Grit and Grain — Restaurant in Richmond Hill

We’ve been here twice before and had good experiences. We were looking forward to taking my in-laws here during their visit. I saw where Grit + Grain started taking reservations, but nothing was available for a party of 6 the night we wanted. But, the website in multiple places states they are not required: “First Come, First Served. Reservations available.” “Reservations not required but are available”

Knowing we had a larger group without a reservation on what would become a busy night, we arrived at 5:06–only 6 minutes after opening—and were told we would have a “hefty wait” of at least an hour. The restaurant was completely empty. I understand they had upcoming reservations, but the fact they state reservations are not required but cannot accommodate a party of 6 in an empty restaurant is misleading—even ridiculous—in my opinion. Further, the website specifies that “Larger party reservations (8 or more) are difficult to accommodate without advance notice.” It says nothing about a table of 6 at opening being difficult to accommodate. The website is deceptive. Why not just require reservations for parties of 6 if seating is so limited?

Further, the young hostess so poorly handled the entire exchange. I also asked if we could be split into two completely separate parties with two different checks, and she rudely stated “we don’t split parties.” I asked how it would be different than if we showed up separately as two different groups requesting a party of 4, then a party of 2…and again she got snippy and said “we don’t split parties!” Perhaps she didn’t understand, but her rudeness was unprofessional and unwarranted.

Side note: I did try contacting the restaurant via the website to bring this experience to their attention prior to leaving a review. I simply wanted to be acknowledged, perhaps just “thank you for your feedback” or “we’ll take this into consideration.” It says you’ll receive a reply within 48 hours but there’s been no response in 4 days,...

This was our very first visit so we didn't know what to expect but walking in it was very quaint, beautiful decor, the atmosphere was great and the menu was quite unexpected but sounded very promising ... and then we ordered... I can't say that I was pleased as we found a hair in our appetizer, but didn't want to complain so we cut off the portion with the hair and moved on. Next we order our entrees, and one of them had another hair in it so we showed and told our server that this was the 2nd hair that we had found. She said 'oh noooo and took the bowl back to the kitchen with concern but no apology. She had it remade, it also had a hair in it. We didn't say anything again at this point but she was aware of 2 hairs in our food prior to. Having been in food service and catering myself, I would have comped at least some of the meal, and most definitely apologized however this wasn't the case. So in essence, no apologies nor comps to make up for the 2 hairs in two different dishes they knew about or the 3rd hair that in their defense, we didn't even say anymore about. I personally would have been mortified if I served someone with one hair in it much less 2 hairs (and a 3rd that we didn't complain about, so again in their defense they weren't made aware of the 3rd hair as it seemed to fall on deaf ears at this point anyway). The bill came with nothing discounted or comped and no apologies or a word from an owner or manager. So overall we left feeling that we will not be returning to this upscale establishment. It's a shame because we absolutely love to eat great food and support our...

The TL;DR version of this is very simple - Just go and try it for yourself, you will NOT be disappointed...

The restaurant-front is very unassuming, almost something you could overlook, if it were not for the ample seating outside that obviously points to a restaurant being right there. When you walk in you enter into a beautifully decorated, rustic themed restaurant. Ample seating both via high-tops and your normally heighted tables. The place has a decent sized bar hidden towards the back of the location - nicely furnished as well.

The menu is short, sweet, and simple - but don't let the lack of choices throw you off. This place is more about quality than quantity, when it comes to choices. But when the food comes out, there is plenty of it, it is southern cooking and hospitality after all. I had their fried schnitzel, a southern twist to a German favorite - I loved the collard greens with it. My cohort enjoyed the slow braised short ribs - absolutely delicious. The cohort also enjoyed a couple of their mixed drinks made quickly and boozy, the way she likes it. For dessert we had the chocolate Godiva cake - big, rich, moist, and about as perfect as you can get.

Service was super friendly, chatty (like I like 'em), and made sure to keep an eye on our drinks and any requests we might have had.

If you are in the area, take the time to look the place up and give it a try - it certainly deserves the love it has...