YIKES!!!! I gained 7 pounds in 12 days! COMPLETE...and going back!!!!

We had eaten both breakfast and lunch at Kona Cafe before, but we had never tried it for dinner, so being that we were staying at the Poly, it was a high priority to try it for dinner this time.

We had spent more time in MK than intended on this day, and a later MSEP was added after I made our ADRs, so we wanted to eat dinner a little later than our scheduled ADR at 5PM (to get a longer break), but I was unable to change it. The hostess told us to try just walking up at around 6, but I didn't want to chance it, so we just showed up a few minutes late for our ADR. We were seated right away with no problem.

Our server, according to our receipt was Ratana, but again, no bell ringing in my head on this one. We actually had 2 servers that night who introduced themselves to us as a waiter and a waiter-in-training. The waiter was obviously a long-time waiter veteran, and the waiter-in-training, from Morocco, was very nice and working very hard; he was very soon to be a very good waiter! Our service was wonderful!

I apologize in advance about the poor quality of the photos from Kona. I'm not too sure what went wrong. I think we tried taking a few pics with the flash but they were overexposed so we turned off the flash. But that doesn't really explain the fuzziness. I don't know, maybe the camera was on a different mode and we didn't realize it. Anyway, we did our best for ya!

The welcome bread with macademia nut butter was absolutely delicious! You can see it in the background of one of the appetizer pics. It was soft and light and sweet, kind of like a doughnut but not fried. We all loved it. When we were asked if we wanted more, we really wanted to say yes, but we managed to force out a no, 'cause we knew this was going to turn into an eating fest!

Aladdin felt like having a beer this night, so he chose a Kona Longboard Lager (I think that was the name) at the waiter's suggestion, and I ordered an Island Sunset:
073102kona.jpg

which was just delicious, fruity and pretty strong, not too sweet. Aladdin enjoyed his beer.

Belle decided to order from the prix fixe menu, which I didn't even know they had at Kona, and the rest of us ordered a la carte.

For her appetizer, Belle knew she'd be sharing tastes with the rest of us, and she chose the duck pot stickers:
073104kona.jpg

which were great.

For the table we also got an order of sticky wings:
073103kona.jpg

and a volcano roll:
073105kona.jpg


We all thought all of the appetizers were great! My only tiny complaint is that the volcano roll was just a little too cold. I would have liked it to be room temperature, not cold.

For our main courses, Belle ordered the pan asian noodles with chicken:
073107kona.jpg

This tasted like very good lo mein. The noodles were cooked perfectly and it was loaded with really yummy veggies. It was similar but not exactly the same as the dish she had at CC's our first day.

Aladdin chose the pomegranate pork chop:
073106kona.jpg

For me, this was the best entree of the night. The pork was cooked to perfection! There was quite a long discussion between the waiter and Aladdin about whether or not the prok chop could be cooked medium rare-meduim, which is how Aladdin and I like it, but most restaurants won't make it this way, it's usually more medium-medium well. Well, the chef did agree to prepare it medium rare and it was so juicy and tender and flavorful! Wonderful! (I'm so sorry the pic doesn't do it justice).

Hercules went for the teriyaki strip steak:
073109kona.jpg

This was another perfect dish! It was cooked to a tender and juicy medium rare and we all loved the teriyaki sauce, especially the fresh bits of pineapple. Herc was thrilled with his. The rice tasted good in the sauce. I think I finished off the greens, which were also cooked perfectly and well-seasoned.

I ordered something I'd been craving for a long time, the tuna oscar:
073108kona.jpg

If there was any disappointment that night at Kona, this was it. It looks beautiful, doesn't it? It just was...good, but less than I expected somehow. The tuna was seasoned and cooked right (seared), but I guess the meat itself didn't have too much flavor. And there wasn't quite enough sauce. And the tomatoes weren't very crispy. And the crab, well it tasted like "something" tempura, but I couldn't tell it was crab...I guess the taste of the crab meat was too mild and got overpowered by the tempura? Overall, a disappointing dish, and I wouldn't order it again. Maybe my expectations were too high? When we go back to Kona Cafe, my entree choice would be the pork chop or the teriyaki steak (medium rare) which were both perfect!

Now if you think we'd pigged out to this point, you ain't seen nothing yet!

Now Belle had already chosen her dessert, because as I mentioned, she had ordered from the prix fixe menu, so she had to be sure from the beginning that there was something she really wanted in each course. And Herc, Aladdin and I just happened to notice some form of each of our favorite desserts on the menu, so we ALL knew exactly what we wanted to order for dessert (and we rarely order 4 desserts). But on this particular day, we had such a wonderful waiter who noticed our celebration buttons, and gave us quite a wonderful surprise:
073110kona.jpg

Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to the LEGENDARY Koko Puffs!!! Let me tell you, there is a reason this dessert is legendary! No longer on the menu :(, it can still be granted with pixie dust on a special occasion, or psssst! You can request it! These were soo good. A light puff pastry (10x better than the profiterole pastry at Les Chefs) filled with chocolate cream and topped with chantilly icing and whipped cream. Oh, my!!! These were so scrumptious!!!!

