Crave

Recently enjoyed lunch this past Sunday and the food was delicious! My bf and I first had a sushi platter, and the scallops were to die for! Then he had a steak and I ordered some shrimps: both really tasty! And I also recommend the blueberry lemonade cocktail, very refreshing!

Awful! We didn’t feel like waiting for Cheesecake Factory so my husband and I decided to try Crave. Sigh… we should have waiting the 20 minutes for Cheesecake. This place is bad. We ordered a flatbread to start. Too bad our server Rachel didn’t listen. She put all of our food order in together so we got the flatbread and our sandwiches. She seemed like a nice girl but a terrible server. Overall, the food was okay. If you are «Craving» a good meal, I would not recommend eating at Crave!

Honestly I only have tried the truffle fries, argentine steak and the scallops. They were all very good both times I’ve been here.

Food: decent (3 stars)
Service: bad (1 star)
Overall: 2 stars
This place could have potential due to its location. The food is nothing to rave about but given that it’s conveniently located at the mall, people will go on anyway.
The killer on this one is the lack of support staff for the servers. They don’t have bus boys. We went in there for lunch and we requested to be seated at a booth, and we were. However, our server ended up being the bartender. He had a few tables and the bar with absolutely no help — there were no bus boys or food runners in sight which made the service super slow. He had to juggle between making drinks for the restaurant and attending to his tables. It wasn’t his fault, it’s just a new trend I’ve seen in chain restaurants without support staff.
Oh, and there was no bread or anything offered up front. Our server did not mention the soup of the day or any specials. I guess when you’re spread out so thin, quality of service doesn’t matter.
We will not be returning.

We wanted to try something new. The atmosphere is very nice. Everyone is so friendly and attentive. I really wanted to like the food here. But sadly it just wasn’t that great. We came during happy hour. They actually have a pretty awesome looking menu for happy hour. The food and drinks are grouped in pricing. They range from $ 3 to $ 5 which is pretty good. We just ordered a little bit of everything. I started with fries for my son. They came out kinda cold. Like the had been sitting in the warmer all day. A little over cooked bcs some were very crispy and some even as hard as a potato chip. The sushi was just ok nothing to rave about. Prices weren’t too bad but nothing that we ordered tasted amazingly great. I was kind of disappointed. The restaurant itself was really nice looking. The menu was a mix of asian fusion sushi dishes and standard American fare. I’m not sure we will come back unless it’s during happy hour for drinks.

Craze is a really nice place to enjoy a good drink and some good food. The atmosphere really makes this restaurant pop. Once inside you forget that you are in the mall across from an Old Navy. I highly recommend the garlic wings and the blackberry moonshine old fashion.

This is my second time at Crave. I had an awesome experience the first time I was here a few months back. The best part I remembered from my previous visit was their obvious efforts to provide a warm and personable service. I am back in the mall shopping and decided to grab a quick sushi dinner.
I ordered the angry sumo sushi roll and seaweed salad along with a pomegranate iced tea. The pomegranate flavor was overpowered by the strong iced tea flavor.
I fell in love with the seaweed salad. It had beetroot, radish and carrot shavings along with fresh seaweed smothered in a tangy vinegar based sauce. It was delicious! Sushi roll was priced at 12.95 bucks. It had fresh avocado, asparagus, coriander inside and salmon on the top. Each roll was topped with a fried lotus root slice. It was a nice touch. Sushi felt a little bland though, but it was served with sriracha style hot sauce drizzle on the side which fixed it. Sushi was very filling and well worth the price.
Crave has a very upscale ambiance for a restaurant inside a shopping mall. They have excellent food, top notch customer service and reasonably priced menu. This is a place I can confidently recommend to friends.

Located in Montgomery mall next to Cheesecake Factory on the first floor. You can smell the meets cooking from a distance in the mall.
Came here with my wife for lunch on a Tuesday. Service was prompt. The restaurant is a combination of American cuisine and Japanese sushi. They offer a full service bar with flat screen tvs as well.
If you want bread, it is a $ 3 charge. It was a mix of pita, herb and cheese bread, and a toasted wrap type bread. These breads are thrown into the oven prior to serving.
My wife had the steak and kale salad. She seemed to enjoy it thoroughly. I had a bite and thought it was just ok. I ordered the Bernaise burger. It was really delicious the meat was cooked just right with some char and smokiness from the grill. The fries were ok. We were stuffed with what we ordered so we unfortunately did not get desert. They do have some sort of frequent flier rewards program where if you sign up you get discounts on your visits and get emailed promotions.
Their dinner menu did look very appetizing as well. Will likely come back to try it out.

