'Ohana Restaurant Review

Alex Coleman

Mouseketeer
Joined
Nov 4, 2017


Introduction
‘Ohana is a large restaurant at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. This restaurant is one of two Table Service options at the Polynesian. I will not bury the lede, I think ‘Ohana is one of the best restaurants at Walt Disney World. We first heard about this eatery from our close friends who visited during the family trip in September 2015. They came back raving so we decided we needed to try it.

We visited during our November 2017 trip and from there we have decided that it will be a regular stop for us whenever we return to Disney World. For us, it is not just the food (which would almost be enough by itself), but it is the entire experience.

I am beginning to form an opinion that I prefer to dine outside of the parks. My reasoning is two fold: variety and change of pace. First, I think there is significantly more variety at the different resorts and Disney Springs. Do not get me wrong, I think there are some amazing options in the parks. World Showcase in Epcot, alone, contains several unique and amazing dining options.

The change of pace is a major reason for why I love dining outside of the parks. First, it can be significantly easier to get an advance dining reservation at resort or Disney Springs restaurants. Second, the feeling completely changes when you leave the parks. You can experience time slowing down which I think is a nice perk. We spend days at a time sprinting around the parks, it is a nice change to not have to sprint through a dinner.

Atmosphere


After that lengthy introduction, I will actually get to the business of reviewing ‘Ohana. It is difficult to understand the atmosphere inside the walls of this restaurant without understanding the atmosphere of Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. The Polynesian opened in 1971 as one of two onsite resorts. It sits serenely next to Seven Seas Lagoon. When guests enter the resort, time seems to slow down. Island time takes over and every care seems a bit less significant. Okay, maybe I am exaggerating slightly.





The Great Ceremonial House is the central hub of life at Polynesian. It houses the front desk, a gift shop, and several restaurants. Disney even pipes in “the smell of the Islands” to immerse guests in the tropical mindset. To tell the truth, this is why Polynesian is not very high on Sarah’s list. She cannot stand the fake smell.



You enter the restaurant and are greeted by a score of tiki figures. After you pass the tikis, you walk into the grand dining room with the kitchen sending out delicious-smelling food right next to the entrance. As your server grabs you some ‘Ohana bread, you look out over Seven Seas Lagoon and see Cinderella’s Castle glimmering in the distance. You sit at your table and are serenaded by the sounds of a ukulele as you fill yourself with delicious food.



Food


Speaking of food at ‘Ohana, it is incredible. The Walt Disney World website categorizes ‘Ohana as American, Polynesian Cuisine. Fortunately, the menu is much more Polynesian than it is American. The important thing to understand is that this is a pre fixe menu. It begins with “Ohana Pineapple-Coconut Bread and Mixed Greens Salad with a Lilikoi dressing. The bread was great for two different reasons. The first was that it was delivered fresh to our table while our server walked with us there. The second was because it was a really nice starter. We expected the pineapple and coconut to overtake the bread and for it to be too much, however, it was subtle and delicious. Neither Sarah or I wasted much of our stomach space on the salad, but it was above-average.



Next came the appetizers that we were really interested in. The shareable platter of goodness came straight from Heaven and dropped onto our table. It included Noodles tossed in a Teriyaki Sauce, Pork Dumplings tossed in Garlic-Ginger Sauce, Honey-Coriander Chicken Wings, and Stir-fried Vegetables. If I had to rank the items on the platter, I would go: dumplings, noodles, wings, and vegetables. These dumplings have convinced Sarah that she loves dumplings. My main problem with the wings was that some of them were undercooked. That is a very rare occurrence at Disney World. We loved the food so much, we asked for another platter.



After starters and appetizers were done, it was time for the meat. Our friends have an expression for menus like ‘Ohana’s. We say that restaurants like these are so amazing because they give you a chance to experience the glory of “meat sweats”.

‘Ohana has several different meats to induce meat sweats. There is Sweet-n-Sour Chicken, Szechuan Sirloin Steak, and Spicy Grilled Peel-n-Eat Shrimp. All of these meats are presented to guests on massive skewers that were recently removed from an open flame. Man, these are amazing. Sarah is a massive fan of shrimp, so she claims that as her favorite. I am more of a steak person, myself, so I will call that my favorite meat.



