Il Granaio • 711 Concord Rd. Glen Mills • ilgranaiopa.com

When it comes to Italian restaurants in America, many fantastic restaurants serve authentic Italian food. During the beginning of Thanksgiving break, my father and I went to Il Granaio for lunch. 

I grade restaurants based on location, how the inside looks, service, menu, food, and price. Ratings are listed at the bottom.

As soon as we got there, I noticed a lot of parking space, and it was a bit isolated. There is nothing around the restaurant. But for the type of restaurant it is, it is a good place for it to be because it’s a restaurant that doesn’t work well with a lot of chaos.

The inside can be improved. It was decorated well for the holidays, and it is old-style. The only problem was that the floor was a carpet. It doesn’t seem like a big problem, but a carpet is tough to maintain, and you don’t know if it’s cleaned. 

The service could have been improved. Everybody was friendly except for the owner. The owner had an attitude and wasn’t that formal at all. Usually, when you’re at a restaurant and you finish eating, the waiter asks, “May I take your plate?”  The owner just said, “Give me your plate.” 

When I go to an Italian restaurant, the one thing that angers me is when the menu has misspellings. I cannot stand when restaurants do this. This menu had Ragú spelled like “Ragout”. 

In a traditional Italian meal, there are Antipasti, Primi Piatti, and Secondi Piatti. The Antipasti are the traditional first course of a formal Italian meal, Usually made of small bite-size portions and served on a platter from which everyone helps themselves. The Primi Piatti are the first course of a meal, often consisting of a pasta dish, following the Antipasto, and before the Secondo Piatto. The Secondi Piatti are a second course based on meat, fish, and dairy products such as cheese or eggs. This menu has no Antipasti, the Primi were the Antipasti, and the Secondi were everything else. 

The food could have been improved. I had a Festoni Bolognese, which was liquidy and too rich. I also had Gnocchi with Guanciale, which was too creamy, but the flavors blended very well. Overall, it was a good lunch. 

Finally, the price was too high. The two plates cost $18 each, which is too high for my experience. My father and I each had a Sprite that cost $4 each. In total, we spent $44 for two people. For what we ate, $44 is just too much.

Il Granaio is a restaurant that needs to be improved. There are too many flaws that could be improved that bring the value of this restaurant down. 

Guanciale: A type of Italian cured pork made from the cheeks of a pig.