Walked in there and was not greeted AT ALL by the host (male gentleman, with a beard), literally just stood there, while we were just ‘scoping’ out the place. But you would think that the host would say ‘hello, welcome to Crave, etc.’ But nothing at all.
If you can’t even greet met then I dont’ even want to stay in your establishment. Decided to go eat at Cheesecake Factory, can’t never go wrong there :)
I will never go back to this place as I felt not welcomed just because of my looks.

Really overpriced for the quality of food and the server? he was coming at us all the time it was quite annoying. I had a few sushi rolls they were not that good, not made with good rice yet it was over $ 16 and several nigiri were $ 2.50 — $ 3 a piece, I mean they think they are top Japanese restaurant? It’s ridiculous. And the hangar steak was cut into 4 – 5 small pieces for $ 20. I had better ones for the same price at Mon ami gabi.

Stopped by here for dinner on Friday. I was impressed by their knowledge of food allergies and their gluten free menu. I was able to share the jalapeño hummus dish with my friend, and got the surfer roll and tuna/​salmon stack for myself. The sushi was pretty good, but I wish the stack had a less rice in it and the chili sauce seemed out of place. A spicy mayo would have been better. At least they had GF soy sauce!
I ordered a glass of wine but my server brought it to the table after I had already finished my meal. I didn’t think the restaurant was busy enough to make a mistake like that, so it was a bit of a disappointment – I’m sure more so for the server than for me, as I ended up not wanting it.
I would come here again but was not incredibly impressed.

Restaurant is located inside Montgomery Mall and has a beautiful ambiance. The food is exceptionally delicious. I would definitely come here again. Ordered the Bearnaise burger, Lamb burger, Kid’s mac and cheese, and Lemon Garlic Chicken.
The lamb burger is currently the special of the month and I added Parmesan truffle fries for an extra $ 1.50! This is really a great touch to the burger itself. The burgers also came with small Jalepeno peppers which were compact with great flavor! Each burger or sandwich comes with an option of couscous salad or fries. The salad has a distinct but delicious flavor. The kids mac and cheese came out in a huge portion!
I deducted a star because our service was not that great and it was hard to flag down the server when we needed things. If anything, the other servers helped us out when needed. Other than that, I would definitely recommend this restaurant for lunch, happy hour, and dinner!

I’ve never been before and I went last night with a friend of mine. We came just before happy hour ended and ordered 3 happy hour appetizers: edamame, tuna roll, and dynamite roll. Everything was very good! The edamame was a little spicy, which was a nice departure from the typical edamame dressing of sea salt. The sushi rolls were good too.
My friend and I each had the steak frites; she had medium steak, and mine was medium rare. I am very happy that the steak turned out just as I had ordered it. My friend was just as pleased with her meal, too.
I’d come back here if I was around the mall, easily!

