Grato — Restaurant in Parsippany-Troy Hills

Last night we visited Grato with a party of 13 for my sister's 40th birthday. It was our first-time dining there and simply enough it was overall a horrible experience. Upon entering the atmosphere was very warm and eclectic. It was a Friday night and I was surprised that they didn't seem to be as busy as other restaurants that I've visited on a weekend. We were sat a little before 7pm and waited about 15 minutes before anyone came over to the table. A young server came over and asked for a drink order without saying hi or introducing herself. We waited another 15 minutes before another server, an older woman, came over and introduced herself and welcomed us. She then offered us wine and beverages and we decided to get a bottle of wine for some in addition to the drinks we had ordered initially. Another 10 minutes later the first young server came back with a couple of the drinks. Then another male server came by with a couple more and seemed very confused on what the glasses of wine/drinks were and it took a little bit for him to figure out what drinks were what on the tray. Finally, a little while later everyone had their drinks. The older server then came with the bottle of wine. She did suggest a couple of appetizers for our table and then suggested an entrée. We ordered everything at that time, both appetizers and entrées. I ordered another glass of wine because it was gone already from the while ago that I had received it. A couple of servers came back with appetizers about 25 minutes later and again seemed very confused where they were going and what the appetizers were. They auctioned them off to us and after about 10 minutes everyone had their appetizer. The older server then came and noticed that I still didn’t have my wine and informed me she would go get it. It came back about another 10 minutes later. We were sitting there so long that we stacked all the empty plate from the first course at the end of the table for the server to take. It took another 20 minutes for them to remove the plates from the table. We waited another 20 minutes for our entrées to come out. Half the food was sitting under the heat lamp in the open kitchen for at least 15 minutes. The young servers again auctioned off our meals. My sister got the appetizer she ordered in the first course again as her meal and we had to correct them. They didn’t seem very apologetic at all and seemed like they didn’t want to be working to begin with. The food came out cold. I started looking for a manager to see if even one was on duty and found him at the empty bar talking to the bartender. After we were finished we sat for another 20 minutes before anyone came over to us. Our drinks had been out for a while now as well. When they came to clear off the table no one offered dessert. We sat again for a while until a young server gave us menus for dessert. She then came back and took our order. The desserts took a while as well and the after-dinner drinks. My husband’s cappuccino tasted like straight water topped with milk. The zeppolis tasted like calamari. Again, looking to see what the manager was up to he was on a cell phone in front of the open kitchen with a server laughing at something on the cell phone. The older server then came with the check without asking how everything was. We waited 10 more minutes for her to come and take the check. We did not leave this establishment until 10:30pm (right after we paid the check). I can understand if we were having a good time that 3 ½ hours would be fine, but it was miserable. I tried going to the bathroom and it was filthy. There was urine ALL OVER both toilets and all on the floor. We had to valet park because they had everything closed off. We had to go to the restaurant across the street to find the kids that parked our car because they were nowhere outside when we left. I really hope that they can repair their service overall and hire knowledgeable staff that seem like they want to be there, including...

I just wanted to acknowledge Grato's staff, specifically manager Joe and server Diego, for making our meal on Wednesday night extra special. They really went above and beyond. When I made our reservation, I indicated in the special request section that my husband and I were interested in doing our own date night gender reveal. I mentioned that I'd have an envelope from the doctor with me, and if they wouldn't mind writing the gender on a dessert plate or something else low key, that would be fun for us. We really didn't want to inconvenience anyone, so I emphasized "low key", and said it was alright if they thought they'd be too busy to accommodate.

On the contrary, we were so honored and surprised to find that Joe, Diego, and the staff went out of the way to make our evening special. We arrived at the restaurant to find a "Welcome Baby" balloon at our table, with specially printed menus just for us with "Boy or Girl" written on them. Diego took one of the signature cocktails and made an awesome version without alcohol for me. We really enjoyed our meal (per usual), and the staff was incredibly attentive (also per usual). Following our meal, Joe and Diego presented us with a plate with all kinds of baby paraphernalia, including a Harvest Restaurant Group bib, pink and blue socks, decorative pacifiers, etc. in pink and blue, and it definitely heightened the anticipation. The reveal was presented to us in dramatic "mocktail" form, where they brought a shaker to our table and poured a BLUE drink into a chilled martini glass.

They thoughtfully orchestrated just the right amount of build up to the reveal, with a number of photo opportunities and souvenirs to take home for the baby book and to show our families. It meant a lot that they seemed genuinely excited to have us there and to do this for us.

We spent the night before our first child's arrival three years ago at Grato, writing out different name options on a cocktail napkin (which we still have). We didn't want to make a massive deal of a gender reveal this time around, but we wanted to do something memorable at our favorite dinner spot (that we're so grateful is back open again!!). Joe and Diego really hit the nail on the head with making it a special night for us. We've shared the video of the reveal with all our friends and family, many of whom responded with "I'll be sure to visit Grato next time I'm in town!"

Thank you again to the Grato staff for far exceeding our expectations, and creating the absolute...

I have mixed feelings about Grato in Morris Plains. For starters, they have no high chairs, no booster seats, and no kids menu. Although there were several families with children, including infants, at the restaurant, there was no attempt to make children welcome. They also appeared to put all the families with young children in an area off to the side away from the main dining area. My 3-year-old son is well behaved in restaurants, so I found this off putting. As far as the food and service I also have mixed feelings. We ordered the eggplant stack and fried artichoke to share amongst the 6 adults. We all enjoyed them, and the portions were generous. The lemon aioli with the artichoke was especially good. I had the candy cane beet salad with grilled salmon. It was good, except the salad was overdressed. That's my fault, I should have asked for the dressing on the side. My wife had the filet mignon ordered medium rare. It came rare, but she didn't want to send it back. She ate about half of it and it was just ok. She enjoyed the potatoes and shaved Brussel sprouts that came with it. My sister-in-law got the strozzapreti carbonara and it was amazing, by far the best thing among what we ordered. The organic chicken marsala was bland, and even after adding salt, it still had no taste. The spaghetti Bolognese was good with a good taste of wine and the pasta was cooked perfectly. The chicken parmesan was just as good as something you can order at a local pizza shop, except it was $21.95 and the pasta was under cooked. The service was good, except we wanted to get the check and it took a while before the waitress came to the table. I wouldn't return to Grato, and I don't think I will try the Tabor Road Tavern, because I believe they are the same owners and they also do not have highchairs. Overall I was...