Grata Diner — Restaurant in Carrboro

Tried to eat at Grata this morning. Got in line behind a party of 4 and a party of 2. The party of 4 gets seated. Host shortly checks with the party of 2 and takes their name saying they will be seated in about 20 minutes at 11:10 but that they can check out the nearby book store. Doesn't say anything to me (party of 1). I stick my head in the door but host is no where to be seen so I just wait. A couple comes in waits about 2 minutes and then goes forward to be seated. I step forward and mention that I was there before then. He asks if I had a reservation. I said no and that I didn't realize they had. So I step back to wait some more. Another party of 2 comes in. I'm still standing there waiting. He takes their name and tells them 11:20. Again I step forward but he has disappeared again. I'm standing there the whole time! He just ignores me. The place is busy. I think he doesn't want to use one of his tables for a party of one so he conveniently doesn't see me. Too bad. I've eaten there before and the food has been tasty and the service friendly. But I don't need this kind of treatment.

Update after visit on 3/11/2023. I decided to try again. So I made a reservation this time. I noticed when I made the reservation that even though I selected party of 1, the reservation changed the selection to a party of 2.

However, after my initial effort to dine at Grata, I had sent a copy of my original review to their contact email. I received a reply from the host with an explanation (but no apology) that included this quote:

"I do not discriminate against anyone who presents themselves to dine at Grata, 1 person is just as important as 10."

When I arrived for my reservation, I was greeted. I explained that I had a 10:30 reservation and was asked for my name. The owner (host) inquired if my partner was present. So far all had been friendly. I explained that I had tried to make a reservation for 1 but that the automated system changed the number. The owner's demeanor changed to frosty and he said "We do not take reservations for 1 person." I replied "Interesting" and paused to think of what to say next. At that point, he said he would seat me. His entire attitude conveyed his dissatisfaction with the situation.

I ordered. I ate, without lingering. Although the other staff were friendly, I did not feel welcome in the space.

So this experience would seem to contradict Grata Diner's motto "We'll feed all y'all" somewhat. They might let you eat there, but they certainly won't do it with grace or cheer if you're...

I love breakfast. This was a pretty big miss.

I ordered the Grata plate, which was 2 eggs, breakfast meat (I ordered both sausage and bacon, goodbye arteries), home fries and toast.

Overpriced. I paid $24 for food that was really quite bad...all of it. The eggs were fine I guess but a child can scramble eggs. The bacon...you ever heard of Beggin Strips, those dog treats meant to look/smell and theoretically taste like bacon? Yeah...that's what the bacon smelled and tasted like. The sausage? LOOKED delicious...tasted almost soapy? My first thought as I was eating the sausage was "watered down". How do you water down sausage? Don't ask me. Ask Grata. The home fries? A mix of undercooked and overcooked, but one thing that was consistent was the absolute lack of flavor. It was just hot potatoes. I've never, ever, ever had to dip home fries in ketchup before...but I did here, as I needed SOME semblance of flavor of any kind. Even dousing with salt and pepper did little to improve the hot potatoes. The toast? Fine I guess. But again, a child can prepare toast. So the only acceptable foodstuffs here were items that children can prepare. Oh and if you want hotsauce for your eggs? Too bad, you will get a mild green salsa instead.

Service? What is that? Not something Grata knows anything about...because there is none. You have to go to the counter to order. Good luck if you have social anxiety I guess, you have to go up in front of everyone. You also get your own drinks and refills. Need extra condiments? Too bad! There's no servers. The place is tip free, and I generally despire America's tipping culture...but I would rather pay a cheaper price for the mediocre food so I can tip a solid waitstaff much higher. The actual value of my meal, given the mediocrity and give my serving myself, was probably closer to $8.99, but instead it was $24. I would have rather just tipped $10-20 for good service. Too bad.

I've seen the owner, Jay, respond to many 1 star reviews with nothing but excuses. He is unable to handle criticism and I'm sure you all can expect some witty response to my review from Jay.

I do...

The experience on our first visit was not enjoyable. We were seated and given menus, then informed that we would need to go to the counter to order. Fine, not how I would structure a restaurant, but sure. It looks like they used to have a chalkboard behind the counter, so maybe they have changed the flow. I waited in line to order, and there were two parties in front of me. I probably waited 10+ min because the counter staff also had other duties. That's fine, but there was no acknowledgement of customers in line before staff had to take care of something else. Also, the time counter staff had to spend doing other things vs. taking orders and checkout was a poor balance. I'm pretty sure they must be experiencing a staffing issue. Again, it's okay to be doing multiple jobs, but it wasn't proper management of the workload. Then, when I had placed my order we were waiting for food and enjoying the decor. The place looks nice. At some point, at the table behind me, I hear a member of staff telling customers that they are out of pumpkin pancakes. Excellent, as that is exactly what my partner ordered. I tell her, and she checks the menu for something else. The staff member comes to our table to tell us as well, and lets us know we can come to the counter to order something else. I do, and they take care of the difference in cost, which is good. While we wait, the customers behind me leave, apparently having been refunded and fed up. I recieve my food. It was slightly above room temperature, not hot. It smelled and tasted fine, but I wonder if it had been sitting while the pancake situation was being looked into. My partner gets her meal, which was chicken and waffles. The menu specified a chicken breast, but the dish was actually served with strips. They were a good temp, and apparently house made. The waffle was not hot. TL;DR: Any one of the issues we experienced would have just seemed like an off day, but everything together pointed more towards a systemic issue. I left out a few other small negative observations because, honestly, the ones I have listed so far...