We sat and ordered meat, after meat, after meat. These meats came with several interesting dipping sauces. There was a peanut sauce and a sweet and sour sauce. Both Sarah and I could probably drink the peanut sauce with no accompaniments. It was really good. I thought that the sweet and sour sauce was too sweet. I made a remark that it tasted like melted Jolly Ranchers. At first Sarah thought this was nonsense (probably because it was), but she started to see what I was saying.

Then came the dessert. I believe that there was actual divine intervention when we visited ‘Ohana on November 12, 2017. Sarah and I looked at the menu and we were not really feeling the dessert option. The ‘Ohana Bread Pudding a la mode was not appealing to us at the time. I needed to go to the bathroom so I tasked Sarah with asking if we could skip dessert. This is where God stepped in and saved us poor sinners. Sarah missed the opportunity to ask and our server delivered the bread pudding to our table.



Since it was there, we decided we might as well give it a try. We may not have made a better decision since we have been married. It was amazing. As Sarah put it in our small, Moleskine journal: “it was amazeballs.” This is very high praise! It was sweet, but not too sweet. It was warm, but balanced nicely with the ice cream. The warm caramel sauce was the figurative cherry on top. We wanted to ask for another one, but neither of us could breathe enough to request it.

Cost


According to the Disney World website, ‘Ohana is classified with “$$-$$$” which means adults should expect to pay roughly $15-$59.99, per adult. If you are paying out-of-pocket, you can plan on paying $20.24 for children and $34.08 for adults for breakfast and $25.56 and $45.80 for dinner. That makes it a fairly expensive Disney meal.

For the Disney Dining Plan users, this restaurant requires one Table Service credit per person. This is one of the better uses of a Dining Plan credit on property. The food is amazing and all-you-care-to-enjoy. The atmosphere is laid-back and relaxing. But most importantly, that bread pudding!

Hot tip: If you really want to squeeze as much value as possible out of ‘Ohana, book during the nighttime spectacular at Magic Kingdom! You may need to get there fairly early to snag a table, but you get a remarkable view of the show from across Seven Seas Lagoon. For the Tables in Wonderland users, ‘Ohana has a 20% discount.

Who Should Eat Here?


Sometimes I grow tired of roundly proclaiming that every person should eat at every restaurant that I review. There are just so many great choices at Walt Disney World! The best problem to have is to choose between two (or 15) great options. However, I would advise you to prioritize ‘Ohana very highly. It is a wonderful place to eat. Specifically, I think there are a couple of groups that may especially enjoy ‘Ohana.

First, I would recommend this restaurants to adult groups who are looking for a quiet, relaxing, delicious place to have a meal. Unlike many of the restaurants at Disney World, it is a remarkably quiet eating experience. I would even call it romantic!

Second, I would recommend this to anyone who loves meat. If you are a vegetarian, you will not experience the fullness of this eatery. This meal is centered around the skewered meat. If you are a full-blooded carnivore, you will be very happy at ‘Ohana.

Have you eaten at ‘Ohana? What what your experience? Share your thoughts in the comments section! For other reviews including resorts and other restaurants, check out our Reviews page!
 
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I couldn't agree more with you and Sarah review!! Ohana is amazeballs and our family has a tradition of going every trip i cant wait to go back in Sept!
 
Glad to see someone still loves Ohana.

Ive read so many posts lately about the diminishing food quality.

We have always enjoyed our meals there, and have been given much more than we can eat on a regular basis.
 
As many other of the frequent poster know we love the place and eat there twice every trip and I always make the ADR around the fireworks time. I totally agree with you the food in the hotels vs the parks. When I help friends schedule a trip I recommend that they leave every park (except Epcot of course) for meals in the hotels. I mean nothing in MK can compare with Ohana's and Whispering Canyon and I think that Jiko's is the best restaurant on property. The hotels just really seem to have their act together.
 


Wow, great review. You make me want to give Ohana another shot, thanks for taking the time!
 
Glad to see someone still loves Ohana.

Ive read so many posts lately about the diminishing food quality.

We have always enjoyed our meals there, and have been given much more than we can eat on a regular basis.
That really surprises me, we went back in November and we had very few problems.
 


As many other of the frequent poster know we love the place and eat there twice every trip and I always make the ADR around the fireworks time. I totally agree with you the food in the hotels vs the parks. When I help friends schedule a trip I recommend that they leave every park (except Epcot of course) for meals in the hotels. I mean nothing in MK can compare with Ohana's and Whispering Canyon and I think that Jiko's is the best restaurant on property. The hotels just really seem to have their act together.
I know!!! the resorts have amazing dining options (just thinking about the options at GF makes me believe this even more). I always encourage people to go experience life outside of the parks. Totally different experience!
 
