‘Ohana vs. Sebastian’s: A Family-Style Dining Challenge

[JJZMgailey]

One of our contributors for the DIS wrote a great comparison article of two Walt Disney World restaurants that each serve family-style meals. One is extremely popular and the other... not so much. Read what the author had to say as they compare both meals!

Sometimes, a quick trip to Walt Disney World to visit your student in the Disney College Program results in a stay of only 24 hours. Recently, this was the case for us. Wanting to make the most of our short time together, we booked two different restaurants on two consecutive nights. Thus, the contenders were ‘Ohana at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort on night one and Sebastian’s Bistro at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort on night two. Both advance reservations were made on the My Disney Experience app.

Let the battle of the family-style meals begin!

Read the rest of this great article here: https://www.wdwinfo.com/walt-disney-world/ohana-vs-sebastians-a-family-style-dining-challenge/

 

[DisneyByMarriage]

Gotta say this makes me want to try Sebastian’s on our upcoming trip. Does anyone know if they have kids food? At ‘Ohana in 2022 we were able to get chicken strips or Mac n cheese for our two picky kids.

 

[Phatscott25]

Never had a bad meal at Sebastians and would pick it over Ohana everytime. And our experience at Ohana was much better than the author's. But still not better than Sebastians and no where near worth almost double the cost.

 

[RanDIZ]

Great read! Never been to either. Prefer Boma as my go to even though it’s buffet style. With that said, I’ve always heard about the rushed pace and loud atmosphere of O’hana. It’s definitely on the more pricey side for what you get too. As for Sebastian’s, I’ve heard nothing but great things there. Great food and great value. I will also add that the Caribbean Marketplace next store is a hidden gem QS. Cuban sandwich is amazing!

 

[Dulcee]

Not even close to a fair fight. Sebastian's Bistro is lovely, great atmosphere, good quality food. And you can't beat sitting in a rocking chair enjoying a nice breeze off the water before or after your meal.

And yes, we were able to get chicken fingers and fries for our littles a few trips back.

 

[flav]

A comparison of all those family style (not buffet, no characters) would be interesting. I had made a list of the reasonably priced ones before our trip last time and O’hana had not even made it.

The top contenders were:
Liberty Tree Tavern 39$
Whispering Canyon 26$ lunch, 40$ dinner
Sebastian’s Bistro 35$
Roundup Rodeo BBQ 45$

We had a wonderful lunch

 

[HopperFan]

Gotta say this makes me want to try Sebastian’s on our upcoming trip. Does anyone know if they have kids food? At ‘Ohana in 2022 we were able to get chicken strips or Mac n cheese for our two picky kids.

We tried Sebastian's and LOVED it! I'm pretty critical of Disney's mediocre over priced food but we loved the food, the smaller more intimate space and honestly our server was better and more professional than any we've had at California Grill. I would go back in a heart beat ~ and will never return to O'hana where I have had issues every single time. At some point enough was enough.

 

[DisneyByMarriage]

I just booked for our July trip, I’m excited as we’ve never been.

 

[vincep]

Have not been to Sebastian's but now would like to go.
Ohana has gone off a cliff. Ate there more than 10 years ago and it was pretty great.
Delicious fresh food in no way rushed. It was uncanny the way the waiter knew we were finished with a course and then brought the next one. And the bread pudding dessert was insanely good but then instead of caramel it was Bananas Foster. Had two huge helpings.
The last couple of times were terrible. Rushed service, mediocre food as if it had been frozen and reheated and all on the table at once.
Why did I once love this place? Because Iger greed had not engulfed it.
Is the food no longer brought around on skewers? You didn't have to peel the shrimp. So things are even worse than the last time I was there before the pandemic!
Amazing that now the waiter's inform you in advance you will be rushed. They got so many complaints they give you a warning and in typical Iger fashion ---- you all if you don't like it. Absolutely unacceptable.
The last time I was there and they wanted to rush me and bring the next course when I had barely started on the first I just said firmly no. I had to keep saying it throughout the meal pushing them away. Of course not a pleasant way to dine.
People should tell the waiter we will not be rushed. We will tell you when we want our next course. We do not want our table covered with all the courses at once. People need to speak up and be demanding when they spend so much but alas they don't. They meekly cower.

