In my last post I went over Aulani’s Accommodations, mainly the Disney Vacation Club villas, so this time around I’ll be covering Aulani Dining. Why? Well, despite the perception that there’s few options, Aulani does have a TON of different dining options ranging from quick-service to upscale fare.
‘Ama’Ama
To me the best and only sit-down restaurant at Aulani is the resort’s signature ‘Ama’Ama. Located ocean front just steps way from the resort’s Ewa wing, ‘Ama’Ama is opened for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The wife and I have dined at ‘Ama’Ama for all three services, though a lot of my photos from lunch and dinner are already dated because they menus seem to change every year. Breakfast, on the other hand, has remained fairly similar, and even if there’s a dish that you liked before that’s no longer offered, you can always ask to see if they can still make it. That being said, like the rest of the resort, service levels at ‘Ama’Ama can vary wildly, going from fantastic to “how did you get a job here?” It’s also important to note that while the restaurant is completely covered, it is also open air. There is no a/c, so I’d suggest you not wear a long sleeve shirt to dinner, especially during the summer. But, you can expect some pretty nice views of the lagoons and great views of sunset from the restaurant.
The food at ‘Ama’Ama, in my experience anyway, is pretty hit or miss. In the beginning the restaurants Chef de Cuisine formerly held the same position at Chef Mavro, so dinner service used to have a lot of influence from that fantastic restaurant. But now that he’s been promoted up the Disney corporate latter, that influence is now gone. There are still great dishes there, but it’s become more mundane these days.
Salt Crusted Opakapaka at dinner (no longer available)
Fish Tacos at Lunch
Fantastic Harris Ranch Angus Burger, roasted pork belly, pickled asian pear, kale, sweet potato fries – lunch.
Lemon Grass Creme Catalan, Coconut Glace, Black Sesame Nougatine, Fresh Coconut Shaving – lunch.
Tropical “Shave Ice” Parfait, White Chocolate Crunch, Haupia Cream Liliko’i Pearls, Vanilla Ice Cream and Guava Granita – lunch
Chocolate milk dipped haupia french toast stuffed with chocolate, bananas, and peanut butter – breakfast
Corned beef has, poached island egg, and fried rice. This is no longer on the menu, but is one of those items you can still request – breakfast.
Cereal-crusted French Toast with fresh Berries and Raspberry Coulis – breakfast
Belgian Waffle with Apple Banana Compote and Nutella Cream. You can add ice cream too if you like – breakfast.
Seafood & Herbs Three-Egg Omelet served with Aulani Potatoes – breakfast
Makahiki – Bounty of the Island
Like most resorts, Aulani Dining includes a buffet option, Makahiki. Located directly below the lobby, Makahiki is open for both breakfast and dinner. On certain days, the restaurant also offers Character Dining, which is very popular with both locals and guests. In fact, buffets of any kind are very popular with locals, so if you plan on dining at Makahiki, I highly recommend making reservations in advanced… The earlier the better! And to be honest, that’s what Makahiki is best for, the theatrics. Service is generally pretty good, but the place is a circus. And as far as food… Well, if I didn’t have to eat here, I wouldn’t. Quality just isn’t there, especially for the price, and the last few times I’ve been, seafood items didn’t so fresh either. But they do have Mickey waffles at breakfast!!
Ulu Cafe
Perhaps our favorite Aulani dining option is one of the newest, Ulu Cafe. Located ocean front on the bottom floor of the Waianae Tower, Ulu Cafe is a cafeteria style quick service restaurant offering both hot & cold grab n go items, as well as a selection of made-to-order hot items. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, it’s the place we frequent the most for best bang for you buck and because we simply like the food there. Oh, and it’s the place you’ll find the Mickey & Minnie brownies, the Mickey cookie, and the Mickey spam musubi! Service here is kind of so-so, and man can the quality of the flatbread pizzas be inconsistent! Oh, and you’ll find a reusable mug filling station here.
There’s a few tables available right outside for dining, or you can take your food back to your pool chair or room.
Cold selections
Cold selections
BBQ kalua pork flatbread pizza – a personal favorite of mine.
Same pizza as above, different day
Short rib bahn mi
brownies – they’re actually pretty good… and PRETTY EXPENSIVE
Smoked Salmon breakfast flatbread pizza
Tasty bacon, egg, avocado, cheese breakfast burrito with salsa
Mickey Spam musubi, brownie, and poolside beverage
Little Opihi
Another newer Aulani dining option is their beachside kiosk called Little Opihi. The place basically serves cold grab n go stuff, and is a great option if, well, you’re on the beach!
Mickey PB&J with apple slices
Italian sub
Haupia Float
Lava Shack
Located in the middle of the Waikolohe Valley (in the volcano next to the restrooms) Lava Shack isn’t exactly an Aulani dining option. It’s kind of a gift shop/grab n go dining option with a reusable mug soda fountain.
Papalua Shave Ice + Mama’s Snack Shop
Technically these two options are separate, but I’m going to mash them together since they’re right next to each other. In fact, they’re also near the Lava Shack. As the name suggests Papalua Shave Ice serves up Hawaiian style shave ice. There’s no organic, all natural syrups here, but as far as the artificial stuff goes, this is one of my favorites. Specifically, I’ll usually get a two flavor lemon lime + mango, though you can go up to three flavors. You can even opt for ice cream and/or snowcap (sweetened condensed milk). This isn’t going to be the finest in terms of quality of ice either, as I find they pack the ice on too tightly making it kind of hard, but it’s still something I usually get when on property. Mama’s Snack Shop, on the other hand, serves up hot dogs with a number of variations, and some fried items like french fries and some of the best coconut shrimp (with sweet chili sauce) around! Pricy? You bet! Worth it? To me it is because I like it.
Poolside Service, Off the Hook, and Wailana Pool Bar
Here’s another set of places I’m lumping together because they’re all similar. If you’re looking to just lounge around the pool, this Aulani dining option has you covered. The poolside, Off the Hook, and Wailana menus are basically all the same. Same drinks, same food, same children’s menu even, same everything. In-fact, if the pool attendants are MIA or you’re just impatient, you can just go to Off the Hook or Wailana to order your food & drink. And on these menus you’ll find a lot of familiar items like salads, wraps, burgers, sandwiches, etc. Most are actually pretty good, though they can tend to be pricy. But if you want to save a little money, just go and get the food yourself rather than ordering with the servers, as you’ll see below.
Beverages. Adults in the plain cup, virgin in the logo cup. Mango mojito + virgin lava flow from Wailana at the adult only pool.
Coconut shrimp with fries and sweet chili sauce. Pro tip: head over to Mama’s Snack Shop to order this and save yourself $3.
Olelo Room
The Olelo Room is Aulani’s main bar adjacent to the Makahiki Restaurant located below the resort’s lobby. It’s the property’s only true late night spot, with live entertainment, drinks and small bites. The place even has a happy hour, though you shouldn’t expect spectacular deals. It is a resort after all! Thursday night, however, is my favorite night to be at Olelo Room, as our wedding singers, Ben Vegas & Maila Gipson are the featured entertainers. Oh, and Olelo means language in Hawaiian, and true to it’s name, the Olelo Room gives you the opportunity to learn a bit of Hawaiian. Whether you’ll remember any of it or not is up to you and your bartender… <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/72x72/1f609.png" alt="