Grana — Restaurant in Atlanta

We decided to have my daughter’s graduation/birthday party here. We worked with one of the event coordinator to plan the event since we had a party of 14. They said with large parties we have to do a min pricing which was fine. From the time we got there to leaving we felt like we did not get the experience of a private party. Our waiter although nice was not very attentive to us. He was also serving other tables. I found myself clearing off our tables to make room for other items. I had to ask for additional plates although we had a 3 course meal. I found myself having to look for the waiter several times even when we was waiting for our check. I felt like we was treated like a regular party although we paid premium prices for an event. Even down to when he brought the check. It was charged like a regular party with an additional expense to get to the minimum. When he realized he didn’t charge us like a private party he redid the check to a $300 higher amount. Overall our food was not worth the 1406.26 price tag. We also had a person in the party with an allergy which we told in advance and again when we got there. We had to remind the waiter again when he brought out the shared plates that someone gave allergies and then he brought her another menu to order but told her she can eat some of the food on the table after it was cold. They was not attentive to her allergy at all. We also had my 80 year old dad in the party and have a hard time walking up two flights of stairs to get to the rooftop. He made it all the way up first flight for them to first tell us they don’t have elevator to get to second level and they said yes they do by key access. When we asked about our drinks not being filled the waiter sane owner was there and they can only fill to a certain portion. At the end of the night when I was disappointed and asked for manager he said the manager was not there today and when I reminded him of what he said earlier he said it was an investor and not the owner. He brought so called manager up for me to complain to but I still don’t believe the guy was the manager. He was not dressed like a manager should be dressed and he just said sorry about our concern and nothing he can do. The waiter was so called over talking the guy that suppose to be the manager. I don’t believe he was the manager and feel I was lied to on several occasions. Please do not book your large parties or any event here. The cake was the best part. The food was not bad and drinks was pretty good, but not worth it for the overall ordeal. Save your time and...

This was my second time visiting Grana in a long time!

Food: For our appetizer, we got the Fried Brussel Sprouts and these were insanely good! I remember being so impressed with the flavor profile of them even last time I visited, and having them again last night gave me the same feeling. Definitely a must-try even if you don’t typically enjoy brussel sprouts! For my main dish, I got the Gnocci Alla Sorrentina, served with pomodoro, basil, and mozzarella. The portion is smaller than some of the other dish options (like the eggplant parm), but pretty standard for a pasta dish. The flavor was just okay. We also ordered the Wild Mushroom Pizza for the table and it was delicious. I really enjoyed the caramelized onions that come on it.

Service: Our server was really fun! He was making fun of me for various things throughout the night (which were deserved in my opinion lmfao) but it was obviously in a non-serious manner. At the very end of dinner he brought me a free cannoli as an apology for picking on me which was very kind of him. If he sees this I hope he knows I also completely took his comments as a joke so I hope he doesn’t feel badly about it. Cannoli was great also LOL.

I also wanted to make a note about the service in general: it is outstanding! Even when I was passing through the restaurant to go to the restroom some servers were walking around and I would say excuse me and pass them and they would say be very kind and say “no excuse me” or “let me get out of YOUR way”. The staff also seems very patient. I was extremely impressed with how great the service was.

Atmosphere: Very cute interior and exterior area. I love the lighting, it feels brightly lit while also maintaining a somewhat romantic aura. Fun spot for a date night or hang out with friends. We went on a Tuesday so it wasn’t super busy either.

TLDR: Cutesy/casual place to visit and grab dinner! Fun atmosphere...

I was sadly disappointed by our experience at Grana. I took my parents for what I thought would be a nice dinner on their last evening visiting Atlanta.

I understand it was a Saturday night and the restaurant could do little about the noise in the restaurant - which my father with hearing aids struggled uncomfortably through. However, I would generally treat the mood of the service as “we’ll get to you when we get to you”. It took about 30 minutes to order. When we ordered our waiter warned us that ‘each dish would come out as it’s ready’ and that was in fact the case. However, having had the blessing and privilege to eat at restaurants around the world this is the first time I’ve heard of such a thing! In a family with manners (and I think in most socially gracious circumstances) one does not begin eating until others have their food also. My father’s pizza arrived about 10 minutes before my mother’s eggplant Parmesan and about 25 minutes before my pasta. This left me feeling bad as my parents food was entirely cold by the time we ate. The food was underwhelming. Particularly my mother’s ‘eggplant Parmesan’ which was simply a block of thinly sliced eggplant with about 4 shavings of Parmesan as garnish. I had hoped to request red pepper for my pasta to improve its profile, but the waiter was MIA (not even coming to inquire how the food was) until we were finished with our meals. He brought the check for us, but then failed to circle back to pick up the card/cash us out for another 25 minutes!

I understand that waiters become overwhelmed. However, If an establishment can’t properly accommodate their diners, they shouldn’t be accepting walk ins and new reservations online - as was the case during our visit. It seems this restaurant takes itself very seriously and perhaps has allowed reputation to proceed priority...