Natazu
04-21-2007, 12:58 AM
Kona Café Restaurant Review 20APR07
Ratings 1-5
Food Quality: 5
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 5
Menu Creativity: 5
Presentation: 5
Value: 4.5
Overall: 5
Rating Notes: I feel comfortable calling Kona Café the best non-signature restaurant at Disney dropping Puck and Marrakesh down a slot. In fact, Kona, like Puck’s, can give some of the big boys a run for their money. Watch out Yachtsman and Artist Point.
We were seated within 10 minutes of our ADR which is good since MK closed 30 minutes before our 7:30 seating (Grad Nite). As a result, there was an onslaught of people standing at the podium when we checked in. Our server, Christian, came over right away. He was attentive, friendly, and expeditious. The other servers at Kona also seemed to be on the ball. When Rachel forgot to order something, she looked up and didn’t see our server but another one saw she wanted something and came right over to help. Thirty seconds later, a still different server brought Rachel what she wanted. That’s the mark of quality service and great management.
The tables at Kona are not cramped or too close together. They have done a good job avoiding this common Disney pitfall. This, in addition to its location at Poly, is mostly what gives Kona it’s edge over runner-up Wolfgang Puck Café. Both restaurants are loud, but lots of the noise generated in Kona is absorbed by the Great Ceremonial House instead of bouncing around the restaurant. The high ceiling with low wrought iron facade in the seating area also helps keep noise bearable.
On to the food, ‘cause let’s face it: that’s what you want to read about.
First, the house bread:Kona has recently replaced its unremarkable garlic-foccacia bread with the most amazing Sweet Hawaiian loaf and macadamia nut honey butter. I can’t rave enough about this delectable indulgence – Jym’s best bread at WDW award.
Creamy Kona Seafood Chowder: This was more akin to a bisque than a chowder. There was enough assorted seafood to call it a stew and enough flavor to call it a winner. It is a good value even at $5.99 since two people can easily split it. The only drawback is (for you onion haters) the scallion garnish on top isn’t mentioned on the menu. They scoop out easily, though.
Pot Stickers: Stuffed full of great tasting lean duck, the true star of this appetizer is the Creamy Ginger-soy Sauce. Semi-sweet, it pairs beautifully with the pickled cucumber and ginger garnish. These stickers are going on to the top-7 best appetizer list. Note that the pot stickers do not pair well with the house bread n butter. As hard as it may be, leave the bread alone while you eat your pot stickers.
Sticky Wings: These meaty, gristle-free wings would make Hooters™ run for cover if they knew about them. Ask for some extra of the Mustard Drizzle (man I hate that buzzword) on the side; it’s really good. Sadly for Kona, the only wings I like better are just 100 feet away and served by the pound.
Lump Crab Cakes: These guys are pan-seared so they are not at all greasy. They are very traditional crab cakes right down to the lack of a final press (so they are still a ball). The Hawaiian flair here comes with the Asian Tartar Sauce and Pineapple Relish. I salute the creativity of these accompaniments. As someone who doesn’t care for tartar sauce or relish, I was very happy with both of these. Usually relish overpowers food items but not here and I’ve never actually enjoyed a tartar sauce before this one. I put these crab cakes among the best around and that’s saying something; this is Florida.
Entrées:
Shrimp and Scallops:Panko-breaded shrimp and pan-seared (what a surprise) scallops with sticky rice (white) and Ponzu Sauce, Spicy Guava with Passion Fruit Sauce, and Wasabi Cream Sauce for dipping. This is the only value issue we ran across at Kona. You get three jumbo shrimp and three regulation size scallops. I think for $21 there could be four of each. The shrimp were plump, lightly breaded and relatively free of grease, which is surprising since they were not butter flied. As a result, make sure and take small bites of the shrimp if for no other reason than to savor the sauces. The scallops were perfectly cooked with self-supporting flavor, however, they make a perfect vehicle for the wonderful sauces.
Char-crusted Filet Mignon served with Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes, Asparagus, and a Five-spice Mushroom Sauce: It was a pretty good cut, tender, juicy, and flavorful. The outside was firmly seared but not too charred so don’t be afraid of the name. The inside was exactly medium rare as ordered. Great job on the grill. The asparagus was tender but not much more than a garnish compared to the buttery, skin-on, rustic style mashed potatoes. The potatoes are good enough to overcome the poorly conceptualized five-spice mushrooms sauce. Luckily, the sauce was on the side. It was a little tart and earthy, bitter even. We just couldn’t get our respective palates around it. The rest of the entrée was excellent, however.
Desserts
White Chocolate Cheesecake Rich, creamy, and deliciously decadent – served on a chilled plate decorated with three fruity dipping sauces. Thumbs up though there could have been more sauce for me. I get bored with cheesecake pretty quickly.
Kilauea Torte: This thing is huge, enough to share. The outside is crusted but not at all tough and the inside is warm and gooey. The dark chocolate stick in the center makes it look like you could sip the center right through the outside. Don’t try though; it’ll just give you a headache. I think it may be as good as California Grill’s similar concoction.
