Granada - Hawthorne

Came here for a date night since my boyfriend said I needed to try the paella here. They do paella for two and have different choices as well. I feel like it wa... read more Came here for a date night since my boyfriend said I needed to try the paella here. They do paella for two and have different choices as well. I feel like it was just a big bowl of rice with hardly any seafood in it which was very disappointing for the price you pay.The only thing good I can say about this place was the sangria is amazing!

Having dined at numerous Spanish restaurants, I'm familiar with the usual dishes like Paella, Mariscada, and shrimp in garlic. However, what sets this place apa... read more Having dined at numerous Spanish restaurants, I'm familiar with the usual dishes like Paella, Mariscada, and shrimp in garlic. However, what sets this place apart is the unique preparation and quality of ingredients that elevate their dishes. Everything we tried here was far superior in flavor compared to other Spanish eateries. The green sauce that accompanied my wife's Mariscada was so delicious that I could have enjoyed it as a soup on its own—I couldn't stop dipping my bread into it! As for the snails we ordered as an appetizer, they were tender and wonderfully garlicky, with just the right balance of flavor. My broiled seafood combo came with its own sauce that was equally delightful. The calamari was perfectly cooked and tasted fantastic as well. The portion sizes were generous and satisfying. Overall, this place is a definite winner in my book. I even did a little happy dance in the parking lot when my wife wasn’t watching—though I must admit, I'm not the best dancer! Will we return? Absolutely, without a doubt!

If I had to rate this place, I would give it only one star, and that’s for the good service. As for the food? Oh no! It was terrible—lacking in flavor, aroma, f... read more If I had to rate this place, I would give it only one star, and that’s for the good service. As for the food? Oh no! It was terrible—lacking in flavor, aroma, freshness, and herbs. Spain would be ashamed to know that this is what you're calling Spanish food!

I've driven by here going to and from work for the past 21 years and never been here. Finally tonight, I convince my wife to give this place a shot. We start of... read more I've driven by here going to and from work for the past 21 years and never been here. Finally tonight, I convince my wife to give this place a shot. We start off with the white sangria. Sangria was excellent. Not too sweat and the perfect amount of alcohol. I've had many pitchers that they kill it with sugar and skimp on the alcohol. This was very well done. Appetizers were fried calamari and Spanish sausage. Calamari was VERY chewy and the tomatoe sauce was not the greatest which is understandable since it's not an Italian restaurant; but the calamari was not the greatest. I'm spittle worried. The Spanish sausage came in for the save. It was excellent. Not over cooked nor overwhelmingly salty like many places are. This was perfectly done and sautéed with onions. Top notch. Dinner consisted of myself going with the paella valenciana and my wife had the filet mignon granada. Paella was good. I've had better but I wasn't completely disappointed. There was very little sausage in it, but thankfully I got my sausage fix with the appetizer. The chicken was dried out. Seafood in it was very good. Lobster, scallops, shrimp, clams mussels. I had to try my wife's filet mignon for research purposes. It was excellent. Very tender and in a brown sauce with mushrooms and cheese. I should've went with that but had a hankering for paella. To end the night, we went with a couple of Spanish coffees. Kind of hard to mess that up. Service was a little slow. It wasn't overly crowded and being it is not that large inside, there was more than enough waiters/waitresses to handle the customers. They were very polite, just very inattentive. Our sangria pitcher was empty when the entrées came out and never was asked if we wanted a refill. Also we never heard from our waitress the entire meal. They need to step up their game a notch in that department, otherwise it was a pleasant experience. Dress is very casual. There's a bar when you first walk in but it's very clean and well kept. A tad pricey but not crazy. It's good for your Spanish fix for the area compared to the alternative of driving to the IronBound section of Newark which we've done numerous of times.

This is the worst paella I have ever eaten in my life. Bad, very bad. Dry, it didn't taste like anything, it had no color, it had almost no shellfish. It was a... read more This is the worst paella I have ever eaten in my life. Bad, very bad. Dry, it didn't taste like anything, it had no color, it had almost no shellfish. It was a yellow rice with some clams. La peor paella que yo haya comido. Si es que se le puede llamar paella. Porque no a eso sabía. Ellos mezclan arroz amarillo con algunos cosas que no son mariscos. No recomiendo comer paella en ese restaurante. Muy mala.