Makahiki is a restaurant that is located on the first floor of the Disney Aulani resort. The restaurant actually serves breakfast and dinner at 2 different times, so this review will be broken up into 2 separate reviews. For breakfast, Makahiki serves as a character dining experience. That means cast members dressed up as some of the Disney characters will come mingle with you while you’re eating. The people at my table simply loved this, whereas for me I’m a little indifferent. What is cool though is that the characters were able to express their emotions and thoughts pretty well without saying a word.
Ambiance & Service
The restaurant largely keeps that Hawaiian vibe going here and is very similar to the rest of the resort. The decor has elegant glass designs and jewel-toned murals.
When we arrived, we checked into our reservation and were seated within 5 minutes.
Keep in mind that this is a 3-course breakfast which is $49 per person. Beverages are included.
Food
They gave us a basket of mini breakfast bakeries which included a coconut danish, guava danish, blueberry muffin, and butter croissant. All of this tasted pretty good!
I ordered a drip coffee along with a passion pineapple juice. The coffee unfortunately wasn’t good, as it tasted deep roasted and almost like dirt. The juice on the other hand was addictively delicious. We probably ordered a pitcher full of this juice over time because it’s free refills!
The Hawaiian-Style Loco Moco came with fresh ground hamburger steak, two eggs sunny side up, portuguese sausage fried rice, and Maui onion gravy. This was actually pretty good, and it was one big step better than food court.
The Kalua Pig Omelet came with three cage-free eggs, kalua pig, baby spinach, local tomatoes, gruyere cheese, and herb-roasted potatoes. This was pretty large, and the two people who ordered this actually had to take some of it to go. The flavor though was pretty good surprisingly, despite me not being an omelet person. The braised pork was seasoned and salted, basically in the veins of BBQ pulled pork without the BBQ sauce. The fingerling potatoes were seasoned well and roasted nicely. In all, I thought this omelet was good, and I’d order it if I had more of an appetite.
The third course was basically sliced seasonal fruit and berries, which included pineapple, cantaloupe, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries. They also gave us a celebratory small cake which was good.
We asked for a single pancake ($7). The batter was very fluffy and delicious.
We also asked for side of Mickey and Minnie waffles ($7). They were pretty delicious.
Final Verdict
Makahiki, food wise, has an enjoyable breakfast experience. I could personally do without the characters coming around, but my table definitely enjoyed that experience. The food is actually pretty good! If you’re staying at Aulani, we definitely encourage you to get a morning reservation for at least one of your days of stay.
Yelp Jabs
I wanted the unlimited food and this wasn’t it. You pick an entree and a drink and you’re automatically given a basket of pastries and a small plate of fruit to start. Which sucked, because everyone is suppose to get a basket of pastries. Everyone got a plate of fruit. We paid for 4 people and we only got two baskets. That doesn’t seem fair given that the menu states that a pastry basket is the starter per person.
You can ask the waiter for more pastry baskets. When in doubt when dining out, just ask! Some places strive to be a little more responsible when handing out food.
I felt horrible after flying our family all the way to Oahu and telling my daughter for months that we were going to see Minnie Mouse. I was mostly bummed that I called in advanced and asked specific questions and didn’t get an accurate answer.
It might be possible that the Minnie Mouse actor was going to be at the character breakfast, but they were asked to be elsewhere. Schedules change, and unfortunately, I think this Yelper probably learned something about setting expectations that are out of their control.
Revisions
- Apr 29, 2023 - Initial revision.