Aulani Review - Part 2
Aloha!
Time for the next installment of our Aulani review! This time focusing on what's truly important - food & drink.
Okay, I may not know much about the pools, but we are Aulani food experts now! Well, not experts but we definitely ate and drank our way around the resort. Overall, if we are being totally honest, the food and drinks are not the quality they should be for a luxury resort of this price. However, that shouldn’t be a shock because it is Disney, and Disney resort food and drink is pretty much lackluster across the board. Nick was more disappointed, but he has a more sophisticated palette than I. Let's dive into the various restaurants and bars of Aulani!
Ulu Cafe, which I have already mentioned, is the main quick service dining option at the resort. We mostly ate there for breakfast, other than the one morning we had the character buffet planned. They have pretty standard Disney resort breakfast options, sans Mickey Waffles - a breakfast platters (eggs, bacon or sausage, potatoes, french toast, and pineapple), two different sandwich options, and a flatbread entree. They also have rotating lunch and dinner meals, as well as all day grab-and-go offerings and pizzas to order. And, of course, I can’t forget that they have a milkshake machine and pineapple & vanilla soft serve (not formally called "dole whips", mind you), along with other treats like donuts and cupcakes, for dessert. We also tried their dinner and lunch once each, and it was all pretty standard. Nothing to write home about. The ice machine was always on the fritz, though, which was annoying when trying to cool off and fill that refillable mug. The seating area is super small, I'm talking 5 tables small. When I first saw that, I was rather shocked, considering the size of the dining areas at the value WDW resorts that I'm accustomed to, but they had tables scattered nearby (for the bar area and elsewhere). We actually never had an issue finding a seat nearby, and we actually liked sitting in the area a little tucked away! We were surrounded by lots of lush greenery and birdies... it was also pretty quiet there in the morning, so we enjoyed a peaceful start to our mornings.
Other quick service options include the beachside kiosk, Little Opihi’s, which has some unique offerings like a Thai pork wrap and sushi. They also had fresh fruit and mickey pretzels! Don’t try to ask them for ice water when you are too parched to head all the way back to the refill stations, they don’t even have running water there (well, you could buy a bottle of water, but that is crazy talk). A solid option for a light meal while you are beachside, though! The Lava Shack and Mama’s Snack Stop are the other two quick service options, but in the pool area (so it is blazing hot and with no shade, good luck waiting in a long line at the Snack Stop!). We did not eat at either place, but the Lava Shack had prepackaged snacks to buy, along with your personalized leather bracelet and sunscreen, and the Snack Stop had some interesting fast-food-esque options like a hotdog with pineapple relish.
I can’t forget to mention our favorite offering at the resort… the shave ice! Pāpālua Shave Ice is right between Mama’s and Lava, in the heart of pool country at Aulani. It is worth the shade-less, sweaty wait to get this delectable treat. Disney keeps it classic for this Hawaiian staple - you can choose up to 3 flavors (out of about a dozen flavors, so nothing crazy!) for your shave ice, as well as options for a “snowcap” (sweet condensed milk topping) or with ice cream. Nick is adventurous when it comes to things like this (his fro-yo choices always gross me out!) and I am not a huge dessert person, however our favorites ended up almost being the same. My favorite combo was strawberry, banana, and orange, while Nick’s was coconut, pineapple, and banana. We ended up trying quite a few with our daily concoctions, including root beer and lychee, which were not our favs. And we always got a snow cap, mmmmmmm I wish I had one right now! Oh! I almost forgot, you can add on Mickey ears for an extra $1. Best money we spent at Aulani ;)
For table service, they really only have one actual restaurant, which is ‘AMA‘AMA. We went there on Friday night and deemed it our fancy, frivolous meal of the trip. It was our honeymoon after all, so we decided to splurge and enjoy the sunset ocean views. The simple, rather understated vibes of the resturant pair nicely with the million dollar view overlooking the beach and ocean. We went a little earlier than I reserved (it was raining so we couldn’t take photos on the beach before dinner as planned), and the aforementioned rain also didn’t give us the perfect sunset to view, but the atmosphere of ‘AMA’AMA is very elegant and wonderful on its own, plus a cloudy beach view is better than no beach view at all! We had the best seat in the place and were ready for some delicious dinner. We started with the wedge salad, split between the two of us, which they actually split for us and maintained the beautiful plating. For our main course, Nick got the “today’s fish auction” (we can’t remember what fish it was, but our waitress described it as a less fishy mahimahi) and I chose the 8oz center cut filet with the blue cheese crouton. Nick thought his fish was good, but he wasn’t over the moon about it. I, on the other hand, inhaled my delicious steak. And that crouton was amazing, real amazing. My mouth is watering as I type… YUM YUM YUM. Nick liked my steak too and wished he would’ve gotten that instead. For our sides, which are ala carte, we chose the caramelized brussel sprouts and sea salt baked potato. Both were tasty as well. Now, while we enjoyed the food, the price tag is still too steep for what we got. I wish the sides were included with the entree, and also we didn’t have any bread or anything on the table to start before the salad (which I found odd). All in all, the restaurant has a quintessential luxury resort vibe and the food was delightful - if you are staying at Aulani, you need to go here for a dinner splurge.
