'Ohana Dinner Disappointment

[Weather_Lady]

regarding ohana, rethinking our reservations in a couple weeks as well, between the cuts and the beautiful walled off gutted lobby, it just doesn't excite me anymore.

Good point! I should have mentioned that as well. Two of our party of 6 had never been inside the Polynesian, and their first and only impression of the place was those ugly construction walls. Usually construction walls are done in such a way that they kind of blend in -- not so here. They just looked awful. Ditto the badly stained, visibly worn furniture in the waiting area outside 'Ohana.

 

[Minnie1976]

Sorry if this is gross. Unpeeled shrimp means that the shrimp is not deveined. That is just gross. Proper preparation removes the shrimp's colon before eating. Nobody wants to eat shrimp poop.

Never thought of shrimp poop. Catch, boil, peel and eat. Never had time to devein. Never thought of it as poop.

 

[stevehousse]

Good point! I should have mentioned that as well. Two of our party of 6 had never been inside the Polynesian, and their first and only impression of the place was those ugly construction walls. Usually construction walls are done in such a way that they kind of blend in -- not so here. They just looked awful. Ditto the badly stained, visibly worn furniture in the waiting area outside 'Ohana.

With the way the lobby is set up, there really isn't any way to do something like that unfortunately...

 

[MKCP 1985]

I don't think anyone remotely suggested Ohana was, in any way, shape or form, a five star restaurant But, I think it's more of a disappointment to many, who view Ohana as a traditional family meal during vacation. Me, being one of them. Too many changes in recent years, that aren't favorable to most. It's OK for us all to remember when things were *better* foodwise as well as service wise. For the record, I'm not a fan of Golden Corral

I have learned in my years of being a member of these forums that things can change more frequently than my annual visits can keep up with, so if 'Ohana is becoming a less desirable place to enjoy a traditional family meal, that is sad.

In my experience over the past decade, which has consisted of eating there on and off but not every trip- I've personally found the food remains fairly consistent - never excellent - and when menu changes occur there is some disappointment among people who liked the desserts or other items that get replaced but people are pretty quick to accept the change...and if one makes a special request for the old dessert, I have found the chefs have been able to make the magic happen on occasion.

I still enjoy going there and my kids, now grown, do as well even though we have no-one to join in the games. . If our next visit is a disappointment, I will certainly remember the warnings in this thread.

 

[Goofnut1980]

Love me some 'Ohana

 

[aladdin2007]

Good point! I should have mentioned that as well. Two of our party of 6 had never been inside the Polynesian, and their first and only impression of the place was those ugly construction walls. Usually construction walls are done in such a way that they kind of blend in -- not so here. They just looked awful. Ditto the badly stained, visibly worn furniture in the waiting area outside 'Ohana.

we switched to California Grill, time to try something we haven't done.

 

[Betsyboo]

Our first experience at Ohana in February was quite lack luster. It started with a 50 minute wait in the "playground", ie the seating area, and finished up finally around 10pm. I'd booked an 8:10 ADR and we were seated at 9pm. The food was fine, the server was ok but the chicken was the only meat I really liked. My DH has requested this meal for our November trip and I have a 5:10 ADR but I'm hoping I can change his mind between now and then. It just doesn't seem like the best way to end our trip.

 

[Tuvalu]

we switched to California Grill, time to try something we haven't done.

Wise choice!! We also ate at California Grill last week ~ the food was AMAZING (and the atmosphere and views weren't so bad either !) Hands down our best and favorite meal of our vacation.

 

[Yelloweaver]

We are eating at O'hana this Saturday at 5pm. I picked it because my daughter loves potstickers and little else. I hope they still taste as good as they did last time we ate there.

 

[righttrack]

LOL I think non peeled is pretty standard

In the world of cooking, it's considered a ghastly oversight.

 

[JoMarch]

I really liked O'hana... a few years back, when I tried it for the first time. Recently, I thought it wasn't as good. The meats were unbelieveably charred and very dry.

 

[aladdin2007]

Wise choice!! We also ate at California Grill last week ~ the food was AMAZING (and the atmosphere and views weren't so bad either !) Hands down our best and favorite meal of our vacation.

anything in particular you would recommend there? looking forward it. did you dine early or later? what kind of attire did you see mostly? sorry for all the questions lol but since we havent been not sure what to expect.

 

[Tuvalu]

anything in particular you would recommend there? looking forward it. did you dine early or later? what kind of attire did you see mostly? sorry for all the questions lol but since we havent been not sure what to expect.

We had the BBQ pork and apple flatbread as an appetizer; very interesting flavor combination, so good! In the bread basket were wheat sourdough rolls and lavender focaccia~ the latter paired very well with the sea salt butter. The oak grilled filet was done to perfection and had a nice smoky flavor without being overpowering. It came with sweet corn risotto The bison was oh-so-tender and came with crisp asparagus and potatoes.

For dessert we sampled the chocolate pudding cake (mostly a rectangle of moist fudge, a chocophile's dream) and the warm banana fritters ~ fried dough with cinnamon and sugar (only a hint of banana) which came with 3 dipping sauces: caramel, chocolate and peanut butter. Yum.

There is an extensive wine list and the 3 of us had different choices which we all enjoyed.

We had a 6:15 pm ADR because we wanted to be there during daylight to see the views. We did not have a window table but could still see out to the MK and Seven Seas Lagoon very well. We also went out on both observation decks to take pictures.

If you finish dinner before the fireworks (which we did) you are allowed to return (with your dinner receipt) and watch the fireworks. (We did not do this since we could watch the fireworks from our room's balcony at GF.)

We dressed nicely for dinner since we were celebrating DD's college graduation and Cali Grill is a signature restaurant. Most folks around us also sported "dressy casual" attire. Did see a few in shorts but they were of the tailored variety.