We visited Crave several times during the first few months they opened, but then we took a break for quite a few months. My daughter really wanted to eat here after all those months, so we went and remembered why we stopped coming here.
The biggest issue we had was the wait time. The wait time bugged me more than seeing a giant roach by the path to the restrooms! They do have kids eat free with purchase of adult entrée on Sundays (and now Tuesdays), but waiting a while to order and then an hour until the food comes out? Not quite worth it.
The food is rather decent, but quality and plating are inconsistent.
One time I went and ordered their chicken apple Brie sandwich combo with tomato soup, and the sandwich was very good. It had a good amount of grilled chicken slices, thinly sliced applies, and a generous amount of Brie. It was definitely an item I’d order again, but my food curiosity forces me to order something different the next time I go.
Their kogi tacos had some good flavors going on, but the texture was a bit too chewy, and pieces of meat got stuck to my teeth fairly often.
The fries are rather standard, but unevenly seasoned. Some pieces had a lot of seasoning and other batches had none. Some fries were soggy, so it’s great if you enjoy those oily soggy pieces.
Their side couscous quinoa salad is good. Tastes very light, and it’s on spinach. Yum.
They get the cook on their burgers right most of the time, but we’ve found the beef to be a bit on the dry side. The burgers taste good, whether it’s the CA burger or their bison burger. Though they run around $ 14, it didn’t feel that it was too expensive. We noticed they added the «hot hot hot burger» on the menu and decided to try that. The menu said there was ghost pepper coated stuff, such as onions, etc on the burger, and spicy food is awesome, so yeah… Try us. The burger was good, but it wasn’t as spicy as we thought it would be. Some of the pepper pieces were spicy, but the burger as a whole was not. Also, the bottom bun was very soggy that it was extremely messy to eat. The bacon in the burger was disappointing– lack of flavor, weird chewiness. The rest was good, but could really have used much more spice considering what the menu said.
My kids get the chicken tenders and the cheeseburger kids meals with fries. They run around $ 6 each, which comes with the «entrée» and a side, usually fries. It does not come with a drink. The tenders have been pretty good each time we’ve ordered it– not too much breading and the breading didn’t fall apart. The cheeseburgers were very dry. Yuck. Sometimes they include ketchup or sauces with the tenders, but other times they did not.
There’s a restaurant week thing going on where a 3 course lunch is $ 18 or something, but we didn’t see it on the menu to know what courses they offer for the special. A bit later, another table was seated and they mentioned the special and gave them menus. Why were we excluded?
Crave’s menu is good, and all items sound appetizing– ranging from $ 5 snacks (risotto balls, cheesy tots) to $ 13 appetizers (calamari, wings) to entrees and affordable $ 4 desserts (tiramisu, etc) and even a $ 21 dessert sampler! They also have sushi, which I’ve tried once (a bento box with various maki rolls), but it didn’t standout so I never ordered from that menu again. On that same day, I also got the equivalent of those crispy rice with spicy tuna on top, and that was good other than the slight odd texture of crispy rice, it was around $ 10 for 2 pieces. Wow. Not sure if it’s still on the menu tho.
I’ve noticed that they’re rarely ever packed. People just go to cheesecake next door and wait in line at cheesecake instead of getting a table right away here. Maybe it’s familiarity of the chain, but in my case, it’s service and speed. The good is actually very decent and have been delicious, but waiting an hour for something at a mostly empty place is ridiculous.
Seems to be great if you’re going for drinks and have a lot to talk about with friends, and although they are kid-​friendly, bring some entertainment for them and embrace the wait and the tantrums. They fill out those crayon sheets so fast!

Came here with my mom and sister. We were all surprised how good Crave was as it is in the mall and we had low expectations. I would definitely come here again!
There is a large menu with a variety of choices to please everyone. There’s also a great happy hour menu with lots of good food items, including sushi rolls for $ 4-​$ 6 from 4−7pm M-​F. All our meals were great! The food was very fresh, delicious, and prepared nicely. I had the Norwegian Salmon salad, which was served warm to my delight and I highly recommend. I also had a sushi roll that was very tasty and fresh. My mom and sister’s meals also looked great. The service was good. The space is swanky, especially for being in a mall although it’s huge and feels empty even if there’s other diners.
Bonus points– They even have a full service bar, which I guess is a good option for men so they can have a drink while their gfs/​wives shop. Wish I had thought of that!

Last night was the first time I ever went to Crave and I have to say, I wish I knew about this place sooner. We went during Happy Hour and it was just delightful! The ambiance was great, and the bartender and servers were super attentive. Definitely try the Kinky Mojito, Madras Martini and CranApple Breeze cocktails. They’re absolutely delicious and for $ 5 and $ 6 during Happy Hour, they’re well worth it! We also had the Parmesan Truffle Fries, Chips and Guacamole, Spicy Salmon Roll and Philly Roll. All in all, it was money well spent for a great girls’ night out.