We should have just asked for the check at this point because we were all full with even very satisfied sweet tooths. But oh, no!!! What about those other desserts we just HAD to try? The embarrassing truth is that we ordered them anyway.

Here's what we ordered and didn't finish...

Belle chose the white chocolate cheese cake:
073112kona.jpg

Delicious! She liked this the best of all 5 desserts on the table, so she definitely chose wisely for herself. I thought it was very good, and I'm not a big cheese cake fan.

Hercules chose the chocolate cake, which I think is called Kiluea Torte:
073114kona.jpg

He loved this, but he wished there was no vanilla sauce on the bottom, that was his least favorite part and he found it excessive. He did like the vanilla ice cream with the chocolate.

Aladdin ordered the coconut cream pie, I think it's called a Kiki Tart:
073111kona.jpg

That is a piece of sugar cane on top. I was so full I couldn't even taste his, but he loved it!

And I (or someone at the table, alas, it had to be me) had to taste the banana creme brulee:
073113kona.jpg

Also excellent!

We absolutely loved this meal and with the exception of the Tuna Oscar (and the coolness of the sushi roll, but that might be just my persoanl thing), it was darn close to perfect. We also felt it was one of the more reasonably priced meals of our stay, considering all that we ordered. The service, again, was outstanding.

At this point we were really starting to wonder why all the reports of a decline in quality and service at the restaurants in WDW? When would we encounter that?

Coming up soon, our counter service at Typhoon Lagoon and the big birthday dinner at California Grill!
 
the lager was contract-brewed for them...in New Hampshire!

Not that I have anything against New Hampshire (some of my best friends are New Hampshirites....New Hampshirians?...Granite Staters?...whatever...); but had I known, I would have skipped ordering it. I was in a Hawaiian mood. I was wearing kukui nuts.

That being said; it was a light lager. Decent, but not exactly distinctive in the vanilla world of lagers. It was OK.
 

the lager was contract-brewed for them...in New Hampshire!

Not that I have anything against New Hampshire (some of my best friends are New Hampshirites....New Hampshirians?...Granite Staters?...whatever...); but had I known, I would have skipped ordering it. I was in a Hawaiian mood. I was wearing kukui nuts.

That being said; it was a light lager. Decent, but not exactly distinctive in the vanilla world of lagers. It was OK.

You should have ordered the Pina Colava! Or, you should make me one now! ;)
AND I see you need a ticker, too. Just sayin'.
 
We love Kona! We haven't had breakfast there yet (we are too lazy to get up early enough to get over there). We have had both lunch and dinner. I think their desserts are some of the best in all of wdw. Glad you enjoyed it. We try to time eating dinner there so that when we are done we can go out to the beach and watch wishes.
 
That sushi roll looks so good. I am going to have to try their sushi in November.
 
We love Kona! We haven't had breakfast there yet (we are too lazy to get up early enough to get over there). We have had both lunch and dinner. I think their desserts are some of the best in all of wdw. Glad you enjoyed it. We try to time eating dinner there so that when we are done we can go out to the beach and watch wishes.

I personally don't think any breakfast is good enough to interrupt the sleep cycle, especially in WDW where park touring takes priority! I wish we had had time to squeeze a lunch at Kona in somewhere on this trip, but we are looking forward to staying at the Poly again someday (it's definitely our favorite, our feelings are cemented after this trip), and will definitely do either lunch or dinner at Kona. I agree the desserts were fantastic, definitely amongst the best. We got a free one and still couldn't decide on just a few others, and each was better than the last!

Isn't Wishes from the Poly beach wonderful? We watch it as many times as we can when we stay there, but this particular night, 7/31, was our one scheduled night to spend inside MK and see the fireworks (actually Summer Nightastic) and MSEP from Main Street. When we don't stay at the Poly, we still like to go there for dinner (in the past it had been 'Ohana) and EWP/fireworks from the beach.

That sushi roll looks so good. I am going to have to try their sushi in November.

The roll was delicious, as was the shrimp salad on the plate with it. I wish we had more days so we could have enjoyed the sushi bar more times and sampled more selections. It would be nice if it was open for lunch, or mid-afternoon snack time.
 
I had the tuna Oscar last yr and you described it perfectly, I hated it! That sushi looks amazing think we will have to make a sushi stop at kona island sushi in a few weeks, also can't wait to try sushi at Cali grill! Loving the pics and reviews thank you so much!
 