Hope this helps!

 

[Lord_Vader]

Hate to hear you had a bad experience at 'Ohana but our experiences over the past few visits have been quite the opposite. We will miss the chicken skewers but they were not our favorite protein, the shrimp and steak were. If they eliminated the pot-stickers we would definitely have issues though.

Last summer we had perhaps the best experience at 'Ohana that we have ever had, the service was nothing short of spectacular, the food was great which left us all looking forward to a return visit. Our server brought the normal initial portions of salad, noodles/veggies then the meats, over and over with the meats until we were begging them to not bring any more, my son ended up eating more than a skewer of shrimp alone! He filled the salad bowl with shells he ate so much. Our visit at Christmas wasn't nearly a memorable but the service was good and the food was as expected.

We are TiW members and used our discounts both times and except at one dining location have never really noticed any difference in service or food quality when using the discount program.

 

[Millerworld]

We ate at Ohana for dinner once in 2011. We thought it was okay. Not bad, but not great either. We are basically indifferent towards it. Everyone has their own likes/dislikes, but we will not be venturing back any time soon. We now tend to eat at the Kona Cafe each trip now, as we prefer the food there than Ohana. I wouldn't give up on it after one bad experience personally, as that can easily occur anywhere, but that's just me.

 

[DisneyDebNJ]

We had the BBQ pork and apple flatbread as an appetizer; very interesting flavor combination, so good! In the bread basket were wheat sourdough rolls and lavender focaccia~ the latter paired very well with the sea salt butter. The oak grilled filet was done to perfection and had a nice smoky flavor without being overpowering. It came with sweet corn risotto The bison was oh-so-tender and came with crisp asparagus and potatoes.

For dessert we sampled the chocolate pudding cake (mostly a rectangle of moist fudge, a chocophile's dream) and the warm banana fritters ~ fried dough with cinnamon and sugar (only a hint of banana) which came with 3 dipping sauces: caramel, chocolate and peanut butter. Yum.

There is an extensive wine list and the 3 of us had different choices which we all enjoyed.

We had a 6:15 pm ADR because we wanted to be there during daylight to see the views. We did not have a window table but could still see out to the MK and Seven Seas Lagoon very well. We also went out on both observation decks to take pictures.

If you finish dinner before the fireworks (which we did) you are allowed to return (with your dinner receipt) and watch the fireworks. (We did not do this since we could watch the fireworks from our room's balcony at GF.)

We dressed nicely for dinner since we were celebrating DD's college graduation and Cali Grill is a signature restaurant. Most folks around us also sported "dressy casual" attire. Did see a few in shorts but they were of the tailored variety.

Hope this helps!

Youre making me happy I booked Cali Grill @Tuvalu !!!! I was eyeing that pork and apple flatbread as well!!

 

[ptaylor]

Ohana has turned into a conveyor-belt restaurant. Get guests in and out as quick as possible. The food has been on a gradual decline over the years as the dining plan has put a greater squeeze on what can be served. Factor in the incredibly low moral of the Poly cast at the moment, and it is a recipe for a bad experience.

I would personally stay well clear of the Poly until all the changes are complete - it is a depressing place right now.

 

[Disneydreamer23]

O hana better not let me down in Sept!~

 

[kasey1988]

O hana better not let me down in Sept!~

We also have reservations in September, and am worried that it won't be that good but its EMH evening at Epcot (where we are headin after dinner), so there isn't many options open to switch to something else that is convenient for us.. Hopefully it dosnt let is down

 

[lighteningqueen]

Hate to say this, but 'Ohana is no longer on our "must-do" list.

For years we have booked dinner right at our 180 days mark. This trip too, and the best time I could get was 5:10 p.m. I tried numerous times to adjust our reservation, both by calling and checking the website, to no avail. I checked multiple times the day prior and day of, thinking there may be some cancellations. But the message was always the same, "Reservations Unavailable."

So we met our friends there last night (June 4th) at 5 p.m. We barely sat down and the server asked for our drink order...and the salad was literally tossed on our table. Our drinks had not yet arrived when the bowl full of noodles, vegetables and wings was plopped down, to be quickly followed by the pork wontons and new lettuce wraps (which weren't very good.) We were given only two small containers of dipping sauce for our party of five, and had to ask for the macadamia nut butter for our bread.

As soon as our server gave us our drinks, she returned with the pork skewers. Seriously, it was like being in a food eating competition to see how fast they could make us eat. AND THE CHICKEN SKEWERS ARE GONE, despite posts to the contrary. Sorry, chicken wings are not a substitute especially when we were given only 2 drums...the rest were tips.

After the first round of skewers we had to flag our server down for seconds. It seemed like we were just supposed to finish whatever we were given the first round so that they could come clear the plates and bring dessert.

Coffee was not offered after we received our bread pudding. It was very clear we were not supposed to linger.

We adjusted when 'Ohana removed the yummy Maui potatoes and replaced them with the bland noodles. We miss the fried wontons and three different sauces. The turkey skewers were our favorite but we accepted the chicken. But we are done accommodating. We don't want to "settle" when we are paying $38 plus tax and tip for dinner (the price is nowhere noted, BTW. You are at the mercy of the whatever seasonal price they want to charge.)

THE FUNNY PART? The restaurant was only 75% full. Lots of open tables when we were eating and when we left and when we stood nearby visiting with our friends in the hallway. Are 'Ohana reservations intentionally under-booked to keep up the hype?

I so totally agree its awful. either raw meant or burned up 6 of us and those small bowls of th noodles etc were not enough for one go around to all of us never got refills never saw our waitress again, asked another one for help and he acted PO'd. Too expensive and just plain not good.. Same goes for Boma and San Angel. We wasted so much money on these three places and didnt even get full...