Ohana=Overrated!

[Mel730]

I love Ohana but my last visit was very disappointing. I went two years ago and it was amazing. We had four adults and three children. The food came out at a decent pace and they passed by multiple times. The food was delicious and we had a great evening. We were so full when we left and enjoyed everything! So I couldn’t wait to bring my boyfriend on our recent trip. He’d never been before, I knew he’d love it and I was looking forward to going back.

On our recent visit, we had a little wait for our table but we didn’t mind. It was just two adults this time. We were seated and given our bread. After they left I realized we didn’t get any butter. When I finally got her attention, I asked our server for it but she never came back. Another server came and brought the salad and appetizers. I asked him for butter, he said okay and never came back. The bread was good but kind of dry, butter would have helped. As previously stated our salad and app came together, so after enjoying the salad (which was delicious) our appetizers were cold. We still enjoyed them, especially the pot stickers/dumplings. We tried to request a few more but never saw anyone to ask for them. The absolute worst part of the evening was the skewers. We were seated between two tables, both with large parties. Every time the server would go to one of the large tables first, run out and never come back to us. We finally got shrimp and some steak (the skewer was almost empty when it arrived). Chicken never made it to our table. I watched the chicken come by four times each time emptying at one or both of the larger tables. It was like they didn’t even see us sitting there. It was so frustrating to feel like we were being ignored it put us both in a poor mood. We were about to go request food be brought to our table but then a server (not our original server) brought the dessert. We were both frustrated and disappointed so we ate our dessert and left. The dessert was amazing but unfortunately we left the restaurant in a dour mood and still hungry!

I loved Ohana the first time and the food was still good. I will give it a try again at some point and I just hope the service is better next time.

 

[Nancyg56]

You are exactly right! With what Ohana costs, your experiences shouldn’t be so starkly different. One person has an amazing dinner and then ours is not good. You have two completely different experiences from your first time to your second time.

I don’t mind spending the money but with the reputation Ohana has and how difficult it is to get a reservation you would think that the meal would be at a higher level than what we experienced.

I agree. Our last experience there is our last. My family, with me as the exception, has always wanted a visit for dinner there every trip. The food was not always consistant, but it was never horrible, and the service was always decent enough to leave feeling that we were nto a herd of cattle to be moved in and prodded out. The last trip was pure misery, from start to finish, and if the food was not bad enough, the neighbors next to us were behaving like wild animals. I thought my DD was going to go over and begin disciplining the kids, and smacking the parents. Not one manager (not even the one holding the wall up behind us) stepped in to rescue teh poor server who was hiding from them, (and thus from us) as much as possible.

Our experience at Le Cellier was as bad as yours at Ohana. Burned steak, slow service, tiny tables crammed together. Way overpriced for what you get. Some people love it, but I can't recommend it. The Yachtsman is in a different league.

Yup, I never tell folks not to go, but it is not on my list to recommend any longer.

I'll take it a step further and say the staff is being compelled to turn over more tables than they can adequately serve thus put the policy and it's solution directly on management's doorstep. Apparently, they are getting your response (a good one I might add) from enough guests and have come up with an answer (leaving the meat just in case) that would only work at a buffet type eatery. So I guess we as paying guests must anticipate this and say "No, don't leave it. I prefer my food to be hot when I eat it". Annoying on a certain level that the norm is something you must "fight" for but there we are.

I absolutely agree. Servers and cooks do not drive the restaurant pace, the management does. This restauant has gone from a favorite fun place to dine to a production line that is paved to move guests in and out on a schedule. It has always run late, however once seated, I never felt that I was in a race to the finish. Until the last meal. "Get em in and herd em out" I bet is stated at each staff meeting. 'Ohana is a victim of it's own success, IMO.

 

[Tiffany_m15]

I make my ADRs next week and Ohana isn't even on the list this time. It was just a big waste of time, money and too many calories for dried out food. I hope it gets better and maybe we will try it in 2019.

It's like: I love the concept, the location is beautiful, and all of the food sounds like it should be delicious and because of all that build up it was even more disappointing that it went so wrong.

 

[Tiffany_m15]

I love Ohana but my last visit was very disappointing. I went two years ago and it was amazing. We had four adults and three children. The food came out at a decent pace and they passed by multiple times. The food was delicious and we had a great evening. We were so full when we left and enjoyed everything! So I couldn’t wait to bring my boyfriend on our recent trip. He’d never been before, I knew he’d love it and I was looking forward to going back.

On our recent visit, we had a little wait for our table but we didn’t mind. It was just two adults this time. We were seated and given our bread. After they left I realized we didn’t get any butter. When I finally got her attention, I asked our server for it but she never came back. Another server came and brought the salad and appetizers. I asked him for butter, he said okay and never came back. The bread was good but kind of dry, butter would have helped. As previously stated our salad and app came together, so after enjoying the salad (which was delicious) our appetizers were cold. We still enjoyed them, especially the pot stickers/dumplings. We tried to request a few more but never saw anyone to ask for them. The absolute worst part of the evening was the skewers. We were seated between two tables, both with large parties. Every time the server would go to one of the large tables first, run out and never come back to us. We finally got shrimp and some steak (the skewer was almost empty when it arrived). Chicken never made it to our table. I watched the chicken come by four times each time emptying at one or both of the larger tables. It was like they didn’t even see us sitting there. It was so frustrating to feel like we were being ignored it put us both in a poor mood. We were about to go request food be brought to our table but then a server (not our original server) brought the dessert. We were both frustrated and disappointed so we ate our dessert and left. The dessert was amazing but unfortunately we left the restaurant in a dour mood and still hungry!

