A Pumpkin That Looks Like a Decoration: Dinner at the Reimagined Napa Rose

Some desserts are almost too pretty to cut into. This was one of them.

Last night I sat down at Napa Rose, the signature restaurant at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa in Anaheim, for the Chef’s Tasting Menu, the prix fixe that replaced the old Vintner’s Table. The kitchen has tweaked it quite a bit under Chef Alex Flores, who was recently promoted to Executive Chef and is listed that way on the menu. The dessert plate arrived, and I just looked at it. It was a small, perfect pumpkin sitting on slate, with crumble and a scatter of ruby pomegranate arils beside it. It looked like the centerpiece from a very expensive Thanksgiving table, not something you eat.

The chef calls it the Heirloom Pumpkin. Then I cut it open.

Inside, a wonderful cream cheese–like filling called fromage blanc crémeux sat on a molasses crumble. It tasted as good as it looked. Here on the Southern California coast, fall is mostly a state of mind, so a pumpkin spice dessert this good is a welcome reminder that the season exists. The spice took me straight back to the spice cookies at my grandma’s house when I was a kid. It was simply delicious, and it wasn’t overdone.

The Pecan Noir was equally delicious. It arrived looking like a dessert, with a clean slice, a delicate sugar ring, and chocolate lines drawn across the plate, so there was no mystery. It was crunchy on top, with a thin, chilled layer of hard chocolate and pecan crème, and underneath it was soft and smooth, like a great custard.

A full-circle dinner

Here’s the part that made the night more than a good meal for me. I first met Alex Flores nearly 20 years ago, when he was a prep chef at Napa Rose. I was sitting at the chef’s table with Gloria Tae, who was the sous chef then. Alex walked up and delivered a plate, and Chef Tae said, “Oh, you have to try this.” The timing was so perfect it felt almost scripted. The dish wasn’t part of our meal plan, and I’ve long since forgotten what it was, but I never forgot the moment. Chef Tae has gone on to great things herself. She became the first female chef de cuisine in Disneyland Resort history, at Club 33, and the California State Assembly named her a Woman of the Year in 2024. Sitting in that dining room, eating a dessert from the man who is now running the kitchen, I felt like the story had come around in a circle. Published bios back up the long road. A 2009 press item says he joined Napa Rose in 2002 and worked every station in the restaurant’s training program, and Disney named him a sous chef in 2007. He has since been a chef de cuisine and then executive chef at Carthay Circle in Disney California Adventure.

And here’s something diners don’t always realize. An executive chef like Alex isn’t back there cooking every plate. He leads the kitchen and shapes the menu, and he trusts a talented team to carry it out every night. The desserts that stole my evening come from Napa Rose’s pastry team, which I think is still led by Executive Pastry Chef Jorge Sotelo and Pastry Chef Nubia Renteria. Building a team and letting it shine is a big part of what I write about in my upcoming book, The Easy Guide to Business.

The rest of the evening

A word to first-timers: this is fine dining, so the portions are small. You’re there for the flavor, and there was plenty of it. The amuse-bouche that night was a wonderful little shot of mushroom crème soup. The duck breast was prepared like a fine filet, served over a light sweet potato wash. Then came the pasta with rabbit meatballs, which had the finish of a fine Italian cacio e pepe. That’s a tough enough dish to get right on its own, let alone with rabbit meatballs mixed in.

My wife and I went completely different directions all the way down the Chef’s Tasting Menu, so we tasted twice as much of the kitchen’s work. We skipped the wine pairing. I’ve completed the Court of Master Sommeliers introductory course and WSET Level 2 so I went with a well-priced Barolo from the list that had the flexibility to go with everything we both were planning to order.

The pacing was great for us. We’ve been semi-regulars at Napa Rose since it opened, and our server Wendy knows we like to take our time, so she never rushes us. Part of the fun of coming back is the familiar faces. We said hello to Johnny, Anthony, and Mike “Saucy,” who have served us on earlier visits, and to Marty behind the bar, and we introduced ourselves to Patrick, the new sommelier.

I’ll admit the remodel worried me. I loved the old room’s Pixar-esque take on Napa Valley. The new space is still very much a tribute to California’s famed wine valley, with just enough classic Disney touches. Look up at the three-dimensional plaster images on the higher walls, and you’ll find that each one connects to a Disney movie. Even the roses can remind you of Beauty and the Beast. Not many kids are eating $188 dinners, but maybe that’s the point of going: to bring out the kid inside us, if only for a meal.

For context, the restaurant closed in April 2025 and reopened on February 6, 2026, after a major remodel that coincided with its 25th anniversary. The design leans into a modern Craftsman look inspired by Napa Valley, with a fireplace in the bar and lounge and an expanded outdoor terrace.

Don’t skip the lobby

Before or after dinner, walk through the Great Hall of the Grand Californian. There’s a Nightmare Before Christmas display there that is made of sugar, not gingerbread. Jack Skellington is in his Sandy Claws outfit, holding hands with Sally on Spiral Hill in front of a glowing moon. Around the corner, Oogie Boogie looms over the Mayor and a crowd of tombstones. Disney says the pastry team spent over 800 hours on it, working with fondant, chocolate, powdered sugar, rice cereal, and marshmallows. Disney lists it as part of its Halloween Time hotel offerings, so I’d check with the hotel before you plan a special trip to see it after the holiday.

Worth the drive from Huntington Beach?

From Huntington Beach, Napa Rose is roughly a 25-to-40 minute drive inland, depending on the 405 and the 5 or you can just head up Beach Blvd and take a right on Ball or Patella. Parking is available at the hotel and unlike Carthay Circle, you don’t need a park ticket to dine at Napa Rose. Disney validates five hours of parking when you dine at Napa Rose.

For those of us who spend our weekends at the beach, it’s a good night out that doesn’t need a flight to wine country. The prix fixe is a splurge at $188 a person before drinks, tax, and tip. Another welcome change is that à la carte is back. The prix fixe is no longer required in either the lounge or the dining room, so you can stop in for a glass of wine and that pumpkin without committing to the full tasting menu. By now, many of the staff feel like friends, and there’s a level of comfort here that only one other place matches for us: the Huntington Harbour Yacht Club, where my wife becomes rear commodore tomorrow. So yes, we’ll be back. If you go soon, order the Heirloom Pumpkin.