Bad Ohana’ is back 😩

[Beer Me]

I've never been able to figure out how they rush you out, short of push your chair out the door.
You are seated and can remain seated as long as you want. The longer they take to serve you, return to the table, just means the longer it takes you to finish, no?
The entire story just doesn't make sense to me
Your server doesn't return to bring what you need, ask someone else. Easy concept

In my case (pre-covid) we got our food fast, which isn’t necessarily a problem but we didn’t get any steak. After maybe 15 minutes he finally comes by to check on us (practically running and sweating profusely), we ask about the beef skewers which were never brought out and he says “you want more beef?!”, like he couldn’t believe it and ran away before I could ask for another drink. Next time we saw him he told us he was bringing dessert which came out 30 seconds later. Rude, rushed, inattentive, disheveled…I could go on and on about what made it bad but suffice it to say it was the worst service I’ve had at Disney and maybe anywhere.

Yes we could have been more insistent with the server or tried to flag someone else down or ask for a manager but you shouldn’t have to do that. The experience is already kind of ruined at that point.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I've never been able to figure out how they rush you out, short of push your chair out the door.
You are seated and can remain seated as long as you want. The longer they take to serve you, return to the table, just means the longer it takes you to finish, no?
The entire story just doesn't make sense to me
Your server doesn't return to bring what you need, ask someone else. Easy concept

For years I've read virtually the same complaint that the OP has. 'Ohana has been known as a big culprit to this. Rushing in this case with the type of food experience that is more about removing the leisurely pace with the courses you're paying for. So they come out in quick succession with little to no time in between. You obviously can stay seated for however long you want, but the experience in itself (from quite a lot of people) has been rushed.

I'm not sure why the story doesn't make sense to you, it seems an easy concept to read that what they are complaining about is "brought out all 3 courses within 10 minutes of each other. We had all 3 parts of the meal on the table at once." The acceptable amount of time in between courses varies by person to person so for some 10 mins is fine but in general the idea is that with pushing the courses out as quickly as possible and not coming back to the table frequently enough to check if refills are needed or if the guest needs something else it leads the guest to get out the door faster. Sometimes the servers truly are just overwhelmed but there's been enough complaints that it seems how the restaurant is run.

 

[Disturbia]

I don’t think you know how bad the meats in the skillet are until you’ve tried them post pandemic (we did last year.). Ohana was inconsistent in the past but we used to load up on shrimp and beef was ok but edible. This time the meat was dry as a puck and slathered in some overly salted BBQ sauce. Even our DD’s allergy safe steak was dry and she can usually eat a little bit of dry steak; she just left it on the plate and said it didn’t taste good. Tables around us had their meats untouched as well. There was so much waste. It’s a nice tactic for them to make it inedible that you don’t ask for more. When it came on skewers you could ask for it to be cooked differently medium well etc. and you Would probably wait 10 mins. Now it takes them 30 mins even with fewer tables (staffing shortage exasperates the bad experience). We are staying at the Poly. next week and are doing everything we can to avoid Ohana (booked STK71, Topolinos, CRT, BOG etc).

Personally I believe the signature dining places like Topolinos and CRT are getting first dibs on the cuts and Ohana is getting leftovers.

 

[rdaky]

I think it's one of those overhyped dinners that everyone thinks that they have to go to, but I don't understand it. The last time we went there was about 10 years ago and we went on free dining so we had nothing to lose. It was fine. Food was fine. But we left wondering why it was so popular. It was loud, chaotic, and overpriced for what you actually get, food or experience wise. 10 years ago. We haven't been back. So many better options.

 

[gharter]

It has been years since we dined there for all of the previously mentioned reasons. We used to love it and one we did almost every trip. The food quality went down, and the meal seemed rushed. We haven't looked back since and seems like no reason to go back.

 

[MomOTwins]

They lost us when the ukulele lady disappeared , Seems a lot of changes happen then.

The ukelele player was there three weeks ago.

 

[Mle8308]

It’s one of those things about Ohana - it’s notoriously inconsistent. And has been for many many years.

We still loved it and would just reorder dishes that didn’t come out to our satisfaction. However, after an amazing meal in August, we had a super inconsistent meal in October with a server who did his best to avoid us.

I reflected a lot after that meal as we are die-hard Ohana fans. But they finally got me at $60pp. I could handle the inconsistency at $40pp. Even $50pp didn’t stop me. $60pp has been the straw that broke this camel’s back and it will be a while before we return.

It’s a LOT of money when our favourite parts of the meal are the noodles, potstickers and wings. (And the bread pudding lol)

Same here! That's why we go sit at the lounge outside Ohana and order those items off their menu! When the price went up to $60 and our server brought us the hot towels and presented the check to us before we had finished our salad, that was the end.

 

[RanDIZ]

I think it's one of those overhyped dinners that everyone thinks that they have to go to, but I don't understand it. The last time we went there was about 10 years ago and we went on free dining so we had nothing to lose. It was fine. Food was fine. But we left wondering why it was so popular. It was loud, chaotic, and overpriced for what you actually get, food or experience wise. 10 years ago. We haven't been back. So many better options.

Yes, the overhype almost got me to bite, but we wound up cancelling our ADR. Not mad at all. Boma and Steakhouse 71 were much better options.

 

[elaine amj]

The ukelele player was there three weeks ago.

There is a man there now. They let the lady go - I think during the pandemic? Or before? I forget now.

