Grand Finale Restaurant — Attraction in Glendale

I normally don't write reviews of restaurants because, while the food at some places is good...It isn't anything so spectacular that I feel the need to share it with people... This place however is a MAJOR exception... For my birthday, my future in-laws treated me to dinner here while in town, and they said to pick wherever I wanted, and not to worry about the cost. So clearly I chose to eat here. My fiancee and I have passed by here tons of times, and have wanted to try it out but a quick glance of the menu online made it evident that it was just a wee bit out of our price range...so here was our opportunity to try it out lol. I love to eat, I love to cook, I just generally LOVE the overall experience of a meal...and this place literally had me in tears because of the symphony of deliciousness contained within each bite. From beginning to end, the entire meal was beautiful. They start you off with some delicious house-baked rolls. There were two different kinds, the first being a denser roll with poppy and sesame seeds on top, the other was a very light and airy sweet roll...both of which were fantastic with a small pat of butter. I ordered a Long Island Iced Tea (because they are one of my favorites considering I don't drink very often) and it was very well mixed and spot on with the flavor. For my main meal I had the Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon, with a side Béarnaise sauce, I also ordered Spinach and Cheese Crepe, and a side salad. The salad was wonderful and fresh, it contained a crisp mix of salad greens, a quartered boiled egg, a few bits of properly ripened avocado, and a mixture of what I believe was mozzarella, mild cheddar, and romano cheeses, and I ordered the house special dressing which was a creamy avocado vinaigrette. The dressing was the super star of that salad, I have never had a dressing come close to how delicious it was, and it perfectly complimented the salad without overpowering it, but also making itself an integral flavor of the overall experience.

After finishing my salad, from behind me I could almost swear that I had a choir of angels singing, singing to notify me that my tastebuds, and in fact, my whole life was about to be blessed with a treat from the heavens above...

When my main course was placed in front of me, it took my breath away. The overall presentation of the plate was classy but not over done or tacky in any way. I ordered my steak medium and it was cooked PERFECTLY. The spinach crepe was served in a separate side dish, presented with beautifully golden brown cheese on top (still bubbling with pops of love and joy from the chef), and garnished with sprigs of fresh parsley, again, classy. I decided to start with my lovely steak which was so tender, I was able to cut it with the side of my fork. As I bit down into that tender, juicy, and divine piece of cow, I closed my eyes as my mind was immediately incapacitated by the shear perfection of flavor contained within that one small bite I placed upon my tongue. It was so tender that a toothless man with a broken jaw could have chewed it, and the flavor was so perfectly phenomenal that nothing could have been added or taken away to improve it. Or so I thought... I then tried my second bite after dipping the steak in my Béarnaise sauce, which was the textbook definition of a perfectly prepared béarnaise (which for anyone who has prepared one knows...it can go very wrong very quickly lol). The spinach crepe was every bit as wonderful as everything else I had eaten. They obviously used fresh spinach, which makes all the difference my opinion. It was made with a blend of Monterey jack, cheddar, shredded parmesan, and a wonderfully creamy bechamel sauce. After we were all finished our meals, they brought me out a little birthday treat. It was vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and strawberries in a berry sauce with a candle on top (which I thought was very nice), and again, because they aren't a tacky place, they didn't come out screaming happy birthday at me, off...

I googled to find a restaurant near the area I was in. One of the places that came up was Grand Finale, in Glendale. I remembered a co-worker telling me about this place being nice and the food being good. Since it was only 2 miles away, I called to see if we could get in and it was a go. The restaurant was located on the corner and I almost passed by seeing the name etched on the window. The parking lot was small and little tight, filled w/ cars. I don’t know if they share the lot with another business because when I walked in, it didn’t appear as though a lot of people were in there. To my surprise, the place is a lot bigger on the inside than on the outside because I kept walking back and started seeing more and more people. I can only describe it as being quaint w/ the exposed brick walls, artwork, and empty bird cages. There were a lot of good sounding meals to choose from along with many variations on crepes. Homebaked bread was brought to the table. I didn’t partake but was told it was warm and soft. We all got their house salad with avocado dressing. They make all their dressings in house. Although the dressing was good, it could have been a little stronger in flavor. Companion One chose the rack of lamb w/ mango chutney with the side being a spinach and cheese crepe. The crepe was enjoyed but it was felt the lamb itself was lacking in flavor and little too tough. Perhaps it needed to be medium instead of medium-well. The mango chutney was good as well as the lemon drop martini. Companion Two ordered the scallop, shrimp, and lobster linguini. It was tossed in a parmesan sauce with red and yellow bell peppers. Companion Two couldn’t find the lobster and requested extra parmesan. I also ordered the linguini dish. I appeared to have more cheese than Companion Two and I had a whole lobster claw. I found the linguini to be good with a nice amount of seafood. However, we both felt there could have been another dimension to the pasta dish. Perhaps a few capers or maybe sun-dried tomato. I also had the pomegranate margarita which was good though it was served straight up in a martini glass. Is it still a margarita or would it just be a martini? Hmmmm. The waiter mentioned that they are known for their desserts. I could see why judging from what another table ordered, some sort of puffed pastry and ice cream dessert-enough to be shared. Most of their desserts involved ice cream so I when with the limelight pie since I was taking it to go. For the price ($8.50) it could have been a bigger slice, but it was good. Nice and tart with a crunch from the hazelnut crust.

Bottom line for me: I enjoyed my meal and the atmosphere. I would go back at some point and try...

My husband and I went to Grand Finale for the first time on Friday, 10/4/19, to celebrate our 20-year anniversary of when we met.

It is extremely rare for us to go out to dinner at a restaurant of this caliber. Therefore, it was a special treat and we looked forward to it.

I made a reservation online the day before and wrote in the comments that we were celebrating our anniversary. There was plenty of parking when we arrived and we were seated right away. I was disappointed in the hostess who was very short with us. She didn't ask if we made a reservation or if we were here to celebrate a special occasion. She didn't offer one shred of conversation or small talk. Seven words:

"Two? Right this way. Here you go."

She didn't ask if this seat was okay, or tell us who our server was. Nothing.

I was not happy to be sitting so close to another table. I could clearly hear the conversations of the other couple (speaking to each other and to our server) moreso than I could hear my husband speaking to me.

I later overhead the hostess being very friendly to another couple. "Here you go, right by the window. And happy anniversary!" Then she added something along the lines of, "enjoy your meal" or "your server will be right with you." I wish she had been that way with us.

The person who was refilling my water and clearing plates was very attentive and pleasant. He made up for what the hostess lacked in courtesy.

We enjoyed the lovely and charming decor of the restaurant and appreciated sitting by a window. The bread tasted fantastic and my apple martini was deliciously prepared. I loved the fresh flowers and candle on the table.

Our server was a friendly, approachable man; professional and a sense of humor. Michael.

My husband ordered the pork chop and I ordered a steak. Our food was delightfully scrumptious! On the side, I had a spinach crepe and it was everything I had hoped it would be.

For dessert, my husband got the special cheesecake and I ordered cheesecake with strawberries. Each slice was a generous amount, which was very much appreciated. The heavenly taste of the cheesecake was my favorite part! Their amazing cheesecake is...