‘AMA’AMA Restaurant Review - Disney Aulani Resort

During my stay at Disney Aulani Resort, I knew I had to try ‘AMA’AMA, one of the restaurants located on the resort property! It’s a bit of a splurge experience, so I wanted to share my thoughts on it in case you’re also thinking of dining here and want to see what it’s all about!

About ‘AMA’AMA

‘AMA’AMA is considered an upscale fine-dining experience at Disney Aulani Resort. They are only open for dinner and reservations are recommended, which you can get through the Disney Aulani website.

They offer a 4-course prix fixe meal, and the menu does change seasonally, so the exact items can change depending on when you visit.

When I visited, the cost was $135/adult (pre-tax), so as I mentioned, this is definitely more a splurge when it comes to price.

The restaurant is located right in front of the beach, so the views you get from any table in the restaurant is incredible, and if you get a reservation right before sunset, the view is especially beautiful!

The meal

As I mentioned, the meal offers a 4-course menu where you get to choose your starter, appetizer, entree, and dessert from a small list of options. There is also an amuse bouche at the beginning of the meal and a bread course between the appetizer and entree. I’m always surprised at how full I am after a meal like this since it doesn’t sound like much at first!

Amuse bouche

For our amuse bouche, we had a yellowtail sashimi. I can’t remember exactly what the sauce was, but it was slightly tart and citrusy, and this made for a very nice and refreshing start to the meal! The yellowtail had a very nice texture and flavor!

Starter - Smoked salmon pate

The smoked salmon was very savory and on the salty side. It was topped with some caviar that also added another savory depth to it. This dish came with a side of taro chips that I thought were very good and went really well with the pate! The taro chips were more neutral/plain so they balanced out the saltiness from the pate well, but it also added a nice subtle taro flavor as well an additional crunchy texture!

Bread course

I can’t remember exactly what the breads we were served were, but one of them was a honey oat type bread that was made fresh in-house, one was a sourdough, and one was a cracker.

The honey oat bread was my favorite one. It was very soft and fluffy in texture and had a really nice sweetness to it from the honey. The other two breads were also good, but they were less standout compared to the honey bread.

Appetizer - Ahi

The ahi course was like an ahi poke topped with some cucumbers and a little bit of uni. The cubes of ahi were very tasty and flavorful and soaked up the sauce really nicely. I enjoyed the bits of sweetness that came from the uni too! And the light garnishes added a refreshing element to it as well.

Entree - Scallops

The scallops were so delicious! This was probably one of my favorite dishes. This dish came with cauliflower prepared three ways and some pork cubes. The cauliflower was very mildly flavored so it was nice balance to all the other very savory flavors on the plate. The scallops were cooked perfectly - bouncy and well-seasoned without a hint of chewiness.

Dessert - Citrus bar

I love a good citrus dessert, especially after the very savory meal that we had, so this was a great way to close out the meal. The citrus bar had passion fruit and calamansi flavors over a crunchy gingersnap wafer bar that was nice and crispy. I liked the contrast between the soft ganache on top and the crunchy bar at the bottom. The chocolate curls and shaved coconut were also nice additions, that added some additional subtle flavors.

The dessert was very refreshing and cut through the richness from the rest of my meal, so I liked how it balanced it out very well.

Service

The service here was top-notch! From the host at the front to our servers throughout the night, everyone was so kind and great to interact with!

Final Thoughts

This meal was a really memorable experience. I thought all the food was really good - well made, well-flavored, and thoughtful!

We had a perfect view of the Ko Olina Lagoon and the horizon, and since we had a reservation before sunset, we got to watch the sun set from our table and it was really beautiful!

I would highly recommend making a reservation if possible, and getting one before the sunset to enjoy a similar experience! It really makes a difference! I also think you should definitely mark in your reservation that you’re there to celebrate an occasion - they really pay attention to that and help to make the experience even better knowing that you’re there to celebrate something!