My Ohana Experience

[Aussie RJ]

I haven’t been to ohana breakfast, so this may be a silly question. Is the ham Spam?

 

[conandrob240]

I’ve never felt like the main course was very good. We sit at the bar and order bowls of the sides- a dumpling, a noodle and wings. Then get the desert. Around $40-50 total and it’s plenty of food for 2 people

 

[nekonekoneko]

Thank you for the review. I've never been, but it seems like a lot of money for mediocre beef and standard asian restaurant sides. Maybe if my family really wants to go, but I'm not going to suggest it.

I hate to say it, but mediocre is not the term I'd use for their beef. The first skillet was very chewy, very underseasoned, and the sauce was just too sweet. They said it was medium rare. I asked for another skillet of medium, and it was really powdery... and still way too chewy. They are definitely grilling meat that's meant to be braised or stewed.

The shrimp was bland, the chicken was the best, but it still tasted like char with some pesto or something on it.

Overall, they didn't just go downhill, their quality fell off a cliff.

 

[Her Dotness]

I haven’t been to ohana breakfast, so this may be a silly question. Is the ham Spam?

Decidedly not, though I understand your concern given how popular Spam is in Hawaii. (I rather like the stuff on occasion, as in Spam musubi for instance.)

It's very tasty ham with a flavorful glaze, IMO. Nice thick slices, too. None of that barely there deli slicing.

 

[paisleys]

We went to O'hana tonight (1/24/23) for dinner (5:50pm)

The service was wonderful, our waitress' name was Mandie, she was exceptional.

As for the food, this is probably a one and done for me. I've experienced it but do not personally believe it is worth the price that you pay for it.

The salad dressing was pretty good, the bread can take a long walk off a short pier (not a fan of coconut).

The noodles and pot stickers are definitely the star of the show but I personally do not see why everyone goes crazy for them. They're good, but I prefer the ones at my local hibachi place a lot more.

The grilled chicken was decent but it wasn't anything I wanted to ask for more of.

And I would steer clear of the steak and shrimp. The steak was very very very chewy. It will make your jaw tired trying to eat it and the shrimp didn't have much flavor to it at all.

As for the bread pudding, well, I hate pineapple and coconut so I didn't try it.

I will say that my waitress was more than willing to substitute regular dinner rolls for me and gave me a bowl of ice cream since I don't like pineapple or coconut. I didn't ask for any substitutions, she just brought them.

We went last night (2/4/23). Feels like we have to go once every 5 years to remember why we don’t anymore! The food was actually really good. I’m a longtime vegetarian and have seen a lot of different vegetarian options come and go there over 20+ years but this vegan skillet they offer is the best! The bread no but the vegan butter was excellent! My husband had the meat eaters platter and said it was good. We won’t be back until we forget how crazy, rushed and crowded it is though. The server was excellent though. Very personable and caring. I’m sure it’s really hard on the staff to get around these tight tables. We were seated very close to another family. The dad was holding his kid and blasting cartoons— and I mean blasting. High pitched cartoons 2 feet, we could barely hear each other speaking. It’s very loud in there to begin with, which was expected, but they ramped their volume up to compete and it was unbearable. I finally went and asked for help. It took three times for management to ask them to shut off the cartoons (earphones for the kid would have been great!). It ruined our $300 meal for sure. I know it’s Disney but come on! My kids were little once too and we never had to blast cartoons to keep them behaved.

 

[jimmymc]

I hate to say it, but mediocre is not the term I'd use for their beef. The first skillet was very chewy, very underseasoned, and the sauce was just too sweet. They said it was medium rare. I asked for another skillet of medium, and it was really powdery... and still way too chewy. They are definitely grilling meat that's meant to be braised or stewed.

The shrimp was bland, the chicken was the best, but it still tasted like char with some pesto or something on it.

Overall, they didn't just go downhill, their quality fell off a cliff.

That was my impression of the beef based on the photos! It looks like the tough cuts a meat that you have to slow cook.

 

[mulanmommy]

Correct me if I'm wrong but the bread pudding HAS BEEN changed from a bananas foster type sauce in 2021 to a lot of pineapple. I much prefer the bananas!

 

[_19disnA]

We ate dinner there back in 2019 and enjoyed our meal. I don't care for soggy bread in those bread pudding dishes, but apaprently others think it is wonderful. We never felt rushed but this isn't your typical restaurant where everyone might order something different and then you wait 20+ minutes for the food to be prepared. With the small number of menu items, they serve the same things to every table. When they reopened after the covid shutdown, the changed the entree items to less costly foods. I would be sure to review the current menu/prices on the Disney website to see if this is what you had in mind.

