Crave Kitchen & Bar

I really wanted to like this place! I pass by it often on Zaragoza and am attracted to the outside, the name, and even the photos of the food I've seen online. Sadly, it's WAY too bland for my liking. Did I seriously miss something? Is this a healthy low-sodium restaurant that shys away from flavor or certain seasonings? Yikes. The presentation was amazingly deceptive! Kind of hard to mess up chicken I thought, but they did. Nonetheless, service was decent. We ordered chicken and waffles and the chicken tasted like flour. The waffles tasted like bread, and the syrup was like a sweet sauce with a syrup-like texture. I ordered a cucumber mint agua fresca thinking it was like the ones you get at a taco shop, but freshly made. Nope - it was literally water with cucumber and mint in it. So I paid $3 for water. That was my oversight, I guess. I could have made that at home. Seemed like a nice place to bring an out of town guest, but I cannot say that I recommend dining here. Keep looking. The burgers look good too, but I know not to go off of the photos anymore. Hard pass.

This is an amazing restaurant that has grown to several locations throughout the city. Always trendy dining areas, delicious food and drinks and friendly service. They offer daily specials that are amazing deals. Definitely give these guys a try!

Went into the Fountains location and there was no hand soap in the women's bathroom. I complained, and no manager came to speak to us or promised to resolve it. There is a Walgreens within 100 feet that sells hand soap . When I told the waitress, she said there hasn't been soap for 2 days and the manager knows and has been told. When I contacted them on Facebook they said there is a hand washing station in the back, but your waitress just said you have been out of soap for 2 days. I was told they were sorry for the inconvenience on Facebook messenger. Sorry for what? All of the customers you exposed to E.Coli and bacteria, and who knows what else from unwashed hands? The health department needs to know about the hygiene practices at Crave.

I've been here twice & the food & service have always been amazing I've always gone around lunch time or breakfast time. The mimosas were pretty good too!

My family and I had been going to Crave since it first opened, but we will no longer be going to this restaurant.Service: When we walked in we had to wait for someone to come out of the back/kitchen to seat us. The restaurant was pretty empty (there were only 2 other tables being served), but the service took a long time. The manager, waitresses, and bartender were all in the back/kitchen while we dined. No staff was present in the front of the house, which was odd. We waited a little over 20 minutes for the waitress to come to our table so we could request our bill. Cleanliness: Not sure if the the staff doesn't care or they're understaffed, but the restaurant had a couple of dirty tables that hadn't been picked up. There were also several flies buzzing around. We consistently had try to keep them off our plates.Quality: the food quality is not what it once was. I got a watermelon margarita, and it did not taste like watermelon or tequila. It was quite tart. I also ordered the Hog Burger, and the ham and patty were a bit overcooked. Pricing: This was the tipping point for me. When we placed our order, we asked if we could substitute the fries with sweet potato fries, which we usually do, and we were told there would be an up-charge. I thought it would be an additional $1-$1.50 because of inflation and the pandemic so I said it was fine. Come to find out once we got our bill, they removed our side from our plate and charged us for a separate side of sweet potato fries which was $6.50! Almost the same value as the entree. I asked to speak to a manager and she said it was their new policy, any substitution will be charged as a separate dish, which I found insane! Especially since we didn't get an actual separate dish, we were given a fist-full of fries next to the burgers. To top it off, they charge you a FEE TO PAY WITH A CREDIT/DEBIT card. At the bottom of the bill they notify you will "save" 3.5% if you pay with cash. What?!?! Who carries cash like that nowadays. Instead of the restaurant paying for the service they are expecting the customers to pay for it. This was a ridiculous experience. We will no longer be supporting this business. I recommend anyone who is considering this place to just go across the street as there are way better restaurants there. Save yourself the headache.

Went here two nights ago, and one of the reasons we chose this spot is because it seemed vegan-friendly. Turns out it's not!The waiter seemed to have no idea what vegan means and was unwilling to check with the kitchen on what is and isn't vegan. As someone who has worked in restaurants, I think it's pretty easy if you're not sure to just ask someone who would know. The "grains and greens" section of the menu includes options to add protein, but all of them are meat. So since the impossible burger was an option for burgers, I thought it was worth asking if just the impossible patty could be added as a protein option - extra charge or whatever. I understand if it's not an option for whatever reason, but the waiter wasn't even willing to check (or tell me he would check). When I asked for clarification on whether a bowl was vegan, he told me that the dressing was vegan but the bowl was "not vegan based". What? What does that mean?! He wouldn't clarify further. Don't come here if you're vegan!This is a little nitpicky, but we ordered a pitcher of something and it just sat ready on the bar forever. The waiter was probably understandably busy with other tables, but the bartender wasn't doing anything.

