Reviews of Kona Cafe Lunch/Dinner
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Menus at Kona Cafe
Reviewed by 2SweetFlowers Review Date: 11/20/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
The Kona Cafe has long been a last-night-of-vacation dinner tradition for us, but after dropping our favorite almond coconut chicken with salad from the menu, we may need to find another restaurant and start a new tradition. We were extremely disappointed in the revised menu and really had a hard time finding anything we even wanted to order. The chicken dish now offered on the menu was rather nondescript despite the curry sauce. The kona coffee rubbed pork chop was delicious, but we didn't care for the mushroom bread pudding served alongside.
Pros:
Bread and DessertCons:
Disappointing Menu ChangeReviewed by HOBBES Review Date: 10/31/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
I had never seen this restaurant before so had originally planned on using it for an anniversary meal until people on discussion boards warned me it was not quiet and romantic. I am very pleased we decided to still try it though. We came on a Saturday lunch and although quite noisy-it is open no walls between the restaurant and the hotel lobby-and to begin with there was hideous high pitched whistling coming from somewhere that was driving staff and guests alike crazy, it was a most enjoyable meal. We skipped a starter and went straight for the main event. DH had the Teriyaki steak dish and I had the turkey sandwich. It was huge-it would have fed us both. The waitress very kindly let me sub the pear slaw for sweet potato fries which I split with DH, who gave me his pasta salad in return. Both fries and salad were delicious. DH loved his steak-it had never occurred to him to try a steak with a sweetish sauce before but he enjoyed it. Although not the greatest cut of steak you will ever see, he said it was tender and there was nothing left on his plate at the end. I had the crème brulee for dessert and DH had the kilauea torte. The crème brulee was delicious-even DH liked it and he is not keen on banana taste. His torte was very nice too although I didn't get to share much...We enjoyed our meal and will certainly pencil it in for an escape from theme park dining next time.
Pros:
a really different set of items on the menuCons:
quite noisy and openReviewed by disneymom77 Review Date: 08/21/2013
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
The food was terrible & the waitress was totally unconcerned. The salad was floating in dressing. The steaks were raw & mostly fat & gristle. The beans were mushy. The broccolini could not be cut with a steak knife. Where did the good chef & servers goi?
Pros:
Easy to get toCons:
Used to be our favorite....Never again!Reviewed by EleanorofAquitaine Review Date: 07/07/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
We love the food at Kona and always eat at least one breakfast there when we stay at the Poly. This trip, we also ate lunch there twice. We love being able to walk up and get a table without a reservation. My DH is madly in love with the tuna sandwich at lunch and had talked about it from the time he had one during our trip in March until we went back in June. He ordered it both times we ate there this trip and raved about it again. I had the teriyaki steak lunch the first day and it was okay, but the sides were fabulous (sticky rice and pasta salad) and my only complaint about the divine pineapple salsa is that there wasn't enough of it. The second day, I ordered the pulled pork taco and it was fabulous. The pasta salad was underseasoned both days and I requested salt. Yes, I know chefs want us to believe their food should never be tampered with because they have seasoned it properly to begin with, but this was not Victoria and Albert's or Jiko's. I needed salt. The first time, the waiter never got it to me until he brought the check-- my pasta salad was long gone. The second day, having learned my lesson, I asked for salt when I ordered, but still got it midmeal. We also had difficulty getting drink refills, even for water. Still, the food is very good, especially at breakfast. I always get Tonga Toast and DH often gets the fruit in the pineapple. We share both and its a great way to start a Disney day.
Pros:
not overcrowded, great selection, Tonga Toast!Cons:
wait staff not always attentiveReviewed by mrodgers962 Review Date: 06/17/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
This was probably our favorite restaurant of the entire trip. We enjoyed the relaxed environment of this restaurant. Nobody rushed us. My husband enjoyed the strip steak and I enjoyed the mahi mahi. This is one of few restaurants that offered more than chicken nuggets and hotdogs on the child menu. My child had the grilled fish with rice and veggies. She also had fruit for dessert since she ate our desserts the entire trip. I would definitely return to this restaurant!
Pros:
Great foodCons:
noneReviewed by Daniellep93 Review Date: 06/15/2013
Rating: (3) Not Recommended
My party of 4 ate here and were disappointed. When the server was told we were on the dining plan, she really lacked on the service. We were left to wait as we watched other tables get their food and she spoke to us as if we were beneath the other guests not on the meal plan. The food was good but with the portion size, we all left hungry. However, everyone LOVED their desserts including my sister who is not a huge sweets fan. The chocolate fondue dessert was to die for. I loved the homemade cookies and the fresh fruit.
Pros:
Chocolate fondue dessertCons:
rude waitress, small portionsReviewed by peytonshea02 Review Date: 06/05/2013
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
I am so sad to write this review. 🙁
We have enjoyed many meals here and have always loved them. I was very excited to see a new menu for KONA! - I was so looking forward to our dinner here...but....read on if you dare.
DD11 had the Teriyaki Style New York Strip - it was the best dish of the night and it was not that good. Very tough piece of meat and the broccolini was one step from raw. DH had the Togarashi Spiced Ahi Tuna. The Tuna was fine - cooked well, but had very little flavor/seasoning. The deep fried veggie roll was nasty. VERY greasy and odd. A veggie roll with sushi rice and seaweed isn't something that should be deep fried. Absolutely nothing appealing about this. The winner for worst dish - was mine - Sesame Seared Sea Scallops - with rice, wakami salad and tarragon-champagne beurre blanc. Translation: 3 scallops, over cooked with no taste other than a bit of large black peppercorns cooked into them. The wakami salad was inedible. I am not sure what sort of flavor profile they were going for here..but it was a fail.
The one saving grace of this meal was the desserts. The Banana-Chocolate Creme Brulee and the Chocolate Fondue were excellent...thankfully. Had it not been for the yummy bread and desserts, I would have left hungry. It will be a very long time before we find the strength to try Kona again.
Pros:
dessertsCons:
—Reviewed by 1283alex Review Date: 05/29/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
Was impressed by the food here. Restaurant is open smack in the middle of the hotel, can be loud. Tables are crammed in there too close together. Would go back again, but try to time it for mid-afternoon when a little less crowded.
Pros:
very good foodCons:
somewhat crowded noisy dining areaReviewed by TwoCandMs Review Date: 05/16/2013
Rating: (3) Recommended
This was our go-to place for years. It was our special meal and one that we looked forward to. But not anymore!!
We ate here Sunday night (Mother's Day). The menu has changed and there is no longer a boneless chicken dish suitable for a pre-teen or picky adult.
My husband and son both ordered the steak which they have gotten for years. They were fatty and a very small cut without any flavor. The number of wings on the sticky wing appetizer is about half the size that it was in August.
Server never brought more bread even when asked.
The meal for 3 adults and 1 child was almost $150 dollars without dessert including tip. No tables in wonderland was taken because it was a blackout day.
I hate to say this but we won't be coming here for dinner on our next trip.
Pros:
Location, breadCons:
too expensive, menu change, quality has diminishedReviewed by tangerinezoe Review Date: 05/11/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
After lamenting the fact that we couldn't get a dinner reservation at 'Ohana, I was definitely OK with the outcome after eating at Kona. We had an ADR, but showed up way early and got seated fairly quickly. Our server was attentive, and the food was delish! I had the seared ahi, which I'm always hesitant to order because it always comes out overcooked, but our server assured me that would not be the case and he was completely right.
