Grana — Restaurant in Sydney

Overall rating 3.5-4 (read below). Food rating 4.5-5.

The food here is absolutely delicious. The Crescenza Focaccia Di Recco is a flat bread style foccacia (so not the usual more fluffy dense style served) with really delicious cheese inside. The foccacia is crisp and the cheese is melted and salty. A perfect combination.

We also got the tuna tartare which I recommend as well. The tuna was very fresh and was dressed with a delicious sweet savoury avocado sauce and grape fruit segments. Refreshing and light.

The pastas we ordered were also phenomenal. The charred octopus with ndjua spaghetti had just enough spice . The slightly bitter char gave the octopus a nice slightly crisp texture and bitterness, offsetting the spicy ndjua and really elevating the tender octopus. The gigli pasta with lamb ragu and stracciatella was flavourful and rich. I loved the texture of that pasta as it offered a really satisfying texture.

For cocktails, we ordered the 'Sunshine in Sicily' and 'Wattle Espresso'. The Sunshine in Sicily was fruity and packed a punch. The espresso was one of the best coffee cocktails I've ever had ! Full bodied coffee heaven with a hint of chocolate.

Despite the amazing food, we had a perhaps subpar or at the very least odd experience with the service. Whilst very friendly and polite, I think they forgot to serve us at the start. Whilst the orders came on time, we struggled to get any greeting or service at the beginning after being seated. There were drink menus already on the table but no one came to take our order nor greet the table for an uncomfortable amount of time. I'm unsure if this is protocol or a more casual vibe Grana is going for but I did notice that the tables around us had constant service and waiters asking them about their order and taking drinks. No one made eye contact with us but to note the waiters seemed to be very preoccupied with the tables around us. I guess we are used to other higher end dining having a designated wait staff for a section.

After about 10 or so minutes we did ask a passing staff member if we could order drinks. But then oddly enough no food menu was offered. So we waited awkwardly again before asking for a menu. When the menu was provided the waiter did tell us about the specials and asked if it was our first time at Grana. Furthermore, someone did come around to provide sparkling water (complimentary - a good bonus) but didn't greet us any further. We had to again flag a passing staff member who was busy with plates (apologies to the staff member with the plates as it was super busy but we had been waiting for a while and it was getting awkward and uncomfortable) and ask for our order to be taken. Furthermore, when our drinks came- they gave us a wrong drink. Luckily the staff member we informed was extremely nice and accommodating, promptly providing us with the correct cocktail and did not charge us for the extra we didn't order.

I'm unsure of the staff experience at Grana and if it was supposed to be more casual but I felt maybe because we weren't in a large group/ older clientele (as the tables around us were during the start of dinner ) we were forgotten or dismissed as we weren't spending as much (we aren't heavy on drinks etc.). The place was also very busy with a large party behind us and quite noisy so staff may have been a tad bogged down with service being so frantic.

Of course if the service is supposed to be casual then ignore this long write up but it was odd. The staff we interacted with were really nice and pleasant. However my partner and I just felt a bit awkward overall. But alas the food is amazing and my partner still wants to get his parents a gift voucher for here...

I booked a cheeky dinner at Grana before a show for myself and my lovely mother.

I chose based off Google reviews, which are outstanding, and our experience was exactly that…OUTSTANDING!

Grana is tucked away behind Customs House on Young Street. The proximity to Circular Quay makes its easy to access by public transport on land or sea.

Located in a 200 year old building the whole place oozes with charm and character. The sandstone walls and original hard wood floors are married with modern finishes of marble and bronze that make for a very convivial ambiance.

On arrival we were greeted very warmly by a waiting staff member who quickly checked our reservation and showed us a to a great corner booth table.

We started with drinks and went for a glass of wine each. I am normally a beer drinker but went slightly rouge and placed my faith in a Skin Contact Semillon blend from Italy which was so good I stuck with it for the rest of the night.

The drinks menu is extensive and well curated including cocktails, wines, beers and much more.