 

[vincep]

Have not been to Sebastian's but now would like to go.
Ohana has gone off a cliff. Ate there more than 10 years ago and it was pretty great.
Delicious fresh food in no way rushed. It was uncanny the way the waiter knew we were finished with a course and then brought the next one. And the bread pudding dessert was insanely good but then instead of caramel it was Bananas Foster. Had two huge helpings.
The last couple of times were terrible. Rushed service, mediocre food as if it had been frozen and reheated and all on the table at once.
Why did I once love this place? Because Iger greed had not engulfed it.
Is the food no longer brought around on skewers? You didn't have to peel the shrimp. So things are even worse than the last time I was there before the pandemic!
Amazing that now the waiter's inform you in advance you will be rushed. They got so many complaints they give you a warning and in typical Iger fashion ---- you all if you don't like it. Absolutely unacceptable.
The last time I was there and they wanted to rush me and bring the next course when I had barely started on the first I just said firmly no. I had to keep saying it throughout the meal pushing them away. Of course not a pleasant way to dine.
People should tell the waiter we will not be rushed. We will tell you when we want our next course. We do not want our table covered with all the courses at once. People need to speak up and be demanding when they spend so much but alas they don't. They meekly cower.
If a waiter said to me 'Things will come out quickly, one after the other.' I would be 'Hold your horses buddy I'm the one who's dining here. I will tell you when I'm ready for the next course!'
I got no warning the last time I ate there but I knew what was coming(hoping it wasn't going to happen again.) So I felt like Errol Flynn fighting off servers as if they were Basil Rathbone

 

[buzzgirls&dad]

We have seen quite a bit of love for Sebastian's on these boards and decided to try it for Feb 2024 trip. We were pleasantly surprised. I agree with what most people have said. It is a smaller restaurant and quite busy but I never felt rushed. We were able to order drinks and enjoy them for a bit before the bread came, which was excellent. Dinner was hot, fresh and a different flavor palette than most Disney restaurants. We were actually too full for dessert so our waiter insisted that we take ours to go because he didn't want us to miss out on "the best part of dinner". Was this the best Caribbean I've had-No, however it was a good solid meal at a reasonable Disney price point and somewhere I would definitely go to again. I'm sure with all of the attention recently it will become a difficult ressie to get. We have watched Ohana decline over the years and have not and will not return to Ohana until changes are made.

 

[Leight19]

Just to confirm is there any indicaton whether Sebastian’s is ayce as well or fixed amount of food family style? I had planned to try Sebastian’s my last trip but canceled on those reports of it not being ayce even to point someone said they dropped roll and they wouldn’t even replace that. Any recent experience on ayce status would be appreciated.

 

[Dulcee]

Just to confirm is there any indicaton whether Sebastian’s is ayce as well or fixed amount of food family style? I had planned to try Sebastian’s my last trip but canceled on those reports of it not being ayce even to point someone said they dropped roll and they wouldn’t even replace that. Any recent experience on ayce status would be appreciated.

We didn't need any additional on the salad, entrees or sides. My kids ate approximately 15 rolls between the three of them and they had no problem refilling them for us.

 

[wdw&sonny]

Darn, another secret escapes. Loved this place even more before the family style menu.

 

[vspenn]

Just to confirm is there any indicaton whether Sebastian’s is ayce as well or fixed amount of food family style? I had planned to try Sebastian’s my last trip but canceled on those reports of it not being ayce even to point someone said they dropped roll and they wouldn’t even replace that. Any recent experience on ayce status would be appreciated.

I don't know official rules, but we asked for extra rice and veggie curry and we got extras. we also asked to sub instead of pork to have more of all the rest of meats and got that. we didn't ask for extra meat as there was so much already.

 

[zackiedawg]

I hope this means maybe Sebastian's did some slight overhauling of their food recently...so many positive comments in this thread. My experiences with Sebastian's went from vastly exceeded expectations in Feb 2020 when they had overhauled their menu and were not family-style - the menu was much more Caribbean and ethnic with very nice spices and flavors - it was instantly added to my must-do list for future trips. Of course, future trips were put off because the pandemic closure began very shortly after that visit - when I finally got back to Sebastian's in 2023, I noticed the switch to family style but the menu still seemed very Caribbean themed and had some of the same items (though the lovely jerk chicken was gone)...it ended up being one of the worst meals I've had in a very long time and instantly turned me off ever going again. The foods came out overcooked, severely under-seasoned, lukewarm, and even things that had been excellent before like the pull-apart rolls and chutney/oil/butter selection went from fresh piping hot to room temp and without the different dip selection. Again, we're talking summer 2023, so it's been almost a year and it's quite possible they corrected some of the quality issues - I do hope so as I would love to have that place as a nice option again.