Grano Arso — Restaurant in Chester

Went here recently after at the recommendation of a colleague. Very much wanted to like the place, but left less than enthused. Will try to elaborate below, but of course dining is a subjective experience so the attempt at objectivity will be flawed.

Food/drink: 4/5. Good quality food. Nothing particularly spectacular or inventive, but what is offered is done well. Had the smoked sausage, mushroom pasta, and a couple of other items, along with cocktails and wine.

Service: 1/5. Very cold greeting on entry. Cold, slow service. 30 minute wait on arrival despite reservation. More of the feel of a modern restaurant in Paris or NYC, not something I was necessarily expecting or looking for in a small town in CT.

Ambiance: 3/5. Minimalistic, modern feel. Few tables, which is nice, but music was too loud so felt like there were more people. Lower score due to confusing masking policy — 30 minute wait outside due to only 1 party allowed inside at a time and posted policy of masks upon entry, which all seems responsible and reasonable. However, not all guests were asked to wear masks upon entry (inconsistent). Inside, some guests did not seem to have to wear masks upon getting up from tables, or while at tables but not dining/drinking, or while ordering. Again, this was inconsistently enforced.

Value: 3/5. In general value relates to price for quality or quantity. Food and drink were good, but not amazing. This is the kind of place that seems to emphasize quality over quantity, so portions were of expected and acceptable sizes. However, the prices seemed disproportionate to quality.

Overall gestalt: 2/5. Maybe the most important category. Part of my disappointment was not really being able to figure out what this place was going for. Per the website, the aim is both “a modern approach” and “an old-world approach.” The dichotomous description is reflected in the somewhat confusing dishes, which are again good quality, but don’t have a clear direction or cohesion. In trying to figure out this place, other descriptors from the website such as “warm hospitality,” “neighborhood eatery,” and “community,” all seemed to ring hollow based on this one unfortunate experience.

The above categories don’t necessarily contribute to a weighted average, since again, this is inevitably a subjective review from a single subjective experience. In starting to write this review, I had thought to maybe first wait and give the place another try in the near future before making a judgment, but it does appear that some others have had less than ideal experiences. What’s troubling is the apparent need of the restaurant to go so far as to respond to one recent review as “useless.” Granted, the review is terse and negative, but such a response from the restaurant comes off as dismissive, unprofessional, and frankly combative. Sure it’s hard for everyone to take criticism, but this type of response seems a bit excessive, especially when considering other reviews that are just as arguably “useless” that only say “Great!” or “Amazing!” These positive reviews provided 5-star ratings, but were light on details, yet did not garner such negative responses from the restaurant. Reading through the reviews, it does not appear that the restaurant went so far as to respond to many other negative reviews either, which puts into question their willingness to hear negative feedback. There are, however, responses from the restaurant to comments like “Best new restaurant” with “Thanks!” Really an unfortunate attitude that reflects the experience I had there.

Hopefully this provides some useful insight to other potential diners, since that was the goal and since the restaurant does not seem to care for negative feedback. But again, this is a single subjective experience, and clearly some others seemed to have had a better time, though of course yet others had a similar or worse experience.

Wish the restaurant the best, and completely understand that the current economic climate for the hospitality industry is...

This was such a delightful and fun experience, even during Covid-19! The service was absolutely impeccable, and on point even with certain restrictions in place. The main event, though, was the food and drinks. Absolutely delicious!

For an appetizer, we both split brussel sprouts; and boy were they good. The sprouts were not very crisp, yet they were also not mush. They were in the place where you want them, right in the middle. With them were served red onions, which tasted caramelized; they were sweet. After this dish, I knew we needed more bread to dip into the sauce of our entrees; because if the appetizer was this good, I know I'm going to want to scoop the last of my sauce with bread.

Our pasta dishes were amazing. The various pastas and the bread they serve is all made in house; and you can really taste the difference. It's not heavy like normal pasta, and it has a distinct flavor that I can't really describe here. You leave satisfied, but not overly bloated, which is nice. My spaghetti dish was made with yellow fin tuna, cherry tomatoes, chilis, and rosemary bread crumbs; wow was it good! The sauce was not your regular tomato based sauce, it was slightly creamy, yet not a vodka sauce. It was just delicious. The bread crumbs added a really nice texture; every so often you'd get a nice crunch with the spaghetti. And the spice was the perfect amount, just enough to get the overall mouth heated. And the tuna flavor melded into the sauce, but only a little, so it didn't have an overtly fish-like taste. The cherry tomatoes were cooked with the sauce, and we're very soft because of this. They were like little flavor bombs when you got one mixed in your fork with the spaghetti. It was an explosion of flavor because they also took in some of the character of the rest of the ingredients. And like I mentioned earlier, when I was done I finished off the sauce with my bread. Every bit of that plate was cleaned with that delicious bread. Overall, I HIGHLY recommend this dish if you catch it in season.

My fiancee had the Orecchiette and that was also very good! Quite cheesey, and kind of was like a pesto like sauce. The greens were also really tasty! I wish I could remember the vegetable's name, but it was great. What really added a different dynamic and pop was the smoked ricotta. That was a very genius move by the chef because it pairs so nicely with the entire dish. I had only a taste of this dish, so I can't comment on it too much.

My fiancee and I both had drinks as well. They serve them in little glass bottles that were perfectly filled for your glass. they were extremely cute, and novel. It added to the drink's presentation. She had a hibiscus margherita, the hay-li dilemma, and a black manhattan. The first 2 she thoroughly enjoyed, while the last not so much; I ended up drinking that one. I also had a hay-li dilemma. The margherita and dilemma were by far the best. They were sweet, yet also had such a good strength to them. The manhattan was a little...

Overrated This review may sound picky, but when a meal costs over $400, with tip, $348 without, for four people, one should expect better.

I and my wife met my sister and her husband at Grano Arso, who had been seated early for a 7:15 pm reservation. They had almost finished the bread, one piece left, and when I asked for additional bread for which they charge $5 per request, was told they had run out. The water pitcher on the table was also empty and the server did not refill it, until I caught her after the bread request. Also, after the request, no one refilled or refreshened the pitcher for the duration of the meal.

We had an eggplant appetizer, which was very good and the mistico salad, which had straight greens and dressing, with no tomatoes , which was fine but not special.

For the main course, there were three entree selections (chicken, mahi mahi, and duck) and we all ordered duck. The quality of the duck was excellent (as this is a farm to table restaurant) and it had a great smoked bacon flavor.

However, the server did not ask us how we would like the duck cooked as all of them were cooked rare, which was fine for me, but not for my wife and my sister, who both like their duck medium. Consequently, we had to send both orders back. It seems pretty basic, that when you order something like steak, duck, or tuna the server should ask how you would like it cooked. The side was broccolini (which was overly salted) and minimal mashed potatoes. My wife ordered a side of polenta-which was watery in consistency. For dessert, I had the olive oil cake which came with lemon gelato. Although the gelato was excellent, the cake was flavorless and could have used something like almond to jazz it up. Also, we ordered tea and coffee, which was not brought out at the same time as the dessert.

Although the server was very polite, she again did not ask us how we liked our dessert. As a final note, I will have to comment about the music selection, which consisted of 80s rock (REO Speedwagon was one group I remember), which made the atmosphere seem like more of a pizza place then what is supposed to be one of the best restaurants in Connecticut.

Overall, I cannot recommend Gran Arso because it falls far short of what it aspires to be, one of the best. Attention to detail is one of the hallmarks of a great restaurant, and it simply wasn’t there. It is too bad, because we all drove more than an hour hoping to have a special experience, only to pay special prices...