 

[MMazeo]

What a shame what this place has become. I really hope people stop going to force their hand. Was always our favorite dining night. Now we cannot justify the price for those entrees.

 

[conandrob240]

Doesn’t that pretty much sum it up for any Disney restaurant these days?

 

[MMazeo]

I hate to say it, but mediocre is not the term I'd use for their beef. The first skillet was very chewy, very underseasoned, and the sauce was just too sweet. They said it was medium rare. I asked for another skillet of medium, and it was really powdery... and still way too chewy. They are definitely grilling meat that's meant to be braised or stewed.

The shrimp was bland, the chicken was the best, but it still tasted like char with some pesto or something on it.

Overall, they didn't just go downhill, their quality fell off a cliff.

Very accurate. Mediocre beef is edible. The beef they're serving up is not.

 

[V12]

We had a great meal at ‘Ohana last weekend. If you think it’s something that would be up your alley, loved it in the past or have always wanted to try it, it’s worth it. Not sure why anyone who detests pineapple and coconut would go to a pre fixe meal that features pineapple and coconut in multiple courses.

We had great service. All of our food was hot and fresh. Our steak was tender. Drinks were brought quickly and our waiter was fantastic.

 

[jimmymc]

Doesn’t that pretty much sum it up for any Disney restaurant these days?

I would disagree. I think places are just going through the good-bad cycles a lot of Disney. One example for me is that I think Chefs du France has gotten a lot better recently. Be Our Guest has gone through two full cycles already: great when it launched, then the food went downhill, then the prix fixe menu came out and it was great again, now that menu has gotten worse.

Ohana may be a little worse off because it is so popular that they'll never have trouble filling tables, but it's gone between good and bad before.

 

[Clifton Tesh]

Not sure why anyone who detests pineapple and coconut would go to a pre fixe meal that features pineapple and coconut in multiple courses.

Because I'm married and was told I was going

 

[lowlight]

The issue is they are charging signature restaurant prices for Golden Corral quality meats. They need to get rid of the AYCTE on proteins and raise the quality. Charge a little bit extra for extra protein refills. Then again that’s almost every Disney TS restaurant these days. The only good TS I’ve had the past few years that felt worth the price was Topolino’s and Brown Derby.

 

[nekonekoneko]

The issue is they are charging signature restaurant prices for Golden Corral quality meats.

I'm sorry, but don't insult Golden Corral like that

 

[DisAg10]

Our last time at Ohana was late 2019, pre pandemic. Food and atmosphere was amazing. My husband made a comment about why we hadn’t booked it on prior trips. Service even back then (fully staffed) was abysmal. No matter how much I politely asked to please be given some time to eat, server ignored us and continues to rush us. It almost felt they were offended I was such a slow eater. Sad to hear it’s only gone downhill from there.

 

[DarthSkellington]

Just adding my 2 cents. Been to ohana probably 10 times over the years, I preferred the twilight feast in room but that's long gone. Went back January 2023, it's just not as good. Our chicken was pink(we received a partial refund), our beef was chewy, just all around disappointing. There are better places to spend your money. I truly hope these reservations stop getting booked 60+ days out.

 

[conandrob240]

I would disagree. I think places are just going through the good-bad cycles a lot of Disney. One example for me is that I think Chefs du France has gotten a lot better recently. Be Our Guest has gone through two full cycles already: great when it launched, then the food went downhill, then the prix fixe menu came out and it was great again, now that menu has gotten worse.

Ohana may be a little worse off because it is so popular that they'll never have trouble filling tables, but it's gone between good and bad before.

Sure some have gotten better or are good but I don’t think there’s any restaurant worth the prices charged in Disney anymore. Not even looking for good value- they are simply way overpriced for what they offer. Ohana is good food, the meats/ entrees have never been the star. But is it worth $60pp? No way!

 

[Clifton Tesh]

Sure some have gotten better or are good but I don’t think there’s any restaurant worth the prices charged in Disney anymore. Not even looking for good value- they are simply way overpriced for what they offer. Ohana is good food, the meats/ entrees have never been the star. But is it worth $60pp? No way!

See, that's the thing. Like I do not expect anything at Disney to be cheap so when I do a price to value comparison, I do it in Disney mode and the food just is not adding up to Disney anymore.

I mean it's always been expensive but there's always been that "but I'm at Walt Disney World" excuse to justify it and whether it be the quality of food, the quality of service, or the uniqueness of what was offered, there has always been a reason to justify it.

Sadly, there is nothing to justify the exuberant price now.

Ohana dinner isn't a character meal, it isn't a signature meal, there isn't a guaranteed fireworks view, and the food isn't that much different than what you get from your neighborhood hibachi restaurant... There is no Disney extras to make you go "ok, I paid $300 for this meal but I can't get this anywhere else..."