Granada Cafe

Another place forgotten by time.
CLOSED in 2009 due to a fire in the kitchen, after 54 years in business.
Old school Italian-​American restaurant with outdated décor, vinyl booths, formica tables, faux wood paneling, and +80 year old waitresses. The deal is (was) $ 12-​$ 14 buys u a ton of food, appetizers and dessert are included in the price. It’s what I’d call senior citizen food.
— antipasto plate (salami, mortadella) with bread.
— choice of soup (minestrone) or salad (iceberg lettuce with kidney beans).
— plate of spaghetti with meat sauce, served family-​style.
— entrees like chicken parmesan, salisbury steak, london broil, pork chops, etc. served with mashed potatoes and buttered veggies.
— ice cream for dessert.
2.5 stars for quality, 3 stars for value.
It’s a little strange that an Italian restaurant was named for a Spanish city. Don’t know the story behind that. Perhaps the family’s favorite vacation destination. It was owned by the Sambuceti family. Here’s a video of Placido Domingo singing the song Granada:

The Granada’s owner has passed away. Sadly, the Granada suffered a fire in recent months and may not reopen.

This is old school Frisco. Yes I wrote Frisco, Herb Caen was born in Sacramento. I am born and bred in Frisco, the best dinners I had were with my family at the Granada Café. I remember my Dad and his friends flipping for who pays at lunch. This is «old school» Italian an earlier post stated «we got free pasta». Everyone gets free pasta its one of the courses. If you want fancy food GO AWAY! The Granada Café is not the place. If you want a great Italian/​American dinner then this is the spot. Maybe I’m stuck in the past but I love it. The bar is is old time Italian, Irish, but they are OK with everyone. The Supervisor Sandoval/​Supervisor Avalos people would have a hard time here but those two clowns would be more judgemental than the people who eat/​drink here. In my opinion it’s not going to last too long, get in the and try it before it goes away for good.

Food is good! They NEED to update the whole place though. It is super dated but again, I have been going there for YEARS! So did most of my family. The place has been around for a long time and no they have not changed it one bit. It is ok if you are in the mood for good (the prices are ok) food with decent service in the heart of the Excelsior. The last time I went there was like a year ago, but I may return.
FYI: The pork chops are killer! Yumm

People were nice, they tried very hard. The bill was discounted. They gave us free pasta. Unfortunately, the place was dirty and cold. I won’t be back.

This crazy little time portal may not be anything close to fine dinning but its all in the experience and wow… we had a blast!

Two stars for the super-​nice wait staff. Our waitress took lots of time to talk to us about the menu, apologized profusely that Eggplant Parm was not on the menu, (it’s a special and apparently if its on the menu all the time the regulars get restless) checked with the chef on when EP would be back, and didn’t hate me for taking forever to decide.
One star for the prices, very cheap! Especially considering how much food you get.
No stars for the plastic water jugs on ever table sitting there full all evening waiting for you to arrive, the dirty carpet, the torn booths. I was expecting dirty carpet, but not expecting to be blinded by the bright lights highlighting all of Granada’s flaws.
I suppose I would return if my pal wants to go back for the EP, but otherwise I can’t say I will be recommending it to others.

I am actually surprised I haven’t posted a review for the Granada yet… Let’s see, my grandfather used to live about 2 minutes’ walk from here, and ate and hung out at the bar several times a week. I’ve been coming here with my family since before I could remember. Be prepared to eat when you come here, because between bread and antipesto, soup (or salad– but the soup is minestrone and 100% better than the salad), pasta in meat sauce (served family style), whatever entrée you order, followed by ice cream (usually vanilla and spumoni) or sorbet, you won’t leave here hungry, that’s for sure!
The drinks are as cheap as they come, and as long as you aren’t trying to get anything too fancy, you should be able to enjoy a strong and tasty mixed drink. If you are a wine snob, then stick with the mixed drinks as they serve wine out of ginormous jugs and you get the choice of house white, chardonnay, and cab.
On most days you can still see my grandpa’s old cronies hanging out at the bar, and the fact that they still remember me as Danny’s granddaughter, and ask me if there is anything I need (probably including breaking of knee caps if I was so inclined to ask) is heartwarming.
As for the food, while it’s not the best I’ve ever had, for all that is included in the $ 12 – 20 it will cost you, and the home cooked taste of things, it’s a solid 3 stars.
Yes, it probably hasn’t changed in the last 50 – 60 years, but this is a place you go to enjoy a meal with your family/​friends, not somewhere for admiring fancy ambiance or exotic cuisine.

Wow, seriously!!!
Walking into this place is like going through a portal to either the Excelsior of the 1960s or any typical Italian restaurant in small-​town, midwestern America — wood paneling, vinyl booths, tacky watercolor paintings, career waitresses who know the regular patrons, the whole deal.
Everyone working there was really nice, the atmosphere is the anomaly that it is, and there weren’t many people there. If you order a dinner ($ 12-​$ 14), it comes with bread/​butter/​salami, a salad (leaves a bit to be desired, but standard for this kind of restaurant) or soup, a plate of pasta with meat sauce for the table to share, ice cream for dessert (spumoni!!), and coffee — in addition to your entrée. The eggplant parmesan was great, and my dining mates were happy with their pork chops and chicken picatta, as well.
It’s amazing that places like this still exist in this city — it definitely provides a rare dining experience. I’ll be back for dinner again, and I want to check out the bar, too. There is also a big banquet room in the back, so if I’m ever in the market for one of those, I know where to call.

