With the opening of the new Island Tower Disney Vacation Club building at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, a new restaurant is now open as well. The all-new Wailulu Bar & Grill is located on the ground floor of the Island Tower, and it is now open to guests! Boasting an almost unbeatable vibe steps away from Magic Kingdom’s Seven Seas Lagoon, the new Wailulu Bar & Grill makes a strong argument to be added to your dining shortlist for your next vacation. We stopped by recently to check out the venue and a number of menu items. We paid 100% for our meal and we were not hosted by Disney. Let’s jump right in to our Wailulu Bar & Grill Review!
Location & Theming
The new Wailulu Bar & Grill is located on the first floor of the Island Tower Disney Vacation Club building at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. The new Island Tower is positioned right along the Seven Seas Lagoon, and Wailulu Bar & Grill takes full advantage of the location. There are essentially three areas at Wailulu. There is indoor seating, which is fully under air conditioning and with good views. There is outdoor seating, which is open-air (but covered) and features excellent views. Finally, there is bar seating, which is also outdoors and covered with wonderful views.
While our meal review will be for the dinner meal period, I stopped by early the next morning to get some sunrise photos. Unfortunately, there has been some fog of late in the mornings, so it’s not as picturesque as I would’ve liked, but you’ll see the space go from dark to brighter as the morning sun starts to illuminate the eastern side of the Island Tower.
Critically, the sun sets on the opposite side of the tower as the Wailulu Bar & Grill, which means that you won’t have to deal with the setting sun blinding you as you look out across the Seven Seas Lagoon. With breakfast currently being a grab-and-go situation, there shouldn’t be a seated meal period where you have to battle the sun much, which is a nice touch for a space that tries really hard to put you outdoors, but also protect you a bit from the elements. I’m sure a sideways summer rain will make me eat those words eventually, but for now, it’s a wonderful spot to dine.
There are two entrances to the space, but only one for the bar area and one for the restaurant. The restaurant entrance is from the Island Tower lobby.
We’ll start our tour of the restaurant with the indoor dining space. This is a single, slightly curved room that has large windows on one side and a wall with various pieces of artwork on the other side. There is some plant life here, which attempts to make the room feel connected to the outside dining area, but you’re missing most of the sounds that the Seven Seas Lagoon provides.
We’ll move to the outdoor space next, which contains a row of tables and a row of booths. The booths are closest to the water, and they even have an infinity-style “pool” behind them. We absolutely loved the booth that we sat in and think that it will be a popular request. I actually found myself turning towards the Seven Seas Lagoon, which is technically looking behind you or to the side of your forward-facing direction, depending on where you’re seated in the half-circle booth. Like the indoor space, the outdoor space curves slightly. The curvature of the dining space makes everything feel a bit more open, which is a really nice effect that is felt when you’re there.
To enter the bar area, you’ll want to head outdoors and find the entrance near the Moana splash pad.
Check out this view of Cinderella Castle in the distance and the bar seating in the foreground!
Here are some more photos of the views, first as a somewhat natural vantage point and then with a zoom lens.
Finally, here’s a look at Wailulu Bar & Grill from the walking path along the back of the Island Tower hotel.
Before we jump into the food portion of the review, I want to really underline just how wonderful the vibes of the Wailulu Bar & Grill outdoor dining area really is. During our 90-minute dinner, I heard the Walt Disney World Railroad train whistle countless times and the Ferryboat and watercraft horns throughout the night. You could feel the kinetic energy of the Seven Seas Lagoon unlike any other dining location.
The closest comparison is the wonderful Geyser Point Bar & Grill at Wilderness Lodge, and even then, it’s not even close. Even without talking about the food, the setting alone is worth trying to work Wailulu Bar & Grill into your vacation.
Wailulu Bar & Grill Dining Review
During our dinner, we tried a couple of appetizers, a few entrees, and a dessert. Here’s a look at the menu, which features some island flavors that should be accessible to just about everyone visiting. If you’re reading this article right when I published it, the menu should be accurate. If you’re reading this a bit later, the Walt Disney World website will likely be the most up-to-date when it comes to menu offerings and (more importantly) pricing.
