Grano — Restaurant in Bristol

15.04.25 Disappointing experience and only made worse with the attitude of staff and even the owner who I spoke with before leaving, even if he did seem uninterested in my feedback. Problem was my family and I had had a long day walking and sightseeing in Bristol but didn't realise places close earlier here (arrived about 8pm left by 9pm)... walked about 20 mins from our hotel and thought it would be a nice place to eat. Passing places my husband had suggested... 😬 Anyway, one member hosting, taking orders and serving. Wasn't forthcoming with advice what to eat and drink... sounded/acted like a person who had done a 12 shift and didn't want to be there... sooo not interested. Looked at the menu and it was rubbish for a vegetarian (me not husband/daughter) so questioned her and got drivel back. Told this is the menu no changes can be made. I asked if the gnocchi could come Plain without the rabbit and just some butter, salt and pepper and veg if they had some for my 10 yo... was told no this can't be done. Totally crap attitude. It's annoying me just remembering the whole evening. 😤 Basically, everything I asked for was met with "computer says no' attitude. Manager feedback- I was told to look on IG for their latest menu... I'm not sad enough to have my life revolve Instagram, so I went by the Google review (used its map) and menu posted (perhaps if owners could update then it would save PAYING customers the inconvenience of coming here). Food looks like slop and didn't taste much better! £100 down the drain 😡 Feel robbed! I told the manager I understand this industry but no proper acknowledgement of what I had said. I asked why if he promotes freshly made and cooked food, then why couldn't they just boil gnocchi, add butter/olive oil, salt and pepper and some vegetables. To which he said we don't have spare vegetables!!! 🤔 🙄 So I said you have aubergine and tomatoes on the menu, couldn't you cut one up and add that and the Manager said we don't keep spare tomatoes!!! Oh my goodness, at this point I gave up the will to live and went to join my family who had left already. I can only be honest on my experience and give 1 star so I can post my comment. Would never go back, would Never recommend. Look at the pics,...

The challenge for a small, local restaurant is that it has to be good. That might sound obvious, but it’s the brutal truth. A big chain can chug along, slinging out plates of reheated mediocrity because there’s always another lost tourist or lazy diner willing to settle. But the independents? They live and die by reputation. They rely on repeat customers, on the kind of goodwill that comes from a place being not just good, but welcoming.

Grano, a little Italian spot on the corner of Old Market, nails it. And Old Market itself? It’s cool without trying, the kind of street where an anti-fascist march seamlessly morphs into a street party. Bristol at its best.

And Grano is Bristol at its best too. The food is—well, it’s nice. And I mean that in the best possible way. It’s unfussy, honest, and delicious. A menu that doesn’t scream for attention but just quietly gets on with being interesting and deeply satisfying. No pretension, no twee flourishes, just properly made, properly tasty Italian food.

And the service? A revelation. A genuine smile, a real welcome—not that brittle, performative friendliness you get in places where the staff have been trained to ask how your day is going while already looking at the next table. Here, it feels warm, natural, human.

This is the kind of restaurant that gives you faith in the whole endeavour of eating out. A place that cares, that gets it right, and that makes you want to come back. And in the end, that’s what...

I have been a grano devotee since they were at Whiteladies Road and loyally followed them to their new location. I have always loved the food as their vegan, gluten free options are so good (bring back the purple farinata!). So why the 4 stars? I recently tried home delivery through the barbi app and ordered 3 items that meet my dietary requirements (I have allergies), one of which was sorbet. Unfortunately, a decision was made to substitute the sorbet with tiramisu which, of course, contains dairy and gluten. There was no explanation as to why and sorbet remained available on the app afterwards, suggesting it was neither out of stock nor there was a problem with delivering it. I raised the issue through the app but never got a response. I don't know if this is down to grano or the people behind barbi but either way, it wasn't good customer service. I'll still eat in at grano but delivery doesn't work for me.

Just an update to say it's a shame the sorbetto did not transfer through on the order (1397) as I was definitely charged for it. I guess this is yet another issue with the Barbi app. Thanks for getting back to me to...