I loved Ohana the first time and the food was still good. I will give it a try again at some point and I just hope the service is better next time.

That sounds awful, sheesh. You know just as much as there are boxes to check for a wonderful meal (good service, great ambiance, delicious food, good bread) there are also boxes to check for a terrible experience. And for us, much as for you, almost all those boxes were checked. Everyone has their own quirky things that they don't like when they eat. Like if we're seated next to a bathroom my Grandmother will refuse to eat. For us:

✓Bread was stale (If the bread is good, it can make the whole meal for me)
✓Bringing all of the courses to the table at the same time (My mom's pet peeve)
✓Cold food
✓Being rushed
✓All the components of the meal not on the table at one time. (If I'm supposed to have sauce for the meat then I'd like the sauce there while the meat is there. This one is my pet peeve.)
✓Ghost servers

 

[Tiffany_m15]

I agree. Our last experience there is our last. My family, with me as the exception, has always wanted a visit for dinner there every trip. The food was not always consistant, but it was never horrible, and the service was always decent enough to leave feeling that we were nto a herd of cattle to be moved in and prodded out. The last trip was pure misery, from start to finish, and if the food was not bad enough, the neighbors next to us were behaving like wild animals. I thought my DD was going to go over and begin disciplining the kids, and smacking the parents. Not one manager (not even the one holding the wall up behind us) stepped in to rescue teh poor server who was hiding from them, (and thus from us) as much as possible.



Yup, I never tell folks not to go, but it is not on my list to recommend any longer.


I absolutely agree. Servers and cooks do not drive the restaurant pace, the management does. This restauant has gone from a favorite fun place to dine to a production line that is paved to move guests in and out on a schedule. It has always run late, however once seated, I never felt that I was in a race to the finish. Until the last meal. "Get em in and herd em out" I bet is stated at each staff meeting. 'Ohana is a victim of it's own success, IMO.

I wonder if this attitude stems from people camping out at tables to watch the fireworks. I feel bad for the servers because the fewer tables they turn the less they make in tips but we were rushed through our meal only to wait and wait for them to bring the bill. It was like if only that extra time that we waited for the check were used to spread out the courses it would have been at least moderately more enjoyable.

 

[Nancyg56]

I wonder if this attitude stems from people camping out at tables to watch the fireworks. I feel bad for the servers because the fewer tables they turn the less they make in tips but we were rushed through our meal only to wait and wait for them to bring the bill. It was like if only that extra time that we waited for the check were used to spread out the courses it would have been at least moderately more enjoyable.

I doubt it. I was a server you many years and can say that management drives pace. I believe the restaurant is overbooking in order to get ad many guests in as possible. If they underestimate how long to turn tables the house will do what they can to manage the line waiting....so servers are dropping courses before guests are ready, and food runners are stopping at tables to get guests to eat and go. That sense of urgency is contagious. I think the backup there is much in part to an unrealistic time schedule per table. The avalanche then begins.

 

[Tiffany_m15]

I doubt it. I was a server you many years and can say that management drives pace. I believe the restaurant is overbooking in order to get ad many guests in as possible. If they underestimate how long to turn tables the house will do what they can to manage the line waiting....so servers are dropping courses before guests are ready, and food runners are stopping at tables to get guests to eat and go. That sense of urgency is contagious. I think the backup there is much in part to an unrealistic time schedule per table. The avalanche then begins.

So management says if every table’s meal takes 10-15 minutes less we can fit 100 more seatings in by the end of the night and the servers are forced to carry that out. More money for Disney and in the end the servers break even because more tables leaving a slightly smaller tip (say diners won’t leave 20% or more if I’m happy, maybe they leave 18% if the service isn’t spectacular) and the servers just end up overworked.

 

[Moramoon]

We ate here for dinner on 5/6. I was a little worried after hearing other's experiences, but I'm glad to say our dinner was amazing. Our waitress was great. We did have another waiter who would help from time to time that seemed like he was rushing a bit, but he only came by a few times. My husband had asked him for a refill which he never did come back by, but the next time we saw our waitress we mentioned it to her and she brought it right away. Our reservation was for 6:45. We got there about 5 minutes late and ended up being seated at 7.We had no intention of staying for the fireworks, but with the pace of our meal we ended up starting our dessert just as HEA was starting. My husband raved about the food, especially the chicken and the steak. My son who is pretty picky found quite a bit he liked. We did have someone walking by playing music and singing while we were eating. We did end up eating her for breakfast on 5/12 and were really underwhelmed by the food and the service. We had finished the tray of food fairly quickly and it was awhile before our server came back by to ask if we wanted more. Normally in the past they would bring us another tray, but she only brought a small pan of potatoes and eggs. This time we were seated by the windows, but more towards the middle and every time someone would come by they would have to move chairs to get through which bothered us a bit because they would normally bump them into someone's legs. We plan on eating here again for dinner for our next trip, but will be looking for somewhere else to go for breakfast.

