Napa Rose
Napa Rose is located in Disney’s Grand California Adventure hotel and is known for its award-winning wine list and exemplary service. The food has a lot of inspirations from California’s fresh, farm-to-table qualities. This is arguably Disneyland’s premier restaurant that many, including some of my local family and friends, visit just for the food. I wanted to try this out to see how it compared to New York City.
Ambiance & Service
In our trip to Disneyland in 2019, we made a reservation here a month in advance on a Monday night thinking there will be a lot of people. Surprisingly (or unsurprisingly), there was practically no one in here. The dining room was pretty sparse.
However in our trip to Disneyland in April 2023, the room was fairly full. Unfortunately, they sat us to the right of the entrance in the bar area. The ambiance was not as great as our previous trip, so we made extra efforts to focus on the food. The service though was pretty good, albeit our particular waiter tried a bit too hard with their corny jokes.
Food
The bread selection was great. I loved the sourdough a lot, and how it all came out pretty hot.
The grilled diver scallop was good too. Scallop was cooked nicely.
I don’t quite remember the pasta with braised beef except that it was really good. The noodles had a lot of bounce and was cooked perfectly al dente.
Both salads for me were unmemorable because after all they are just salads.
The mushroom chowder seemed pretty grotesque to me because I hate mushrooms. But for those that liked mushrooms, I can say it was very mushroom-y.
The seafood cioppino wasn’t quite like a cioppino. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it more than the mushroom chowder. The seafood in this was all pretty fresh and tender with no fishiness within taste.
The prime new york steak was cooked perfectly at a medium rare temperature, but I recall that I didn’t like the green onion sauce on top.
The duck seemed a little sad. It was literally like a few pieces, but it was pretty good as well.
The filet mignon was decent for what it was. I definitely prefer the sauce that covered this over the green onion sauce.
The berkshire pork loin wasn’t very good because it was very dry or overcooked. The guest told me it got better as you got closer to the center, but agreed that the outside wasn’t tasty.
I can’t recall anything about the desserts except they were all pretty good. The chocolates all had a perfect sweetness to it. I can’t remember much of the white logs in the other picture except that this was obviously not chocolaty at all but more fruity flavors.
April 18, 2023 - The second visit (really good!)
The Napa Passion ($17 - right) came with X Fusion, Parrot Bay rum, pineapple juice, and strawberry puree. This was surprisingly very balanced and wasn’t heavy in alcohol at all.
The glass of Enroute Pinot Noir ($28 - left) came from Sonoma County the Russian River Valley. This was very good and a perfect match to all my courses throughout the night. I’ve marked this on my Vivino app as something I will look out for in a Pinot Noir. It was very well balanced in acidity, tannin, and smoothness.
This is the bottle of Enroute Les Pommiers Pinot Noir. I tend to use these bottle pictures and add it to my Vivino account for future reference or research.
The Focaccia ($18) came hot and fresh out of the oven with 3 separate dips. I don’t remember offhand what the 2 white dips were, but the red dip was basically sun dried tomato paste. As you can imagine, it was very powerful and flavorful of all those wonderful tomato flavors. The bread itself was delicious with the seasonings. If it’s a splurge night, definitely consider the bread.
The First Season Asparagus came with asparagus “panna cotta” and meyer lemon vinaigrette. This was my first course (out of 4) in “The Vintner’s Table” Spring prix fixe ($125). The asparagus was very delicious as best as it can be, and it was the epitome of California’s farm to table.
The Grilled Spanish Octopus ($24) came with potato fava and green garlic puree. The octopus was cooked perfectly, and the garlic puree was fantastic.
The Warm Bone Marrow Custard came with an oxtail marmalade and spring ramps. This was my second course (out of 4) in “The Vintner’s Table” Spring prix fixe ($125). The oxtail marmalade was incredibly rich and fatty, but it had really excellent and balanced flavors. It was strange to me how little bread they give you as scooping it a spoon was just too concentrated for me. Luckily I had some remaining focaccia bread, and I used that. Even then I was for certain worried how my stomach would behave later.
We were all given a complimentary cucumber lime sorbet with mint palette cleanser. This of course tasted exactly what it says, and for obvious reasons, it works well to reset your palette before the main entrees.
The Pan Roasted Veal Chop came basted in chili miso butter and lemongrass roasted carrots. This was my third course (out of 4) in “The Vintner’s Table” Spring prix fixe ($125). This was arguably one of the best things I have ever eaten. The veal chop was so very soft at the touch of the knife, and it was incredibly flavorful in whatever concoction this was supposed to be. The steak was extremely juicy and had a really great balance of all that salt, spicy, tangy, oily flair that I just cannot describe in words concisely. This was not available via a’la carte, and I specifically sprung for the prix fixe menu for it. I was not disappointed, and this can easily best most steak dishes in NYC easily. I would definitely recommend this if you are as big of a fan of veal chops as I am. Veal chops are one of those things where very few restaurants cook it well, but when they do it’s amazing. Whoever cooked and prepared this dish here in Napa Rose has completely overachieved my expectations.
The Pan Seared Beef Filet Mignon ($62) came with braised beef cheek ragout and a cabernet jus. The filet mignon was cooked a perfect medium rare, and just about everything about this was very delectable.
