The restaurant is sprawling, but from the front looks cozy. There is a built in patio area with heat lamps and coverings in the winter. Inside there is a bar, but I don't think you can sit there--showing off their large selection of liquor. The tables snake back to the end of the restaurant in a teardrop shape off to one side. Near the back you can see through windows into the kitchen and watch parts of the food preparation. Both the patio and the inside restaurant has mood lighting that is actually a little too dark at times. The seating is oversize chairs and booths that look luxurious but are just ok on comfort. The style throughout matches except for some of the art, which is just unusual.
The food at the Granville ranges from Shareables--which are just a fancy name for appetizers, to sandwiches and salads to entrees and pastas.
Since I live in Burbank, I have been to the Granville several times. The first time I went I was very impressed by the restaurants fancy atmosphere without the white tablecloths. I had the Spring Chicken Salad and I thought it was a lovely salad and delicious except a little bit too sweet for dinner. The next time I went to the Granville I tried the Home-Roasted Organic Half Chicken. While the meat was a little bit greasy, the flavor was delicious and the sides were spectacular. I especially like the new twist they give to the classic caprese salad--substituting smoked mozzarella chunks for the fresh mozzarella. I have also tried the Chicken and Blue Cheese pizza which I found a little weird with all the different textures and flavors--it was a little bit of a flavor-overload for one pizza. The burgers are big and juicy but nothing special and a little expensive. My favorite thing is the garlic tomato bisque which has the perfect texture and warm flavor.
This past time, I had the Caesar salad with chicken and a side of macaroni and cheese. It was a mistake. There are only two small homemade croutons and they are on the side, the dressing is nothing special with no hint of lemon or anchovy--two ingredients I think are necessary for flavor. The chicken was good, but to tell the truth, I was bored with the salad about 1/3 of the way through. The macaroni was the same. It was bland and spicy all in one--but spicy in a way I felt macaroni shouldn't be. The breadcrumbs are what made it spicy, but it seemed that it would be hard to make it without them. The addition of salt did nothing to help out the flavor.
My co-diners got the steak sandwich with sweet potato fries and the uptown mac and cheese, respectively. The sweet potato fries are delicious--slightly crisp with an interesting rosemary/salt spice on top. The sandwich looked good. The uptown mac and cheese throws chicken, asparagus and peas in with regular mac and cheese. The flavor is different but good--even for the pickiest of eaters it seems.
The dessert is not worth it. We had a coupon where we could get any dessert for free and so we ordered the sampler. The best thing was surprisingly not the chocolate cake but instead the Brulee'd Banana Brownie (which sounded gross when we ordered it). I would skip dessert and head over to nearby Coldstone where you can get a good dessert for a lesser price.
Don't get me wrong, I like the Granville but the menu options are sometimes hit or miss, but once you have something good at Granville, you'll want to go back.
Granville
121 N. San Fernando Blvd.
Burbank, California 91502
Map
1 comment:
You get free dessert at the Granville if it's your birthday, which makes it totally worth it.
I dislike Coldstone and can't believe that you like it!
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