Dining at the Napa Rose?

[dave73]

Just wondering if anyone has dined at the Napa Rose at the Grand Californian?

I am not going to be staying at the hotel but would like to go there for an evening meal. Any idea on when I should book. I am heading there late October.

Thanks

 

[gatorfreud]

We did the chef's counter at 5pm right when they open. It was awesome!
Kim

 

[InLikeSin]

I called for my ressie maybe 5 days in advance. We went Aug 5th for my husband's birthday and it was one of the best meals I've ever had! Definately order the mac n' cheese side dish.

 

[Leshaface]

Napa Rose is awesome! I believe everyone has to go once in their lifetime! The atmosphere is calming, the food is delectable...you'll have such a wonderful experience!

 

[Flitterific]

Yes...Napa Rose is awesome! A lot of people have raved about the chef's counter (only 8 seats) and reservations for them go pretty quickly. However, if you have more than 2 people in your party, it's probably best to just get a table. I went there with my boyfriend on our last trip and will be going again on our trip this week. Can't wait!

 

[ScooterL]

I would call at least two weeks in advance if you want a specific time. You can call as much as 60 days in advance, though.

 

[avalon451]

DD14 and I did the chef's counter last October. It was on a Wednesday night and we had 5:30 PS's, but we could have just walked in; there was only one other couple seated at the counter and they weren't that busy.

It was fabulous. It's so expensive, so be prepared (take a look at the menu on allears.net) but so worth it, in my opinion. They were so sweet to my teenaged daughter, told her all about her food and how it was prepared, etc. The head chef shook our hands and pointed out where everything is done in the kitchen. DD said it was like being on her "own personal Iron Chef!"

I've dined in many fine places including LA, San Francisco, Seattle, London and Madrid. Napa was really one of the nicer places I've ever been.

 

[dave73]

Thanks, well it seems like an easy decision. Sounds fantastic. Will look to book sometime in the next few weeks since we have a little over 2 months before we leave.

Cheers

 

[~ButterflyKisses~]

Can anyone tell me more about the chef's counter?

 

[akdaisy]

We just got Chef's Counter ressies for late September - so excited! It will be our first time eating there. I've heard so many great things about the place! I wonder how it will compare to Victoria and Albert's at WDW?

My daughter will be in Pinocchio's Workshop having fun while we have dinner...

 

[gatorfreud]

There are like... 12??.... seats along a counter that overlooks the kitchen - strangely not really unlike a diner! If you sit there you get a firsthand look at what is going on in the kitchen and it is very interesting! The chef will come over and talk to you about what you like to eat and create a menu for you - or you can just order off of the regular menu. We were in seats 5/6 which overlooked where they were making the entrees and such. We could also see the dessert station and they were whipping up some desserts to present to the chef that were possibilities for the holiday menus. Also that seat is right to where they send the food out, so you got to see the servers too - they would wipe the edges of the plates, and rehearse the names of each dish and where it was going (it was the 2nd night of the fall menu). It was all fascinating to me.

I think if you are looking for a romantic experience, I would sit in a regular table so you could focus on your date. But DH and I have been married 13 years - we know everything about each other - so we really enjoyed talking about what was going on in the kitchen!

Kim

 

[akdaisy]

There are 8 seats at the counter - 2 sets of 4. Seats 1-4 are on the left side of the pass overlooking bread, salad, appetizer stations, and seats 5-8 are on the right side of the pass overlooking entrees and desserts.

If you google "napa rose chefs counter" you'll find lots of people who have blogged about their experiences.

 

[fairycat]

We just got Chef's Counter ressies for late September - so excited! It will be our first time eating there. I've heard so many great things about the place! I wonder how it will compare to Victoria and Albert's at WDW?

My daughter will be in Pinocchio's Workshop having fun while we have dinner...

Atmosphere wise I think V&A is way more over the top and the service is "different" (one of our servers was wonderful at V&A the other not so much). Food wise I think Napa totally wins over V&A we thought that V&A played too safe and was just sort of fancy steakhouse food, were Napa had more of a fine cuisine. The food felt fresher and of a higher quality. I really love Napa, and can't wait to do the chef's counter one day!

 

[Brancaneve]

If it was socially acceptable, I would have licked the plate. The sauces were amazing! We ordered appetizers, soup and the entree with 2 glasses of wine and it was over $200! But I think we could have been full with just an appetizer and entree and saved quite a bit of money. Our waiter, Rodney was wonderful and made the evening very memorable.

 

[jpeka65844]

Another rave here. We had 6:30-ish ressies on July 2 and the place was relatively empty. Although the chef's counter was full. We were seated in the little alcove at the 11:00 point from the entrance to the restaurant. It was so nice!

The service was so good! Our waiter was very understated but always present. He was able to anticipate what we wanted rather than asking us if "everything was ok?" the whole time. Do you know what I mean?

This will be a "must" on future trips.

Oh, BTW, I had the flatbread app (no longer on the menu), the duck, and the smores popover for dessert. Wonderful all around.......