The next day was Saturday, July 31, a Magic Kingdom day for us. We grabbed a quick breakfast at Captain Cook's (you're noticing the pattern here?). Aladdin and I were thrilled that on this day, there were berry yogurt parfaits! So he and I each had one, and the kids each had a bagel with cream cheese.

Aladdin and I really love those parfaits, and the kids enjoyed the bagels, which they toasted themselves in the available toaster.

Following along with your reviews and looking forward to Poly in less than a month. :thumbsup2 We have a lunch ADR for Chefs - looking forward to it!

Berry yogurt parfait - sounds great! I hope they have them when we go. Was the yogurt vanilla or another flavor? Did they have them only at breakfast?

Also, did they have any whole grain or multi-grain bagels?
 
Yum yum YUM! You have me positively aching to get back there!!

Your dinner looks amazing (even with the less-than-stellar tuna). I took one look at that volcano roll and said "That's so pretty" :rotfl:

I think the only dessert I've ever tried @ Kona was the torte - I definitely need to rectify that in a few weeks! The cheesecake looks divine!

And how about those cream puffs!!! We've had them the past two trips since it was honeymoon and anniversary...and we'll be wearing anniversary buttons again this time! Muhahahaha! Bring me cream puffs! :laughing:

Keep them coming! Can't wait to read about Cali Grill!
 
iloveeeyore, thank you for your report on Les Chefs, I'm trying to convience DD to go.
Question, how do you arrange to have Reme come to your table? was it an extra cost? its one of our favorite movies and we are going during my DD bday so would be a fun surprise!
Thanks!
Lisa:flower3:
 
Oh no! We booked Kona specifically to try the Tuna Oscar. :eek: Do you think requesting extra sauce would make it worth ordering? :confused3
 
Great reports! I am not a huge tuna fan, but I'd always heard RAVES about the Kona tuna dish. I must say, yours doesn't look as good as other photos I've seen (my first thought was, where's the sauce)? Sorry it wasn't so great for you. I love the teriyaki sirloin, but still miss their filet, which was the best ever. :sad2:

Everything looks just wonderful! I would die for some of that Chef's mac and cheese right about now....:rolleyes1 (My WW frozen lunch just didn't do it for me. Surprised?!)
 
Your dinner at Kona looks amazing! I have a breakfast ADR for our upcoming trip. While I really want to try some of the breakfast items, I am concerned about the early hour we will need to leave our resort (which is NOT the Poly!) to get to breakfast.

My family loves breakfast so I will probably keep it. I would much rather use my credits on what you just had! YUM
 
I had the tuna Oscar last yr and you described it perfectly, I hated it! That sushi looks amazing think we will have to make a sushi stop at kona island sushi in a few weeks, also can't wait to try sushi at Cali grill! Loving the pics and reviews thank you so much!

I can't say I hated the tuna, but I would say it disappointed me more than any other food item of the trip. And yes, try the sushi bar! The sushi at CG was also amazing, I'm so sad we could only try one item at each place!

Following along with your reviews and looking forward to Poly in less than a month. :thumbsup2 We have a lunch ADR for Chefs - looking forward to it!

Berry yogurt parfait - sounds great! I hope they have them when we go. Was the yogurt vanilla or another flavor? Did they have them only at breakfast?

Also, did they have any whole grain or multi-grain bagels?

Aladdin and I both believe that the yogurt was vanilla and low fat. The ingedients were listed on a tag on the plastic lid, but I can't find my pic of it anywhere. It also had granola and mixed berries. I thought it tasted just a little tart, so I think it could have been plain yogurt, but we think we remember it said vanilla. Maybe the berries were tart? Anyway, it was very good, we have had these on many different trips now, at many places (at least CC and Roaring Fork, and maybe even at a quick-service place in a theme park or two), and it always tastes just a little different (since it's prepared by different people). It is available in the refrigerated prepared foods case along with the bottled beverages and other stuff like yogurt in containers, cut fruit and carrots/celery with dip items. We noticed that when we got there at our usual time around 7:15-7:30, they weren't available, but when we had a little bit of a later morning and didn't get to breakfast until after 8, they were well-stocked. I get the feeling that they are supposed to be there all the time, but when they run out, someone either has to prepare more or just take them out of the back and put them in front. We never thought to ask any CM if there were any in the back, but my guess would be yes, they are available all the time.

As for the bagels, my kids prefer theirs plain, but we did notice some brownish ones, which could have been whole wheat or cinnamon raisin. Sorry I can't give you definite answers on either or your questions.

Yum yum YUM! You have me positively aching to get back there!!

Your dinner looks amazing (even with the less-than-stellar tuna). I took one look at that volcano roll and said "That's so pretty" :rotfl:

I think the only dessert I've ever tried @ Kona was the torte - I definitely need to rectify that in a few weeks! The cheesecake looks divine!

