Gateway Buffet

Food sucks, too expensive for what they serve. Messy, crowded. On a good note, staff us very friendly.

Nothing says authentic Polynesian food like spaghetti and mashed potatoes.
Heh. If you want authentic, you gotta pony up. And even then, you probably won’t find it at the Polynesian Cultural Center, which is touristy by definition.
During the couple hours between the theme park tour and the nighttime show, if you want to fill your belly on the cheap, then you pay the base fare (when booking your ticket) and the Gateway Buffet is what you get.
Yep, pretty basic fare here, including the aforementioned spaghetti and mashed potatoes, which were pretty much as good as you’d expect from a buffet. I enjoyed the breaded fish, but unfortunately the roast beef was on the dry side.
The interior design of the building is beautiful, with a high-​vaulted ceiling, wooden columns, different murals all along the walls, wooden tables and chairs, and faux plants. Pretty cool setting, which can be said about everything at the PCC!

Only for island buffet, one star at most. I could hardly find anything delicious… Awful…

Yes, I stopped at the Polynesian Cultural Center. I know that it’s a tourist mecca but I had heard some good things about the Gateway Restaurant and was hungry enough to be liking the idea of a buffet.
Glad I did, too, because the food was great. It was the same kinds of dishes you would pay a fortune to eat at a fancy (and over-​priced) Honolulu hotel Luau. Plus this place is roomy!
After a big 2011 remodel, Gateway restaurant, is now one of the largest enclosed restaurants and special events venues on Oahu. Which means parties! And wedding receptions!
The spacious 24,400 square foot grand dining hall with seating for more than 1,000 is big! There usually are two Gateway buffet spreads. The Island Buffet features authentic Polynesian-​style dishes from throughout the Pacific such as Fijian chicken curry (spicy!) and koko alaisa (chocolate rice pudding) along with a variety of kamaaina Hawaiian favorites. Or, for the less adventurous among us, there is always the Prime Rib Buffet, along with additional dishes including crab legs, shrimp cocktail, kalbi style short ribs and yes, prime rib.
What I liked most about Gateway was the really cool interior. The restaurant’s structural design is modeled on a Samoan fale with wide wooden pillars and an angular sweeping roof to keep the tropical rain away. The huge doors have intricately carved ulu and kalo leaves and are quite impressive. There are authentic shell torches and one of the largest murals in the world, extending nearly 8,000 square feet! The mural is very picturesque and offers guests a visual journey through the many cultures of Polynesia. So, in addition to the tasty food here, it is quite the educational experience to dine at the Gateway. The mural invokes all of Polynesia, from Hawaii to illustrations of the cultures of Samoa, Aotearoa, Fiji, Tonga, Tahiti and Marquesas.
I liked the Gateway Restaurant but need to deduct 1 Unilocal Star because it is imbedded in such a big touristy place whose parking lots are loaded with enormous tour buses full of pasty tourists from the mainland!

This buffet was ok. The food was pretty fresh over all, but I felt it could have had more variety. I was especially disappointed that, being in the Polynesian Cultural Center, there wasn’t more Polynesian food. Sadly, this seemed to cater mostly to what they think the tastes of white tourists would be. Nothing was really bad, I just would have liked to have experienced some Polynesian food with all the other parts of those cultures we got to experience during our visit here. Even the pork was just some roast with some seasonings that I could have done at home. How about some Kalua pig?
I read in other reviews that if you opt for Prime Dining you also get prime rib. While I love me some prime rib, that really isn’t what comes to mind when someone says Polynesia.
Don’t get me wrong. The food was well prepared and I ate a lot, as did my three sons. I was just sad that the Polynesian education did not continue into the food experience. But, you will want to eat while you are here so this is a good way to fill up. Just not an adventurous way.

This review is for the Gateway Buffet: Island Buffet and not the Prime Dining buffet.
The Gateway Buffet building is the first building you see upon entering the Polynesian Cultural Center. The building is divided into two sections, Island Buffet and Prime Dining.
My family and I went to the island buffet and took advantage of the $ 15 Kamaaina special. The dining area is large and there are beautiful artwork and architecture throughout.
There were not much entrees to choose from. The island buffet consisted of: Beef Chow Mein, Spaghetti, Pork Loin with honey mustard, Fish with coconut sauce, and Baked Chicken. There were also dinner rolls, salad bar, and desserts.
I was disappointed that some of the rice on my plate was hard and the dinner rolls were extremely hard on the outside but soft on the inside. I did like the baked chicken. It was soft and succulent and baked to perfection. I viewed the website hoping to know what to expect at the Island Buffet, and I was expecting «desserts galore» as advertised on their website. The only desserts I saw were 2 kinds of Haupia (one with garish and one without), and chocolate cake. Where was the desserts galore?! The Haupia tasted like out of those Haupia packages at Longs.
Overall the Island Buffet was just ok.

The buffet inside the Polynesian Cultural Center is HUGE and quite diverse. It is a huge, giant dining room.
On one side there is «traditional» with a prime rib cutting station, shrimp, salad, sushi, desserts, and a variety of Hawaii styled foods.
The other side we were told was more traditional cultural foods. Got stuffed on the Prime Dining side and never made it over there.
The service staff was very hospitable and prompt at cleaning tables, not necessarily refills thought. The drink selection was quite limited, and no alcohol at all.
Everything was fresh and tasty. It was a great opportunity to try a wide variety of foods, and since it was included in the tour ticket price, it’s hard to put a value/​price on it.

Gateway Buffet is located inside Polynesian Cultural Center, It’s literally the very first building you’ll see when you enter the building, first thing you’ll notice is, the huge grand wodden doors, now don’t get lost because the gateway buffet is on the left side, the prime dinning is on the right side, their decour looks exactly the same that’s why and they share the same building, the prime dinning on the right is just more fancy and more expensive, but to be honsest I’ve tried both and gateway buffet has more variety of food the only difference is the prime dinning has prime ribs and more privacy.
Ambiace: When I first stepped food to the newley renovated gateway my jaw dropped, I cannot believe how fancy it has become, it’s really so nice, from the paiting on the wall to the big wooden walls to the big light shells that interchange colors. When I was seated I notice that they used real tapa cloth for the tables, I heard it’s all hand made and shipped from samoa, i tell you everthing about the place screams fancy, this place is perfect for all ages, it’s very organize, the food line is emaculately clean at all times
Service: now the service is 5 flashing stars, they treated me not like princess Dianna but like Queen Elisabeth, my server was sp attentive of all my needs, I get a new plate silver wear and my table is always clean. The servers from the buffet lines are all very intertaining they even talk to you and joke with you while serving, I really felt the ALOHA spirit that they are promoting on this area. All the workers looked like they absolutley love working there.
The Manager Misty of the buffet really did an exellent Job with the organization, the cleanliness, and training her employees, I was just impressed the entire time. I really felt like my money was so worth it going to this place, my guest had a blast too and we both left the place feeling good.
Price: $ 45 for regular but I think Kamaina (for locals) get discount or you can also get their packages from their website
Overall would totally recommend this place in fact this place is a MUST GO TO when you’re in Oahu.