsmom]

We were totally underwhelmed by our dining experience there last Sept. Although they were still serving the wontons (the highlight of the meal), we were none too impressed with the meal. Some thoughts on the meal;

- Without the lazy susan the table was crowded with dishes. I thought the lazy susan was a novelty that made the restaurant unique.

- Wonton chips with dipping sauces. Yuck.

- Potatoes were good, but heavy. Doesn't really fit the Poly theme.

- Veggies were okay, but tasteless.

- Meats were still good, but we have found that they can be hit or miss. We have gone to 'Ohana every trip and it has always been like that. Addition of the sausage seems odd. Adding another meat choice is not what this meal needed.

- The bread pudding. Again the pineapple with caramel was unique to this restaurant. We noticed on our trip that practically every restaurant was offering a bread pudding and sometimes more than one kind. I am not a bread pudding fan, so needless to say I was not impressed.

 

[mla973]

I have only eaten at O'Hana for the character meal, but had planning on going in September (making ADR's this weekend).

Would any of you recommend Kona Cafe instead? I thought that DH and I would enjoy the simplicity of O'Hana (we don't like really fancy stuff with sauces and sides we can't pronounce!).

 

[CathrynRose]

Honestly - after finding out the menu changes recently, Im scrambling to figure out where to eat on our "first dinner" - I was so looking forward to gourging myself with shrimp on the skewers.

Maybe Chef Mickeys is calling our name - I dunno, yet....

 

[WillCAD]

Before the menu change, 'Ohana was my mostest favoritest mustest-do place to eat in all of WDW.

Since the menu change, 'Ohana is my mostest favoritest mustest-do place to eat in all of WDW.

Yes, it's different. Yes, there are some items that I don't like on the new menu - but no more than the number of items I didn't like on the old menu.

I miss the rice, but I love the new potatoes just as much as I loved the rice.

I never ate the wontons, anyway, so the switch to wonton chips makes me shrug and say, "Eh."

The new shrimp are smaller, and they are pan fried in sweet and sour sauce. I miss the old shrimp, but I like the new shrimp just as much as I liked the old shrimp.

The new stir-fried veggies are good, but they could be better. Mine were a little overcooked and mushy - still tasty, but I prefer my veggies to have some crunch to them.

I never cared for the pineapple with caramel sauce anyway. Yes, I love pineapple, and yes, I love caramel, but they never really mixed well to me, and I don't need a $30 meal to eat fresh pineapple - I can go to any grocery store and get fresh or canned pineapple for a few bucks. But the new desert is more like something you'd see at a 4-star restaurant. It's phenomenal! It is hands-down the best sweet treat of any kind that I've had at WDW - better than any snack or desert I've ever tasted there! Makes Dole-Whips look like Dud-Whips by comparrison... makes Mickey Bars look like Yucky Bars... makes a Kitchen Sink look like it's full of dirty dishes... etc.

So all in all, my opinion of the new 'Ohana menu has not changed a bit over my opinion of the old 'Ohana menu.

Now service, that's a whole 'nother coconut tree! My last time at 'Ohana, the service was lousy. Sure, the appetizers came right away, but my Coke took almost ten minutes to arrive - and it was not refilled the entire time I was eating. My waiter dissappeared for over 20 minutes while I was waiting, and I didn;t get a fresh Coke until I was ready to leave. Needless to say, that Cousin got a tiny tip. I would have complained to the manager except I was late for a MouseFest meet and had to hurry.

But I'll still be back to 'Ohana on every trip.

Now, if I could just get them to sell that desert in the food court so I can get it whenever I want without the meal...

 

[Tiggerfan40]

We ate at O'hana last April when the old menu was still in effect (our favorite restaurant) and loved it as usual! We ate there again on our last trip (2 weeks ago) and are sorry to say we may not go back there to eat again next year. We miss the dipping sauce they took away and the large shrimp on the skewers and the rice! DH misses the pineapple and carmel sauce. Also, DD and I cannot eat pork, so the only meats we could eat were the turkey and beef! What about chicken?? I thought they used to have chicken on the skewers also? Anyway - next trip we may go back to Chef Mickeys and give it another try and forget O'hana unless I hear they changed the menu back again!

 

[LoveMyBoys]

I have only eaten at O'Hana for the character meal, but had planning on going in September (making ADR's this weekend).

Would any of you recommend Kona Cafe instead? I thought that DH and I would enjoy the simplicity of O'Hana (we don't like really fancy stuff with sauces and sides we can't pronounce!).

I think you will enjoy O'hana. We never ate at Kona, so I can't comment on that. But your Dh sounds like my Dh (not really into fancy stuff) and this was his favorite meal on our last trip. We went to O'hana, LeCellier, Concourse Steakhouse, CRT and Marrakesh for dinner, and O'hana is the only one that DH said is a MUST go back to.

 

[vascubaguy]

When I went to 'Ohana last year, it ranked really low on my list. I said I wouldn't go back because the only "good" part was the view. I'm allergic to shellfish so I couldn't do the shrimp, and I think the service was what made the rest of the experience pretty bad. Our food was cold and very seldom did she come by with meats on the skewers. And when she did, they were usually dry, but we did get some that were good. And the pineapple... yuk. I love carmel but asked for a banana instead, which was ok. Still, I expected a better dessert choice than just pineapple and carmel (seemed rather "cheap").

Anyway, now with the new menu, I am actually looking forward to trying it again. I'll probably miss the rice, but the potatoes sound good. I'll actually be able to eat the meats from the skewers and not have to worry if they were cooked right next to the shrimp. I'll also have a more fitting dessert that I will likely enjoy more, without having to order something that is an additional charge...

My ADR is coming up in just a few weeks, so hopefully it won't disappoint. And I've already told myself that if the meats are dry, I'll just tell the server they are dry and ask if he/she could bring out a fresh batch and try again. Hopefully the service will be better this time, otherwise I will definately ask for the manager since I'll be paying out-of-pocket this time. (I let it slip some last year because we were on the dining plan).