Kona Cafe Review at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort

Kona Cafe is a table-service restaurant at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. This location serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The restaurant is widely known for its sweet Hawaiian roll bread service, which comes with a side of Macadamia nut butter. Other popular items include Tonga Toast, Macadamia Pancakes, and Airline Chicken.

In this Kona Cafe Review, we’ll try appetizers, entrees, and sushi selections. We enjoy dining here and have frequented the restaurant through the years. Plus, what’s not to like about Disney’s Polynesian? We always enjoy our visits.

Kona Cafe is on the 2nd floor of the Great Ceremonial House at Disney’s Polynesian Resort. The restaurant is light and airy and faces the open area. If you arrive at the Polynesian via the resort monorail, Kona will be to your left when you enter the building. You’ll see a sign pointing guests to Kona Cafe or ‘Ohana.

While this restaurant is often busy, it has a relatively large capacity. So you might be able to secure a walk-up if you don’t mind waiting. However, it’s best practice to secure reservations.

Upon arrival, you can check in via the My Disney Experience app. The app will prompt you to confirm you’ve arrived when you get close to the restaurant. You might enjoy a cocktail at the nearby Tambu Lounge if you arrive early.

After you’re seated, a server brings Kona’s sweet rolls to the table. These rolls are divine, and the butter is incredibly soft, making it super spreadable. Don’t worry if you devour them too rapidly. The cast member will bring extras.

Another favorite item I’ve tried is the seafood coconut curry. The curry is packed full of shrimp, scallops, and crab meat. All I can say is you won’t be disappointed!

After discovering the curry was packed with seafood, I decided to pull this number. I lifted what I could on my spoon and zoomed in for a picture. The amount of seafood in this broth reminded me I needed to head back to the gym soon. As you can see, it was challenging to lift. All joking aside, the curry has a smooth texture, complemented by the hearty seafood nuggets. After consuming the first few bites, I noticed heat left over on my palate. It was a very pleasing dish.

But the Crispy Pork-Vegetable Pot Sticker is a fine choice if you aren’t in the mood for soup. This dish came as such a surprise. I was expecting multiple potstickers (plural) when this arrived.

I wasn’t even sure how to approach it. But really, it didn’t matter because it won’t be around for long after you take your first bite. This large pot sticker kept me coming back for more. It’s not often I find something that’s difficult to stop eating. The dish reminded me of a slice of cake, where I kept telling myself, “Just one more bite.”

We haven’t even gotten to sushi yet! Nearly every meal we have at Kona Cafe includes sushi. Let’s face it. When I go to Kona, it’s usually because I’m having a sushi craving. The restaurant is known for this cuisine. They even have a sushi chef preparing rolls at an open bar area. To date, I’ve tried a variety of sushi rolls, starting with this Shrimp Firecracker roll.

This dish consists of tempura shrimp, crab, avocado, spicy tuna, cucumber, and chili sauce. It was a winner in my book and something I could order again. The sushi has a nice spicy flare but is not overbearing.

Next is the small Kona Sampler Sushi. There isn’t anything small about this dish, in my opinion. This is the best selection of sushi I’ve had here. It’s so good that we added to the list of where to find the best sushi at Disney World.

The small sampler at Kona Cafe comes with tuna poke, two nigiri pieces, two pieces of sashimi, and three pieces of California roll. As you can see, it’s quite a large platter. The sushi chef also sent out a piece of seaweed tempura on the dish.

The salmon selection was my favorite, followed by the tuna. The tuna poke was questionable when it first appeared at the table. It is described as passion fruit bobo, micro chives, wasabi chips, and citrus yuzu. My first bite was a tad bitter, and I felt I wouldn’t care for this one. After electing to take a second bite, I felt wrong about the whole thing and found it delightful. I don’t know if it was just one of those mind-over-matter things, but it hit the spot.

Here are a few more photos of the restaurant since it’s been updated.

If you’re staying at Disney’s Polynesian, you’ll be happy to know that Kona Cafe also offers to-go orders. You can order a meal, pick it up, and return to your room with it. They have a mobile order pick-up area outside the restaurant’s entrance.

Disney’s Polynesian Resort is a destination within itself. If you have the time, it’s always worth visiting the resort for a meal during your vacation. For more information about the resort, you might enjoy our Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort Guide, or one of these individual articles:

• Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort Review
• Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort Transportation Guide
• Disney’s Polynesian Resort Restaurants Guide
• The Resorts Gal Guide to Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort’s Pools

You might also like to browse our entire Disney World Restaurant Reviews index or Disney World Dining Guide.

In the Comments

I hope you enjoyed this Kona Cafe review and will consider planning a meal there on your next vacation. Have you dined at Kona Cafe before? Do you enjoy visiting the Polynesian?