Is O'hana really not good anymore?

[rg35]

We went for the first time in July. The meat was some of the toughest steak I have ever eaten. Sampled from multiple skewers and it was all pretty bad. The rest of it is basically sweet-sauced "Asian American" fare. My wife's drink in the hollowed out pineapple was good. There are too many consistently good places that we probably won't return here for some time.

 

[DisneyHardin]

We really enjoy it and think the food is very good. We've eaten there 4 or 5 times and had a great experience every time. The food has been hot, fresh and the meat well cooked.

 

[Lisa F]

I've been reading this board for nearly 2 decades and going to 'Ohana for nearly 2 decades 'Ohana has been "going downhill" for nearly 2 decades

I don't go every trip and I think it helps to give me a little time to miss it.

I think the current version of the menu is my favorite incarnation... steak, shrimp and chicken are the best... the giant shrimp they used to have were always overcooked, the shrimp I had last time were so sweet and delicious. Bread pudding is the best dessert I've ever had there (I don't miss the pineapple with caramel). Everything else was amazing. We last went in December 2016 and are skipping our next trip, will probably go again in 2019 and I'm sure it will still be "going downhill".

It's possible to have a bad meal at an otherwise great restaurant... Narcoossees gets great reviews and we had a truly horrible meal there. I won't go back for a while but I'm sure plenty of people have great meals there!

 

[SandyinMonterey]

We did not like it, we had dinner. I thought the food was greasy and the meat(s) didn't taste good at all. I started not to feel so well about half way thru dinner. Ended up ill the rest of the night and had to stay at hotel while family went to MK. It's one and done for me. You'll get as many different opinions as there are people here.

 

[JerseyJanice]

Our dinners in 2016 and 2017 were both excellent. It’s my family’s favorite WDW restaurant.

I see people who post on here that really hate it, but in all our years of dining there, we’ve never been served bad food.

 

[stace1214]

We've never had a bad meal there. On our last trip, we were definitely more rushed than previous times. Our food was brought so quickly, one thing right on top of another. It definitely felt like they were trying to turn tables much faster than in the past, but the food was still very good.

 

[Bob Dolewhip]

We usually eat there every trip, but last time it was actually very spicy, which I wasn’t expecting. We are not a bland food family, it was really spicy! kinda ruined it for me and my shrimp loving daughter. I’m also done with the wait every single time.

 

[CuteAsMinnie]

After many trips to WDW, last year was our first time at Ohana. We loved everything about it. DH was in heaven and we are looking forward to enjoying it again in May.

 

[Nairnyn]

It's important to remember that there are so many factors that can influence people's reviews.

Example, Ohanas has always been one of my favorite restaurants. I have never had a bad experience there. Well, aside from when I took a group of teenagers, and after eating plates full of peanut sauce soaked noodles, one of them announces he was allergic to peanuts. But, not Disney's fault, and Disney handled it amazingly well. Anywho.....

Second to last time I went with my sister, she was seated on the side of the table that was right on the coconut races route. She came away saying that she didn't understand why she ever liked Ohanas, and it was just a horrible experience.

When we went last week, I requested a table away from the coconut races route. The entire party, my sister included, said it was one of the best meals of the trip. Her fiance joked about going on a trip where they ate at Ohanas every night, because it was that good. So she looked up pricing to stay at the Polynesian, because she was on board!

Now, both of these experiences, to me, were similar as far as food and service. But apparently, being knocked one too many times by a broomstick trying to hit a coconut was just enough to ruin the whole experience on the previous trip!

I'm not saying that servers might not have off nights, or that sometimes a chef might overcook or underseason something. But that is true of any restaurant. So people may experience an off night, they may be affected by the atmosphere or environment, but that means it can also be a wonderful dining experience - which is why it's still my favorite!

 

[Disneylovingmomof2]

We just ate there for breakfast and dinner. Enjoyed both meals and wouldn’t hesitate to go back.

 

[lubob]

We go to Ohana every year . It my family's must do. They never disappoint the food and atmosphere are amazing. Highly recommend dinner there.

 

[dSp12]

Ate there in October with my husband for dinner and loved every bite! It was our favorite meal of the trip.

 

[Aimeedyan]

We had Thanksgiving dinner there and it was delicious as always.

Taste is subjective AND Disney quality is inconsistent. No doubt some people had chewy steak or gross chicken along the way. Thankfully, that's not been the case for us but we may have just gotten lucky each visit. That said, for all the food offered, even if the steak wasn't to my liking it's not like there isn't 50 other things on the table to eat instead. Fortunately/unfortunately I like everything on the menu

 

[wendylovesdisney]

I enjoy the food, although I’ve been disappointed in food changes in the last few years. What REALLY bothers me though is that I think the service is poor. If I made my decision on whether to go based solely on the service, I’d never go back. It’s been several trips ago since I actually had a pleasant, competent server. I keep getting servers who don’t refill drinks, skip my table completely when rounding with meat, etc. I waited for shrimp last time, asked for it, then watched the server go to a table next to me and pile their plates with shrimp only to turn to me and say there wasn’t more. (I think she was thinking they might tip more because they had more people and were drinking loads of fancy drinks). She literally went to the same table later and gave them 2 rounds of steak before she even brought it to us once. Tables that had come after us left before we even had received all of the food choices. Did I complain? Yes. But it’s happened more then once and I just view it as a general trend here, at one of my most beloved restaurants.

 

[tink2]

We ate at Ohana for the first time last June for breakfast. While we didn’t necessarily think it was ‘bad’- it definitely left us underwhelmed. It was ok. The characters were good enough- nothing special- they seemed rushed but we’ve been to many character meals and know this can vary from day to day. The food was ok- nothing special- but served the purpose of a meal. DH was greatly disappointed in the food - the rest of us thought it was ok. We’re glad we did it to say we did I guess- but it is not on our list to return to.

 

[Mom2Stitch]

We usually try and go to both breakfast and dinner each trip and enjoy each one very much. That is not to say that each trip it's exceptional, but it works for us. Last year the breakfast was good and we enjoyed the characters-the best character however turned out to be the Photopass photographer that came around with Stitch. He was an absolute riot and we had a lot of fun just with his antics.

 

[amym2]

We ate there for Christmas Eve dinner and everyone agreed it was great!

 

[randumb0]

skip the breakfast

 

[revdon64]

We just went there in January. It was our first experience with dinner there and I'd say it was just OK. The food was decent, but service wasn't stellar and we felt a bit rushed.

 

[Marshypooh]

As has been mentioned many times on the restaurant forums, one huge problem is that sometimes a restaurants massive popularity can also become its downfall. It is really hard to get a reservation at O'hana and quite often the wait time to be seated can be terribly long. The servers are rushed which makes the guests feel rushed. The kitchen staff will be overwhelmed and sometimes the food may be under-cooked or over-cooked, other times it may be perfect. The menus will be over-hauled for easier preparation to help feed the large amounts of people. All of this has happened at various times to several of the more popular WDW restaurants.

I truly enjoy O'hana, always have and probably always will. But I have noticed the changes over the years. The food used to have a more unique, Island inspired flair than it currently has. It's still good, enjoyable food, but it is missing that little something extra special from years ago.