Grano, Old Market: ‘A promising future beckons’ – restaurant review

Old Market is fast becoming one of my favourite places to go out for dinner. In these perishingly dark winter months there is nothing more soothing than a steaming bowl of broth from Tomo No Ramen.

Equally, last summer I spent many an enjoyable evening catching the last rays of sun on the pavement outside of Chido Wey over a margarita and a trio of tacos.

I’ve been keeping an eye on Grano as it started to manifest as a full-blown restaurant on the corner where it was born as a humble pop-up in Glitch in 2018.

Despite Grano’s many well-received pop-ups over the years, including at Bristol Old Vic and the former Number Fifty on Whiteladies Road, I had yet to try it out for myself. I’d seen their dishes many times on Instagram with many accompanying superlatives, though this can rarely be relied upon as a barometer of quality.

On a recent Friday lunchtime I rounded up an old friend and went to decide for myself.

The sun defiantly blasting through floor to ceiling windows cast harsh shadows on a short menu. Apparently the team are keeping it simple whilst they get up and running with plans to add more dishes further down the line.

We ordered bagna cauda on roasted peppers (£5.50), garlic bread (£4.50), lasagne (£11.50) and sorrentina gnocchi (£11.50).

Bagna cauda is a garlic and anchovy dip, served here with peppers roasted to the point of denaturing. The garlic and anchovies were muted in this dish, so much so it was palatable even to my fish-adverse friend. The sweet softness of the peppers and the shadow of savouriness were a good combination but left me wanting.

The bagna couda may look like someone dropped something, but it was pleasant enough to eat

I am of the opinion that if you’ve eaten a good garlic bread, you should know about it. It should leave you slightly conscious of your breath for at least a few hours.

The garlic bread at Grano was a good example of a very pleasant focaccia that once met a bulb of garlic at a party and won’t stop going on about it.

A good example of a focaccia, but I’ve had better examples of garlic bread

Do not go to Grano if you do not like pasta, for there is nothing much else on the menu at the moment.

Fortunately this was no barrier to me; more an invitation. I waited fervently for the arrival of a three-meat lasagne.

Lamb, beef and pork were supposedly frolicking between its sheets and yet it was all rather beige. Bechamel was the overriding flavour. The salad on the side was fine with the occasional pop of a crunchy nut and the slice of focaccia would have been splendid for sauce mopping if there had been any.

Describing things that are arrestingly average is always the hardest. There was nothing wrong with this dish, but there was also nothing to stop it slipping immediately into the ventricles of my brain that will never again be accessed.

When you think of a light lunch, gnocchi is likely one of the last things to spring to mind. Yet gnocchi at Grano was close to defying gravity. Here the years of pop-ups pay off and the presence of expertise is apparent in every mouthful.

The sauce I could take or leave. Tangy tomato and melted cheese are pleasant and moreish but nothing in comparison to the art of texture demonstrated by this pasta. Commendable indeed.

You can order a large lasagne which is apparently 50 per cent bigger, but in my experience you wouldn’t want to. The gnocchi, however, told a different story.

Before anyone starts; I have researched whether or not gnocchi is a pasta or a dumpling and the jury is still out. If anyone can provide a convincing enough argument either way, I shall amend this article.

Dessert had me oscillating between joy and disappointment. Panna cotta with caramel and roasted pine nuts (£5) was simple, sweet perfection whereas the tiramisu (£6) is a generous portion of absolute mediocrity.

A very positive ending to the meal

It says on the menu the tiramisu is alcohol-free, perhaps in support of those partaking in dry January, yet it seems they had neglected to soak the sponge fingers in anything at all.

Fans of Emma D’Arcy will be delighted to see negroni sbagliato (which – for the record – always has prosecco in it) on the drinks menu, along with a range of local beers and a handful of Italian wines.

The staff were wonderful, and the setting simple and elegant. We were asked for genuine feedback on the food which is reassuring; it bodes extremely well when a restaurant is open to constructive criticism.

I wish you could see the cross-section of this, which would reveal the sad dryness of the interior

I am conflicted writing this review, as I almost always am when I have to be critical.

Grano provided a perfectly enjoyable lunch, one that might pleasantly surprise if it were the resident Italian in a small village. As it stands, it may struggle to compete in Bristol with so many good Italian restaurants available, some only just the other side of Castle Park.

I can totally get behind the idea of a reduced menu whilst they find their feet. I only hope that with the other menu items still to come, they also find some more flavour.

Grano has a history in Old Market, which is becoming a destination for great food at affordable prices. With a little tweaking, I believe they could have a promising future there too.

Grano, 48-49 Old Market Street, Bristol, BS2 0EX
granokitchen.com

All photos: Meg Houghton-Gilmour

Read next: 

• Vegan Indian restaurant opening soon
• Sudden closure of one of Bristol’s most opulent restaurants
• The Metropolitan, Whiteladies Road: ‘A great place to start the day but not to end it’ – restaurant review

Listen to the latest Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast: