Avu-Avu

This restaurant no longer exists. The space is now part of the One80 sports bar in the same hotel. The Polynesian décor is still there and the wait staff continues to wear the flower shirts.

Avu-​Avu is an alright establishment, and I am being generous. We went here because we had gift certificates and it was conveniently located at the same hotel we were staying at.
They are trying to go for an island theme and the décor they chose works in their favor. However, it was too dark in the restaurant that you can barely see what you are eating. Better lighting would help them more or maybe more candles.
It was supposed to be eat-​all-​you-​can but it took quite a while before the waiter replenished our plates. The food was just so-​so, with the pot stickers being the tastiest. I am not much of a snob but if the most memorable thing a supposedly more upscale restaurant has to offer is a pot sticker (only made slightly better by the dipping sauce it came with), I think someone needs to rethink their offerings.
It was nice to be able to go back to my room right after the meal, though.

We did not have high expectations of a in-​hotel restaurant, but had one of the best meals we had whilst at Disney World.
The creativity and palette of flavors were unique and fresh. The pea hummus was my favorite. Excellent service.

This was by far the worst dining experience that I’ve ever had. When we got there for dinner on a Friday night at 7:45 there were about 3 tables including ours. We were sat at our table and the dining staff did everything they could to ignore us constantly peeking over from the grill area as though we’d disappear if they left us their long enough. The manager, over 6 servers, and cooks stood at the grill area chatting looking at us and doing nothing. The manager and the servers were absolutely incompetent. I’ve never seen a restaurant where you feel like you are an inconvenience to the serving staff.
We waited over 15 minutes just to be acknowledged then were told by the woman who turned out to be our server that our server would be with us shortly. She finally came back, took our drink & food order and another 15 minutes later brought us 2 milks and 2 waters (which were delivered in 3 separate waves and after a reminder). The food took way too long. The skewers that we ordered sat under the food lamp as servers found it more enticing to chat with each other than deliver the food that was there. The skewers were luke warm by the time they finally got to the table over ten minutes after they were done and the broccoli was cold.
The chicken arrived at the table raw and could not be eaten without dire ramifications. The server remained combative throughout the two times she arrived at our table (which included the drink order). She never came back after the food was delivered and I actually had to go up to the host stand to get the manager to provide us with a bill so that we could leave after an hour and a half. Unfortunately, this was a horrible end to our evening. We would have had more attentive service at McDonalds.
Honestly, this restaurant doesn’t even deserve a 1 star rating. If I was able to give no stars, I would. The food was very over priced and I’d expect that if I was going to pay over $ 36 for an entrée that I would have attentive service and cooked hot food. I could have done better if I would have done it myself. Highly suggest any other restaurant besides this one. This is ground zero!

Me and my girlfriend were staying at the Buena Vista Palace. We decided to go out to get a nice meal so I made a reservation at Avu Avu. The manager was amazing as soon as we walked up I said my name and he personally walked us to our private table (that I didn’t even request). He asked us where we’re from and he sat down and talked to us about Philadelphia and then explained a little bit about where he was from in Jamaica. He made us feel very welcomed and he obviously cares a lot about his customers. The food was out of this world and came out very quickly we had the edamame hummus. Which was fantastic! My girlfriend got the pork chop which was cooked to perfection and very large proportion. I got the mixed grilled skewers (shrimp and steak). They were amazing and for the price you get 16 oz of meat and 4 oz of vegetables. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone!

Warning: one of the worst meals me and my b/​f have ever had.
We arrived at the hotel at around 10 pm and decided to order in room dining. We ordered from Avu Avu, the hotel’s upscale Polynesian restaurant. We placed an order at 1045 pm: beef tacos, the BLT, and the Avu Avu salad. After waiting for an hour, the food finally made its way to our room.
To begin, all of the food was cold. The tacos, horrific. Chewy flavorless meat complimented with a soggy cabbage salad mix. The BLT reminded me of the BLTs I made myself in college, undercooked bacon lumped on a stale
Kaiser roll. The bread was soggy by the time it arrived. The Avu Avu salad could have, and would have been the lone positive albeit the 3 pieces of lettluce.
Add a 20% service charge and a delivery fee and this meal cost us $ 70.00. We complained the next morning and were given a $ 25.00 credit. The very, very least they could have done.
In conclusion, stay away.

Warning signs:
1. Saturday night in Orlando near Downtown Disney on Memorial Day weekend, and the restaurant is empty
2. No Host/​Hostess to greet us, and we stood there for at least 15 minutes while being passed multiple times by servers with blank stares
3. When we finally get seated, we pass the kitchen with tonight’s dinner sitting under a heat lamp
4. Sloth like service
Yes, I should have heeded all aforementioned warning signs, but we thought it would be cool to eat in a polynesian all you can eat family style restaurant. You can tell this place is going down hill fast, and the management/​hotel have other fish to fry. I rarely give a 1 star review, and I hate to do it, but it deserves one.

From the time we walked in we knew we were in for a special treat. The decorations, the lighting, the waterfall were just perfect. Our server was prompt in greeting us and asking for our drink order. We decided to have their «Big Island Feast» and boy, was it a feast. Our first course was perfectly cooked riblets and pot stickers. It arrived with 3 different sauces, Mango, ginger and spicy soy which we could not figure out what our favorite sauce was. Second course was a salad with fresh mixed greens and chinese crackers for croutons with a ginger dressing. Up next was our Udon noodles with broccoli and then came the meat. Sirloin, chicken, shrimp and pork all with their distinct taste cooked over a fire and served off of skewers. All you can eat! We heard from friends about the desert so we saved room. OMG, it was to die for. Pineapple caramel cake with coconut milk. Can’t say enough about the desert. Needless to say we will be back. We found a great deal on
for a discount. Also, free valet parking.

I had a completely different experience than most of the reviewers. We ordered off of the menu instead of ordering the pre-​fixed menu because we didn’t want that much food. Three of us ordered the burger and one the prime rib. It was all delicious!!! The chocolate cake was recommended by one of our waiters and it did not disappoint.
The best part of the evening was the wait staff. They were so much fun and took excellent care of us. We enjoyed every minute and all agreed that we would go back again.

While the morale of the wait staff could use a boost (waiters and waitresses weren’t overly friendly), they still were constantly at your table to see if you needed anything else so overall, the service was pretty good. The hostess was really nice and explained how everything worked as she brought us to our table. You can choose from an a la carte menu or all-​you-​can-​eat (family-​style) which comes with appetizers, an entrée, and dessert (as much as you want of any of them). The price for the all-​you-​can eat was $ 29.95 for adults and I think $ 12.95 for kids which to me, was a good price, because the food was really good. The best part was the dessert. Probably the best dessert I’ve EVER had (and everyone at my table agreed). Overall, this was a great restaurant and I would go again. TIP: Buy a
gift certificate to save money! :)

My husband attended Avu Avu for a media event. He came back bragging about the food and I couldn’t wait to try it out. We ended up going for Mother’s Day weekend and my Mom, husband, sister and I were excited to chow down. For one, I recommend valet parking as you can get it validated at the restaurant. I also recommend making reservations. Even though the place wasn’t packed, I think it always makes sense to make reservations on a Saturday night.
When we walked up to the hostess stand the hostess… wasn’t there. We waited a good 7 minutes before the host came up and offered to help us. After we were seated, we had to wait another 10 minutes before a waiter or waitress walked by to help us. I’m big on customer service and I was getting upsetter by the second. We finally got ahold of someone (my husband literally had to flag him down) and after that, the service got so much better. We got the unlimited meal deal and everything was spectacular. Our water glasses still filled and the food kept a comin’. The waiter was apologetic about our wait time and completely redeemed himself. So yes, the food was great and plentiful but the customer service could definitely use some help. I also found the restaurant to be far too dark.

Ordered a Gluten Free meal. The waiter scrambled back to the table to warn us that he had forgotten to tell the chef to make the French Onion Soup without bread. Too late. Place is so dark you need a flashlight to see what you are eating. Spent the next two nights ill — what a nightmare. Not recommended.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Avu-​Avu as I haven’t many opportunities to experience Hawaiian cuisine. From the hotel brochure ads it looked very promising. Photos of skewered meet served in an all you care to eat fashion conjured memories of my recent Brazilian Steakhouse experiences. Well it wasn’t near that awesome. In fact, pretty much the whole experience was lack luster except for the ambiance and the drink I was served.
So let me start with the good. The restaurant itself is very nice with dim lighting and a contemporary look with understated Hawaiian décor. I had a «Hawaiian Iced Tea» which consists of coconut rum and some fruit juice garnished with a few pieces of fruit and it tastes more like a piña colada than an iced tea. The drink was very good.
There are two menus. The all you can eat which is fixed and a regular menu for regular entrees. The all you can eat deal is $ 30 for adults and $ 15 for kids (the kids eat free package offered by the hotel doesn’t apply to the AYCE menu) and includes appetizers, entrees, sides, and dessert. The appetizers edamame dip and tropical chips. Wish I could tell you how these tasted but our server forgot to serve these and we forgot to ask. Fortunately he did remember to serve us the Monsoon Platter starter which consisted of chicken potstickers and Guava Chai Rib Bites. The potstickers were ok but a little on the bland side. The Guava Chai Rib Bits are deboned pork ribs served in a pretty good spicy sauce. The rib meat was a bit on the fatty side but tolerable. The salads were ok. Nothing spectacular.
The main event was 4 skewered meets served with Udon noodles. The meats looked very promising on their hot skewers. They served sirloin, chicken, shrimp, and barbequed pork. My first serving of sirloin was tough. Somewhere between well done and beef jerky. On my second attempt the steak was more tender and just ok. My first serving of chicken was quite good. My second serving was undercooked so I was done with chicken after that. I had a single serving of shrimp was fine and a single serving of barbequed pork. The sauce was great but it was far too fatty for my enjoyment. Udon noodles were respectable. I was expecting better tasting food for $ 30 per plate to be quite honest. The food looked appetizing but failed to deliver on taste.
I wish I could share with you how the caramelized pineapple coconut milk cake tasted but again our waiter forgot to offer us any and we forgot to ask. Aside from being forgetful about elements of the service that was included in elements of the AYCE menu the service was ordinary and uninspired. Avu-​Avu, I have concluded, is Hawaiian for «I forgot the starters and the desserts».

Polynesian food in the Buena Vista Palace located across from Downton Disney. Avu-​Avu does not disappoint. It is a pre-​fixed menu. They serve the food to you and it is literally all you can eat. Great portions and they just keep on bringing out the food. Appetizer, salad, meats, and desserts. The staff is an awesome team. Truly every single staff person was genuinely friendly. Great place. Very nice for a romantic dinner. But also very family friendly. Coloring books and crayons made me love this place even more.