I always liked the lady. The current guy is ok - I enjoy it in the background when I hear him live. However, after 2 meals sitting directly under the speaker being driven mad by loud ukelele playing blasting in my ears, I now very specifically request a table away from the speakers. It was so bad it made me shudder every time the poor guy came out to play and I’d heave a sigh of relief when his set was over and the regular music came back on. A pity when a ukelele playing should add to rather than detract from to the atmosphere.

It feels so weird not to be stalking Ohana reservations anymore.

Hoping to do Tambu someday although parking is a hassle (we stay offsite nowadays).

 

[emily nicole]

We haven't eaten at Ohana since 2017 and we LOVED it then. This is making me nervous about our upcoming January ADR here it really is a lot of money and I'll be paying for 4 people.

 

[elaine amj]

We haven't eaten at Ohana since 2017 and we LOVED it then. This is making me nervous about our upcoming January ADR here it really is a lot of money and I'll be paying for 4 people.

It’s still really good. Just inconsistent. But no more inconsistent than it has been for many, many years. We had an awesome meal in August.

We’re just stopping because we have gone frequently, enjoyed it many times, and now have been priced out.

Just remember if something doesn’t taste awesome, ask the server to bring you another helping. Especially when it comes to the beef. That said, once or twice we had really good chicken there but mostly it is dry. Last trip, it was the 3rd round before the beef arrived medium rare as requested.

 

[Micca]

They lost us when the ukulele lady disappeared

They lost us when they reduced the 3 person combo down to the ukelele lady. That was in the previous century.

 

[jo-jo]

They lost us when they reduced the 3 person combo down to the ukelele lady. That was in the previous century.

Never knew that era. We loved it when they had the kids games, the hulu lesson with couples. Haven't been back for a number of years.

 

[ChipTheRescueRanger]

In August we dint feel rushed. Might have been because our server forgot about us. But thats a different story !

Along with some other issues. We did get a big discount for our issues.

 

[maryj11]

I don’t think you know how bad the meats in the skillet are until you’ve tried them post pandemic (we did last year.). Ohana was inconsistent in the past but we used to load up on shrimp and beef was ok but edible. This time the meat was dry as a puck and slathered in some overly salted BBQ sauce. Even our DD’s allergy safe steak was dry and she can usually eat a little bit of dry steak; she just left it on the plate and said it didn’t taste good. Tables around us had their meats untouched as well. There was so much waste. It’s a nice tactic for them to make it inedible that you don’t ask for more. When it came on skewers you could ask for it to be cooked differently medium well etc. and you Would probably wait 10 mins. Now it takes them 30 mins even with fewer tables (staffing shortage exasperates the bad experience). We are staying at the Poly. next week and are doing everything we can to avoid Ohana (booked STK71, Topolinos, CRT, BOG etc).

Personally I believe the signature dining places like Topolinos and CRT are getting first dibs on the cuts and Ohana is getting leftovers.

We ate at Ohana last week. I agree with the steak. It was really rare, we asked for more cooked medium well. Well they brought more, but it was just as rare as the first batch. The weird thing that happened with the second bowl of steak was we took 2 pieces out to taste and then another server came and took the bowl away . It’s a shame on how much food is wasted. We also ate at Steakhouse 71. It was very good and I’d pick it over Ohana any day.

 

[jimmymc]

If you want that style of food, I think it's worth taking a rideshare off site to Rodizio or Texas de Brazil. I'm surprised Disney Springs doesn't have one yet.

 

[jf256]

If you want that style of food, I think it's worth taking a rideshare off site to Rodizio or Texas de Brazil. I'm surprised Disney Springs doesn't have one yet.

This is why we arent bothered about ohana. We live near london and have been to loads of rodizios..i cant eat the bread pudding because of egg allergy. I think i would just be annoyed if i pay $60 for something i can get back home for £30pp..i will pop by the lounge and maybe get the noodles.

 

[kevind2112]

We ate at Ohana for the first time over Thanksgiving weekend and it was... fine... Totally overrated, but we expected that.

The best thing there that night was the Grilled Chicken with Polynesian-inspired Chimichurri Sauce. Really good. The Steak and Shrimp were ok. Steak was a bit tough. The "famous" noodles were noodles. Honey-Coriander Chicken Wings were good, as well as the Pork Dumplings.

We sat down about 1 hour before the Fireworks, and luckily got a window view. We were not rushed at all, and were able to watch the show from out seats, which was nice. They pipe in the music which was a nice touch.

Definitely a one and done for us. We did it, time to move on to other first time dinners!

 

[bigrigsby71682]

Try the breakfast instead.

We do that almost every trip and have never been disappointed. Although, that might be due to our booking very early ADRs.

They're particularly good at making yummy gluten-free, dairy-free foods for me.

I've never been able to figure out how they rush you out, short of push your chair out the door.
You are seated and can remain seated as long as you want. The longer they take to serve you, return to the table, just means the longer it takes you to finish, no?
The entire story just doesn't make sense to me
Your server doesn't return to bring what you need, ask someone else. Easy concept

The issue was that our server's assistant didn't speak English so when we tried to communicate with him he politely nodded his head and went away. I felt bad for him, he shouldn't be having to deal with this. He's supposed to take dishes away, refill drinks, etc....Not actually be the server.

 

[PKJoe]

We love Ohana! We go twice during our week trip. Is the price alittle high, of course. We enjoy the food and it being ayce is a plus.

We did have a bad server once and it did make the experience less enjoyable but I still got what I feel was my money's worth.

Let's see how it is in February!!