Gran Gusto
| Address: | 90 Sherman St, Cambridge, MA 02140, USA |
| Phone: | +1 617-441-0400 |
| Site: | grangustocambridge.com |
| Rating: | 4.4 |
| Working: | 12–3PM 12–3PM 12–3PM 12–3PM 12–3PM 12–3PM 4:30–10PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 8
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Jessica Watterson
The worst Italian restaurant in whole world. The food was horrible, the service was worst and the space to small. Im sorry to make this hard judgement but seriously it was super bad. Lets start. We order a super pretentious appetizer that was a mix of cheeses that tasted like milk with cold cuts. The cuts were the only thing good. Then we ordered the risotto, the raviolis and a pizza. Everything was super bad, it was flavorless food. The risotto was just ok and the ravioles were an ugly mix of cherry tomatoes with TONS of olive oil and eggplant. Definitely a mess in the plate. Then the pizza, which maybe was the worst was not even flat, when you pick up a slice everything will fall of because the pizza will not keep straight, any frozen pizza would have been much better. Very disappointing for a so called Italian restaurant. The desert, was just to confirm how bad this was. I order a pistachio panacota that again was tasteless and hard, it took more that 15 minutes to get to the table. To top it all, the service was bad as well. Everybody looked like chickens without their heads and everything took forever to be served, as an example the bread was severed without butter or oil and there was a short guy who was treating the waiters horrible, humiliating them in public. In a snap, its all about the fact that the food was horrible, tasteless, soulless, just blend. Avoid yourself a very disappointing experience of "mal gusto"
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Pete L
Took my family there for dinner a few weeks ago. Food was average. We shared eggplant parm appetizer which I would rate as poor. Too much bread crumb. Mushy. Just not good eggplant parm. Shared a margarita pizza as an appetizer just to try the pizza after reading all the raves about it. It was similar to pizza you would get in Italy but seemed undercooked to me. Cheese was hardly melted and the crust under the sauce was floppy. Quality was high. Execution not to my liking so maybe it was me. We all had pasta dishes after that that were homemade pasta but seemed undercooked also (I know it is supposed to be al dente, but not undercooked). Sauces were nothing special. Also the waiter was a gruff Italian guy who was nearly incomprehensible. We asked to order appetizers (starving kids) and get them going and order food a few minutes later and he would not do it. He would only take our full order once. Really? Will not return to this restaurant. Only went there because they were open on Sunday. At least they have free parking out back.
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A Private User
I am Italian (born and raised in Italy) and tried this place because id heard good things about their pizza. This place was disappointing. First of all, the decor is tacky, with frescoes of potted geranium and arches to simulate an Italian atmosphere. Italy has very stylish modern restaurants, so I found this fake Mediterranean ambiance really tacky. The bathroom is not in the restaurant but in an adjacent office building. Then you get the usual olive oil to dip bread. We never do that in Italy, so that was a sign that the restaurant is not very authentic. The food was barely passable and overpriced ($16 for a pizza, its only bread tomato and mozzarella, pure profit), the pizza was very chewy and had toppings we wouldnt normally use in Italy, but at least the mozzarella they used was good. The pasta was swimming in a watery sauce and not very tasty. It is so depressing when restaurants are willing to adapt their menu to please local taste and unnecessay, because Americans are sophisticated enough to fully appreciate authentic Italian cuisine.
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Jeff Howe
One of our children is autistic. Hes not always an easy kid to have in a restaurant—for us, or for other diners. We really err on the side of consideration and hit the eject button as soon as our kiddo makes it clear hes anxious, which is just what we did last night. The owner had been waiting on us, and when we asked if we could take everything to go, a) said sure, and proceeded to have someone rush our plates to the kitchen so the food wouldnt get cold; and b) went out of his way to help think of other solutions, and emphasized that we were welcome any time, no matter what. After six years of taking our son out to restaurants, I can tell you this is an uncommon level of warmth and generosity. Oh, by the way, the food is out of this world. As other posters note, as good or better than almost anything in the North End.
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A Private User
Simply put, pizza cant really get much better. The taste factor is literally as high as physically possible. Their Diavola pizza is just unfathomably good (I get that every time I go)—to the point where it leaves you with this incredible aftertaste for several hours afterwards that is almost as enjoyable as when you are eating the pizza. The margarita is exquisite as well. I’ve lived in Italy for extended periods and Gran Gusto is up there with some of the best in Italy I’ve had (they import most of the ingredients from Italy). The pizza is by far the best I’ve had in America. The one downside is that any other pizza you eat after Gran Gusto falls majorly flat. My wife and I try to go at least every other week.. If I lived closer I’d probably get takeout 3-4 times a week.. Don’t miss out on this place.
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Ken Yee
Place has a great atmosphere...host/hostess are Italian and will speak to you in Italian if you want. Dont sit at the bar if you want quick service...its just slowwwww there :-P The grilled calamari would have been good if it the chef hadnt found a sale on sea salt...it was just wayyy too salty. The papperdelle with supposedly half a lobster (must have been shrimp sized because we only got a few tiny pieces) was also wayyyyy too salty. I have high blood pressure so I had to let my wife eat most of this. Price both both were a bit steep for the portion sizes as well. The pizza (arugulo) we tried had good ingredients...crust was nice but the middle was soggy. It wasnt as good as some of the reviews led us to believe (definitely worse than Flatbreads in Somerville)-:
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Judith Tran
My friend brought me here for my bday celebration because she used to love this home style family spot. We ordered parma eggplant, it was small portion and ok. Not breaded which is a good thing. Had the pan seared non breaded calamari. It had no taste and was over seared or bbq. The seafood pasta we ordered had homemade pasta but the strands were thick long triangles. Difficult to pick up with fork but too short to twirl and wrap on your spoon. It was a turn off to keep eating it. The only redeeming plate is the raspberry gelato which had nuts laid on the bottom of the plate. The crunch, taste and texture of it was fantastic.
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Ben Harris
You dont need to go to the North End to find great Italian food. Gran Gusto has quickly become my favorite spot for Italian cuisine in North Cambridge. The food is delicious and authentic, the staff is friendly, and its reasonable and convenient (plenty of parking nearby). The pizzas are made with premium ingredients. The pasta is homemade and, maybe not quite on the level as Giulia, is excellent. The portions arent huge, but youll still end up with leftovers because youll want to try a bit of everything. Plus they do takeout for their pizza and offer very tasty house made breadsticks!
