Disneyland’s newly remodeled Napa Rose wants to add a Michelin Star to its list of honors and join the growing lineup of chefs and restaurants in nearby Downtown Disney that already have the coveted award on their resume.
The Napa Rose fine dining restaurant at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel returned after a 10-month renovation with a grand reopening in February following a series of media previews.
ALSO SEE: Disneyland’s Napa Rose: First look inside the remodeled restaurant
Through the years, Napa Rose has picked up numerous honors — receiving the AAA Four Diamond award many times and making Gayot’s short list of Best California Cuisine restaurants in Orange County. The Zagat Guide once rated Napa Rose second in the state behind only the French Laundry in Yountville. The Forbes Travel Guide awarded the restaurant four stars in 2025.
But one accolade has so far eluded Napa Rose: The coveted Michelin Star.
Napa Rose General Manager Jess Soman. (Courtesy of Disneyland)
Napa Rose General Manager Jess Soman helped The Inn at Little Washington in Virginia earn three Michelin stars and the Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star award during his tenure at the Washington D.C.-area foodie haven.
Soman was candid about his ambitions to earn Michelin and Forbes stars for Napa Rose after the restaurant remodel, according to Los Angeles Magazine.
“I have no doubt we’re going to get that fifth Forbes star,” Soman told Los Angeles Magazine. “It has always been my goal to bring a Michelin star here.”
Executive Chef Andrew Sutton of Napa Rose restaurant at the Grand Californian Hotel in Anaheim on Tuesday, July 20, 2021. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Chef Andrew Sutton — who serves as the Culinary Director of Signature Dining at the Disneyland resort — oversees Napa Rose as well as Carthay Circle at Disney California Adventure and the private Club 33 at Disneyland.
Eater Los Angeles asked Sutton if he has dreams of Napa Rose gaining a Michelin star.
“We’re focused on delivering a dining experience that feels thoughtful, precise and worthy of its place in California’s culinary landscape,” Sutton told Eater LA. “If that journey leads to Michelin or James Beard recognition, it would be an honor, but the work always comes first.”
The Napa Rose exhibition kitchen during a media preview following a 10-month renovation at the fine dining restaurant in Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel. (Photo by Brady MacDonald, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The Disneyland resort has never had a Michelin Star restaurant — inside the parks, at the hotels or in Downtown Disney.
Walt Disney World resort in Florida has two restaurants with a Michelin Star: Victoria & Albert’s at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Capa at Four Seasons Resort Orlando.
Prime Eye of the Rib Eye on the refreshed Napa Rose menu at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel. (Courtesy of Disneyland)
Downtown Disney has been racking up chefs and restaurants with Michelin Stars on their résumés.
Celebrity chef Carlos Gaytan opened his Paseo restaurant, Centrico courtyard bar and Tiendita grab-and-go stand in 2024 in Downtown Disney.
Gaytan’s Mexique restaurant in Chicago was awarded a Michelin Star in 2013, making him the first Mexican-born chef to earn the coveted honor. That same year, Gaytan joined Bravo’s “Top Chef” reality competition show as a contestant.
The Napa Rose main dining room following a 10-month renovation at the fine dining restaurant in Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel. (Courtesy of Disneyland)
The Michelin-awarded Din Tai Fung restaurant from Taiwan debuted in 2024 in Downtown Disney.
Din Tai Fung has been awarded a Michelin Star five times at its Hong Kong branch.
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GG’s Chicken Shop from Michelin Star Chef Lee Wolen and James Beard Award-winning restaurateurs Rob Katz and Kevin Boehm opened in 2025 in the Parkside Market food hall in Downtown Disney.
Wolen earned a Michelin Star for his work as executive chef at Boka in Chicago.
The Napa Rose bar and lounge during a media preview following a 10-month renovation at the fine dining restaurant in Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel. (Photo by Brady MacDonald, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The new Gordon Ramsay at The Carnaby gastropub under construction atop the new Earl of Sandwich fast-casual restaurant is set to open later this year in Downtown Disney.
The “Hell’s Kitchen” celebrity chef’s original Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in the Chelsea neighborhood of London has received the most prestigious accolade in the culinary world — three Michelin stars. Three other Ramsay restaurants hold Michelin stars.
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New York City celebrity chef Joe Isidori will open the Arthur & Sons Steak and Bourbon steakhouse and Pearl’s Roadside BBQ barbecue joint on the footprint of the former Tortilla Jo’s location in Downtown Disney.
The former executive chef at President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort earned a Michelin Star at the president’s DJT restaurant in Las Vegas.