Ahi Tuna Crisps | $17.00
Marinated Ahi Tuna, Crispy Fried Wontons, Avocado Crema, Sriracha-Aïoli, Soy Glaze
We’ll begin right at the top of the Starters menu with the Ahi Tuna Crisps. As you can see below, we received a great portion of tuna and crisps. This is truly a shareable appetizer that has some wonderful flavors. There is a soy glaze that sort of soaks into the chips to enhance the flavor of each bite without ever compromising the airy crispiness or somewhat rigid structure that make them unique.
The soy glaze is a perfect complement to the avocado crema, which is found in a dollop or two per chip. There appeared to be an even smaller amount of sriracha-aioli. The tuna itself was nice and fresh, but we didn’t feel like the advertised “marinated” element was present in the flavor profile of the tuna. Very thinly sliced jalapeno peppers are scattered throughout the dish, and offer a light kick.
Sticky Pork Ribs | $15.00
Salt-cured Green Cabbage, Furikake, Jicama Slaw, Pineapple Chips
Next up are the sticky pork ribs. You’ll find five pork ribs, with a noticeably visible char to them, which is intentional and rather interesting. The charred exterior contributes to both the texture of the ribs and flavor. The texture is crunchy on the outside, but tender on the inside. The meat fell right off the bone, which we absolutely love. Inside, the ribs were a bit more fatty than I think I’d like, but that also meant that they had a good amount of flavor.
It’s not advertised as such, but the glaze is a teriyaki-style sauce, but there is none of the sweetness that you might be expecting. These ribs are as savory as savory can be. There is a soy glaze that pairs nicely with the ribs and, as you can see below, there is plenty on the plate for you to use as a dip if need be.
Short Rib Loco Moco | $33.00
Shiitake Mushroom Gravy, Crispy Rice Cake, Fried Egg
At $33, the Short Rib Loco Moco is the most expensive food item on the menu. While a Loco Moco is a contemporary traditional Hawaiian dish, the Short Rib Loco Moco attempts to elevate the offering which is traditionally served with a hamburger patty for the meat. In fact, you can still get a “traditional” Loco Moco over at Kona Cafe for breakfast, but the Wailulu Short Rib Loco Moco is the only all-day Loco Moco available at Walt Disney World.
At just about twice the cost of the Kona Cafe Loco Moco, the question becomes, is the Short Rib Loco Moco worth the high price tag?
As you can see, there is a large slab of short rib on top of a pedestal of rice. We’ll get to the rice in a minute, but let’s talk about the short rib first. The short rib was cooked well, but almost a bit dry if you ate it alone. That said, the elements of the dish are supposed to work in concert, and they do a pretty good job of that. If there’s one prevailing theme from our first visit to Wailulu, it’s that the portions were good to great for most items, and the short rib is no exception.
Let’s take a closer look at what Disney means when they say “crispy rice cake”. Sushi-style rice is densely packed and cut into cubes before being pan-fried to crate a very crunchy exterior while retaining some softness for the rice on the interior of the cube.
A fried egg sits on top and is ready to drip onto the dish once cut. The shiitake mushroom gravy was a nice addition and it does most of the heavy lifting for the flavor of the dish. As you can see, there are slices of mushroom in the dish as well.
Overall, while the Short Rib Loco Moco was good, it just wasn’t great. At $33, it probably needed to be great to earn a recommendation. We wouldn’t order it again.
Wayfinder Burger | $23
Two Pressed Patties, American Cheese, Onion Jam, Volcano Sauce, Sweet Bun served with Mac Salad or Sweet Potato Fries
Next up is the Wayfinder Burger, which appears to be a rather basic burger at first glance, but has so many wonderful elements to it that it might be my new favorite burger at Walt Disney World. Fo a little bit of context, my go-to favorite burger has been the Stack Burger over at Steakhouse 71. Here’s a look at that burger before we dive into the Wayfinder Burger.
