Ama Ama - Contemporary Island Cooking - Restaurants On Oahu Kapolei, Hawaii

Located in Aulani A Disney Resort And Spa, near the back of the hotel and overlooking the lovely Ko Olina Lagoon 1 (Kahola Lagoon) is 'Ama 'Ama which servers breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

For breakfast and lunch it's casual but you'll need shirts and shoes (slippers, flip flops, etc) and women in swimwear need cover ups. Dinner is considered "upscale casual" so no baseball caps, board shorts, swimsuits, ripped clothing, and men cannot wear sleeveless shirts (I'm not a fan of dress codes but that last one is sound advice for all guys, all the time).

I've eaten at many Disney restaurants on the mainland and I've eaten at many upscale hotel restaurants and I'm rarely overly impressed. Only a few Disney restaurants have ever left me dreaming of them (I'm thinking of you Canada in Epcot) but 'Ama 'Ama is another one that does.

We've had breakfast here before and it's good, but it's breakfast and kind of hard to screw up and usually not a place where a restaurant can be very unique. So this time we tried lunch here and I was blown away at how good it was.

First off, we had the Bucatini Pasta Carbonara with Bacon and Pecorino Cheese ($19.00) which is a spaghetti like pasta (though hollow if you can imagine that) in a very rich, white cream sauce with bacon and cheese. I normally don't like white sauces on pasta but this one is amazingly good.

We also tried the Roast Chicken Salad on Ciabatta Bread with Sumida Watercress ($15.00) and it was also delicious. The ciabatta bread is nice and soft and the chicken salad has a pesto sauce that gives it the perfect flavor. This is the chicken salad that all others will now be judged by.

Our waitress, Lisa, who provided beyond excellent service all around, recommended the mango Mamaki black iced tea for drinks and we loved them and I'm already craving another sip. Not cheap at $3.50 each (free refills) but also not horribly overpriced all things considered.

I felt like this place was too good to be true so I wanted to try dessert and see if I could find fault somewhere so Lisa suggest the Chocolate Cake with Ka’u Coffee Cream and Caramel Chard. Wow! It has a chocolate mousse texture with a brownie type filling, a liquid chocolate that sort of oozes out, is surrounded by a chocolate wrapper, and topped with a crunchy toffee disc. It comes with a small side of ice cream, a few pieces of fruit, and coffee flavored mini gelatin cubes (which were odd but good). It was $10.00 and plenty for two to share, though I could have taken one down on my own with ease. Only one words comes to mind: Outstanding! Oh yea, and it had a few gold flakes on top of it. Not sure why, but it did, and it kind of felt wasteful yet I ate them anyhow.

When doing a review we factor in many things, one of which was value. I was thinking that because the prices here aren't cheap that it would force me to drop the overall score a bit but the fact is that the quality of food, service, and overall location and ambiance justify the (only slightly) higher prices. So it's an easy 5 star rating for me.

I'll be dreaming about 'Ama 'Ama until I can eat here again, which might very well be tomorrow.

On a repeat visit we were blown away again. The "plate lunch" (which changes daily, $22) was a chicken tinga taco salad and one of the best things I've ever eaten. Ever. The fresh catch ($24) was also excellent. Service from Mahea was also top notch.

This is quickly becoming my all time favorite restaurant on Oahu!

• Food Types: Burger / Dog / Sandwich	• Food Types: Hawaiian / Plate Lunch	• Food Types: Seafood	• Payment: $$ - Average - $15 to $30	• Meals: Breakfast
• Meals: Dinner	• Meals: Lunch	• Service Type: Table	• Offers: Kids Menu	• Offers: Ocean Views
• Offers: Open Air / Outdoor Seating

'Ama 'Ama - Contemporary Island Cooking