Alex, I am amazed at how much you exaggerate, your hyperbole. “several Restaurants (2 and a QS), “score of Tiki Figures “, “ Several Sauces” -2.
For me, and readers unfamiliar with all of the Disney Restaurants you have been reviewing it is misleading.
 
Alex, I am amazed at how much you exaggerate, your hyperbole. “several Restaurants (2 and a QS), “score of Tiki Figures “, “ Several Sauces” -2.
For me, and readers unfamiliar with all of the Disney Restaurants you have been reviewing it is misleading.
I appreciate you feedback! I do think further clarification of the amount of restaurants would be an excellent addition!

I do believe, however, that the other points are slightly splitting hairs. I would consider slight hyperbole to add interest to reading a review. I do not believe that people would go to a restaurant and be upset by the perceived lack of tikis. I even included a picture of the sauces, so I am not sure there would be a surprise there.

If this ruins anyone's experience, I would be happy to apologize to those people. I cannot imagine, however, that it would.
 
I appreciate you feedback! I do think further clarification of the amount of restaurants would be an excellent addition!

I do believe, however, that the other points are slightly splitting hairs. I would consider slight hyperbole to add interest to reading a review. I do not believe that people would go to a restaurant and be upset by the perceived lack of tikis. I even included a picture of the sauces, so I am not sure there would be a surprise there.

If this ruins anyone's experience, I would be happy to apologize to those people. I cannot imagine, however, that it would.
Alex, We can agree to disagree if required. You state:. “I would consider slight hyperbole to add interest to reading a review “ I worry that exaggeration and “ splitting hairs” can truly mislead someone unfamiliar with the venue you are reviewing. You present Dining reviews, not a novel.
You are certainly entitled to your opinions. That is not what worries me. many “ newbies” turn to the DIS for guidance. I found your recent reviews unclear,
 
I know!!! the resorts have amazing dining options (just thinking about the options at GF makes me believe this even more). I always encourage people to go experience life outside of the parks. Totally different experience!
OOPS I did leave Citrico's and Narcoossee's out of my list.
 
Alex, We can agree to disagree if required. You state:. “I would consider slight hyperbole to add interest to reading a review “ I worry that exaggeration and “ splitting hairs” can truly mislead someone unfamiliar with the venue you are reviewing. You present Dining reviews, not a novel.
You are certainly entitled to your opinions. That is not what worries me. many “ newbies” turn to the DIS for guidance. I found your recent reviews unclear,
The irony is that I believe that we are agreeing with the principle, but not with how the principle is applied. I agree that it would horrible to mislead someone and ruin their experience. Thus why I want to review these restaurants. For instance, I think I would ruin someone's experience if I called 'Ohana "the best Mexican restaurant on property", ok I jest slightly.

I do not think the things that you found egregious were aspects that would ruin someone's experience. That is why I went back and changed the part about the amount of restaurants at Poly. If someone went expecting more than the restaurants they found, that may ruin their experience. I cannot imagine the other items you took issue with would ruin their experience.

I always welcome feedback and I am reasonable enough to change constructive feedback that I think enhances my reader's experience.
 
"First, I would recommend this restaurants to adult groups who are looking for a quiet, relaxing, delicious place to have a meal. Unlike many of the restaurants at Disney World, it is a remarkably quiet eating experience. I would even call it romantic!"

Never having been there (but interested in going) isn't Ohana the place with hula hoops and coconut races and strolling ukulele players? Maybe I'm mis-remembering what I've looked at (which has been voluminous).....
 
"First, I would recommend this restaurants to adult groups who are looking for a quiet, relaxing, delicious place to have a meal. Unlike many of the restaurants at Disney World, it is a remarkably quiet eating experience. I would even call it romantic!"

Never having been there (but interested in going) isn't Ohana the place with hula hoops and coconut races and strolling ukulele players? Maybe I'm mis-remembering what I've looked at (which has been voluminous).....

That is the same place! The ukulele player isn't super loud, it is more relaxing. They did have some activities for kids, but it is a large space and we were seating well-away from any noise.
 
That is the same place! The ukulele player isn't super loud, it is more relaxing. They did have some activities for kids, but it is a large space and we were seating well-away from any noise.

great! your review didn't mention any of that so I was confused.... THANX
 

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