Il Granaio Authentic Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Mount Vernon

So, having been closed for a long time for to the pandemic this was their first evening open. A good day to open as well being Valentine's day!

Ok, from the top. The decor is nice. Not fancy, but very nice. Some downsides, one of my pet peeves is tables that rock when you sit at them. It's one of those things you'll never notice until it happens but when it does, it's a huge distraction. Our table rocked. It's something they could have taken the time to look at while closed. Second, having been closed for a long time (months?) The glass wall or window I say next to was super dusty. The way the table was arranged, I couldn't help but get some of it on my black sweater. With all the time closed, cleaning the windows/walls seems like a reasonable thing to do. Finally, they provided a nice red rose that my date was able to take home "a lovely rose for a lovely lady".

On to the food, my dish, Vitello Piccata, was a Veal dish served in a lemon, butter, caper, white wine sauce. Unfortunately, the Veal was tough and rubbery. The sauce was indeed "lemony" and was almost overpowering. All taste is subjective so perhaps someone else might have enjoyed this dish but I'd be surprised.

My dates dish "Fettuccine Di Mare" was much better. Served with scallops, shrimp and mushrooms, this pasta dish is served in a white wine sauce and was delicious. It was apparent that they took the time to make the pasta fresh and it made a huge difference.

We enjoyed both dishes with a glass of Pinot and Chianti respectively Nice big pours with beautiful big glasses. We had a brucetta that was good, but not great. A buttered, garlic bread was on the table with a olive oil, basalmic vinegar for dipping, neither was especially good quality.

The service was good and what I expected. There was a young man waiting for me, wearing a white shirt and tie, when I went to the restroom to hold the door as I entered. It was a nice touch. The bathroom however, looked rough. That's a place to spend some money if only to fix the sink faucet so it doesn't come out in such a torrent. Overall, the bathroom was a distinct disappointment looking dirty and a step down from the rest of the establishment.

Price. Most dishes ranged from $19 to $25 dollars with some pricier options running above $40. If my food had hit the mark this would have been exactly what I expected to pay. As it was my dates dish was very good and priced fairly. Given my disappointment with my Veal, I wasn't as thrilled with the price. However, as I said, taste is subjective so it falls in line as well. I spent $90 on the meal for two entrees, a brucetta starter two glasses of wine ($9 ea.) and a glass of beer. I tipped well and walked away spending $115 (you can do the math).

Times have been tough with restaurants closed in recent months due to the pandemic. So I'm not expecting that tons of money would be spent on decor. However, cleanliness is just part of doing business. So is making sure each dish is up to snuff (I keep coming back to the tough Veal smothered in the overpowering lemon sauce).

Overall, it's a nice restaurant with a large menu (perhaps too large?) and since pickings are slim in Mount Vernon, I'll go back to give it another shot. I'd like to say I'd recommend it to friends and family but at the...

*UPDATE! Our second visit.

El Granaio is an Italian restaurant that is truly a gem, I’m glad we came back. From the moment we walked in, we were greeted with warm and welcoming smiles. The ambiance of the restaurant was inviting and relaxing, perfect for a romantic evening out or a casual dinner with friends.

We started off our meal with the cioppino from the happy hour menu, which was simply fantastic. The flavors were bold and the seafood was cooked to perfection. For our main course, I opted for the Linguine pescatore and it was truly one of the best pasta dishes I have ever tasted. The pasta was cooked perfectly and the sauce was rich and flavorful. My fiancé had the wild salmon ravioli, which was made fresh daily from the sunset menu. The flavors were incredible and the presentation was beautiful.

To accompany our meals, we each ordered the tomato basil soup, which was absolutely delicious. The soup was creamy and had the perfect balance of flavors. The wine pairing with our dinner was spot on, and our server was knowledgeable and attentive throughout the meal.

For dessert, we indulged in the panna cotta, which was the perfect ending to an amazing meal. The texture was smooth and creamy, and the flavor was delightful.

Overall, our experience at El Granaio was nothing short of exceptional. The food was outstanding, the service was impeccable, and the atmosphere was inviting and romantic. We will definitely be back again and again to experience everything that this amazing Italian restaurant has to offer.

We had high hopes prior to visiting this place. We wanted it to be a great experience, unfortunately it was just okay. The service was very slow. We ran out of drinks and had to wait for food a long time. No one checked on us for at least 20 minutes. Our Old Fashioned was bland, although the wine was good. The bread was delicious, our pasta dinner was very good. The seafood was cooked perfectly except the prawns, they were a little overcooked. We are planning to go back again to see if it was just an isolated incident. We were given free desert for the inconvenience of wait time. Seems like staffing in kitchen may have been a bit overwhelmed. Overall, it was decent food wise, just a bit disappointed with the...

B and I were hungry on our return from a trip to a remote spot in the San Juan Islands. We were a little grubby and minutes away from grumpy. B found Il Granaio in a Google search, giving up hope of a good meal to help us feel better before the long drive back to Seattle. Finding the place was complicated by the signs on the building calling it The Grainery. You don’t have to know a ton of Italian to make the connection, but the mismatch made us wonder a bit. Parking was easy in the little lot. We were greeted at the door by someone dressed well enough to make us feel self conscious about our outdoorsy outfits. The fellow smiled and assured us that we were in the right place. He found a hostess for us who led us to a table near the door and dropped off a basket of garlicky bread. The menu featured a nice variety of Italian dishes, most of them featuring seafood. On the last page we found a nice selection of meals that include everything from soup to dessert. We both liked the look of a shrimp fettuccine dish. Our friendly waitress assured us that it was a good choice and scurried off to the kitchen to put in our order. She came back with bits of toast piled with diced tomatoes. Like most Italian dishes, the toast was simple but had a wonderful flavor. We gobbled up the treat. Next came the shrimp entree. The shrimp were perfectly cooked and the creamy sauce was as good with the shrimp as it was when we dipped garlic bread in it. We finished up with panna cotta that had a nice raspberry sauce. As hungry as we were, the portions were up to it. I was perfectly full and we even had a bit leftover to take home. The bill was higher than I like for a place to stop on the way home, but it was not too high for a fancy place to take a date. There was heavy traffic most of the way home, but with the good food and good company, I was not...