Visually, the Stack Burger is leaps and bounds ahead of the Wayfinder Burger, which is rather unassuming. What the Wayfinder Burger lacks in presentation, it makes up for in flavor. Two pressed patties are fresh-made. The first clue that you are dealing with a unique burger either comes from a closer examination of the bun, or first touch. The bun is incredibly soft, and as you bring it up for a first bite, you can smell the familiar sweetness of a Hawaiian Sweet Roll.
Taking off the top bun, we can see some of the ingredients at play. Again, rather basic, but it’s the “volcano sauce” that gets the job done. The sauce adds a spicy kick to the burger that stays with you until you’re finished. We love the kick of spice and I don’t think it’s overdone, but if you don’t like spicy foods, you’ll have to steer clear of this burger.
That said, the combination of a sweet bun with a spicy sauce works wonderfully, and this burger is on a very short list of top burgers that I’ve tried at Walt Disney World. Kudos.
As it turns out, the burger is only half of the story. We opted for the Mac Salad over the Sweet Potato Fries as our side, and that turned out to be a great decision. The mac salad is made with purple sweet potatoes, and it has a texture that is unlike most mac salads. I would say that the texture is closer to a mashed potato than anything that would be considered creamy. It’s really good, and was actually one of the highlights of the meal when discussing our thoughts the next day.
Poke Bowl with Grilled Teriyaki Chicken | $22.00
Sushi-style Rice, Pickled Cucumbers, Vegetables, Spicy Poke Sauce, Macadamia Nuts with Grilled Teriyaki Chicken
The final entree that we tried was the Poke Bowl. Note that the Poke Bowl can either come with tuna, chicken, or tofu. We opted for the Grilled Teriyaki Chicken. The poke bowl continues the theme of great portions. This reminded us of a Satuli Canteen-style bowl, with a wonderful combination of accompaniments.
The chicken itself was marinated nicely and cooked perfectly – not too dry, which is always a worry with chicken. The standout of the dish was the spicy poke sauce. It added a nice kick to just about every bite. We’re also fans of using sticky sushi rice here.
Overall, this was a nice, fresh dish that worked very nicely. We’d order it again.
DOLE Whip Sundae | $8.00
Hibiscus Meringue, Macerated Pineapple and Berries
We don’t often do dessert due to the nature of eating way too many appetizers and entrees for a traveling party of two people, but we couldn’t say no to a Dole Whip when visiting Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort.
A “standard” Dole Whip is elevated by an absolutely wonderful hibiscus meringue. The flavors of the hibiscus meringue were wonderful and there were plenty to be found, including the delicate, Mickey-shaped topper.
The sun had set by the time dessert arrived, so the photo session was kept to a minimum, which meant that I didn’t get ideal shots of the berries and macerated pineapple, but they were present (and delicious), as (slightly) evidenced below.
Is Wailulu Bar & Grill Worth It?
We always try to end our reviews by trying to determine if it’s worth spending your valuable vacation time to experience whatever it is that we reviewed. In the case of Wailulu Bar & Grill, the answer is an easy “yes”. There are few settings that offer more stunning visuals, only California Grill and perhaps Toledo come to mind right away. When you combine that with some good food, you have a restaurant that should be an instant add to any short-list for dining outside of the theme parks.
We didn’t even stick around for Magic Kingdom fireworks, but Wailulu Bar & Grill does offer views of the nightly fireworks shows from the restaurant (although that dining period might get competitive in the future). We also didn’t try any of the drinks, but that’s more subjective than just about anything else. From what we’ve been told, the specialty drinks can be hit or miss, but we might try a couple on a return visit.
Overall, I anticipate Wailulu to be one of our top dining spots in the Magic Kingdom area when friends and family visit. It’ll be an instant recommendation and we can certainly say that it’s worth a visit for your next vacation too.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!
