Kona Cafe: What happened to you?!

[SureAsLiz]

Has anyone had the stir fry lately? We plan to dine at Kona for the first time next week and are vegetarian. Plan to order stir fry with tofu.

I had the stir fry at Ohana a few months ago and I thought it was fairly good. A little oily for my liking, though no different than the regular noodles they brought out.

One plate was definitely enough and I felt like I had a full meal (which can be tough with some vegetarian meals)

 

[disneymomof1]

A few years ago, I had ordered the pork chop, when it came out it was frozen in the middle and charred on the outside, and not a little frozen in the middle it was rock hard. I sent it back but whenever I send food back I am so reluctant to eat what comes out the second time. We have been to Kona many times for breakfast and it has always been great. Now if we are at Poly at dinner we get sushi from the sushi bar and my daughter and I will eat at the food court, or will make ressies for Ohana.

 

[mom2of2]

A few years ago, I had ordered the pork chop, when it came out it was frozen in the middle and charred on the outside, and not a little frozen in the middle it was rock hard. I sent it back but whenever I send food back I am so reluctant to eat what comes out the second time. We have been to Kona many times for breakfast and it has always been great. Now if we are at Poly at dinner we get sushi from the sushi bar and my daughter and I will eat at the food court, or will make ressies for Ohana.

This is what happens if you send food back...the chef is shown what is wrong with the food. He reorders the food and the line makes it and sends it out after the chef checks it. Not sure why you would be hesitant about that. No one is going to risk their job by doing something stupid with your food

 

[Mad4Dizne]

I have to say that this thread should not be just about KONA CAFE (One of our favorites in the past), but all of Walt Disney World in general. There has been a demise in quality across the board there. It is nothing like it used to be, yet the prices seem to keep skyrocketing out of control. There will always be a "new" generation of visitors to Disney but they are losing a LOT of Disney veterans with all the negative changes. Don't get me wrong, we have been there many times and have many GREAT memories, but it seems that all the good times are just that...memories. Such a shame. This is just one posters opinion and others may vary. As for KONA CAFE' alone, it is becoming generic like most other restaurants at Disney.

*****This is exactly why we mostly do QS and/or eat in the villa these days

 

[mick1229]

As time passes I realize it's just a better option to dine off site...just as I have been priced out of ever staying at any Disney Deluxes.. (instead I've saved money and bought a beautiful condo in Celebration)...I still enjoy Food and Wine ...but even Le cellier annoyed me when I showed up at a time that it blocked out Tables in Wonderland. After getting hit over the head time after time you just realize it's a better option to spend your money off site......wish that wasn't the case

 

[Aerinha]

I have a lunch reservation at Kona for my Dec stay. Now wondering if I should make other plans. I mainly wanted to try the Kileua Torte to see if it was like the old Varlhona Lava Cake CA Grille used to serve. If anyone can tell me if they are the same or not, I might just scrap the adr.

 

[poohbear2]

king kamehameha said: ↑
"I have to say that this thread should not be just about KONA CAFE (One of our favorites in the past), but all of Walt Disney World in general. There has been a demise in quality across the board there. It is nothing like it used to be, yet the prices seem to keep skyrocketing out of control. There will always be a "new" generation of visitors to Disney but they are losing a LOT of Disney veterans with all the negative changes. Don't get me wrong, we have been there many times and have many GREAT memories, but it seems that all the good times are just that...memories. Such a shame. This is just one posters opinion and others may vary. As for KONA CAFE' alone, it is becoming generic like most other restaurants at Disney."

I think you hit the nail on the head. If you are a veteran you can see the difference. If you are new or go infrequently, you may not notice.

 

[IndyRnRfan]

We eat here for breakfast. Always good and plenty of food.

 

[AshleeH]

We loved it in October - I'd love to try it again when it's just DH and me in a few years. Hopefully it's still as good as I remember.

 

[sleepymouse]

So we ate at Kona last week. We are all vegetarian so had the stir fry with tofu. We all liked it and though it had enough oil, it wasn't overly oily. I cannot stand oily or overly salted food and I was fairly pleased. The vegetables and tofu had a nice char. My one complaint about the dish is that I wish they did something with the tofu other than just throw it in. Some sort of sauce would be nice. My biggest complaint, in general, is the price of veg entrees. I know I am at Disneyworld and expect a markup, but seriously, almost $20 for noodles, veg and tofu.

We also are at Yak and Yeti and ordered orange beef (replace beef with tofu) and were charged $20 for dish plus an extra $3 for tofu. Ridiculous!

 

[dredick]

We went for dinner in June, and it was amazing! The restaurant was busy, but the service was not rushed. We had sushi, lamb chops, steak, and dessert. I would go back in a heart beat!

 

[Meriweather]

We have always loved Kona but in honesty never really like Dinner. We much prefer lunch the menu is much better.

I also like lunch....surf and turf burger for me. Hope it stays on the menu for my next trip

 

[brazzledazzler]

We have a lunch ADR for Kona for Labor Day Weekend, I'm hoping for the best!

 

[Retro Magic]

I always keep Kona as a breakfast spot. Always have a great breakfast here!

 

[moonshadow]

I guess we will stick with breakfast since we always liked it. We never had lunch or dinner there and with all the choices available I guess we wont based on these posts.

 

[Fizban]

Oh no--this is a must do on every trip for us. DW and I have an ADR here for 8/22. Hope this was just a bad night and not a true decline.

I know we all like to beat on the DDP, but it's been around since 06. Why would it cause a decline 9 years later?

It's like the frog boiling story. Things take time to finally reach a point of effect. Little adjustments over time and this is the result.

 

[samsteele]

I had a great dinner there last Fall. I had the steak (same as in the pic above by PP). I loved it. I also had incredible service. I have another ADR for this Fall and I'll be ordering the same steak. To keep it in perspective, I never had the chance to eat at Kona in years past so I can't tell if, or by how much, the food quality has declined over the years due to the DP. I can only tell if I enjoyed it last Fall. I did. I can compare it to other 1 credit dinners at other restaurants on the DP last year and I thought it was one of the better ones. Would I eat here if paying OOP? I wouldn't pay that $ for a strip steak. Anywhere on Disney property. But I would go back for sushi and/or an appetizer combo if paying OOP.

 

[Senddeal]

I have made ADR for dinner in Dec.. not sure if I should cancel seeing the negative reviews now

 

[DisneyPrince1982]

I always keep Kona as a breakfast spot. Always have a great breakfast here!

Yup. We had Kona as a breakfast for the first time ever on our last trip. Had it as a breakfast on our last day, before our day at MK, followed by a very late lunch at Le Celier at 3pm. Ate breakfast around 8am and it was delicious and huge!!! Definitely kept our bellies full until our very late lunch.

 

[Eastern]

The last two times we went, dinner was just kind of average. Not bad, not great. It's a lot of money for average.

We are doing more CS now as even our favored restaurants are just meh.