And how about those cream puffs!!! We've had them the past two trips since it was honeymoon and anniversary...and we'll be wearing anniversary buttons again this time! Muhahahaha! Bring me cream puffs! :laughing:

Keep them coming! Can't wait to read about Cali Grill!

The volcano roll was so beautiful I didn't want to eat it, but I'm so glad I did! Yes, those cream puffs were amazing, and such a wonderful surprise! Good luck scoring another serving for your upcoming celebration! If you like cheesecake, give it a try. I was impressed, and I'm usually not with cheesecake. Seems you can't go wrong with ANY dessert at Kona.

Oh, California Grill :cloud9:! Stay tuned!

iloveeeyore, thank you for your report on Les Chefs, I'm trying to convience DD to go.
Question, how do you arrange to have Reme come to your table? was it an extra cost? its one of our favorite movies and we are going during my DD bday so would be a fun surprise!
Thanks!
Lisa:flower3:

Remy comes around to all the tables as any character would at a character meal, no extra charge. In fact, we were at a table in the waaaay back corner of the restaurant and I was aftraid he wouldn't get to us since we were so removed from the action and we don't have any little kids. Well, Belle and Hercules were so surprised and so happy to see him, it was very cute! And he was more adorable than even I expected. If it's a real high priority that you get a visit, make sure your server is aware of that. Remy makes appearances between 12:30 and 5:30 I believe, so mainly lunchtime or a very early dinner, and there might be one or two days of the week when he doesn't appear (maybe Sundays and another day)? You might find more info on the specifics of his schedule on the main restaurants board if you do a search. Good luck!

Oh no! We booked Kona specifically to try the Tuna Oscar. :eek: Do you think requesting extra sauce would make it worth ordering? :confused3

You know, mine definitely needed more sauce. But it wouldn't have made up for the not-so-crispy tomatoes, or the not-so-flavorful tuna meat or the overpowering tempura on the crab. With more sauce, the whole dish just would have tasted like asparagus with hollandaise sauce? Anyway, maybe I just hit it on a bad night. Believe me, I was really looking forward to this dish, LOVE all the separate elements, it just didn't come together very well for me on this particular night. You might have a better experience, but I wouldn't get it again. There were so many other wonderful options! Honestly, Belle's noodle bowl was better!

Great reports! I am not a huge tuna fan, but I'd always heard RAVES about the Kona tuna dish. I must say, yours doesn't look as good as other photos I've seen (my first thought was, where's the sauce)? Sorry it wasn't so great for you. I love the teriyaki sirloin, but still miss their filet, which was the best ever. :sad2:

Everything looks just wonderful! I would die for some of that Chef's mac and cheese right about now....:rolleyes1 (My WW frozen lunch just didn't do it for me. Surprised?!)

I'm over the tuna thing. I know others rave about it, maybe I hit it on a bad night? Anyway, with so many other wonderful dishes on the table, how could I be upset? The pork was really really great; if you've never had it there (and you like pork), you should give it a try. And the steak was also really excellent. Herc is still talking about it. And AS IF I needed consoling, there were 5 desserts to taste!

Oh that Chefs mac & cheese! Not something that should be consumed by humans too often...especially ones discerning enough to dine on fine WW frozen lunches!

Your dinner at Kona looks amazing! I have a breakfast ADR for our upcoming trip. While I really want to try some of the breakfast items, I am concerned about the early hour we will need to leave our resort (which is NOT the Poly!) to get to breakfast.

My family loves breakfast so I will probably keep it. I would much rather use my credits on what you just had! YUM

You know, you have to do whatever works for your family. If a nice hearty, hot breakfast is a priority, then Kona Cafe is surely the place to find it. Aladdin and I were just talking about how we regret not making the time for just one sit-down breakfast (at Kona, of course). Those macademia nut pineapple pancakes are so wonderful! We've been thinking about those for about 6 years now!

If you are on the dining plan, consider paying OOP for a breakfast or two, and using your credits for dinner, if you can swing it. You're right about breakfast not being the "best use" of TS credits. But again, it comes down to what works for YOUR family.

Have a wonderful trip!
 
iloveeeyore, thank you for your report on Les Chefs, I'm trying to convience DD to go.
Question, how do you arrange to have Reme come to your table? was it an extra cost? its one of our favorite movies and we are going during my DD bday so would be a fun surprise!
Thanks!
Lisa:flower3:

Lisa, here's a link to more specific info, posted today, on Remy.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2541893
 
A few pages back, I told you that you had me dying to go to Chefs. Well now we are! :banana: DH just booked lunch there on our last day. I was convinced that he wouldn't want to go but he said that it was actually at the top of his list of considerations. Now I have to go back and look at your pics and reviews again! :laughing:
 















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