Napa Rose Chef’s Counter - Here’s How to Book It

[summerlvr]

Obviously way late to the topic but there's always a chance if you didn't book you get last minute cancellation or something. I've done it solo a number of times... probably three or four. I do a lot of stuff solo so I'm kind of used to dinner alone and stuff, so it doesn't bug me. There was nothing about this that seemed out of the norm for a solo dinner out, and maybe less so since you are occupied with watching the cooking and stuff going on. You get to interact with the chef some usually, maybe a few questions now and then with the other cooks, and there's a lot of interaction with your server since it's so many courses. I've also done it a couple times with a friend. It's certainly worth doing with a friend for sure, but honestly it's probably not the ideal one on one special occasion dinner since you DO have so much else going on besides just you and someone special. Unless both of you are way into the watching the kitchen work and stuff.

Thanks, appreciate your input!

 

[AndrewC]

Anyone have any update on which days of the week this is offered? Still only Wed - Sun, or has it expanded to nightly?

 

[AndrewC]

So I was just told it's still only Wed to Sun. You can pick to be sat between 5:30pm and 7:30pm. $200/person dinner. $120/person wine.

Just confirmed my reservation for October 23rd and October 26th!!!

 

[AndrewC]

ARE YOU KIDDING.

After not getting my primary choice of Sunday October 20th when I called and left a voice mail at midnight last night, I called just now to see if I could adjust my other reservation to be the appetizer side (I like it just as much as the main) and just as a laugh I asked if Sunday was available, YES IT WAS. Dessert side which is not my favorite, but I'll add that to my plans thank you very much! Either demand for everything is way down this year or I'm exceptionally lucky... I never have this easy of a time getting Chef's Counter, and I've never got through TWICE right at 5pm with just one re-dial.

 

[Tink1987]

I’ll be travelling internationally, literally on the plane, when my reservation window opens. Do you think they will accept an email request at all?

Thanks!

 

[AndrewC]

I’ll be travelling internationally, literally on the plane, when my reservation window opens. Do you think they will accept an email request at all?

Thanks!

Yep, email them right at midnight when the window opens, then call as soon as you land to confirm.

 

[Tink1987]

Yep, email them right at midnight when the window opens, then call as soon as you land to confirm.

Thanks for your help, really appreciate it!

 

[Chokky]

Back to post about our Chef’s Counter meal this week.
We did dinner at 5:30pm and had 10 courses over 3.5 hours.
In our group of 4 we had one vegetarian and one food allergy - all looked after. Our server was fabulous too.
Only one did the wine pairing which they highly recommend.
The remainders did cocktails because we aren’t big wine drinkers.
We were seated on the front, left side looking into the kitchen which observed the appetizer/starter stations.
Fantastic interactions with the chefs there as well has Chef Clint who oversaw our dinner.
Head Chef Andrew Sutton was omnipresent and engaging around the kitchen, and all the chef counter diners too. He was training a chef on how to prepare and cook frog legs, which ended up being one of the courses served to our group.
$200 per guest, basic wine pairing $120, cocktails were about $20 each, plus tip on the total bill.
Highly recommend the experience.

 

[AndrewC]

Back to post about our Chef’s Counter meal this week.
We did dinner at 5:30pm and had 10 courses over 3.5 hours.
In our group of 4 we had one vegetarian and one food allergy - all looked after. Our server was fabulous too.
Only one did the wine pairing which they highly recommend.
The remainders did cocktails because we aren’t big wine drinkers.
We were seated on the front, left side looking into the kitchen which observed the appetizer/starter stations.
Fantastic interactions with the chefs there as well has Chef Clint who oversaw our dinner.
Head Chef Andrew Sutton was omnipresent and engaging around the kitchen, and all the chef counter diners too. He was training a chef on how to prepare and cook frog legs, which ended up being one of the courses served to our group.
$200 per guest, basic wine pairing $120 per person, cocktails were about $20 each, plus tip on the total bill.
Highly recommend the experience.

Do you recall how many wines?

 

[Chokky]

Do you recall how many wines?

From memory we think he had 7 different types of wine.

 

[Tink1987]

Yep, email them right at midnight when the window opens, then call as soon as you land to confirm.

Unfortunately, they did not respond to my email or voice message. Now we are back home, I am going to try to call when the restaurant is open to see if there is still availability for our dates but it’s hard with our time difference.

 

[AndrewC]

I've certainly had times where it's taken a day or two for them to get back to me through emails and voicemails. It's always best if you can call and jump the line, but if you can't, that other method (midnight email/call) can work depending on demand during those dates.

 

[Tink1987]

Unfortunately, they did not respond to my email or voice message. Now we are back home, I am going to try to call when the restaurant is open to see if there is still availability for our dates but it’s hard with our time difference.

To update on this, I decided it would be best to call this morning on my time zone given the time difference as I thought I may just catch them as the restaurant closed.

However I woke up to an email to confirm our seating. I’ve confirmed back and added the wine pairing. Lesson learned, a little patience does wonders when jet lagged!

 

[AndrewC]

To update on this, I decided it would be best to call this morning on my time zone given the time difference as I thought I may just catch them as the restaurant closed.

However I woke up to an email to confirm our seating. I’ve confirmed back and added the wine pairing. Lesson learned, a little patience does wonders when jet lagged!