 

[Nancyg56]

So management says if every table’s meal takes 10-15 minutes less we can fit 100 more seatings in by the end of the night and the servers are forced to carry that out. More money for Disney and in the end the servers break even because more tables leaving a slightly smaller tip (say diners won’t leave 20% or more if I’m happy, maybe they leave 18% if the service isn’t spectacular) and the servers just end up overworked.

I have no idea what the metric is, however I hold management solely responsible for the pace that the servers and the cooks are running at. This is one very busy restaurant that has notoriously run behind for years, and is now, IMO the most sought after ADR with the exception on BOG. Clearly there is a disconnect between the schedulers and management. If you are in charge and you have a line that seems to never clear up, there is a lot of pressure to move.

 

[Mel730]

That sounds awful, sheesh. You know just as much as there are boxes to check for a wonderful meal (good service, great ambiance, delicious food, good bread) there are also boxes to check for a terrible experience. And for us, much as for you, almost all those boxes were checked. Everyone has their own quirky things that they don't like when they eat. Like if we're seated next to a bathroom my Grandmother will refuse to eat. For us:

✓Bread was stale (If the bread is good, it can make the whole meal for me)
✓Bringing all of the courses to the table at the same time (My mom's pet peeve)
✓Cold food
✓Being rushed
✓All the components of the meal not on the table at one time. (If I'm supposed to have sauce for the meat then I'd like the sauce there while the meat is there. This one is my pet peeve.)
✓Ghost servers

I agree. I’m a pretty easy going person and am willing to overlook things to not bring down everyone’s mood. If it were just never getting butter or refills or them skipping our table once or twice I’d let it go. But completely neglecting a table and then rushing people through the entire meal is unacceptable.

I want to still love Ohana and want to WANT to go back there. I’ve enjoyed it so much in the past but now I can’t get past this bad experience and hate to risk “wasting” a dinner there again on our next trip when we could have a better experience somewhere else.

 

[Tiffany_m15]

We ate here for dinner on 5/6. I was a little worried after hearing other's experiences, but I'm glad to say our dinner was amazing. Our waitress was great. We did have another waiter who would help from time to time that seemed like he was rushing a bit, but he only came by a few times. My husband had asked him for a refill which he never did come back by, but the next time we saw our waitress we mentioned it to her and she brought it right away. Our reservation was for 6:45. We got there about 5 minutes late and ended up being seated at 7.We had no intention of staying for the fireworks, but with the pace of our meal we ended up starting our dessert just as HEA was starting. My husband raved about the food, especially the chicken and the steak. My son who is pretty picky found quite a bit he liked. We did have someone walking by playing music and singing while we were eating. We did end up eating her for breakfast on 5/12 and were really underwhelmed by the food and the service. We had finished the tray of food fairly quickly and it was awhile before our server came back by to ask if we wanted more. Normally in the past they would bring us another tray, but she only brought a small pan of potatoes and eggs. This time we were seated by the windows, but more towards the middle and every time someone would come by they would have to move chairs to get through which bothered us a bit because they would normally bump them into someone's legs. We plan on eating here again for dinner for our next trip, but will be looking for somewhere else to go for breakfast.

I'm glad to hear that your dinner was good! I hate the idea that people spend the money here to not have a good experience so I'm happy you all had a good time! It's funny that we had the opposite experience. We really enjoyed breakfast. It was delicious, relaxed, and the characters took their time with us even though we were adults (we weren't really even there for that so it was an added bonus).

 

[Tiffany_m15]

I have no idea what the metric is, however I hold management solely responsible for the pace that the servers and the cooks are running at. This is one very busy restaurant that has notoriously run behind for years, and is now, IMO the most sought after ADR with the exception on BOG. Clearly there is a disconnect between the schedulers and management. If you are in charge and you have a line that seems to never clear up, there is a lot of pressure to move.

I'm not really sure what the expectations are either I'm just hypothesizing but the difference I assume would be that they drop more reservations into a smaller time frame. And you're right that would fall on management.

 

[Summer2018]

We ate at ‘Ohana twice just over a week ago. We didn’t have to wait to be seated for dinner or breakfast.

Our waiters were excellent. They didn’t rush us. They brought the chef out to consult with the person in our party with severe allergies.

The food at both dinner and breakfast was sublime, especially the noodles and Szechuan steak. When we requested bacon at breakfast, a huge platter arrived shortly thereafter.

My only complaints were the weak cocktails, and I didn’t like having to peel the shrimp myself. Otherwise, everything was perfect.

The coconut races were tame, and the overall atmosphere was relaxed rather than busy and chaotic.

‘Ohana was very festive and fun.