First let me say yes, if you’re apart of the younger generation yes you might just be the youngest out of the crowd as well as i would be born ’85″ an been going there since the age of 3, it is old fashioned but that’s the wholesome and Appreciation of it. The food is great an Definitely a family & friend favorite service is great, The staff has been there since the beginning that’s what makes it a comforting memory! Its quiet and just for a minute you don’t feel like you’re in a loud city (mission/​Excelsior) try it you’ll love it. I hope Granada Café Carry’s on Forever! Love you John (OWNER)…

Old School
Been eating here since before i can remember and drinking here for almost as long so im a liitle biased
great bar thats why 4 stars
the food is up and down, been up lately, giovanni steak has never been bad since the 50s, lasagna has been on hit lately and the lamb shank is always done right other than that the grub can be great or ok on any given night. its never been funky (believe the rumors of the salad dressing though-​i only use the vinegar & oil or get the pastini/​clam chowder soups).
Bring kids, its cool
Have a party they got a banquet room in the back

this place is an anachronism in every way.
walk through the door — be teleported through time.

I’d like to give this place 2 reviews. as a bar it’s a 4 star, cheap and strong drinks, uncrowded, but it closes at 10 pm on most nights. Great place to meet a friend and chat as long as it’s not too long a chat.
The restaurant on the other had is pretty bad. The food was over salted and pretty bad in general… At least it was the one time I ate in the restaurant… so 1 or 2 starts for the restaurant… that averages to 2 stars in my book

So I walk into the Granada Café the other night and I am easily the youngest one there by 30 years at least. I’ve been coming here for years so I knew what to expect. My grandfather goes to get a table and while he is doing so, we grab a round at the bar. I get a semi cold bottle of MGD and as I look down the bar, there is this old man sleeping and my grandfather tells me that he is the owner. We finish our round and go to our table.
Arriving at our table we see two plates of antipasto and two baskets of french bread. Waiting 10 minutes, we finally decide to grab menus for ourselves. The waittress comes about 10 minutes after that and takes our order. I got the eggplant parmesean. The great thing about this place is that the food comes with soup (the minestrone is great) or salad and rigatoni. If you leave this place hungry then you have a huge appetite. My eggplant comes and it is delicious. And for $ 12 I thought I was stealing this meal.
If you can deal with the old décor, slower than average service, and love good food then this is your place. It’s probably won’t be around too much longer because the place was empty when we ate there and when the owner finally passes on I think this place will get sold and turn into something else. Enjoy it while you can!!!
P. S. don’t order the salad with your meal, they leave the salad dressing out all day unrefridgerated. I know people who have gotten sick more than once and they had the salad.

We went here for dinner on Easter because they weren’t serving food at Pissed off Pete’s, and it was definitely a memorable experience.
This place is oozing old-​school Escelsior cred, and is staffed and frequented by some characters (this one completely trashed lady kept asking us to answer ridiculous math equations). The dimly lit bar mixes up a mean Manhattan for 3 $, and the food, while not exactly cheap ($ 15 – 20) was pretty solid old school diner fare. Everything came with salad, soup, and choice of sides. I ordered two immense slabs of ham and my wife got a steak which was really nicely cooked and seasoned.
The 91 year old proprietor still sits at the bar every night, the sign is down to like three letters, and the christmas lights never come down. Entering the Granada is like stepping into a Bukowski novel. So if you’re into that, check it out. We’ll definitely be going back.

When we first move to the Excelsior, this was the first place we tried.
Great family style service and portions, though when they get busy, things can grind to a halt, though this tends to be between 5 – 6:30 when the majority of the customers are having dinner.
The best deal in the city is the $ 2.50 Manhattans.
I don’t think that the menu nor the prices have changed in the past 30 years. I know the waitresses haven’t.

Pretty typical Italian food, but good portions and at a pretty good price. It is nothing special but a good place to just get some solid italian fare in your hungry little tummy. The bar/​restaurant is like a men’s club for old italian men. every time I walk in there they ask me to stay for a drink.
The waitress also gave me some free spumoni afterwards. hooray for free spumoni!

I was hoping this would be a trashier version of Bertolucci’s but slightly closer to home. The Xmas lights in November and the outside façade made me think I’d hit the jackbox, but a closer look left me cold. Kitschy 50’s diner décor — check. Dim lighting — nope. Anything vegetarian on the menu — nope. Everything was all meat. Meat with meat sauce, fried meat with a side of meat, and meat for dessert. I woulda tried it, but the thought of brightly lit meat required more bravery than I’d brought. Phooey.

This place is my favorite place to eat! I have been coming here ever since i can remember. They have great Italian food, my favorite is the chicken sec. They give good sized servings and the place is so home like (at least to me). They have a cheap bar, which my elders are always at for atleast an hour, an old-​style jukebox, and a t. v if you want to watch a sports game at the bar. This place is a great italian restraunt and the waitresses are very nice and good. Gotta love this place!

smashing good food at 1950’s prices. potent beverages and you won’t spend an arm and a leg. I love the waitresses ! they work hard but they’re not gonna kiss your arse either. the décor takes some getting used to but I eat with my mouth — not my eyes (mostly). my only gripe is the bathroom but I carry Lysol sanitizing wipes in my handbag (shut up)