Gran Caffe Sweet & Savory

Restaurant is under new ownership. New owner Mario is the nicest guy ever. Chicken francese is delicious.

I had to knock this restaurant down a star because my second visit was subpar.
I am still in love with their coffee– that is the only reason they even GET 3 stars, I’m just disappointed with the service and my sandwich.
My honey and I wanted to sit outside, as it was a glorious day, so when we got to the restaurant we asked for two menus and informed the woman behind the counter that we would be dining outside. 5, 10 minutes pass, and no one came out to acknowledge our existence. We were the only two customers on the premises. I’m not just being a bitchy, entitled customer, here. I wait tables for a living. I don’t understand why, literally, a day before when I dined in by myself, I had waiter service and this time around we had to go inside and order our food.
I ordered the exact same sandwich as the previous day: a prosciutto and fresh mozz panini, except this time, I got the ‘right’ sandwich. The day before I had gotten a different type of bread and cheese (i figured out that it was provolone) — the only consistent ingredients were the prosciutto and arugula. My panini wasn’t even a ‘panini’. It wasnt pressed, and it didn’t have any of the beautiful grill marks that you can usually find on your panino. It was just thrown together, there was no love in my food, man!
I am not going to blame this establishment’s employees for my bad experience because I can tell that they have zero restaurant experience. It’s not their fault that they weren’t trained. It seems like whoever owns this place just expects this restaurant to run itself.
I’ll return for a coffee– but I’ll take it to go.

Nice looking Italian Coffee Spot in West New York. As we drove past the other day, hubby wanted to get coffee and I suggested we try Grans. We walked in and were greeted by the the lady fixing the umbrella on the outdoor patio seating area. I wasn’t really hungry so we just got a coffee and a croissant with prosciutto for the hubby. Coffee was really very good and so was the croissant. The prosciutto was nice too. Will definitely be coming again to try some of the other goodness this place has to offer.
What actually drove us to this place was a review we read by a supposed guest and the fitting reply by the owner. Very obviously somebody from the competition was trying to sabotage the image of the store and luckily for that person the review stayed on. It takes a lot of courage, sacrifice and ambition to do something on your own especially open a business– especially a RESTAURANT. So people just pause a bit before you start typing away from being a habitual Unilocaler. These kind of reviews can make or break these small businesses. Give them another chance before writing them off completely and rating them so low that it will drive away their prospective customers.

I went there for lunch today. They had pre-​made salads so I ordered the chicken salad. They also have a lunch special, you can add a brownie to your lunch for $ 1 so I got that as well. I took my lunch to go and boy was I surprised when I got back to work. Horrible, the greens were wilted and brown. The cheese smelled rancid. I couldn’t even take a bite. Do not waste your time going to this place! And to top it off they charge $ 2 extra for a tiny bit of chicken which also looked gross. So I paid $ 10.56 and the only thing that was edible was the dollar brownie. Needless to say I’m one hungry unsatisfied customer. I added picture so you can see for yourself.

I just left from this place … BAFFLED… I came in just to order a coffee and a hot chocolate… I walked in and there was only one person sitting down an the computer and I think worked there (come to find out later he did) so definitely was not greeted so in walk the 2 ladies from outside smoking to attend me … And the first thing she said was I only can make you pizza … Hummm I told her I actually just wanted a double expresso and a hot chocolate … But I wanted the double expresso in a regular tall cup because it was just actually for one person… Yea that took at least 5 min to explain because no way was she getting it… So time to cover our Togo cups… I couldn’t believe it … No covers that fit any cups at one point I think she wanted to put my chocolate in a plastic cup! She have up and have me a plastic soda lid! That clearly did not fit the cup in anyway … It took 4 people to find me a lid … I was the only person In the café… Left with a nice bill of $ 8 and she had to get change from her purse for me … I do not know if there’s no register or anything of that sort but it’s just a bit of a turn off asking her employees or co workers for $ 1 to complete my change … But hey things happen… So off I go to sit in my car open my lid and my cup is HALF FULL… I couldn’t believe this I took a picture of it because… I again was baffled … And there’s no way I was going back in there to deal with this situation … At least the chocolate was good. Creamy nice 3 stars for it… But such a disappointment … It’s actually really nice place with so much potential … Mybe one day I will venture out and eat a meal here and see how that goes …

I just went there to keep warm as I waited for my cab, I was hungry and decided to order a mozarella and prosciutto panini. Well when I got home and took a bite I realized that was NOT MOZZARELLA. Polly O string cheese is closer to mozarella than what they try to pass off as mozarella. The prosciutto was hard and super salty. Worst part was the price! How dare you charge $ 8.00 for that??? I’m so mad right now. I could have ordered a fresh mozzarella and prosciutto sandwhich from Cannilo brothers or New Pizza on the block. Don’t waste your time.
Ho appena andato lì per tenere in caldo mentre aspettavo il mio taxi, io ho avuto fame e ha deciso di ordinare una mozzarella e prosciutto panini. Beh, quando sono tornato a casa e ha preso un morso ho capito che non era MOZZARELLA. Polly O formaggio di stringa è più vicino alla mozzarella di quello che si cerca di far passare come mozzarella. Il prosciutto era duro e super salato. La parte peggiore era il prezzo! Come ti permetti di carica 8,00 dollari per questo??? Sono così arrabbiato in questo momento. Avrei potuto ordinato una mozzarella fresca e prosciutto panino da fratelli Cannilo o New Pizza sul blocco. Non sprecate il vostro tempo.

I ordered food and was told it would be a wait because the chef wasn’t in. Chef pulled up 5 mins later or a motorcycle smoking. Kept smoking while walking through the restaurant. Turned me off right then. I’m glad I only had a coffee. Sucks because the place is really cute inside.

I found that Gran Caffe has a very inviting and pleasing atmosphere with the décor and helpful staff. I’ve had their espresso, which is delicious and authentic, as well as some of their sandwiches for lunch. The chicken/​prosciutto pesto panini with fresh mozzarella was really good!

Fantastic food, fantastic service… An absolute steal! The balsamic Italian steak and the freshly made pastas, especially the carbonara, are standouts. BYOB and a great prix menu. Tony, the chef, has a great passion for food. This is becoming our weekly neighborhood stop.

Stay away!
Just look at the picture I posted of the order I received via delivery last night.
That picture is TRULY worth a thousand words.
Not to mention, I ordered 6 (Was planning on bringing them to work to share with my coworkers) and only received 5. Absolutely had to leave this crap-​box at home. I’d be too ashamed to even give it away to anyone after getting what I received.
Ugh I’m so disgusted just looking at it. Unfortunately they’re closed Sundays so this matter won’t be resolved until tomorrow (Monday ⁴⁄₂₉)