Man how this year is different than last year and prior. I kinda thought you were boned on this, but you didn’t seem to have the ability to jump on the phone immediately, and technically the email *can* work, so I wasn’t going to stress you out saying the odds were very low… BUT you got it!

I got all THREE of my possible days, you scored via an email, I just think the demand is wildly different (lower) this year… I’m hoping that translates to a better and a little more relaxed and enjoyable experience in and around the parks!

 

[GondolBoy12]

Are folks also taking advantage of this for obtaining regular seating reservations? Always seems impossible even checking right at the 60 day mark at 6 AM Pacific time to find any kind of reservation

 

[AndrewC]

I would suspect they'll punt you to the general dining reservations, but it could always be worth a shot.

I'm noticing a pretty good amount of availability for a table for 3 or 4 this coming week, most of November, and the first week in December. They are pretty much all 7pm or later, but it doesn't seem terribly hard to get into Napa Rose...

Reservations seem much easier this year compared to last year and the year before.

 

[GondolBoy12]

I would suspect they'll punt you to the general dining reservations, but it could always be worth a shot.

I'm noticing a pretty good amount of availability for a table for 3 or 4 this coming week, most of November, and the first week in December. They are pretty much all 7pm or later, but it doesn't seem terribly hard to get into Napa Rose...

Reservations seem much easier this year compared to last year and the year before.

Ah, I suspect my issue is more in looking for a table for 2 which seem to be very hard to come by/nonexistent. Appreciate the insight!

 

[LKing]

We've never done this before and are considering giving it a try. Is the current price $200 pp for the meal without the wine pairing? I assume tax and tip are added on top. Is there a Magic Key discount?

 

[AndrewC]

We've never done this before and are considering giving it a try. Is the current price $200 pp for the meal without the wine pairing? I assume tax and tip are added on top. Is there a Magic Key discount?

Correct. $200 per person, wine would be I think $90, but I can’t remember… I think for $135 you get the same wine pairing but start with a glass (honestly looked to be about half a glass) of Dom Pérignon. Tax and tip are extra of course. 8 courses when I went in late October. I can’t remember what half of them were, but this gives you an idea on size. (Note; I’m vegetarian which is why you don’t see any meat)

I wanna say it took about three and a half hours for us. I feel like it’s a good deal when you consider how expensive the normal menu is, plus I’m a sucker for the experience of being able to chat with the kitchen staff a little here and there and could watch them work all evening. But… honestly the food isn’t Michelin quality or anything. I’ve always been happy, but I’ve been wowed a lot more by the taste from even a 1 star Michelin restaurant… and I feel like a 4 to 5 course meal at a 1 star Michelin would probably be $175-$225 now a days.

Edit: They also don’t do the custom printed menus at the end of the night anymore. Apparently it was something they tried for a very short time (maybe 3 months) and I was just lucky enough to hit it just then. They mentioned it required a *manager* to essentially spend all night working on them and getting descriptions from the chef for each course and if a wine was paired with it. They mentioned with 12 people a night and 8 courses each, it was 96 descriptions they had to write up. I think this could be delegated out to a good hostess so the manager could be freed up for other things, and I *suspect* maybe half the dishes are what you normally see in the restaurant, with maybe minor modifications, so obviously the “work load” on those descriptions would be much less. I suspect this is classic Disney cost cutting (if they don’t give you bread, why would they give you a printed menu etc). BUT, I thought it was a *fantastic* touch and REALLY made the night feel special and was wildly useful when I was sharing what I ate with friends and family later or like now when I’m posting online. Wish it had worked out…

 

[LKing]

Correct. $200 per person, wine would be I think $90, but I can’t remember… I think for $135 you get the same wine pairing but start with a glass (honestly looked to be about half a glass) of Dom Pérignon. Tax and tip are extra of course. 8 courses when I went in late October. I can’t remember what half of them were, but this gives you an idea on size. (Note; I’m vegetarian which is why you don’t see any meat)

I wanna say it took about three and a half hours for us. I feel like it’s a good deal when you consider how expensive the normal menu is, plus I’m a sucker for the experience of being able to chat with the kitchen staff a little here and there and could watch them work all evening. But… honestly the food isn’t Michelin quality or anything. I’ve always been happy, but I’ve been wowed a lot more by the taste from even a 1 star Michelin restaurant… and I feel like a 4 to 5 course meal at a 1 star Michelin would probably be $175-$225 now a days.

Edit: They also don’t do the custom printed menus at the end of the night anymore. Apparently it was something they tried for a very short time (maybe 3 months) and I was just lucky enough to hit it just then. They mentioned it required a *manager* to essentially spend all night working on them and getting descriptions from the chef for each course and if a wine was paired with it. They mentioned with 12 people a night and 8 courses each, it was 96 descriptions they had to write up. I think this could be delegated out to a good hostess so the manager could be freed up for other things, and I *suspect* maybe half the dishes are what you normally see in the restaurant, with maybe minor modifications, so obviously the “work load” on those descriptions would be much less. I suspect this is classic Disney cost cutting (if they don’t give you bread, why would they give you a printed menu etc). BUT, I thought it was a *fantastic* touch and REALLY made the night feel special and was wildly useful when I was sharing what I ate with friends and family later or like now when I’m posting online. Wish it had worked out…

Thank you! That is really helpful.