Kona Café or The Wave

Which is the best option between the following choices?

  • Total voters
    31
  • Poll closed .
dmatt87

dmatt87

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We currently have a dinner booked at Coral Reef during our May trip but my wife showed interest in eating at a monorail restaurant.

I'm wondering if we are better off staying with with Coral Reef, switching to Kona Café or changing to The Wave. We don't want Signature option since we are on the dining plan and cannot use 2 credits for this meal.

Any thoughts?
 
belledream

belledream

Well-Known Member
Kona Cafe is seriously one of our favorite restaurants on property...in park, out of park, it doesn't matter. We have never been disappointed in the slightest with our meals - in fact, they are so very memorable. Never been interested in The Wave, no matter how many times we looked at the menu trying to consider it.

Coral Reef is another favorite of ours though, mostly for the atmosphere. I'd go with whichever is more convenient to your plans that day! Can't go wrong. :)
 
Disney4family

Disney4family

Well-Known Member
http://land.allears.net/reviewpost/showproduct.php?product=185&title=kona-cafe-lunch-dinner&cat=48
http://land.allears.net/reviewpost/showproduct.php?product=83&title=coral-reef-lunch-dinner&cat=34
http://land.allears.net/reviewpost/showproduct.php?product=516&title=the-wave-lunch-dinner&cat=43

Hard to add anything here from personal experience. We've only done The Wave. Honestly, it was a better meal this past August than the one we had at The California Grill. Cheaper. Better food. Better wine. Better service. Our waiter, Chris, is a CM we will never forget. (We even told our local winery about the wine we had there. They carry it now.)
 
Spectro

Spectro

Active Member
One thing to be aware of is the wave and coral reef are basement type settings so no windows, though you have the lovely aquarium to view at coral reef. My food was not great last time at the wave, but that could have been a one off....always had good food and fast service at the other too.
 
MickeyMomV

MickeyMomV

Well-Known Member
I have heard GREAT things about Kona but have not had the pleasure of eating there yet. We look forward to it in the future because I have been told I need to experience Tonga Toast.

Between the other two, if it was just the DH and I we would do The Wave. If our son was with us we would do Coral Reef. Even though you will have some kids at The Wave it just seems to be a bit more quiet and adult oriented. Coral Reef seems to have a lot more families and is a bit more "loud".
 
ChrisPyKeeno

ChrisPyKeeno

New Member
We went to the Wave this past August, and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food for the price; it was actually one of my favorite meals at Disney in the past few years. It has some dishes that lean "signature" without the added cost. The ambiance was more "city restaurant" than "Disney," but it works for the Contemporary.
 
RustySpork

RustySpork

Oscar Mayer Memer
I've had really good experiences and really bad ones at The Wave. I'd personally skip it. I've never had a bad experience at Kona or Coral Reef.
 
Master Yoda

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
Kona would be my choice.

I have had some very good meals at both Coral Reef and The Wave, but I have also had a few sub-par ones. Kona has been consistently good for breakfast, lunch and dinner for as long as I can remember.
 
CaptainAmerica

CaptainAmerica

Premium Member
Am I the only one turned off by the ambiance at Kona? It feels like they stuck some tables in the middle of the resort lobby, it doesn't feel like you're in a restaurant.
 
Master Yoda

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
CaptainAmerica said:
Am I the only one turned off by the ambiance at Kona? It feels like they stuck some tables in the middle of the resort lobby, it doesn't feel like you're in a restaurant.
Click to expand...
It has never bothered me as it is a Cafe. The food and service has always been great, and while I like ambiance, I will overlook the lack of it for good food.
 
B

Bananaswift

Member
The ambience at Kona used to come from the lobby, with sights and sounds of the waterfall, plants, and birds. When all of that was removed, it lost a bit of the theming. The food has been really good, though, when I've been.
 
dmatt87

dmatt87

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I have booked Kona - but didn't cancel my Coral Reef reservation yet. Still on the fence on what to do. We had booked both restaurant on our honeymoon in 2011, and cancelled both during the trip.
 
Minnesota disney fan

Minnesota disney fan

Well-Known Member
dmatt87 said:
I have booked Kona - but didn't cancel my Coral Reef reservation yet. Still on the fence on what to do. We had booked both restaurant on our honeymoon in 2011, and cancelled both during the trip.
Click to expand...

We only ate at the Coral Reef once many years ago. It was right after it went from a high end dining experience, to the dining plan. We found it to be too noisey with the poor acoustics in there at the time. The waiters had to scream at us so we could hear them. Food was mediocre, but this was all several years ago, so I'm sure it's been fixed by now or there would be no good reviews. We have eaten at Kona and loved it; excellent food and the atmosphere was fine with us. Haven't eaten at the Wave, but hope too. I think you can't go wrong with Kona!
 

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