Napa Rose

After the excellent light lunch at the Crab Cooker at Newport Beach we were really looking forward to this meal in the Grand Californian Hotel. Our waiter, Saucy was from Memphis Tennessee and was extremely knowledgeable regarding the menu and the wine list; giving us plenty of time to select. He then provided us immediately with a fine selection of breads and sparkling water and an amuse bouche. In the end I chose my first piece of beef of the holidays in the form of New York Steak served with a Cabernet and Portabello Mushroom sauce and Butternut Squash. The meat was perfectly tender cooked just how I had asked and the sauce rich and deep in flavour. The sweetness of the squash a perfect compliment, it enhanced the whole dish rather than overpowered the other flavours, which can sometimes be a problem when dealing with this rich sweet vegetable.

Jackie chose a dish of Monkfish wrapped in Pancetta served with Lobster Gnocchi. This again was beautifully cooked and delightful to eat. I was intrigued by the gnocchi as my experience of these small dumplings tends to be of little flavour other than the sauce it sits in. These had a delicate touch and the lobster had been incorporated into them beautifully. The sauce was light and just sharp enough to counter the smoky pancetta. The monkfish itself beautifully trimmed and cut from only the thick end of the tail.

For drinks Jackie had a lovely bone dry Chateau Graville 2003 Graves whilst I went for a bold Sonoma Zinfandel to compliment the beef. One thing I often talk about when reviewing Disney restaurants is ambiance and noise levels, the latter of which can be atrocious even in some of the best signature places due to poor cavernous design and lack of sound absorbing materials. I'm very happy to report that the Napa Rose suffers from none of these problems. Thick carpets and curtains here help reduce those noise levels nicely despite the usual open feature kitchen, huge ceilings and boisterous guests.

Dessert was a shared affair, a platter of desserts and a platter of world cheeses with lovely coffee and more wine. I even finished the night with a lovely glass of 12 year old malt to savour the moment that much longer before we had to depart back to our room.

All in all a fantastic meal and in our opinion one of the best a Disney restaurant has served to us in the U.S.A. Partly due to the great setting and feel of the restaurant which is so relaxing and well thought out, but also the quality of the food is fantastic and well worth the money. We will return, make no doubt about it.