Soaring and Napa Rose on Christmas Day

[UnpokemonMom]

We visited California Adventure and dined at Napa Rose on Christmas Day 2024. I wanted to share our experience.

Also, thank you to those who helped me with reservations earlier this year, when the 60 day mark wasn't showing any reservations.

I like to have sit down meals at DL/CA. When the kids were young, it was fine to do counter service or even bring in our own food. Now that I'm older, I'd much rather be served. Just a personal preference.

This is not our first time dining at NR; I've dined in the main dining room as well as at the chef's counter (2023 and 2024).

Both times, the meals had excellent service and good/great food (some dishes better than others). The ambiance makes me forget I'm at a theme park.

Would I consider this a destination restaurant? No. But if I'm at DL/CA, I would definitely try to book a dinner at Napa Rose.

For reference, I dined at The French Laundry, Single Thread, and e by Jose Andres this year.

We arrived at GC valet (5 hrs included free with a meal at the NR) around 3:30pm. Walked over to CA through the GC (beautifully decorated for the holidays with a huge gingerbread house and a large festive tree). We got through security and walked over to Soaring in 5 minutes. Wait time was 90 minutes (longest line I've ever seen there) but the true wait time was about 60 minutes. Then back to GC to wait for our 5:30pm reservation.

Note for the holiday menu - when I originally made the reservation, the menu was prix fixe and the first course was either frog legs or scallops - neither of which I thought might appeal to my MIL but oh well. Last week, I happened to look at the menu again and they had changed it up. Not only was frog legs NOT on the menu but each course (except for the amuse bouche and mignardise) had 4 choices - and at the restaurant, the menu even showed a 5th choice for the first course.

Note for the bar - I believe you are able to order from the full menu if you sat at the bar on Xmas. However, there are only 12 seats at the bar, and I think the first person in line showed up at 4:30pm. That's about all I know about the bar.

There was lovely live music playing when we entered. Our server and bus boy were very attentive. I don't drink alcohol but whenever my diet coke (pepsi?) was near empty, a refill magically appeared. Each course was brought out by a team of servers, one of whom took the time to describe what was on all the plates.

Between the 6 of us, we managed to cover all the menu items (except for the beet salad and the pasta vegan entree). Two of the table had wine pairings (the first level) and my MIL had a glass of prosecco. I was very impressed that the server/sommelier also poured half glasses of prosesso for the two who were doing wine pairings.

Everyone enjoyed their meal. I would say the only thing lacking was some bread. When we dined at the chef's counter earlier this year, we had some delicious rolls. I didn't think to ask about it but I'm sure if I had, they would have brought something.

I've seen comments from people about the price point, and I thought a lot about it. I think some people will always have an issue paying for meals like this, and that's okay. For those who are interested/willing, I would definitely recommend the NR. If you consider that it's Disney (so everything is more expensive) but that you get the food, service and ambiance that you can't really get anywhere else on site (we've dined at Carthay Circle as well) plus parking, I think this meal is worth it.

 

[fly girl]

Sounds like you and your family had a lovely Christmas at DCA and Napa Rose! Love reading good endings like this.

Agree that price points are always subjective, and sometimes I think even more so at Disney! We splurge for Club Level at Grand Californian, and even with military discount we know we are paying an insane price - but to us, it is worth it.

Napa Rose has been off of our list for a while, but your review has me reconsidering for next year.

 

[DizMe]

We visited California Adventure and dined at Napa Rose on Christmas Day 2024. I wanted to share our experience.

Also, thank you to those who helped me with reservations earlier this year, when the 60 day mark wasn't showing any reservations.

I like to have sit down meals at DL/CA. When the kids were young, it was fine to do counter service or even bring in our own food. Now that I'm older, I'd much rather be served. Just a personal preference.

This is not our first time dining at NR; I've dined in the main dining room as well as at the chef's counter (2023 and 2024).

Both times, the meals had excellent service and good/great food (some dishes better than others). The ambiance makes me forget I'm at a theme park.

Would I consider this a destination restaurant? No. But if I'm at DL/CA, I would definitely try to book a dinner at Napa Rose.

For reference, I dined at The French Laundry, Single Thread, and e by Jose Andres this year.

We arrived at GC valet (5 hrs included free with a meal at the NR) around 3:30pm. Walked over to CA through the GC (beautifully decorated for the holidays with a huge gingerbread house and a large festive tree). We got through security and walked over to Soaring in 5 minutes. Wait time was 90 minutes (longest line I've ever seen there) but the true wait time was about 60 minutes. Then back to GC to wait for our 5:30pm reservation.