The Raspberry Pistachio Sunshine Tart came with coconut sorbet and raspberry coulis. This was one of my table’s fourth and final course (out of 4) in “The Vintner’s Table” Spring prix fixe ($125). This all tasted really good as expected giving you a very fruitful and light dessert that wasn’t excessively sweet.
The Brazilian Itakuja came with double fermented passion fruit chocolate crunch bomb. This was my fourth and final course (out of 4) in “The Vinter’s Table” Spring prix fixe ($125). I’m not sure what about this was Brazilian, but the bouncing back and forth between the chocolate crunch and passion fruit was very delightful. It’s bold flavors in both, but when you bring it together, it becomes very balanced between the tart and sweet notes.
Lastly, they gave us some complimentary chocolate brittle to close the night. This was pretty good and albeit very rich. I could only eat a small piece before thirsting for some milk.
December 20, 2024 - The third visit (awesome wine pairings)
The price for the 4 course prix fixe menu was $168, and the flight of four wines was $125. This trip saw a different tasting menu than the previous one, with some more push to wine pairings.
The Carrot Ginger Soup was the amuse. This was served hot and was very delicious.
The first pairing was the Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label Brut which was one of the most well known champagnes out there. It was very good.
My partner ordered the Napa Rose ($21.25) which was Tanqueray 10, Campari, Drambouie, fresh lemon juice, and Peychaud bitters. This drink was a very sophisticated and well mixed citrus-like drink.
The Peking Partridge came in lemongrass pear essence. The bird was decent, and it was nicely paired with the Veuve Clicquot.
The California Tide Pools came with sauteed scallops, cockles, and shrimp with uni. I had a few bites to this, and I felt it had typical California flavors.
The second pairing was the Sea Smoke Southing Pinot Noir 2021. As a newbie to expensive red pinot noir, this was my real first tasting of it. After the first smell and taste of the wine, it was obvious that there was something special about this pinot noir. It had a complex balance, but it had a very smooth, velvet flow to it. I felt the tannins weren’t too much compared to other pinots I’ve drank, and it blended well with the goose pot pie. The finish and complement to the salty, rich gravy of the goose was superb.
The Winter Goose “Pot Pie” came in a rich merlot essence. The broth was not too salty, and the goose was quite tender with a spongy texture.
The Sauteed Spatzle & Braised Wild Boar came with sage jus. My partner enjoyed this much because the meat was very fork tender, and the jus was delicious.
The third pairing was the 2015 Peter Michael Les Pavots, which was a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Cabernet Franc, 15% Merlot, and 7% Petit Verdot. I’m really liking blended red wines, and this was one of my favorites I’ve ever had. It had a very deep and rich texture to it with very punchy blackberry and woody notes to it. The aroma was very prominent. The best part was the taste of the wine dancing with joy as it lands on entry into your mouth.
The Roasted Colorado Lamb Loin came with pomegranate, lemon, and mint. The Les Pavots paired with this beautifully. The lamb loin was not the best I’ve ever had, but it had no gamy notes and was very tender. The green mint sauce reminded me of a puree of beans and was an obvious match with the lamb.
The Creekstone Filet Mignon came with wagyu beef cheek, onion velvet, and pink radish. The filet was ordered medium rare, and it was cooked perfectly. It was tender, juicy, and had plenty of flavor. I was definitely curious what wine the sommelier would have paired with this.
The final pairing was the Sandeman Porto Founder’s Reserve, which a ruby port wine. This port was pretty straight forward, and was definitely a less sweet port wine than its other brethren.
The Signature Best Hot Chocolate came with almond orange kringle bread on the side. The hot chocolate was quite good and decadent. I don’t know if it’s the best, but it definitely had a nice creamy texture and flavor to it. The almond orange kringle was good as well.
The Baked Cheese “Kolache” came with local blossom honey. This was similar to eating Brazilian toasted cheese cubes with honey.
The final thing they gave us was two chocolate peppermint nibbles.
Final Verdict
Compared to New York City, a lot of the prices here were cheaper for a “luxury” dining experience. For my first visit, I was surprised that the food was still pretty good for that price point, and I’d definitely come back when I dine at Disneyland again. And when I did come back the second time, I was completely blown away. After coming back a third time, the wine pairing was very fun and complementary to the dinner. The food wasn’t as great as the second time.
We highly recommend Napa Rose if you are visiting Disneyland and desire a nice restaurant experience, or even if you want to get an idea of what a good wine pairing meal may taste like.
Yelp Jabs
It was one of the best meals of my life. After 1,500 reviews, and over 5,000 photos on Yelp, I just don’t have anything else to add :)
I can’t say that this wasn’t good, but this dinner was not even close to the best meal of my life. I don’t think this Yelp Elitist has a full palette after 1,500 reviews and 5,000 photos. A prime example not to take a Yelp review semi seriously.
Didn’t actually eat here, but we did come for drinks.
Can you imagine if this Yelp Elitist rated this restaurant poor for the drinks? Well at least they were honest in their review.
Revisions
- Dec 19, 2024 - Added third visit with 2024 winter Vintner’s pairing.
- Apr 18, 2023 - Added second visit with food pictures.
- Feb 25, 2019 - Initial revision.