Disneyland has re-imagined the Village Haus Restaurant in Fantasyland and transformed it into the Red Rose Taverne. The decor and menu is inspired by the new Beauty and the Beast movie.
The Taverne opened on February 24th, and it has been extremely popular. There were 1-2 hour waits to get in the first weekend! We visited mid-afternoon on Friday, March 3, and were able to walk right in. But there were still plenty of people inside and business was brisk. (As Jason reported in his blog, later that evening the line was out the door again, so timing is everything!)
For something that is supposed to be temporary, I thought it was very well-done. The ordering area has always felt like a village town square, and of course that ties in very well with Beauty and the Beast and the opening scene of the movie. It’s quite charming.
There are dining rooms on both sides of the restaurant. The one on the left is Belle-themed. There’s murals on the walls and lots of books, cabinets, and china.
And several stained glass windows.
The stained glass roses on the exterior windows are really beautiful.
The room on the right is Gaston-themed. Where of course they use antlers in all of the decorating. 🙂
The menu offers items like Beast’s Burger, Slow-cooked Beef Poutine, and Chicken Sandwich a la Lumiere. One of the available sides is Pomme Frites – fries with Parmesan cheese. For dessert there’s a Grey Stuff Gateau and a Lemon Rose Cake. There’s also a specialty beverage: Gaston’s Brew – apple-mango punch with passion fruit foam.
At the registers these Mrs. Potts crispy treats were available.
When the restaurant opened, these rose beverage cups were available, but they sold out quickly. No word on whether or not they will be back.
I ordered the Enchanted Cauli-Flower Sandwich. A grilled cauliflower “steak” with lettuce, tomato, tempura-fried green beans, and lime aioli. I ordered it with the pommes frites, but sliced apples are also an option. This was really good – the cauliflower was cooked perfectly – not too soft and not too crisp. The roasting/grilling brought out a nice flavor, and I enjoyed the tempura green beans, too. The pommes frites were very good, though not as good as the ones at Cafe Orleans. They needed some garlic.
Lee tried the Poutine Flatbread – slow-cooked beef, pommes frites, roasted garlic aioli, cheese curds, gravy, and herb oil. He really enjoyed this as well. It also had pickled onions on top.
For dessert we of course had to try the Grey Stuff Gateau. It was red velvet cake with a raspberry filling, covered with white chocolate mousse and pearls.
It was delicious. The raspberry filling was an actual raspberry. Lee got that in his half, though I could taste some raspberry flavor in my half. The mousse wasn’t too sweet, and didn’t have that cloying mouth feel that mousse/icing sometimes leaves behind.
Jason noticed this little detail above the exit as we were leaving. Very cute!
The restaurant is really lovely. I enjoyed everything that we tried, and I hope I get the opportunity to return. It will be interesting to see how long this restaurant overlay remains in place. Since the Star Wars-inspired Galactic Grill is over a year old, I suppose the precedent exists for it to stay around for a while. With the Big Thunder Trail closed (due to Star Wars Land construction) there hasn’t been much reason for guests to visit that quiet corner of Fantasyland until now. It’s certainly proving to be very popular.
It’s the final week of AP Days at Disneyland, which have a Main Street Electrical Parade theme. The final button is Elliott the dragon.
And the pennant available for coloring is Elliott, also. I was surprised that the craft offerings were also different every week.
The “make-your-own Electrical Parade” sheet features the last few floats in the parade.
The Country Bears were again the featured characters at the meet and greet – we saw Wendell and Liver Lips. They alternated with Shaker and Big Al.
Lee hadn’t seen the Beauty and the Beast sneak peek, so we saw that at Disney California Adventure. I was able to get a photo of the enchanted mirrors in action.
The next big event at the Disneyland Resort is the Disney California Food and Wine Festival, which starts on March 10 and runs through April 16. There are more food booths and more events this year, and I’m looking forward to it.
The red rose sippers sold out because people were buying armloads of them and scalping them on eBay. I saw one sell for $193. Wish Disney would limit them to one per person. Collectors like me don’t have a chance against some people’s greed.
Laura replies: Hi Cindy. I am in complete agreement with you, and wish that Disney would limit purchases of items like this.