REVIEW: The 'Ōlelo Room at Disney's Aulani Resort

Aloha!

We visited Hawaii, or to be exact, Disney’s Aulani Resort & Spa. We enjoyed some sunshine and dining at Disney’s Hawaiian Resort, including visiting some of its restaurants. Now, we’re taking you to The ‘Ōlelo Room to check out the food and drinks there.

Background

‘Ōlelo (pronounced oh-leh-low) literally translates to “word,” or more accurately, “to converse,” which is the theme of this lounge inspired by the Hawaiian language. So everything inside the lounge is focused on the Hawaiian language.

Atmosphere

You’ll find The ‘Ōlelo Room next to Makahiki. As we mentioned, the theme is the language of Hawaii, so the walls are filled with little statues with the Hawaiian words attached to them.

There’s even a whole section in the lounge that teaches you how to pronounce different Hawaiian letters, but the servers will also help you with how to say things. So you’re getting a bit of an interactive experience with your dining experience.

We sat at the bar and the bar lit up with Hawaiian letters throughout the evening. Let’s just say it feels magical.

This might be the most Disney of Disney experiences at Aulani because you’ve got this immersive space that still gives you a bit of Nomad Lounge in Disney’s Animal Kingdom vibes.

Food and Drinks

We were very impressed with the menu here. There are a variety of upscale specialty cocktails.

The food menu is mostly appetizer-based and includes sushi.

However, there are some more unique food offerings, too, as well as desserts — these are the same desserts you can get at Makahiki.

Various beers and wines are available…

…as well as resort cocktails…

You can also get some unique mocktails.

We started with a cocktail, including the Lychee en Voyage for $17. It’s made with Kai Lychee Vodka, Giffard Lichi-Li Liqueur, Lychee Nectar, and Lemon Juice. This was our favorite cocktail we’ve had on this entire trip. It’s so balanced because the lychee is sweet, but you get the headiness of the lychee vodka and the tartness from the lemon juice. It even had a whole lychee fruit on top.

We also tried the Island Cruise Mocktail for $10 made with Strawberry Purée, Cream of Coconut, and Lemon Juice and Topped with Soda Water. It tasted like a strawberry coconut soda. It was fun, but the best part is that it didn’t feel like a kid’s drink, but something for an adult without alcohol. It’s refreshing and fruity.

For food, we grabbed two dishes. The first was a sushi option, the Moriwase Platter for $36, which comes with Ahi, Salmon, and Hamachi Sashimi Assortment, Marinated Daikon, and Wasabi. If you’re visiting Hawaii, you sort of have to get the sushi, right? The wasabi is shaped like Mickey! Also, they have Mickey chopsticks here. This is high-quality fish here. It’s beautifully cut and prepared.

The Pua’A Kalua Gratin blew our minds. It’s Kālua Pork, Cream Cheese, Maui Onion, Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese, Lomi Lomi Tomato, and Naan Bread for $16. This is probably the favorite thing we’ve had here at Aulani. It IS a heavier dish, but we liked that. It’s like cream cheese pork dip with onion and delicious Lomi Lomi tomato on top.

The naan bread was soft, warm, and cheesy. All of the parts of this dish just blended so well together to create a unique gooey cheesy dip.

Magic or Tragic?

We’re going to tell you right now that The ‘Ōlelo Room is straight-up MAGIC. The cocktails and mocktails are unique and upscale. The food is also elevated, with sushi that’s so fresh that it tastes like it just came off the boat (and it might have). Even a bread and dip dish managed to do something extra and offer some delicious unique flavors. The interactive nature of the atmosphere is just the icing on the cake. If you’re visiting Aulani, this lounge is a MUST-VISIT.

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