«The second time around… Ooh, the second time is so much better, baby… The second time around».
The song from the group Shalamar & their ‘Big Fun’ album…& Unilocal CREW, that’s exactly what we experienced tonight!
Ok, so you know from my 1^st review we were ignored & disregarded for over 10 minutes. After an apology from the General Manager via messaging & a few months later, I decided to give Crave another try… let’s call it a new year of positive intentions.
After a quick walk into the mall entrance by BGR/​Cheesecake Factory, I was back at Crave. This time, it looked more alive than the last & before I could approach the Hostess Station, I was overly greeted, in a good way, by Karline. Her smile & persona was as bright as the lighting illumination that was in full effect.
She confirmed my 8pm reservation, & without further ado, we were seated on the left side of the restaurant against the wall next to the posh looking & art deco style bar.
She let us know that Meredith was going to be our server for the night & we got settled in. Meredith came over, introduced herself, welcomed us, & gave a us a few menus to look at. Meredith also provided us with the specials of the evening.
I gave her the quick allergen notification & she took the ball running. Speaking of menus, to assure they have every aspect of their dinning offerings covered, they have Wine/​Beer/​Speciality Drinks, Sushi, Date Night & Dining menus to choose from.
For the daters, the menu offers 2 appetizers, 2 entrees, 2 dessert & 1, yes 1 bottle of wine that you can take home the unfinished portion all for $ 50.
Of course, we started off with a glass of wine & a specialty drink, kudos to Meredith for bringing the bottle of Malbec for me to look at, as the glass vs bottles varies.
After a good 5 – 10 minutes of going over the menus, we decided on a few ‘snacks’, which consists of 10 – 12 small offerings to nosh on. These are the precursors to the big boys appetizers aka hefty selections. Guacamole & Chips & Veggie Bruschetta was our selection, & we continued to look over the menu for our dinner selection.
When our snacks came out, they were delivered by the Executive Sous Chef Manny Rodriquez, who let us know that the bread is made with dairy products, so he prepared the dish with tri-​color tortilla chips. Talk about culinary swag, much obliged Chef!
We were finally ready to place our order & settled upon the Lettuce Wraps, that came with butter lettuce, sesame soy chicken & fresh veggies; the Tuna Poké that was prepared Hawaiian style with sliced avocado & chili oil (unique & tasty variation); Seaweed Salad, a nice little mixture with cucumber, carrot, daikon, & sesame seeds that was perfectly saturated in a tasty tangy dressing.
For the sushi CRAVE-​ing, we ordered the Sashimi Sockeye Salmon & Fresh Water Eel & the Veggie Sushi Platter that came with a 4 piece Veggie Roll, a 2 piece Inari, & 3 pieces each of a Cucumber, Avocado, Pickled Squash & Daikon Radish rolls… BON APPETITE!
Every last piece of morsel was extremely fresh, well proportioned & very savory. The presentation of each plating was colorful & so perfectly placed. What a first rate foodie experience, by far!
My quick break to the restroom was an enjoyable lavatory usage, as not only was it spotless & very clean smelling (my OCD never stops), the beautiful chandelier hanging over the dual sinks was a perfect décor element. This is the 1^st bathroom I have ever snapped a picture of.
After my slight detour back to the table from viewing the larger than life, glass walk-​in winery, we got our very small amount of leftovers packed up & prepared to leave.
Not only will I be coming back for many more dining experiences, I for sure will make this my NFL game day viewing spot as the bar is an immaculate, wrap around design. Also noted for the Happy Hour Crew, they offer more times & outstanding prices to be happy:
Monday — Friday 4pm — 7pm
Monday — Thursday 9pm-​Close | Friday — Saturday 10pm-​Close
Sunday All Day
Note: HH is only in the Bar, Patio & Sushi Bar areas.
With the parallel of my 1^st & 2^nd visits, without a doubt, tonight’s experience was PHENOMENAL across the board, hands down, bar none & unequivocally an impressive outing.
I sincerely took pride in asking to speak with the Manger on the Floor. Marlo it was & after I shared my sentiments, I could tell she was very happy to hear the compliments & was proud of her team.
Where I must mention, the few other servers that walked by, had no issue asking if all was ok or if anything was needed… team work makes the dream work.
This do over aka 2^nd time around, truly made up or I should say negates my 1^st experience without hesitation.
OUTSTANDING.

