For most people, if they love an Italian restaurant, they love it like a Taylor Swift album. Or Bruce Springsteen. Or Jay Z. Grano Arso is more like Radiohead. Steely Dan. Or Kendrick. The food is very good, but the reasons aren't quite as transparent. It's more about quality of ingredients. Doing things differently. Textures. And nuances.
Although I had been to the related and dearly missed Gargano Market in Old Saybrook for pasta and pizza, this was my first visit to Grano Arso. I went with my wife and 12 year old son for my birthday dinner.
The atmosphere is top tier. The restaurant is on the main drag in Chester Center, which is a top 10 CT cute town. The restaurant is gorgeous inside and out. The lighting and music set a cool tone.
Service is friendly, enthusiastic and coordinated. There was one miss. My wife told them it was my birthday when she called to make the reservation. Ordinarily, I would expect a restaurant like Grano Arso to acknowledge that in some way, and I heard a server asking a different table if they were celebrating anything that night. Not a big deal, but a bit of a miss.
Generally, our table thought the entrees were very good, and the salad and antipasti course was mixed. My wife and son each ordered the Misticanza Salad, which had mixed greens, shaved fennel, aged cheddar and a caramelized lemon vinaigrette. They each commented that it was good when each bite had some of each component, but it was too bitter when there was less cheese and vinaigrette. I tried it. The greens were high quality and obviously very fresh, but I get their point. They had a lot of greens left, and the vinaigrette wasn't very noticeable.
My antipasti order was the Smoked Prosciutto, which came rolled into cylinders, planted vertically with crostini into a pool of Gorgonzola dressing and surrounded by a shaved fennel and apple salad. This plating was unexpected and original. I enjoyed each of the components. Although I like Gorgonzola dressing, I didn't really understand why there was so much of it and how it was chosen to complement the other ingredients. There was a lot of dressing left over when I finished the other ingredients. And I'm a bit of a condiment abuser.
My son and I both loved our entrees, and my wife liked hers. I tried each. My primary order was the Cavatelli with braised pork, Ricotta Salata and Rosemary. The Cavatelli was noticeably fresh made and cooked perfectly. The pork reminded me of phenomenal carnitas. Shredded. Tender. It was really rich, and like an umami bomb. Everybody at the table loved it.
My son ordered the Toasted Rye Tagliatelle, with Seacoast Mushroom ragu, and greens. I'm a big fan of Seacoast Mushrooms and I was glad that my son took a chance with a dish like this. We thought it was outsatnding. I admire the use of rye. Very original.
My wife ordered the de-boned pan roasted half chicken, which came with fettuccine in a Parmesan cream sauce and broccoli rabe. The chicken seemed like it was very high quality, and it had a crispy and well salted exterior. The fettuccini had good texture. The sauce was mild. I could have used a bit more flavor there. I liked the greens.
Overall, this was a 4.5 Star experience, which takes into account the strong atmosphere and service, and mostly very good food. I would definitely return to Grano Arso, although sometimes, I'm more of a Springsteen guy. read more