For entree we started with their house milled sourdough with Parmesan butter. I need to make special mention of the butter because it is out of this world! So tasty and delectable, you can’t stop spreading it thick on their equally commendable bread.

Six oysters and kingfish crudo followed. The oysters were nice. Not exceptional, but very fresh and served with a Prosecco based vignette and wedge of lemon. The kingfish was perfect. Slices of the delicate flesh complimented with a spring onion verde and mandarin juice, the addition of small pearls of Ruby fingerlime adding a nice burst of tanginess to each bite.

We decided to share the market fish, glazed lamb shoulder and a side of the charred sugar loaf cabbage.

Every dish was exceptional. The barramundi was cooked perfectly with a crunchy crust. The shellfish based sauce was a knock out which took the whole dish to the next level. The lamb shoulder literally melted in your mouth; I have never had better lamb. The sugar loaf cabbage was a great accompaniment to the other dishes and the spicy cashew sauce and charred leaves were mouth watering.

Felling very full already we managed to squeeze in a shared desert and went for the pavlova. Not your normal pav this was a nice variation on a classic that had tart and sweet flavours well balanced.

The food is well matched by the service. Every staff member with whom we interacted was friendly and courteous. The service was not at all stuffy and also not too casual. Special mention has to go to Grace who was such a star. Unfortunately it was her last night so her talents will be put to good use elsewhere but she nailed attentive and professional service with a casual, dare I say grace, that made you feel like you were chatting with an old friend. And she kept me stocked up on napkins after I made an embarrassment of myself on my white shirt! And that’s the only gripe I have about Grana… I really appreciates cloth napkins… please consider switching these out with the paper ones, just a little suggestion.

All up!! Grana has been added to my favourites list and I will be back...

I came to Grana with two friends around 10 PM after seeing a show at the Opera House. When we arrived we were informed that they were only serving bread and pasta. We were a little skeptical of this but ultimately decided that it would be a challenge to find another restaurant that was still open at this hour and we were quite hungry. We were seated quickly and looked over the menu. I ordered the sourdough ciabatta for the table and we all ordered drinks, there was bit of an error as our server never actually put our drink orders into the computer, but they were brought out to us quickly after we told them what we had ordered.

At this point you can imagine that we were thinking: drink orders being forgotten, kitchen only making a third of the menu, was this meal about to be a nightmare?

As you can probably tell by the number of stars in this review this late night dining experience has a remarkable plot twist! (Much like the show we saw at the Opera House)

The sourdough ciabatta was warm and tasted great! (but lets be honest it's pretty hard to mess up bread and butter)

I ordered the Pork Fennel Ravioli and my friends ordered the Orecchiette and the Pork Ravioli as well. The pastas were incredible. Amazing taste, rich flavor, cooked to perfection. Portion sizes were good for the price. We were all incredibly shocked by how yummy the pastas were. I would've ordered another round of ravioli if I wasn't saving room for dessert. The odds were stacked against Grana at the start but they redeemed themselves with great food.

We finished eating around 10:45 and for dessert we wanted to order the Molten Chocolate Budino which we tragically learned the kitchen stopped making at 10:30. So instead we ordered the Pavlova and the Pannacotta which were good and flavorful, but we really wanted that chocolate budino....

So, we returned to Grana two days later (with an extra friend) for the sole purpose of ordering the Chocolate Budino. We also tried the Cherrymisu, and another friend ordered the Pavlova again.

The Budino was okay, not as rich as we were expecting, the cake itself was pretty dry and left a lot to be desired flavor wise. The vanilla & strawberry gelato that came with it tasted more like lemon to me.

Were we disappointed that the Budino didn't live up to our expectations? A little, but Grana always finds a way to redeem themselves, because the cherrymisu was fantastic! Really sweet, great taste, very delicious all around.

Overall we had a great time at Grana both times we visited, great atmosphere, great staff who were very friendly and fun to talk to, and of course really great food.

Much love from the USA, I will definitely come back the next time I find...