For the sake of restaurant reviews, of course, I convinced Mike to go to Ohana ($23.99) last week on the spur of the moment. We tried to make a priority seating for the same evening, but were only able to get a 5 pm time or something after 9 pm. We decided to try for the next evening, and got an 8 pm seating time. Great! Perfect for Wishes. We were a little anxious about getting a window seat, so we arrived at the restaurant very early, toured the hotel, and checked in at Ohana around 7:30 pm. Everyone else had the same idea and was there early, asking for a window seat. The list for the window seats was longer than the regular list! They asked if five feet from the window was ok, and we thought that was fine. We were given one of those light up devices, and went to sit in the Tambu Lounge. It had a great view of Cinderellas Castle, so I took a few pictures while we were waiting. It didnt take very long for our table to be ready, though.
We went back to the podium, and we followed a host over to a table. At first we thought that we were going to be in a far corner of the restaurant, against the window facing the rest of the resort, but we ended up getting a marvelous seat! It was at a table for three, right up against the window facing the Magic Kingdom. We were going to have a great view of the fireworks. In celebration, I had to order a Lapu Lapu ($9.95) and Mike ordered an Island Sunset ($6.99). Our server was wonderful, he was extremely friendly, and highly recommended both of our drinks. The Lapu Lapu comes in a hollowed-out pineapple, with the spill over in another glass its as if youre getting two drinks, and youd better, for the price! The drink contained Myers rum, tropical juices, and was topped with Bacardi 151. It was strong! I love my drinks fruity and strong. Mikes Island Sunset contained spiced rum, coconut rum, melon liqueur, peach schnapps, and guava passion fruit juice. It was excellent Id have to say it possibly even tasted better than mine. But it didnt beat the strength and the presentation of the Lapu Lapu. Both were great choices.
We were also given bread on a metal platter when we first sat down, and we knew it was pineapple bread from the last time we were there. I dont recall them saying that this time, though. The bread was soft and sweet, and we would have asked for more if more food wasnt coming! Soon after our server brought our drinks, he brought out the large appetizer platter. I love this part shrimp and vegetable wontons, honey coriander wings, salad with honey lime dressing, stir fried rice, and green beans with onions and bacon. Everything on the platter was great; I never eat green beans or wings, but Ill eat them here because theyre so good. The wings have a sticky, slightly sweet sauce on the outside, and were fairly meaty. The sauce is delicious and I might try it sometime on boneless chicken. The green beans are fresh and cooked crisp-tender, and the onions and bacon perfectly seasoned the beans. We had to have salad of course, to have a pretense of eating healthfully, but we enjoy the salad and the dressing was delicious. There wasnt anything besides leaves and dressing, but there didnt need to be, it would have been overkill. The wontons are always my favorite, but at times they werent exactly crispy, and near the bottom of the bowl they had an odd ketchup aftertaste from some sauce. I stuck with the wontons near the top. The fried rice, while having just perfectly cooked vegetables, was under-seasoned and somewhat bland. It was better with some of the peanut sauce or cilantro ginger sauce they brought out with the appetizers. The platter also had a fruit dipping sauce, and our server explained which sauce was best with which meat, but I like using them all, so I never remember. I love the wontons with the peanut sauce, especially. The cilantro ginger sauce was great, with a strong ginger flavor that wasn't too hot.
After we were through with the appetizer platter, they started bringing around the meat. This is done in the style of whats called a Brazilian barbecue, where they cook the meat over an open fire on skewers, and bring it around to your table. Theres a Brazilian barbecue here in Orlando, but Ive never been. Tonight they had shrimp, steak, turkey, and pork. On the first skewers there were steak and turkey, and I had the turkey while Mike had both. The turkey was melt-in-your-mouth moist, and I couldnt get enough of it. There was a great crust on the outside from the fire pit, and together it just made for perfect pieces of meat. It was my favorite of the evening. Mike thoroughly enjoyed the steak, he said it was cooked medium to medium well, but was tender and tasted great. We tried the fruit sauce with the turkey, and could taste at least bananas and pineapple. I wondered if that was what they did with the pineapple they scooped out for the Lapu Lapus? Neither of us like shrimp, but we asked for one eat anyway to be adventurous, when the shrimp and pork skewers came around. I couldnt figure out how to peel it, as the shells were still on, and gave up. Mike ended up peeling his and dipping it in the sauce, and said it didnt taste like much. But you probably cant go by what we think in this case, as we are not shrimp connoisseurs. There were plenty of plates around the table full of empty shrimp shells, so Im assuming they were good. The pork was the disappointment of the evening, it was tough and slightly fatty, and so I didnt have more than a few bites. Mikes pieces of pork were the same way. The sauces couldnt even save it. We ended up having more turkey and wontons instead. I think we went through three bowls of those wontons!
