Napa Rose or...

[kimmar067]

...Steakhouse 55? I've booked an ADR for Napa Rose for the first night we will be at DL, but I just looked at Steakhouse 55's menu, since I recently changed our reservations to DLH instead of PPH. Which do you prefer, and why?

 

[Elk Grove Chris]

Both are excellent and you cannot go wrong either way. If budget allows, do both. Keep your dinner ADR for Napa Rose and do breakfast at SH 55. SH 55 is our favorite for onsite breakfast.

Look at both menus, what will your party enjoy more? Both menus are small, but they both pack a punch.

Ambience is a little different at each place. SH55 is more of the old school refined steakhouse, with a muted tone. You can hear your table mates conversation a bit better there (we have only been there with half of the dining room full). Napa Rose is new school upscale, with seasonal menus. Dining room is more open but it always seems the sound level is a bit high in there for us (dining room has always been full when we have been there-so that may play).

Both are beef and seafood heavy, but both can do vegetarian and vegan. We do SH55 every trip for breakfast and usually one of the two for dinner, or more likely Carthay, but not always.

We have preferred, in order, Carthay, then SH55, then Napa Rose for dinners the last couple of years. Have a magical meal!

 

[tarheelalum]

Out of those I'd go with steakhouse 55 but I think Jazz Kitchen beats all of them.

 

[whoever]

Napa is the best (Chef's counter), but SH55 is the best value for the meal on property IMHO. Love them both. We try to do Napa every trip.

 

[OKW Lover]

SH55 is very good. But NR is even better. Love questions with no wrong answer!!!

 

[goooof1]

Steakhouse 55……. SO GOOD! AND... 24 layer chocolate cake !!!

 

[kimmar067]

Both are excellent and you cannot go wrong either way.....Both are beef and seafood heavy, but both can do vegetarian and vegan....

...how about GF? [DH has celiac]

 

[kimmar067]

SH55 is very good. But NR is even better. Love questions with no wrong answer!!!

 

[kimmar067]

Napa is the best (Chef's counter), but SH55 is the best value for the meal on property IMHO...

....what IS that?

 

[Skyegirl1999]

....what IS that?

https://www.disneytouristblog.com/napa-rose-chefs-counter-review/

There are tons of reviews online; just Google it.

 

[kimmar067]

 

[kimmar067]

https://www.disneytouristblog.com/napa-rose-chefs-counter-review/

There are tons of review....

....sounded wonderful....but....3 HOURS FOR A MEAL???

 

[Skyegirl1999]

....sounded wonderful....but....3 HOURS FOR A MEAL???

Heh, we eat at a place in the actual Napa Valley each year where our meal is over six hours, so that doesn’t even trip my radar. I wouldn’t do it on a park day unless I had at least 4-5 of them, though.

 

[dieumeye]

Napa Rose and Steakhouse 55 are both good. I agree that you can't go wrong with either one. It just depends on what kind of menu you're looking for.

Steakhouse 55 has a classic old-school steakhouse menu... the same menu as every old school steakhouse across the country (This is not a complaint! I love it.). So if you want a steak with hearty, buttery sides, and a wedge salad or onion soup or shrimp cocktail, this is your place.

Napa Rose has a modern seasonal Californian menu. If things like Hearty Braised Winter Goose Ragu or Sesame-Lemon Roasted Cabbage Roulade sound delicious and exciting, then this is the place for you. It's also great, but I understand why it's out of the culinary comfort zone for some people.

Chef's Counter at Napa Rose is an experience, not just a meal, if that makes sense - which is why it can take longer.

 

[AJA55]

We are doing the chefs counter on April 2nd for the first time. If properly paced, a fine dinning experience should last that long. The time will just fly by. Really...no...really....

 

[kimmar067]

Heh, we eat at a place in the actual Napa Valley each year where our meal is over six hours, so that doesn’t even trip my radar. I wouldn’t do it on a park day unless I had at least 4-5 of them, though.

...that's what I was afraid of....we land [from NYC area] around 10:40AM and would like to try to be at a park by 1...our reservations are for 5:45PM, since we will still be on "NY time"and will have been up very early in the morning. I'd hate to waste 3 hours sitting at a table....

 

[kimmar067]

...Napa Rose has a modern seasonal Californian menu. If things like Hearty Braised Winter Goose Ragu or Sesame-Lemon Roasted Cabbage Roulade sound delicious and exciting, then this is the place for you. It's also great, but I understand why it's out of the culinary comfort zone for some people.....

....our hands-down FAVE place at WDW is Jiko where we've feasted on wild boar for appies and sampled black garlic ice-cream soup (we've eaten there 3 times), so I'd consider us adventurous eaters....

[...there's something to be said for a hankerin' for a nice hunk 'o steak too....]

 

[dieumeye]

If you're worried about the length of the Napa Rose Chef's Counter tasting menu experience, then you could book a regular table at Napa Rose and order the Vintner's Table. It's a prix fixe multi course menu that'll have a good sampling of the seasonal dishes. It'll still unfold at a fine dining pace, but shouldn't take 3 hours.

 

[whoever]

....sounded wonderful....but....3 HOURS FOR A MEAL???

I'll have a 3-4hr meal inside DL during my upcoming trip if things go according to plan and a 5-hour meal inside DL on my October trip. It's an experience....

 

[avalon451]

...how about GF? [DH has celiac]

We are all GF (3 daughters all have celiac and DH and I are both sensitive). DLR is quite good about GF options. We haven't done Steakhouse 55, but I've done the chef's counter at Napa Rose 3 times, twice since we went GF, and it's never a problem. At the chef's counter, especially, since one of the chefs will come over and ask about your preferences, any allergies, etc. and take that into account when making your delicious courses.

I'm assuming it would be the same at Steakhouse 55. Oftentimes any DL restaurant, including counter service, will send a chef out to talk to you and figure out what's good. We've had that at Pizza Planet, Plaza Inn (GF Mickey waffles! and a good GF muffin), and Blue Bayou. BB did a GF version of a Monte Cristo for us.

Also we had lunch at Club 33 (DH had a work connection, woo hoo!) and of course they were fabulous with the GF considerations.

There's a thread about GF at Disneyland here: https://www.disboards.com/threads/g...sneyland-resort-a-superthread.3003289/page-23 but it hasn't been updated for a year.

I kind of love Napa, and if you don't want the 3 hour chef's table experience, the dining room looks great, too. To be honest, I think the chef's counter experience has gone a bit downhill since I first tried it 11 years ago. We've had less than wonderful interaction with the chefs, and the wine pairings felt like they were trying to pawn off leftovers on us. That could have just been an off night, though, at a late seating (8:30 p.m.-- that one is detailed in the trip report in my signature, from '16, and lots of pictures.)