Grandma's Philly — Restaurant in Philadelphia

We were at Grandma's yesterday on an especially busy day, but we were quickly sat because we made a reservation. I want to establish that the ambience was incredible & the vibe was welcoming. When we sat down, the acoustics in the restaurant were terrible & it was impossible to communicate across the table. This has no bearing on the score, but if you are looking for a romantic evening & conversation, it may be difficult here. The service initially began strong. Our waitress seemed very polite, but a bit overwhelmed. She explained that there would be a bit of a wait on the drinks, which we had no problem with. We ordered appetizers & they came out & the drinks shortly after. The crab rangoon was incredible & overall, the beginning of our food experience was good. When it came to the entrees, 1 member of our party was forgotten. It wasn't a big deal, but he did have to wait for quite a bit after we all received our entrees. As many of us currently (or previously) work in the service industry, we were fine with the mishap. What really bothered me was when we received our check. I work as a bartender and I know it is important to be transparent with your customer. Upon receiving the bill, it became clear that we were being taken advantage of or hustled. I am not one to scrutinize a tab, but something felt off about our bill, given that cocktails were $12 and entrees $20-25. First, there was an auto gratuity of 20%; I would firmly like to establish that the 20% is a non-issue for us, however, this was not advertised anywhere (we were a party of 5). Given what bothered us about our experience (which I will detail in a moment), this felt shady. I understand the practice of auto gratuity, but this was the start of the dishonest experience. On our bill, we had 5 alcoholic drinks. Each was significantly more than the menu. My cousin's beverages were listed as $18 on the menu and he was charged $45 & change for two (a difference of $4+ per drink). Next, we had 3 lychee martinis- those were an additional $4+ a drink. I had a single Grandma's Mango and it was $22.50 (again, $12 on the menu). When we inquired about the discrepancy with the waitress, she mentioned that she was running around and could've made a mistake. Then quickly backpedaled & started telling some tale about how they offer high end alcohols and it is part of ordering a beverage there. According to our waitress, my drink contained Hendrick's gin (which I never asked for, isn't listed, & wasn't informed about) & my cousin's drink was made with top shelf Bacardi (which isn't a thing lol). When I mentioned that this move felt disingenuous, the waitress quickly started rambling on about how she could change it (using the phrase "if we wanted to" several times) & that she didn't need a manager & that she had other tables ordering high end, so it must have happened for us too. I found the story to be a bit untrustworthy for a few reasons: 1.) Who is upcharging, willingly, to Bacardi in a mixed drink? 2.) At many establishments, when there is an upcharge, the extra fee is shown as a line item. This receipt just recorded the drink name & a total price. 3.) The waitress also mentioned that the selection of alcohol was a mistake. Again, generally, changing the alcohol to a better one requires a few steps. When she came back with the new check, my mango drink was still $22 (and took quite a bit to resolve). On the way out, our waitress & another were chatting & whispering & gesturing to us. I don't know what this scam was all about, but it made us feel uncomfortable. Finally, I thought our meals were solid, but was a bit taken aback when I looked for recent reviews; I was trying to see if anyone else had a similar experience (there are a few), but was met with photos of roaches from a few days ago. Needless to say, this additionally soured my perspective on the experience. I am taking the time to post this, so that the throngs of people who wait hours for this place are aware that it is a place that sees the customer as disposable and operates a pretty...

When you're greeted at the door warmly by the proprietor with a smile and informed that Granma's Philly is not only the first Thai tapas place on the East coast but the best Thai food in Philadelphia... CHALLENGE ACCEPTED! Wifey & I ordered

Papaya salad: this is my go to at any Thai place, MAGICAL and perfectly balanced flavor with just the right amount of heat, crispiness of the papaya, beautiful knife work on all the veggies that included grape tomatoes and green beans plus a healthy portion to boot

Curry puffs : perfectly cooked pillows of decadence with an amazing (vinegar based?) dipping sauce that was perfectly balanced with a sweet tang

Chicken satay : flavorful all on it's own but taken to a whole nother level with a peanut sauce that needs to be bottled and sold and comes with delicious clouds of fried puff pastry that I could have eaten all day and I'm not a bread lover

Spring rolls : cooked perfectly and flavorful but the sweet chili sauce it comes with is the star here.

Sriracha wings : the weak link in the whole bunch, the sauce was overpowered by the Sriracha but the cook on the wings were great and tasted really good with the above aforementioned sweet chili sauce

Thai coffee: strong and not too sweet, very tasty and comes in this beautiful, large wine/whiskey(?) glass

Wifey loves sticky rice and mango... me not so much... its a texture/mouth feel thing...I love any steamed rice and mango individually but as a couple....nah! BUT evidently I've never had sticky rice and mango done right! You can actually see the individual grains of sticky rice and it comes in this gorgeous green color by way of the Thai basil with the right amount of coconut flavor and you get a perfectly ripe mango that's the size of your fist!!! Y'all... when I tell you this was a life changing experience!! Bae-bee!!! I am a newly converted devotee to Grandmas Philly Thai food and especially of the sticky rice and mango!

The wait staff was pleasant and efficient. The plating was pretty (sorry no pics, we tasted it and fell on it like vultures) and the prices were a steal with what...

A Birthday Dinner Disaster at Grandma's

My family and I recently visited Grandma's in Philadelphia, to celebrate my son's 13th birthday. We were initially impressed by the pleasant ambiance and the warm welcome from the staff. However, our evening quickly devolved into a truly appalling experience that we won't soon forget.

As we were trying to enjoy our dinner, two baby rats emerged from the front of the restaurant, scurrying directly towards our table. It was close to closing time, and the kitchen had already shut down. We immediately alerted our server, who, along with other staff members, seemed prepared to deal with the situation. They all observed the rats and made several attempts to catch them. Over the course of our meal, the rats reappeared at least three or four times. To add to our dismay, there were flies buzzing around our food, and we even discovered bugs inside the side of peanuts. When we notified our server about the persistent rodent issue, he casually explained that the rats were out because it was "summer." His lack of alarm made it evident that the staff was already well aware of this significant problem. We then requested to speak with a manager, hoping for a more satisfactory resolution. The manager's response was nothing short of shocking: "What do you want me to do about it?" We were utterly aghast. Not only were we dealing with a blatant rodent infestation that multiple staff members had witnessed, but the manager's callous and nonchalant attitude was completely unacceptable. Despite the unsanitary conditions and the ruined birthday celebration, we still paid our bill and left all of our food untouched. We will never return to Grandma's. The manager's customer service skills are severely lacking, and the overall experience was disgusting. I strongly advise everyone to avoid this establishment. I will also be filing a report with the...