We were there for a relaxing evening, and so we sat back and ate slowly and had some nice conversation. We watched the coconut races, where all the children were asked to come to the center of the restaurant and were given brooms. The children older than 9 were asked to turn their broom upside down, and then everyone was given a dried coconut to push around the room. There was also hula-hooping, which was a little less active, but it was cute to watch the kids drop their hula hoops and try to keep going.
It was getting near the time for Wishes, and I asked for another Lapu Lapu. I wasnt driving that night, and I just had to celebrate the great table. Plus, we have the Disney Dining Experience card, which actually gives a 20% discount not only on food, but on alcohol as well. At the six person table behind me, two people sat down. Our server came up to them and asked if theyd been here before, and then said, Wait, where are your menus? as every table was given menus as the host or hostess sat them down. It ended up that these people just wandered in the restaurant without saying anything to anyone and picked the best view in the whole restaurant! They were brought back to the front podium and another family was seated. Unfortunately, this family talked very loudly through the entire fireworks show, and their voices echoed through the restaurant, because no one else was talking. We couldnt really hear the music, but wed heard it so many times that we could follow along. While the Polynesian isnt the closest hotel to the Magic Kingdom, its our favorite view. We had never seen the Electrical Water Pageant either, and luckily it started right after. It was cute, but a little cheesy. Were glad we didnt wait specifically for it.
We were definitely finished with the rest of our meal at this point. We had debated ordering a Kiddie Kone from the Kona Café, and our server told us it was possible and that the Kona Café didnt like doing it, but he would definitely get it done for us. We were too full at that point, unfortunately, so we just had the pineapple with caramel. The pineapple is cut into eighths, and the meat sliced so that individual pieces are easily taken with the wooden spears placed in them. This time, we had an eighth of a pineapple for each of us, while we had only had one for the two of us the last time we were here. I love pineapple and caramel together, but the sauce that they bring out is reminiscent of a sugary ice cream toping instead of real caramel, so I didnt have much of the sauce. Its a good ending to the meal, though.
We had a great meal here, and its one of our favorite restaurants. Its nothing gourmet, and its nothing horribly authentic, but its very good food, and can even work for people on different diets, if they can stay away from the fried food! Someday I will try the snow cone here ($4.99) called the Beach Bomb, which is served in a beach pail! Its huge, enough for an entire family to share. The menu also has different wines and beers, but nothing spectacular. I like to stick to the tropical drinks here. I recommend eating here to see Wishes, if its not too late. If it is, its very easy to just walk down to the beach where there are usually few people and plenty of room. The restaurant is great for families and couples alike, and while the initial price looks high, it does include salad, appetizers, meat, side dishes, dessert, and beverages! This is one of our must repeats, once we plow through many of the other great Disney restaurants.
Photo gallery
We went back to the podium, and we followed a host over to a table. At first we thought that we were going to be in a far corner of the restaurant, against the window facing the rest of the resort, but we ended up getting a marvelous seat! It was at a table for three, right up against the window facing the Magic Kingdom. We were going to have a great view of the fireworks. In celebration, I had to order a Lapu Lapu ($9.95) and Mike ordered an Island Sunset ($6.99). Our server was wonderful, he was extremely friendly, and highly recommended both of our drinks. The Lapu Lapu comes in a hollowed-out pineapple, with the spill over in another glass its as if youre getting two drinks, and youd better, for the price! The drink contained Myers rum, tropical juices, and was topped with Bacardi 151. It was strong! I love my drinks fruity and strong. Mikes Island Sunset contained spiced rum, coconut rum, melon liqueur, peach schnapps, and guava passion fruit juice. It was excellent Id have to say it possibly even tasted better than mine. But it didnt beat the strength and the presentation of the Lapu Lapu. Both were great choices.
We were also given bread on a metal platter when we first sat down, and we knew it was pineapple bread from the last time we were there. I dont recall them saying that this time, though. The bread was soft and sweet, and we would have asked for more if more food wasnt coming! Soon after our server brought our drinks, he brought out the large appetizer platter. I love this part shrimp and vegetable wontons, honey coriander wings, salad with honey lime dressing, stir fried rice, and green beans with onions and bacon. Everything on the platter was great; I never eat green beans or wings, but Ill eat them here because theyre so good. The wings have a sticky, slightly sweet sauce on the outside, and were fairly meaty. The sauce is delicious and I might try it sometime on boneless chicken. The green beans are fresh and cooked crisp-tender, and the onions and bacon perfectly seasoned the beans. We had to have salad of course, to have a pretense of eating healthfully, but we enjoy the salad and the dressing was delicious. There wasnt anything besides leaves and dressing, but there didnt need to be, it would have been overkill. The wontons are always my favorite, but at times they werent exactly crispy, and near the bottom of the bowl they had an odd ketchup aftertaste from some sauce. I stuck with the wontons near the top. The fried rice, while having just perfectly cooked vegetables, was under-seasoned and somewhat bland. It was better with some of the peanut sauce or cilantro ginger sauce they brought out with the appetizers. The platter also had a fruit dipping sauce, and our server explained which sauce was best with which meat, but I like using them all, so I never remember. I love the wontons with the peanut sauce, especially. The cilantro ginger sauce was great, with a strong ginger flavor that wasn't too hot.
