Reviews of Kona Cafe Lunch/Dinner
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Menus at Kona Cafe
Reviewed by bellebookworm9 Review Date: 01/20/2015
Rating: (8) Recommended
This was a new restaurant for us and one we were looking forward to very much. Our ADR was for 1:35pm on 12/18. We arrived on time and our party of two was seated right away at a table for four. This turned out to be lucky because a friend decided he wanted to join us and was in the Poly lobby when we were being seated. Our server told us it wouldn't be a problem to add him to the table.
My mom and I came in pretty sure of what we wanted, so we ordered almost immediately. We asked to split the Crab Cakes for an appetizer and the Polynesian Plate Lunch of Pan-Fried Chicken for our entree.
Our friend ordered right after he sat down, maybe two minutes after we had ordered. My appetizer came within 10 minutes of ordering, which was great...but the server brought the entree at the same time! Not a good thing, because then we felt rushed to eat the app before the chicken got cold.
Our friend had the same issue when his food was delivered just a few minutes after ours.
The food was delicious, at least. We had requested the Jalapeno-Lime sauce on the side for our crab cakes, and the cakes were so flavorful they didn't need the sauce anyway. The pan-fried chicken was amazing and so tender. It was served with coconut and mango sauces on top, plus sides of white rice (boring) and pasta salad (boring, but really good). Our friend had the Steamed Pork Buns and the BBQ Pork Tacos and had no complaints at all.
Mom and I looked at all the dessert options but decided to stick with our original intention: the Chocolate Fondue. It did not disappoint! So good we almost licked the dish.
We had explained to our server that my mom and I would be one check and our friend would be separate. We were told that was not a problem but he brought us two copies of only our check. Then it took forever for him to come by again so we could let him know. He had just kind of disappeared throughout the meal, and we never got drink refills.
Overall, amazing food but poor service. Yes, I'd return.
Pros:
Best food of the trip, accommodatingCons:
Poor service, very rushedReviewed by saraht Review Date: 01/13/2015
Rating: (10) Recommended
This was our favorite meal of the entire trip. I had the coffee crusted pork chop and it was amazing. This will be a stop on my next trip and I will order it again. The atmposhere was lovely- very quiet and peaceful. Our server was great as well. We had no complaints at all here!
Pros:
amazing food, great service, quietCons:
—Reviewed by Disney_Dreamz Review Date: 01/01/2015
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
We have eaten dinner at the Kona Cafe twice between 2005-2014 so we decided to try lunch here on the 17th of November. Oh My Gosh, we really regretted it. We will NOT be returning to the Kona Cafe EVER again.
For lunch they don't serve the bread with hazelnut butter...at least we didn't get one. Then when our lunch (eventually) came they brought the wrong item. I ordered the hamburger w/ bacon instead of shrimp, but they brought the hamburger w/ shrimp which did taste good.
Then, there was dessert... :shudders:. We both had the apple tart. It looked soo good and had my mom order it too. It tasted like it was 2-3 months old. It was hard as a rock...okay we were able to break it but it was so horrible. Even the ice cream tasted bad. ICE CREAM!!!
So we just paid and left. The waiter took forever w/ our food. So we are NEVER EVER EVER returning there.
Pros:
NOTHINGCons:
EVERYTHING: Food, Waiter, Service... ICKReviewed by tcohen24 Review Date: 12/22/2014
Rating: (10) Recommended
We ate here on 12/16/14 for dinner. The staff and our server were excellent. So friendly and helpful.
We had crab cakes as an appetizer which was very good. My daughter had the swordfish , excellent. I had the tofu asian noodles, excellent . For dessert the banana cream was very good and chocolate fondue was good too.
The best was the bread with almond butter...excellent.
I would highly recommend eating here. I feel like it's a hidden gem for a great meal.
Pros:
Food, friendly serviceCons:
NoneReviewed by Disney_Dreamz Review Date: 11/26/2014
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
I really regret going to Kona Cafe for lunch. We only went because nothing was open for Dinner. Lunch pretty much was bad.
My mom had the steak which was good but my hamburger was bad. I ordered the bacon hamburger instead of the shrimp but they messed up my order and brought the shrimp, which was 'ok.'
We were surprised there was no bread served. Not sure if they just forgot about it for us. But the service was bad.
The dessert was HORRIBLE. We both had the apple cobbler which was hard as a rock. We will not be returning to Kona for lunch OR dinner.
I would rate this a 0 or none at all if there was a choice so I gave it a one.
Pros:
NoneCons:
Food... ServiceReviewed by Villeguy Review Date: 10/24/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
We ate at Kona on Sunday, September 28th before heading over to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. This is one of our favorite places to eat in Disney World. Truth be told we have at least 10 places we call our favorites. The food and staff at Kona is stellar. We started off with the Cucumber Roll. They were perfection on a plate. You can't go wrong with some of the freshest ingredients. Entrees consisted of the Grilled New York Strip Steak each. The meat was so tender it melted in your mouth along with the accompanying molasses-bacon butter. The fingerling potatoes were roasted to such a delectable crisp. Kona is a truly hidden gem and we are so happy that we have shared this place together for so many years and we pray for many years to come.
Pros:
Great Atmosphere, and Great FoodCons:
—Reviewed by Rosebud Review Date: 10/15/2014
Rating: (10) Recommended
Visited Disney in August and arrived around 11:00. Check-in was quick since we had club level.
We were all pretty hungry (5 adults, 4 kids) and took a chance that we could get in to Kona, which we did. Of course for the rest of our 10 days, it was impossible, so I would caution everyone - reservations are a must for both Kona and Ohana. With only two table restaurants, the Poly is touch and go. I wish they would reopen Tangaroa Terrace.
Anyway, food was very good, drinks same. The desserts were incredible. I highly recommend this restaurant.
Pros:
Food, dessert, waitstaffCons:
NoneReviewed by Environmentalist Review Date: 07/23/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
This is the second time I've eaten at Kona Cafe. The food is amazing here. There is a great variety of menu options and the flavors are top notch. Truly a Disney hidden gem, as many people don't seem to know about it. There were empty tables while we were there at the dinner rush, which surprised me.
The only con is the noise factor - not within the restaurant, but from people walking through the GCH from the monorail and from people waiting for dinner at Ohana. It did get a bit loud at times and made it harder to hear, even though we were near the back wall of the restaurant.
Even with the noise, be sure to try Kona Cafe while it is still there. Rumors are flying that Disney will close it during the construction at the Poly and replace it with something else.
Pros:
Great variety and flavors, amazing dessertCons:
Open air environment to GCH can be noisyReviewed by EpcotMom Review Date: 07/23/2014
Rating: (4) Not Recommended
It saddens me to write this review of a favorite restaurant. We went on July 20 for dinner. There were ten in our party. We chose this restaurant from past experience, having always enjoyed it. The server, a young man, was inattentive and actually acted like he thought he was something special. Had to ask for the bread and macadamia butter! My sister's tuna was over cooked and the scallops were tasteless. The chocolate fondue was good, but the macaroon cookies were so hard that I couldn't get a spoon into them. This restaurant will no longer be a "must do" or even anywhere near the top of the list.
Pros:
—Cons:
ServiceReviewed by slpayne Review Date: 04/01/2014
Rating: (8) Recommended
We waited about 10 minutes for our table. My only complaint is that I'm not a huge fan of the atmosphere. It just seems a little diner-y. Food however was very good. I had the potstickers and DH had the teriyaki steak. We'll probably come here on a future trip, but it's not one of our "must dos".
