OHANA
Saturdays dinner was the one I was most excited for yet was the most disappointing.
We had to take the boat from the MK to the Poly since the monorail was down. We had to wait for a second boat, but we were very early anyway, so it was fine. We had a nice, ROMANTIC ridethe Electric Water Pageant was going on! Weve never seen it before, so that was really nice.
When we landed on the Polys shores, we were immediately confused. The Poly is HUGE and very overwhelming, especially at night! I suppose POR (our resort) is big, but our room (Alligator Bayou Building 15) was so close to the lobby/main bus stop, that we never felt its size. It took us a good 7 minutes to get to the Poly main building. We decided to browse the lobby shops since we had an extra half hour and knew there was no chance wed get in early! Zach was not impressed- -hes not a tropical person. I thought it was pretty nice, but honestly, not worth the money. We decided that if we were going to splurge, it would definitely be for the Grand Floridian.
Once we ventured upstairs, we checked in and were given a beeper. To kill time, we got some fancy drinks from the bar.
After, we sat on one of the benches and had our name called after about 10 minutes. (Id say we waited 5-10 minutes past our reservation time, not bad) Turns out they had tried paging us with the beeper, but it was broken! No worriesour hostess was really sweet, chatting to us the entire way to the table. We were in the main room, one row over from the window. I had to lean back a little to avoid a pole, but overall- great view of Wishes! (Our ADR was for 9:45only time I could get!)
Once we sat
everything went downhill. The kids were doing their parade, which was really cute. HOWEVER, a large group of men (probably in their early 30s) were celebrating a birthday next to us and our waitress and the food delivererer (??) paid zero attention to us and fawned over those men. It was terribleit took forever to get our drinks, everything. I understand that big tables require a lot of time (I was a waitress one summer), but it was terrible. We were ignored while they were given special attention. Now, our server probably was playing to the table that she thought would give her the bigger tip, but little did she knowweve been known to tip 100% if we get great service. The bad service really put a damper on the mood (although not too muchwe were at Disney, after all!)
As far as atmosphere, I thought it was great! Maybe when we have a family, well bring our kids back. I think the races were adorable and the place had a fun vibe. The décor was cute!
Heres a food breakdown:
1) Breaddry and completely tasteless. We devoured the bread at every restaurant, but this we couldnt choke down more than a bite of this.
2) Saladokay. The dressing was a tad sweet for me, but thats really a taste preference. Im sure someone else could have loved it. The lettuce was crisp and not wilted.
3) Wingsdisgusting. So fatty! There was a thick layer of stringy, mushy fat between the skin and the meat. I had only two bites. The chicken was clearly poor quality. Zach ate three or four, I think, probably because he was so hungry.
4) The dumpling skin was crispy and good, but the inside was gray and tasteless. Ive made better frozen ones at home.
5) Noodlestoo bland. There was a hint of sweetness, but not much,
6) Vegetablesfine. I mean, can you mess up broccoli and sugar snap peas? They were crisp, but not too flavored. They were fine.
7) Steak- the ONE piece I had was yummy and tender. Second best item of the night.
8) ShrimpI had one. It was flavorless and rubbery. Zach had a couple and they were NOT properly cleaned. He pulled veins out of all of them.
9) Turkey/Porkboth were okay dipped in the mustard sauce. Again, though, it needed the kick of the sauce. (The mustard was the only one I liked. I dipped both the dumplings and turkey/pork in it)
10) Bread puddingBy far the best dessert of the trip. It almost made going to Ohana worthwhile. It was sweet, delicious, and with the perfect sauce. I loved the balance of the cold ice cream and the warm sauce/bread. I seriously could have killed this whole thing. Zach liked it too.
Now, more poor service. After Rosa brought us our drinks, we never saw her again until dessert. Our salad and other accompaniments were brought very quickly, but we waited a good time for our meats. Also, when he brought the steak skewer, there were only two pieces. They were delicious, so when he came back with the shrimp and asked if we wanted more meat, we requested steak. 15 minutes later, he returned with
shrimp!! When we said we didnt want any, he got huffy and never came back. We never got our steak
We sat there with all of the dirty plates for a good 15 minutes, not eating. Rosa finally came to clear the table and bring dessert. We left a very-undeserved 20% tip (its our minimum). I was so disappointed in the quality of the food and service. (Although that bread pudding tempts me to make another reservation there!!) We probably wont go back until we have children. I wanted to love it, but I just couldnt. We felt terribly neglected because of the table next to usthose six men got showered with leis and maracas and the lady who leads the parade chatted with them for a long time. They constantly had meat and seconds of so many side dishes.
Zach and I had wished we had been seated just five minutes later. Another couple who was right behind us got seated pretty soon after us and had the BEST service. Their waiter was so attentive, and they got SO much food. Their waiter had several other tables, too, I might add.
Sorry if this thing sounds a little rant-y, but Im a firm believer in that if youre a server, you should strive to provide service! Especially at Disney! We let them take away our Disney magic, but dont worry! The next night was one of the best meals of my life. From service to food to atmosphere, Zach and I agreed that it was one of our best dates ever!