After we were through with the appetizer platter, they started bringing around the meat. This is done in the style of whats called a Brazilian barbecue, where they cook the meat over an open fire on skewers, and bring it around to your table. Theres a Brazilian barbecue here in Orlando, but Ive never been. Tonight they had shrimp, steak, turkey, and pork. On the first skewers there were steak and turkey, and I had the turkey while Mike had both. The turkey was melt-in-your-mouth moist, and I couldnt get enough of it. There was a great crust on the outside from the fire pit, and together it just made for perfect pieces of meat. It was my favorite of the evening. Mike thoroughly enjoyed the steak, he said it was cooked medium to medium well, but was tender and tasted great. We tried the fruit sauce with the turkey, and could taste at least bananas and pineapple. I wondered if that was what they did with the pineapple they scooped out for the Lapu Lapus? Neither of us like shrimp, but we asked for one eat anyway to be adventurous, when the shrimp and pork skewers came around. I couldnt figure out how to peel it, as the shells were still on, and gave up. Mike ended up peeling his and dipping it in the sauce, and said it didnt taste like much. But you probably cant go by what we think in this case, as we are not shrimp connoisseurs. There were plenty of plates around the table full of empty shrimp shells, so Im assuming they were good. The pork was the disappointment of the evening, it was tough and slightly fatty, and so I didnt have more than a few bites. Mikes pieces of pork were the same way. The sauces couldnt even save it. We ended up having more turkey and wontons instead. I think we went through three bowls of those wontons!
We were there for a relaxing evening, and so we sat back and ate slowly and had some nice conversation. We watched the coconut races, where all the children were asked to come to the center of the restaurant and were given brooms. The children older than 9 were asked to turn their broom upside down, and then everyone was given a dried coconut to push around the room. There was also hula-hooping, which was a little less active, but it was cute to watch the kids drop their hula hoops and try to keep going.
It was getting near the time for Wishes, and I asked for another Lapu Lapu. I wasnt driving that night, and I just had to celebrate the great table. Plus, we have the Disney Dining Experience card, which actually gives a 20% discount not only on food, but on alcohol as well. At the six person table behind me, two people sat down. Our server came up to them and asked if theyd been here before, and then said, Wait, where are your menus? as every table was given menus as the host or hostess sat them down. It ended up that these people just wandered in the restaurant without saying anything to anyone and picked the best view in the whole restaurant! They were brought back to the front podium and another family was seated. Unfortunately, this family talked very loudly through the entire fireworks show, and their voices echoed through the restaurant, because no one else was talking. We couldnt really hear the music, but wed heard it so many times that we could follow along. While the Polynesian isnt the closest hotel to the Magic Kingdom, its our favorite view. We had never seen the Electrical Water Pageant either, and luckily it started right after. It was cute, but a little cheesy. Were glad we didnt wait specifically for it.
We were definitely finished with the rest of our meal at this point. We had debated ordering a Kiddie Kone from the Kona Café, and our server told us it was possible and that the Kona Café didnt like doing it, but he would definitely get it done for us. We were too full at that point, unfortunately, so we just had the pineapple with caramel. The pineapple is cut into eighths, and the meat sliced so that individual pieces are easily taken with the wooden spears placed in them. This time, we had an eighth of a pineapple for each of us, while we had only had one for the two of us the last time we were here. I love pineapple and caramel together, but the sauce that they bring out is reminiscent of a sugary ice cream toping instead of real caramel, so I didnt have much of the sauce. Its a good ending to the meal, though.
We had a great meal here, and its one of our favorite restaurants. Its nothing gourmet, and its nothing horribly authentic, but its very good food, and can even work for people on different diets, if they can stay away from the fried food! Someday I will try the snow cone here ($4.99) called the Beach Bomb, which is served in a beach pail! Its huge, enough for an entire family to share. The menu also has different wines and beers, but nothing spectacular. I like to stick to the tropical drinks here. I recommend eating here to see Wishes, if its not too late. If it is, its very easy to just walk down to the beach where there are usually few people and plenty of room. The restaurant is great for families and couples alike, and while the initial price looks high, it does include salad, appetizers, meat, side dishes, dessert, and beverages! This is one of our must repeats, once we plow through many of the other great Disney restaurants.
Photo gallery