Sometimes… even we are not immune from a necessary mid-​week trip to a mall. Last night, old phones had worn out our last nerve so… off to Springfield Mall we went.
I don’t know about you guys, but neither of us wanted to face the prospect of driving home and preparing dinner after doing all the phone transfer stuff.
Initially, my wife saw the Cheesecake Factory and mentioned it. I immediately recollected one too many nights on the road eating there and I was not too excited (mind you… I said all this in my head since picking a Food Fight is ill-​advised on the best of days).
Thankfully, right next to CF was a new place: Crave — a relatively new surf and turf theme restaurant.
We checked the menu and poke caught my wife’s eye. I saw a chimichurri ribeye and that was it. The bar area was VERY crowded with a bunch of business folks speaking in Spanish. A nattily-​dressed young man with requisite hipster beard coolly but professionally greeted us and escorted us to a table.
While the establishment was quite packed at the front, we discovered a large and relatively spare rear dining area.
Both the ladies and gents rooms are confirmed to be very clean, though I did notice one of the automated paper towel dispensers did not appear to be working correctly. No biggie — the other was up to the task.
Ah yes — back to the food.
We shared a serving of the poke. It had a very pleasant spicy sesame oil with an accompaniment of sliced avocado and fried wonton skins. The tuna was very well butchered (NO intramuscular sinew — the sign of an attentive chef).
My wife had the beef stroganoff for a main. I think she would have preferred the poke as an option for a main as she found the gaminess of the spare rib meat in her stroganoff somewhat off putting. I tried it and it was not as bothersome to me.
As stated earlier, I opted for the chimichurri ribeye cooked to medium. Thank you, LORD!!! Somebody in that kitchen knows what actual medium should be. The maillard crust on the steak indicated high heat and though a few more moments to rest might have kept the juiciness within the cut, I never felt it was dry or ill prepared. The roasted cauliflower had a wonderful nutty umami and was also properly seasoned (hallelujah — I detest flavorless cauliflower). The mashed potatoes were fluffy and properly seasoned and it all played very well against the piquant acid and verdant bloom of the chimichurri sauce.
I ate every last bite and it was DELICIOUS.
While my wife had no interest in desert, I had enjoyed my meal enough to take a desert home. I opted for the lemon meringue. Not sure if it had any of the cheesecake crumble mentioned in the description, but the meringue was nicely bruleed and the brightness of the lemon indicated it was likely hand-​made. The blueberries were a nice textural and flavor compliment and while it was quite tiny… I also felt sated.
At a shade over $ 70 for two with a healthy tip to the very friendly waiter (and no alcohol since it was a week night)…is it the cheapest meal you’ll eat? No.
We also both felt very comfortable with the notion of a return meal and we certainly hope this relatively upscale eatery can survive in a mall (even one situated in a nice part of town).
Eat well, my friends!

Came here on Sunday as a group of four. First stopped at the bar where the Happy Hour specials are available all day. The sushi was surprisingly good, but the tater tots appeared to be just large potato wedges. There was one bartender, but he was very fast in getting our drinks.
Then a couple more friends joined us, and we decided to move to a table. So we settled the tab and walked to the hostess stand where a male employee told me that the wait was 20 minutes. But the restaurant was half-​empty and I counted at least three tables in the front of the restaurant that could accommodate six or more diners. So I didn’t understand where the 20-​minute wait came from.
Once seated, dinner went off without a hitch. Service was attentive. My order of steak and frites were ok, but I wish I had stuck with the sushi.

I ate here during the happy hour time. It was pretty packed which is always a good sign.
Our bartender was so attentive and professional. She really made sure my sister and I felt comfortable. She always checked up on us, which I really appreciated.
As far as the drinks, I got the red sangria. The sangria was so delicious. I could taste the fresh squeezed orange juice. There were chunks of pulps in the drink which made the sangria that much more refreshing. The sangria was sweet yet at the same time, the wine was able to shine through.
Now, the food was delicious. My sister and I ordered the tacos and the spicy salmon rolls. The tacos were made of a bulgogi marinate and some freshly chopped kimchi. There was a strong sesame oil undertone to the tacos which I personally wish there was less of. However, the tacos were savory yet at the same time, light enough to eat with my sangria.