My wife and I went here with very minimal expectations and the only one that was met was the staff was polite. There is a huge hygiene issue with this restaurant. The table they sat us at had dirty dishes on it, the menu was sticky and had a hair stuck to it, my coffee mug had lipstick all over it. I would not recommend this place to anyone that doesn't have a strong immune system.

This is the Tuna Cervichi I got as as a starter at the Crave Kitchen and Bar in El Paso, TX. It was so delicious. It came with crunchy chips, spicy ranch sauce and soy sauce. I will make sure to get this everytime I come here. For an entre, I got the tuna poke bowl, and my husband got one of their delicious cheeseburgers with fries. His looked amazing as well! Can't wait for the opportunity to come back here. The staff was very nice. Our server gave us both a complimentary coconut iced tea as we were leaving without even asking because it was so hot that day.

its honestly a pain in the ass to eat here. they have no food delivery options and ordering for pickup through their system is abysmal. go into the store and they dont take any digital form of payment. what restaurant in 2024 doesnt have tap to pay or apple pay? or offer door dash or uber eats? this restaurant shoots themselves in the foot on so many levels, when it really should get with the times and be MUCH more accessible. around 2015, this chain/franchise was the place to eat. not sure what has happened since then, as the only thing thats still consistently enjoyable is their sides, such as the iconic green chile mac or their regular or sp fries, which can honestly be hit or miss cause they're often incredibly stale.have tried tons of stuff from their menu and while a lot of it sounds great on paper, much of it often falls flat in flavor and execution. burgers for example. a staple. could be amazing and definitely used to be, but out of the last 5 burgers I've had at Crave within a year, 4 were hardly enjoyable. The bread is often too porous and dry, while the meat feels like it hardly has any flavor. Get a bad apple cook, and they hardly put any condiments or toppings, and it easily goes from a 6/10 burger to a 2/10. the toppings and different menu options seem great, but just don't taste like much of anything on a few of those burgers. They should learn from other restaurants who have MASTERED burgers, like hoppy monks blue fox or orange cow. Breakfast items also meh, Mexican traditional classics are often fudged or bland. Huevos rancheros were sure this way, you almost feel you could have done better with stock ingredients in your kitchen. unusual choice of almost enchilada like red sauce, creates an unpleasant flavor profile. Pancakes are similar to the burgers; dry again, and the condiments they give you for the pancakes by default simply don't make any sense. should compliment them and cover their weakness, but just competes instead. The great items I've had though are the sides and apps. The tomato basil soup and crostini with goat cheese is heavenly. Haven't had the chicken and waffles for a while but same story with the chicken and the waffle, can be bland, and dry respectively. Breakfast scrambles are okay at best, they look super appetizing but just don't appeal to the palate, you really don't want to eat all of it by the end. super homemade feeling, though, doesn't feel like the eggs you would get at village inn or dennys. this goes a long way. Breakfast sandwich also tries to do too much and ends up doing too little. The dry waffle returns, and the flavor profile of the sausage and cheese with it just clashes. The sausage also has a very strange and off putting texture. however, it was a pleasant surprise to see the bacon IN the waffle, and it honestly comes together to salvage the whole experience. it applies the texture and richness to the waffle that its missing, which seems to be a recurring theme at this restaurant. Craves Monte cristo was definitely a weird take on the monte cristo and again just not much of anything. played too safely. The country potatoes have potential but often are just massive starchy potatoes, that yield the same experience as literally just taking a bite out of a half baked potato, but less satisfying. Gnocchi was a refreshing experience where so few offer such a dish, and definitely screams "original recipe" and gives a very homemade feel. makes me feel like the flashback scene in ratatouille, as does the tomato basil. This deserves to stay on the menu forever, and just feels like they really nailed the recipe. drink selection looks fantastic and some of the agua frescas really don't disappoint, but it's also really hard to muck those up. I have not tried any of the tacos, but again do not have super high expectations. tortillas are super easy to get wrong and I feel like the menu curators taste may lead them astray here too. its like they dont know what their own food tastes like or is like to eat, or havent done quality control in a long time, and the acceptable menu standard has drifted. Need to give the nachos and ceviche a shot, and maybe even the wings, hoping that it has something to offer when the rest of the menu falls flat. But my expectations are tapered, with reason. Normally when I venture from what I normally order here, I am let down. It makes me cautious and skeptical about trying other things at this restaurant, when it should be adventurous and confidence inspiring. I'll probably be back cause enough time goes by and I forget how bad it was and desperately need to be reminded. Also there are several items here I really DO enjoy, and cannot find anywhere else. I really hope this restaurant shapes up because it has huge potential with a knockout menu on paper and general preparation taste, just leaves much to be desired on the execution. Stick with what you know here and sometimes it won't let you down.

I love the menu. The food can be really good at times. But the restaurant is always dirty. I have been here three times. Sitting here right now. Staff is 100% great.