When you think “fancy restaurant,” do you think fried chicken? How about fried chicken with a special surprise inside? Well, that’s one of the exciting items we ordered at Napa Rose in Disneyland and we can’t wait to tell you all about it!

We’ve stopped by Napa Rose at the Grand Californian Resort on different occasions before so we were looking forward to taking another trip to see how things held up!

Atmosphere

As an upscale restaurant, there is a different aesthetic and vibe here than say, Goofy’s Kitchen, for example. You’ll notice a lot of similar touches in the restaurant as you see running throughout the Grand Californian. Warm tones and lighting, an open floor plan, and wood-heavy decor are some of the overarching themes.

The restaurant also features a lovely lounge and bar area. The bar does offer a menu in case you just can’t wait for a table — hey, we’ve been there! Plus, the outdoor patio is a great spot to sit and enjoy a glass of wine!

Overall, the restaurant gave off a warm and comfortable vibe which put us in the perfect frame of mind for our meal!

Eats

The menu at Napa Rose is ever-changing, which means dining there is always a fresh and inspiring experience. In addition to the excellent food options, the restaurant is known for its impressive wine selection. Of course, your server will make recommendations on pairings if you’re interested. We decided to stick to starters, sides, and desserts at this visit so we had more room for sampling!

We started off with a selection of bread, which is served with dinner service for no additional charge. We’re always down for some free carbs!

Now for the starters! We tried the House-made Tortellini Celebrating Spring for $18.00, which featured parmesan, country ham, and market peas, in a leek broth. We really enjoyed this! It was a flavorful starter that wasn’t too overpowering or heavy. Definitely a great way to start off a meal in our book!

On to the show-stopper: the “Napa Rose Fried Chicken” with new crop carrot cloud and black truffle crème for $22.00. As our server explained to us, this is the restaurant’s take on “which came first, the chicken or the egg?”

The prep for this one sounded intense but was worth the wait! They started by freezing chicken sauce stock into two half-cylinders to make a perfect ball shape. Then, chicken sausage was wrapped around the ball and breaded with rice flour. Next, the whole thing was deep-fried, so the sauce turned molten. When we cut into it, the sauce ran out, kind of like an egg! The final product was served on top of a truffle mousse!

Okay, so it’s unique, but was it good? We’re pleased to report that YES, we did enjoy the “Napa Rose Fried Chicken!” It was super flavorful, plus the interesting presentation gave us some in-meal entertainment! Take a look at that saucy goodness!

And of course, we had to try out some sides as well!  First up was the Truffled “Mac & Cheese” Orecchiette Pasta with Parmigiano-Reggiano for $12.00. And while the fried chicken was a tough act to follow, the mac and cheese didn’t disappoint! In fact, this might be a contender for our favorite mac and cheese on property. It was flavorful, creamy, and all-around excellent. This was a solid Napa Rose staple that we (still) highly recommend.

Can’t forget the veggies! We ordered the Brussels sprouts and this was the first part of the meal that was slightly disappointing. The flavor was okay, but they weren’t crispy enough, so the texture definitely left something to be desired. We noticed that the Brussels sprouts aren’t currently showing on the online menu, so they may have already swapped these babies out for another seasonal item. But based on our experience, you aren’t missing out on much if this item isn’t available!

Are you guys ready for this super fun dessert?? We ordered the Balboa “Beach Sand” which is listed on the Kids’ Dessert menu for $6.50. It’s a Tahitian vanilla bean crème brûlée “ocean” with graham cracker “sand” and (wait for it…) Swedish fish! It even comes complete with an umbrella!

The presentation is absolutely ADORABLE, and guess what — it was also delicious! Despite the unique combination of ingredients, the crème brûlée is really good. Plus, they were nice enough to give us three Swedish fish, so everyone splitting the dessert could have one!

Overall

We typically expect a next-level experience at Napa Rose, and this meal definitely left us impressed yet again. Of all the menu items we tried, there was only one which we didn’t love (we like our Brussels sprouts crispy!). And we were thrilled to see that the items with inventive and unique presentations still tasted awesome! We’re already looking forward to enjoying another meal at Napa Rose.

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Have you had the opportunity to dine at Napa Rose? Tell us about your experience in the comments below!