Off the Hook is a bar/restaurant in the main pool area, and what services the beach as well. By servicing the beach/pool, I mean that servers come around and take orders… Nick made use of it at the beach to get some cocktails! They have a smaller menu of things like tacos, chicken strips, and coconut shrimp. They serve up the grub in wooden tray things to make it look fancier and to fit the fisherman shack motif, which was appreciated. The bar area itself has a few tables and is nicely decked out with fish hooks and other fisherman things, as well as TVs… in fact, the place was swarmed during a NBA final game, which must’ve been nice for all the dads out there. We were not amused (again, old and crotchety). We ate there twice - I got chicken strips both times because I am a child and Nick got fish tacos. The onion rings come with a jalapeno buttermilk ranch dipping sauce and I am OBSESSED with it (asked for it with my chicken of course). It was my favorite part of Off the Hook for sure. Again, the food was fine, especially for being poolside and bar-y.
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| If you don't pose with a Shaka, are you even in Hawaii? Tank from Happily Ever Tees, shorts from Lilly Pulitzer |
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| Mickey and Iron Man, a match made in waffle heaven. |
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| Minnie loved from tee from Pretty Little Monograms, same shorts |
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We also had dinner there on our last night, which was delicious as well! The dinner buffet features characters three times a week, but I had to compromise with Nick and skip the characters for dinner. While I would’ve loved to meet more characters, it definitely does not make or break the dining experience at Makahiki. Nick was obsessed with all the seafood options, he dug into crab legs and sushi galore, while I enjoyed the prime rib (from the carving station, which also featured ham that I found to be flavor-less) and mashed potatoes. We both loved sampling all of the decadent desserts and they even treated us to a special red velvet cake topped with not one but TWO chocolate “congratulations” banner. We felt both special and very full upon leaving our table for the night. I definitely recommend the buffet for both breakfast and dinner! There is a couple buck discount if you go on a night without the characters, but I think it is worth if everyone loves to meet them :)
Lastly, our favorite dining/drinking spot of Aulani was the ‘Ōlelo Room. Located adjacent to the koi pond and Makahiki restaurant, the outdoor/indoor bar is a real treat! The bar’s theming is impeccable; ‘Ōlelo means “word” in Hawaiian and the indoor bar is covered in wooden carvings of objects and their translation to Hawaiian. I actually learned quite a bit while sipping my beers and eating the pork sliders! Their menu features a few appetizer options, like the aforementioned pork sliders (so yummy!), loaded pork nachos (pretty good) and calamari (I don’t eat seafood, but it looked tasty!). The drink menu is the same as the other bar and restaurants, which is disappointing.
Our biggest complaint about Aulani dining is that every bar had the same cocktails… we definitely thought ‘AMA’AMA should’ve had their own fancy drinks, while ‘Ōlelo should have some more creative concoctions. Sadly, this was not true and the same too sweet drinks were offered at each location. We were not super impressed by any of the drinks, and I think Nick tried about 80% of them! I believe the classic Mai Tai ended up being his favorite, while I pretty much stuck to beer. Luckily, they had a decent selection of Hawaiian brewed beers, which I enjoyed. My favorite was the Maui Bikini Blonde… so much so that we went to our liquor store to stock up on some when we came home!
Our biggest complaint about Aulani dining is that every bar had the same cocktails… we definitely thought ‘AMA’AMA should’ve had their own fancy drinks, while ‘Ōlelo should have some more creative concoctions. Sadly, this was not true and the same too sweet drinks were offered at each location. We were not super impressed by any of the drinks, and I think Nick tried about 80% of them! I believe the classic Mai Tai ended up being his favorite, while I pretty much stuck to beer. Luckily, they had a decent selection of Hawaiian brewed beers, which I enjoyed. My favorite was the Maui Bikini Blonde… so much so that we went to our liquor store to stock up on some when we came home!
Drinks aside, we loved the ‘Ōlelo Room because of its decor and because of the nightly live music. Each of our five nights featured a different band, with varying styles, which we really appreciated. The first night, the day we arrived and were on cloud nine, was a male and female duo who sang a good mix of Disney songs, top hits, and even a beautiful Hawaiian song that made me swoon. The second night was the night of the rain, so the band moved inside of the bar and were a more traditional Hawaiian duo, and they were terrific (wish they were outside though!). The rest of the nights were all wonderful as well, including our last evening where our favorite waitress even hula danced with the band (she was AMAZING). We just loved enjoying the music and the evening breeze to end each night… I wanna go back!
All in all, the dining options at Aulani seem pretty plentiful, but the range in quality falls short. ‘AMA’AMA is upscale and delicious, but comes at a price. Other dining options are the same caliber as standard Disney resort/park food, which isn’t terrible but overpriced and can be tedious, especially if you are staying for a week or more. You aren’t coming to Aulani thinking it is the best food in town, so it hits the mark for a bar set low. The shave ice and the ‘Ōlelo Room are dining highlights and the Ulu Cafe proves to be a strong home base for those on the dining plan.
Please let me know if you have any questions or if there are things I missed. Happy to be of service :) Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more about our honeymoon adventures (our vacation highlights outside of the resort is next!)... and wedding photos in the next month or so!
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