After recruiting Michelin-level chefs to open new dining spots at the Downtown Disney District, Disneyland appears to be going after its own star with the return of its fine dining restaurant, Napa Rose.
After being closed for renovations for nearly a year, the award-winning restaurant at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa reopened Feb. 6. The overhauled restaurant features a $188-per-person tasting menu in the dining room, which showcases an elegant vine-shaped chandelier, and an à la carte menu at the bar. The chef’s counter seating, which overlooks the bustling exhibition kitchen, returns with expanded seating for $250 per person.
Part of the old lounge area has been converted into a private dining space.
“This whole design I thought was really fun,” Chef Andrew Sutton told the Business Journal. “It’s almost like two restaurants.”
Disney and restaurant executives noted that the restaurant was due for a modern update.
“We took the time to do this thoughtfully—honoring the story of the space while allowing the restaurant to evolve into who we are today,” said Sutton, who has been with Napa Rose since the Craftsman-themed hotel opened in 2001.
Sutton is also the Disneyland Resort’s culinary director of signature dining.
He told the Business Journal at a media event on Feb. 3 that almost the entire Napa Rose menu had been updated, save a few nods to fan-favorite dishes such as the smiling tiger (now called the Laughing Tiger) and the mushroom cappuccino.
The latter serves as an amuse-bouche to start the lavish four-course tasting menu in the main dining room, where à la carte ordering has been scrapped.
Sutton said that offering a small bites à la carte menu in the bar and lounge, and a separate prix fixe menu in the main dining room, allows his team to “divide and conquer.”
He also noted that he can offer more value with a set menu, especially at a time when proteins are more expensive.
New dishes include the Colorado rack of roasted, boneless lamb with dried fig-orange gremolata and a sorpresine pasta with California crab broth and Pacific uni butter.
Napa Rose is known for its wine program, which includes more than 13,000 bottles from approximately 1,500 labels. All these wines had been previously stored in a cellar downstairs.
The hotel’s general manager, Nicholas Hockman, said the renovation allowed Disney to showcase its collection, with 3,800 bottles from the cellar now on display in the dining room.
Walt Disney Imagineer Katrina Mosher, who helped redesign Napa Rose, noted that the renovation was “a passion project” for the Imagineering team.
“One of the things at the Grand (Californian) that we always try to do is push for better design for a modern-day audience,” Mosher said during the event.
Michelin at Downtown Disney
GM Hockman hired Napa Rose’s General Manager Jess Soman in 2023.
With his background in Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star and Michelin three-star dining, Soman is said to “inform the restaurant’s polished and attentive service.”
Napa Rose only added a couple new cast members, Disney’s term for employees, who previously worked at local places such as Nobu Newport Beach and Michelin-star restaurant Knife Pleat at South Coast Plaza.
Disney executives told media guests during the preview event to pay attention to the level of service throughout the night.
The shift comes during an overhaul of Downtown Disney’s food and drink offerings also.
In 2024, Disney and Patina Restaurant Group recruited Michelin-honored Chef Carlos Gaytán to open three new Mexican cuisine restaurants at the shopping center.
Currently under construction are a full-service steakhouse called Arthur & Sons Steak and Bourbon and a quick-service eatery known as Pearl’s Roadside BBQ, both led by Michelin-honored Chef Joe Isidori.
2026 also marks the 25th anniversary of the Grand Californian hotel, its restaurants, the Downtown Disney District and Disney California Adventure Park.
“At the end of the day, Disney is about people, right? It’s about the service that we provide. It’s about the stories which we tell and the manner of which we tell it,” Hockman said.
More Theme Park Dining
In Buena Park, Knott’s Berry Farm is preparing to debut an all-new themed restaurant.
Knott’s will replace the Johnny Rockets venue on the west side of the park with a new chicken and fries concept called Crafty’s Kitchen, with the renovation scheduled to begin on April 15.
“Crafty’s Kitchen will bring together Knott’s culinary excellence featuring clever chicken dishes and boysenberry, of course, with a continuation of Crafty Coyote’s story,” Senior Vice President and West Coast General Manager Raffi Kaprelyan said in a statement.
The restaurant, themed after the park character, will feature a self-service line where guests can choose from a variety of dishes, including wings, tenders, fries and boysenberry pie shakes.
The update was revealed the day after FAT Brands, parent company of Johnny Rockets, Round Table Pizza and Fatburger, announced Jan. 16 that it had filed for bankruptcy protection (Nasdaq: FAT). At the time, the company said its portfolio of more than 2,200 locations was “expected to remain operating as usual during the chapter 11 process.”
“With its fun signage and spirited atmosphere, Crafty’s Kitchen promises a flavorful, mischievous dining experience unlike any other in the park,” Knott’s Berry Farm said.