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disneyland addict13
04-07-2016, 06:08 PM
I just got off the phone from booking the Napa Rose chef's counter for a night in June. When I made my reservation, I was told that they have a new policy and are no longer allowing a la carte orders from the chef's counter. The only options are the chef's tasting menu for $100 or tasting menu with wine pairing for $150.

Has anyone else heard about this policy change? It shouldn't affect my group too much because we almost always order the tasting menu, but I'm sure it will have a big impact on others who prefer to order from the menu.

Toocherie
04-07-2016, 06:15 PM
Haven't heard that but I'm not surprised


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tea4two
04-07-2016, 06:26 PM
I'm not surprised either. After reading posts on other boards about people who reserve the counter only to order off the regular menu (and sometimes only dessert at that "to save money" -- um, saving money and eating at the counter don't exactly go together, much as I wish they did...), I wonder if the restaurant thought that this might be a way to make it a little easier to get a seat at the counter during busy times. After all, anyone can sit at a table in the dining room (and some tables have nice views of the kitchen -- not as close as the counter, but still a nice view) or the lounge and order a la carte, thus freeing up the counter seats. The counter isn't like a regular table, so perhaps the restaurant management is taking steps to make this clear?

Toocherie
04-07-2016, 07:29 PM
I'm sure there were too many instances of people having a 5:30 pm seating coming in, ordering an appetizer and maybe dessert, leaving and then the seats were empty until the next scheduled seating. That isn't what it was meant for. The whole point was to have interaction with the chefs--which is hard to do with a limited amount of food and time. And I'm sure it's a bottom line financial decision too.

cstephens
04-08-2016, 02:06 PM
I would think you could also order the vintner's and not just the tasting menu. I guess we'll have to see the next time I end up there. Sometimes, I do want to order off the menu, but I'm still ordering enough courses to essentially make my own vintner's. I guess I could order the tasting menu and just tell them exactly what I want tastes of.

GrandCA
04-14-2016, 12:27 PM
Good.

In my opinion, the Chef's Choice is the only reason to book the Chef's Counter. Get a regular table if you want the regular menu.

It is the experience you are payin for and with its limited availability of only two seatings a night I say this is a good thing if people were just ordering a basic entree and leaving.

adriennek
04-18-2016, 06:46 AM
Nothing new to add here - I agree: This is a totally reasonable policy. One fear I've had about talking about how awesome the counter is, would be this very thing: if it's too successful, I don't want to have a difficult time getting reservations I want. ;)

As GrandCA said: There's only 2 seatings a night. So taking up an entire 3 hour seating for just dessert is a little... much.

If a party wants to sit at a counter and "just" order dessert, I would suggest the bar. In fact, a friend of mine and I did just that, this weekend. We were not at NR, but another fine restaurant in Downtown Los Angeles. We knew we were only going to get cocktails, an appetizer and maybe dessert. We didn't even ask for a table in the dining room.

I feel a little silly saying that I never really have spent much time sitting at bars before. Mostly when I go to a bar or lounge, my group is big enough that we want a table or my husband and I prefer a table. Frankly, I enjoyed sitting at the bar and watching the action the same way I do the counter.

I would be curious about one thing: They do have that extra side counter space that is often unused. If I arrived at 9:00 for only dessert and it was empty, I wonder if they would give me a seat there. I could see the answer being no because the server would not have the benefit of the tip associated with the minimum order. I doubt I would ask for something like that - like I said, I'd probably prefer the Lounge by the fireplace for a light, more relaxed order. But I wonder.

Malcon10t
04-19-2016, 10:48 AM
I could see the answer being no because the server would not have the benefit of the tip associated with the minimum order. I doubt I would ask for something like that - like I said, I'd probably prefer the Lounge by the fireplace for a light, more relaxed order. But I wonder.But if the seat remains empty, the server's tip is $0. *IF* I did something like that, I would tend to tip extra.

adriennek
04-19-2016, 03:32 PM
But if the seat remains empty, the server's tip is $0. *IF* I did something like that, I would tend to tip extra.

Well this is also how I feel, on both accounts.

I think I sat at the counter one time and did not order a tasting menu, but I was with a group of 4 and I'm confident that we spent at least the minimum on food. I remember at least one (unnamed) person ordered 2 desserts.

But, generally speaking, if I have a seat at the counter, I want at least 2-3 hours. For me, it's an experience, not just a seat at the restaurant. Now that I think about it, I remember going one time and having a CM express surprise that my party was not seated at the Counter. I remember saying we were coming in for a less formal experience that night so we were not going to take up the seats.