Note for the holiday menu - when I originally made the reservation, the menu was prix fixe and the first course was either frog legs or scallops - neither of which I thought might appeal to my MIL but oh well. Last week, I happened to look at the menu again and they had changed it up. Not only was frog legs NOT on the menu but each course (except for the amuse bouche and mignardise) had 4 choices - and at the restaurant, the menu even showed a 5th choice for the first course.

Note for the bar - I believe you are able to order from the full menu if you sat at the bar on Xmas. However, there are only 12 seats at the bar, and I think the first person in line showed up at 4:30pm. That's about all I know about the bar.

There was lovely live music playing when we entered. Our server and bus boy were very attentive. I don't drink alcohol but whenever my diet coke (pepsi?) was near empty, a refill magically appeared. Each course was brought out by a team of servers, one of whom took the time to describe what was on all the plates.

Between the 6 of us, we managed to cover all the menu items (except for the beet salad and the pasta vegan entree). Two of the table had wine pairings (the first level) and my MIL had a glass of prosecco. I was very impressed that the server/sommelier also poured half glasses of prosesso for the two who were doing wine pairings.

Everyone enjoyed their meal. I would say the only thing lacking was some bread. When we dined at the chef's counter earlier this year, we had some delicious rolls. I didn't think to ask about it but I'm sure if I had, they would have brought something.

I've seen comments from people about the price point, and I thought a lot about it. I think some people will always have an issue paying for meals like this, and that's okay. For those who are interested/willing, I would definitely recommend the NR. If you consider that it's Disney (so everything is more expensive) but that you get the food, service and ambiance that you can't really get anywhere else on site (we've dined at Carthay Circle as well) plus parking, I think this meal is worth it.

I'm always happy to read about great experiences at Napa Rose. I know so many here have had wonderful experiences and enjoy the food. I've written about a couple of visits that weren't of the same caliber as yours and it's always good to hear that it can be wonderful. I first went to NR right after it opened and I really liked it. But about 15 years ago, my sister and I did a wine pairing and the next year the Chef's counter. For us, there were always great things about NR but also some pretty huge no's. Our first year, we were near the end of our meal, which was wonderful, and well before closing time but a guy came around while we were eating dessert and started using a sweeper thing to clean around us and under our table (and no one else's). The next year, our chef's counter visit was an absolute delight. One year when there were 6 of us, the server was so rude that one of our friends was seriously offended (she'd been brought something different than what she'd ordered and the server was making snide asides, implying she'd lied). My sister and I have gone together many times when we were what I'd term as snubbed--left waiting much longer than others around us, for example, or not being checked on. On our visit a few years ago, the waitress took our order and disappeared. We kept asking other staff where she was and were told she'd be right back. She never returned and it took a loooooong time to get anyone to serve us, and we ended up being there for far longer than we wanted. The original order had never gone in. I know these must be one-offs but when you've had several one-offs and spent a great deal of money in the process, it leaves you a bit jaded. Besides that, we always feel like we're treated as "less than" for some reason. I can't explain it at all! Everyone else seems to really like us, LOL. I do wonder if it's because we're 2 women who aren't young, but that seems so dumb.

 

[UnpokemonMom]

@DizMe - That's really too bad about some of your previous experiences at NR. Oh my, if someone started to clean around me while I was still dining, I would be majorly pi$$ed! And we've had servers disappear on us as well (not at NR, other restaurants) and it's so frustrating.

I don't drink alcohol so sometimes I wonder if I'm getting a lesser version of service (since my bill won't be as high as someone who ordered a bottle of wine). We were essentially ignored for about 45 minutes at the House of Prime Rib in San Francisco because our server was busy with a larger party (who were drinking lots). I flagged one of the managers walking around and explained that while we dined there several times a year, I wasn't leaving a tip at all this time. I didn't want them to think I was being cheap or whatnot, but just extremely disappointed with the service. He understood, and offered to comp us a dessert (which I declined - when you get that type of service, you just want to leave).

On a Disney note, it was really interesting for us to dine at the chef's counter, I think it was May this year. There was a large party in the private dining room so they had to plate all the appetizers (or whatever it was) at once, but the assistant chef wasn't doing it correctly so the next level up chef took over (not Andrew). You could totally tell that the higher up guy was really upset, but he didn't yell at the assistant or go all Gordon Ramsay on him.

 

[LKing]

I don't drink alcohol so sometimes I wonder if I'm getting a lesser version of service (since my bill won't be as high as someone who ordered a bottle of wine).

This is me! I often feel like things get off to the wrong foot because we don't order alcoholic beverages. We'll spend a small fortune on food, including appetizers and dessert with coffee, but I feel like at that point they are ready to get rid of us and seat the next party. We've had them take the plates away when we were still eating. Fortunately we've never had anyone sweep around us.