Ratings 1-5
Food Quality: 5
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 5
Menu Creativity: 5
Presentation: 5
Value: 4.5
Overall: 5
Rating Notes: I feel comfortable calling Kona Café the best non-signature restaurant at Disney dropping Puck and Marrakesh down a slot. In fact, Kona, like Puck’s, can give some of the big boys a run for their money. Watch out Yachtsman and Artist Point.
We were seated within 10 minutes of our ADR which is good since MK closed 30 minutes before our 7:30 seating (Grad Nite). As a result, there was an onslaught of people standing at the podium when we checked in. Our server, Christian, came over right away. He was attentive, friendly, and expeditious. The other servers at Kona also seemed to be on the ball. When Rachel forgot to order something, she looked up and didn’t see our server but another one saw she wanted something and came right over to help. Thirty seconds later, a still different server brought Rachel what she wanted. That’s the mark of quality service and great management.
The tables at Kona are not cramped or too close together. They have done a good job avoiding this common Disney pitfall. This, in addition to its location at Poly, is mostly what gives Kona it’s edge over runner-up Wolfgang Puck Café. Both restaurants are loud, but lots of the noise generated in Kona is absorbed by the Great Ceremonial House instead of bouncing around the restaurant. The high ceiling with low wrought iron facade in the seating area also helps keep noise bearable.
On to the food, ‘cause let’s face it: that’s what you want to read about.
First, the house bread:Kona has recently replaced its unremarkable garlic-foccacia bread with the most amazing Sweet Hawaiian loaf and macadamia nut honey butter. I can’t rave enough about this delectable indulgence – Jym’s best bread at WDW award.
Creamy Kona Seafood Chowder: This was more akin to a bisque than a chowder. There was enough assorted seafood to call it a stew and enough flavor to call it a winner. It is a good value even at $5.99 since two people can easily split it. The only drawback is (for you onion haters) the scallion garnish on top isn’t mentioned on the menu. They scoop out easily, though.
Pot Stickers: Stuffed full of great tasting lean duck, the true star of this appetizer is the Creamy Ginger-soy Sauce. Semi-sweet, it pairs beautifully with the pickled cucumber and ginger garnish. These stickers are going on to the top-7 best appetizer list. Note that the pot stickers do not pair well with the house bread n butter. As hard as it may be, leave the bread alone while you eat your pot stickers.
Sticky Wings: These meaty, gristle-free wings would make Hooters™ run for cover if they knew about them. Ask for some extra of the Mustard Drizzle (man I hate that buzzword) on the side; it’s really good. Sadly for Kona, the only wings I like better are just 100 feet away and served by the pound.
Lump Crab Cakes: These guys are pan-seared so they are not at all greasy. They are very traditional crab cakes right down to the lack of a final press (so they are still a ball). The Hawaiian flair here comes with the Asian Tartar Sauce and Pineapple Relish. I salute the creativity of these accompaniments. As someone who doesn’t care for tartar sauce or relish, I was very happy with both of these. Usually relish overpowers food items but not here and I’ve never actually enjoyed a tartar sauce before this one. I put these crab cakes among the best around and that’s saying something; this is Florida.
Entrées:
Shrimp and Scallops:Panko-breaded shrimp and pan-seared (what a surprise) scallops with sticky rice (white) and Ponzu Sauce, Spicy Guava with Passion Fruit Sauce, and Wasabi Cream Sauce for dipping. This is the only value issue we ran across at Kona. You get three jumbo shrimp and three regulation size scallops. I think for $21 there could be four of each. The shrimp were plump, lightly breaded and relatively free of grease, which is surprising since they were not butter flied. As a result, make sure and take small bites of the shrimp if for no other reason than to savor the sauces. The scallops were perfectly cooked with self-supporting flavor, however, they make a perfect vehicle for the wonderful sauces.
Char-crusted Filet Mignon served with Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes, Asparagus, and a Five-spice Mushroom Sauce: It was a pretty good cut, tender, juicy, and flavorful. The outside was firmly seared but not too charred so don’t be afraid of the name. The inside was exactly medium rare as ordered. Great job on the grill. The asparagus was tender but not much more than a garnish compared to the buttery, skin-on, rustic style mashed potatoes. The potatoes are good enough to overcome the poorly conceptualized five-spice mushrooms sauce. Luckily, the sauce was on the side. It was a little tart and earthy, bitter even. We just couldn’t get our respective palates around it. The rest of the entrée was excellent, however.
Desserts
White Chocolate Cheesecake Rich, creamy, and deliciously decadent – served on a chilled plate decorated with three fruity dipping sauces. Thumbs up though there could have been more sauce for me. I get bored with cheesecake pretty quickly.
Kilauea Torte: This thing is huge, enough to share. The outside is crusted but not at all tough and the inside is warm and gooey. The dark chocolate stick in the center makes it look like you could sip the center right through the outside. Don’t try though; it’ll just give you a headache. I think it may be as good as California Grill’s similar concoction.