Napa Rose Chef's counter seating?

[Geemo]

I'm looking for information on seating at the Chef's Counter. Pictures would be nice too.
I know 1-4, 5-8 view kitchen chef and 9-12 view dessert chef.

For a party of two would seats 7&8 be best to see most/all of the action in both areas?

Geemo

 

[Mousequake]

We were at 5 & 6 for a recent visit, and felt we had a fantastic view of everything, except part of the dessert chef's station was blocked. I'd imagine seats 7 & 8 put you *just* enough more to the right that you'd be able to see the dessert chef as well. That'd be a great choice.

 

[julesann]

Thanks for the specifics Mousequake. I am booking for Chef's Counter also. So when you are booking can you ask for a specific seat? or when you check in?

 

[Geemo]

Thanks for the specifics Mousequake. I am booking for Chef's Counter also. So when you are booking can you ask for a specific seat? or when you check in?

Yes! Thank you Mousequake.

I called today and was able to get a Friday night during our trip. I requested seats 6, 7 & 8, so we should be set.

If anyone has pictures of their visit to the Chef's Counter, we'd all love to see them.

Geemo

 

[theluckyrabbit]

You can request your seats, but the CMs will tell you, even at the podium, that they cannot guarantee to honor your request. If you are early enough at check in, though, you should be fine. Don't worry - no matter where you sit, there really aren't any bad seats at the counter.

 

[julesann]

Thank you...good to know. How early would we need to check in would you think? And do you know if it is possible to book more than 60 days in advance?

 

[ParkHopper1]

Thank you...good to know. How early would we need to check in would you think?

Early check in will not increase your request success. They will honor requests best they can , but the only ones they guarantee are if you will be at the kitchen seats (1-4 & 5-8) or at the dessert counter (9-14)...other than that they assign the seats based on the party configuration. 1-8 are in baks of four...so you may get seated next to another couple if you are a party of two for example.

There really is not a bad seat. Everyone is right in the middle of the action even at the dessert counter.

You only need to arrive 10 min or so before your reservation time.

 

[skierrob]

I love the Chef's counter, but I'd never sit at the Dessert counter. Too far from the action. I love seats 3+4 the best. Lets you see salads, appetizers and main entrees being prepared. The dessert counter is just too far away -- you just see the backs of the people making the main entrees, have no view of appetizer / salad area, and you get no interaction with the chefs up front.

 

[ParkHopper1]

I love the Chef's counter, but I'd never sit at the Dessert counter. Too far from the action. .

I have done both and personally actually prefer the dessert counter. It is a bit more intimate...have had lots of interaction...and it feels less like you are the ones on display with the higher bar stools right in the thick of everything with the kitchen seats.

We got to see them once prepare a dessert around an engagement ring for someone that was gonna propose after their meal as the server presented the dessert. Thats was fun to be part of the whole process and see that through.

...plus you get to see ALL the desserts being prepared and usually get to make your own selection for the final course...at least I have several times!

 

[Aladora]

Yes! Thank you Mousequake.

I called today and was able to get a Friday night during our trip. I requested seats 6, 7 & 8, so we should be set.

If anyone has pictures of their visit to the Chef's Counter, we'd all love to see them.

Geemo

The last time we went, we were seated at the dessert counter and I think I preferred it to the time we were seated on the other side!

I've posted this before, but if anyone wants to see pics of our Chef's Counter meal, you can see them here.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Early check in will not increase your request success...You only need to arrive 10 min or so before your reservation time.

As I said above, CMs will tell you that they cannot guarantee your choice of seating. However, we usually check in about 10-15 minutes early and repeat our request then. Unless there is a large party or an unusual circumstance at the counter that night, our request is usually granted. We go fully prepared that it may not be, but checking in early usually works fine for us. The only exception to this is when the server we want is working different seats than the ones we requested. In that case we will gladly switch seats to go with our preferred server.

 

[Linkura]

We have a reservation for next month. I think we're just going to take our chances with the seating. Either way, we're going to have a great meal.