'Ohana Review

[DisneyFr33k]

We ate dinner here October 28th. We hadn't eaten here for several years, so we didn't remember much of what to expect other the the coconut races and the limbo (the kids remembered that well).

The salad with the honey lime dressing was wonderful. The sticky wings were good, but the pork dumplings were a HUGE hit with my family - we ordered seconds! The meat skewers and dipping sauces were also great. The kids love shrimp, but didn't like to peel them. But they soon got the hang of it. The lo mein noodles and veggies were well done too and the bread pudding was delicious!

We're glad we went back and waddled back to our resort afterwards!!

[SBETigg]

Sounds good! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the review.

[Belster]

Went on 10/26 and thought it was great as well!! We will be going back again.

[DVC2004]

Glad you liked it! We discovered O'Hana on our first trip in 2001. We liked it so muc, we ate there twice during our trip! (That was back when you could just walk in)

It's a must-do each trip now.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

that's good to hear....been seeing a few negative reports lately

[Mysttree]

Thanks for sharing- we are looking forward to doing it in Jan.
Glad to hear positive reports.

[BrerGnat]

Thanks for the great review. 'Ohana is one of my favorites as well.

Seems to be a "love it" or "hate it" place, though. Very strong opinions abound on either side. I think some people expect too much...

[Ian]

I think some people expect too much...

If you mean expecting edible food and at-least mediocre service for my $25.99 then yeah I guess I did expect too much.

[GreenBeetle]

Although I'm still nervous about the negative reviews of late, I've kept our ADR for January and plan to go in with an open mind.

Although I'm not a meat eater (the rest of my family is), O'hana looks like fun and the menu sounds interesting. We don't have fancy taste, but I do expect decent service and my food prepared properly . . . I don't think that's expecting too much, right?

[Babyvett]

I think some people expect too much...

I was there in Sept and while we were both very pleased with the food, the service was horrendous. They brought us everything within 10 minutes.. after that, we saw nobody for an hour and 45 minutes. Our waitress was non existent and the guys with the skewers never came back to our table. Getting seconds was not happening. I don't think its expecting too much to go to an all you can eat restaurant and actually get to get seconds of something.

[DisneyFr33k]

I was there in Sept and while we were both very pleased with the food, the service was horrendous. They brought us everything within 10 minutes.. after that, we saw nobody for an hour and 45 minutes. Our waitress was non existent and the guys with the skewers never came back to our table. Getting seconds was not happening. I don't think its expecting too much to go to an all you can eat restaurant and actually get to get seconds of something.

I'm sorry that happened. We had the opposite - they kept coming by again and again offering seconds. Once we were beyond full, we kept saying "no thanks" over and over. We commented to each other they should have a sign on the table "more please" or "all done"!

[BrerGnat]

Bad service is never acceptable! But, I have to wonder how often people who get bad service actually DO anything about it! I mean, simply getting up from your table and going over to the hostess podium and politely asking to speak to THE MANAGER will usually remedy any service problems you are having, and then some. I've never had that approach fail me when I truly feel that we are being neglected or when something just WRONG happens and it's not dealt with properly.

On a related note, people often complain about being "rushed" at 'Ohana, when I actually LIKE when my food is brought out quickly! I mean, especially with kids, getting me in and out as fast as possible is a way for my servers to score HUGE points with me! BUT, the three times I've eaten at 'Ohana have been WITHOUT children, and we've spent close to three hours there each time, simply because WE took our time eating. Ordered more drinks. Asked the server to hold off on dessert so we could "digest" a bit. It's never failed. They don't physically remove you from the table. There isn't a trap door that opens up and swallows you after an hour.

And, when the "skewer guy" doesn't come back to offer more, just ASK another one who is passing by! Or, ask ANOTHER server. In general, if another server has to help YOU, he/she is gonna take it up with YOUR server, on a personal level. You can bet that your server will be more visible if you flag down others to help you...

And, when the food is "bad"...SEND IT BACK! Seriously. Bad food, undercooked food, or food that appears "old", should NOT be eaten. Ever. Send it back and ask for a fresh batch.

[BrerGnat]

If you mean expecting edible food and at-least mediocre service for my $25.99 then yeah I guess I did expect too much.

Oh Ian, you and your hoity-toity foodie attitude.

Just kidding. I've never had less than excellent food at 'Ohana. HOWEVER, I have to admit that I enjoy dry turkey and pork, and I usually don't even bother with the "steak" at 'Ohana, because it's not filet, I don't give it a second thought. Plus, plain steamed broccoli is my favorite veggie, and I could live off the wontons and sticky wings at 'Ohana. And, don't even get me started on the dessert. That place is, in my opinion, the BEST all you can eat at WDW...but you also won't ever see me at a buffet.

[Joannelet]

I wish someone would give up their ADR for December so that I can eat in Ohana's I want to go so bad and can't get in there!

[phlo8810]

Glad you liked it. We go there every trip and have never had a bad time. We'll be there on tuesday and can't wait.

[Ian]

I wish someone would give up their ADR for December so that I can eat in Ohana's I want to go so bad and can't get in there!

If I had one, I would gleefully give it up to you!

I've always found the term "sticky wings" to be an absurd description of those things. They should call them "mushy wings" or "chilly wings" or something. Either of those would be a far more realistic description of them!

[beksy]

We tried it out a few weeks ago and had mixed opinions. The food was great. We had seconds on almost everything. The worst thing was our servers. We asked one for drink refills and more noodles. Fifteen minutes later, he still hadn't returned so we asked our other server. Another fifteen minutes and he brought what we asked for. By that time we were ready for more of the meat and asked for that. The process was repeated. While we enjoyed the food and will go back, this hurt our experience. We tried asking other servers but couldn't get anyone's attention. We will try it again though since the food (when we got it!) was so good.

[Joannelet]

[QUOTE=Ian;1980794]If I had one, I would gleefully give it up to you![\QUOTE]


Thanks Ian!!

[SBETigg]

If I had one, I would gleefully give it up to you!

I've always found the term "sticky wings" to be an absurd description of those things. They should call them "mushy wings" or "chilly wings" or something. Either of those would be a far more realistic description of them!

You definitely got some bad batches, unfortunately. When I've had them, they have been sticky, fresh, perfectly cooked, warm, and delicious. But I know bad experiences can happen. We have had some bad times at Kona and won't go back, though most people seem to love it. It happens.

[ElenitaB]

Our new slogan for 'Ohana is: "'Ohana means no food gets left behind or forgotten." Or "'Ohana means hold onto your lapu-lapu."

Seriously though... we hadn't been to 'Ohana for a long time after an unhappy visit in 2002. We went with friends last December: the company was wonderful, the food was very good but the service was not terribly welcoming. We went as a large group this past August and we had wonderful service and wonderful food. As hard as I try, restraint is very hard to come by at 'Ohana. Looking forward to visiting again in January. In the meantime, I'm planning some homage to 'Ohana meals here at home by using the recipes found here on I'COT's InfoCentral. Wish me luck!