Thursday, July 10, 2014

Kona Cafe Dinner - Disney's Polynesian Village Resort

Last night, we met some friends at Kona Cafe at Disney's Polynesian Resort for dinner.  We have been to Kona Cafe twice in the last year for breakfast, but we hadn't been there for dinner in at least 3 or 4 years.


The chef I spoke to said that the only appetizer that could be made gluten free is the Kona Salad, but there were plenty of gluten free entrees and desserts to choose from.  


My gluten free GNI rolls were heated perfectly, and I ate them both, because the macadamia nut honey butter was so delicious on them.   


Our friends both ordered the grilled kona coffee rubbed pork chop with roasted-spiced carrots and mashed potatoes, which is naturally gluten free.  This is their favorite dish at Kona, and the bite I tasted was very good.  


My friend Shelley had recommended the Pan-Asian Noodles, which can be prepared gluten free with rice noodles and gluten free teriyaki sauce.  We chose chicken to go with our noodles and wok-seared vegetables, but tofu and shrimp are also offered on the menu.   This was my favorite entree at Kona.  My daughters and husband loved it as well.  The vegetables, noodles, and chicken were cooked perfectly, and I loved the addition of the slightly sweet teriyaki sauce.  We talked about sharing two bowls of the Pan-Asian Noodles the next time we go back for dinner or lunch.  


For our second entree, I ordered the grilled New York strip steak, mainly because I was intrigued by the idea of the molasses-bacon butter, and it was served with roasted fingerling potatoes, one of my favorite vegetables.  My husband said he liked it, and my girls both seemed to enjoy it, but I wasn't impressed by the steak itself.  It was cooked to our desired temperature, but it was a little tough.  For an entree that costs $29.99, my husband and I expect a better piece of meat.  


For dessert, we had three options to choose from.  My family of four loves any kind of chocolate lava cake, and Kona's version certainly did not disappoint.  It was warm, it had a liquid center, it wasn't too sweet, and it was served with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream.  That's chocolate lava cake perfection for me!  


After our chocolate lava cake disappeared, we concentrated on our second dessert, the banana-chocolate creme brulee.  At first glance, this looked like a typical vanilla creme brulee that just happened to have a banana on top.  But underneath, there was a delicious layer of creamy chocolate.  If I wasn't so busy eating and enjoying it, I would have stopped to take a picture of the inside.  Maybe next time!  :-)


The third dessert option we could have chosen was the jasmine tea-infused cheesecake, which is a sugar free option made with Truvia.  Our server said he enjoys this dessert, but we went with the two options recommended by the chef.  


After dinner, we rode the monorail over to the Magic Kingdom and walked around for a while, enjoying the cool evening temperatures and picking up some Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom cards.

November 22, 2014 Update

Kona Cafe now has gluten free menus for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The new gluten free dinner menu for Kona Cafe lists the following options:

Appetizers - maui onion & white bean soup, Kona salad, cucumber roll, volcano roll, sashimi

Entrees - curry-crusted lamb chops, pan-seared duck breast, grilled Kona coffee-rubbed pork chop, oven-roasted taal chicken, sesame-seared scallops, sustainable fish, Pan-Asian noodles with chicken, tofu or shrimp

Desserts - Kilauea torte chocolate cake, banana & chocolate creme brulee, fresh fruit & chocolate fondue, jasmine tea-infused cheesecake


Kona also has an extensive gluten free kids' menu featuring grilled chicken breast, grilled shrimp skewers, grilled fish of the day, a cheeseburger or hot dog with a gluten free bun, and several gluten free appetizers and desserts.


Tonight, I enjoyed the Pan-Asian noodles with shrimp, but did not order dessert because of how much food I ate at Contempo Cafe for lunch.

July 28, 2015 Update

Yesterday, I wrote a blog post about Disney's new allergy-friendly menus, which you can view here.  I have loved all of the allergy-friendly menus I have seen at quick service restaurants at Disney World, but have been disappointed by the new menus at several table service restaurants.  The new allergy-friendly dinner menu at Kona only lists three gluten/wheat friendly entrees - sesame seared scallops, grilled New York strip steak, and Pan-Asian noodles.  The curry-crusted lamb chops, sustainable fish, pan-seared duck breast, oven-roasted taal chicken, and grilled Kona coffee-rubbed pork chop were all listed on the gluten free menu they adopted last year, but are not listed as gluten/wheat friendly on their new allergy-friendly menu.  That makes no sense to me, especially since we were told on a previous visit that the pork chop was naturally gluten free.  If you are interested in ordering these entrees, I would definitely ask to speak to a chef if you are dining at Kona.


































Gluten/wheat friendly appetizers on the new allergy-friendly menu include:  charcuterie and cheese, sashimi, volcano roll, Kona salad, vegetable rainbow roll, and Nigiri.

A big thank you to blog reader Lori for sharing Kona's new allergy-friendly dinner menu.

You can view Kona Cafe's menus, and make advance dining reservations on Disney's website here.

What are your favorite gluten free dishes at Kona Cafe?


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