This review reflects our experience in May of 2015.
One of the most popular breakfast items in all of Disney World is the Tonga Toast from Kona Cafe. Kona Cafe is located just off the monorail in Disney’s Polynesian Resort. Being so close to the Magic Kingdom, this is a great place to start your day with a full meal.
So what is Tonga Toast? Tonga Toast is a large slice of sourdough bread stuffed with bananas then deep fried and rolled in cinnamon sugar. Typically the dish comes with a strawberry compote on it but it contains dairy. Additionally, the traditional Tonga Toast is not vegan because it is dipped in an egg wash before frying.
On our last trip here we informed our server of our vegan diet and brought out Chef Johnny. We told Chef Johnny that we previously were able to get Tonga Toast made vegan by using soy milk instead of the usual egg wash. He was 100% okay with making it for us and told us he would give us fresh strawberries to make up for the lack of compote. He also alerted us that the toast is cooked in a shared fryer.
One of the fun things about Kona Cafe is that you can get french press Joeffry’s Kona Blend coffee. We ordered our french press coffee and asked for a side of soy milk since no one seems to carry non-dairy creamer (yet!). We highly recommend the french press if you enjoy coffee, it’s the perfect amount of coffee for 2-3 people.
When our Tonga Toast came out we were very excited. Standing 3 inches high in front of us stood a crispy, sugary, delicious brick of toast.
The Tonga Toast was perfectly crunchy on the outside and light and soft on the inside. It seemed there wasn’t that much banana on the inside but it was still very tasty. Tonga Toast is pretty hard to eat because of how tall it is, but it is totally worth it. This is a very filling meal, if you typically eat a smaller breakfast this is a great portion to spilt with someone else.
Tonga Toast comes with a meat side so we asked for breakfast potatoes instead. The potatoes were toasted on the outside and perfectly seasoned. I think next time I would have fruit as a side instead because the Tonga Toast and potatoes is a ton of food.
Tonga Toast is very sweet, so if overly sugary breakfasts don’t appeal to you then you may want to just go with a tofu scramble or vegan waffle that the chefs have been known to make here. Chef Johnny seems to be the morning special diet chef so if he is working you should be able to get a vegan Tonga Toast. We highly recommend eating here at least once because it’s a delicious unique meal and is a change from the usual vegan Mickey Waffles.
Would we go back?
Yes! Already have our next reservation booked. One of the best breakfasts on Disney property. Plus being able to take the Monorail in the morning to Magic Kingdom is a bonus.
Price?
$$
Update: The fruit compote is now vegan, and you can order almond milk for the coffee. And the Tonga Toast is still delicious!
Hooray for almond milk!!
Have you ever been turned away when you requested vegan Tonga Toast? I asked for it in January 2014 after hearing reports that it was possible, but the chef on duty said he couldn’t do it. Hoping it’s become a regular request since then.
We have not, the first time we tried the chef was unsure but still made it. Every time since we have gotten it with no questions asked. 🙂
Can you get vegan tonga toast at Captain Cook’s?
We haven’t tried but I would think you should be able to. We’ll try to find out for you.
Any news on capt cooks? I have 3 kids, so the cheaper option would be awesome for us – although looking at the menu there it seems they don’t sell coffee *why!!!!*
If anything, they should be able to do vegan waffles there. We haven’t heard anything on the Tonga toast there.
And how dare anywhere serve breakfast without coffee!!