Raven

Have tried Raven twice over two months, and wish I could write a better review. Three stars may be generous. I had high hopes for them, as the former VZD's location deserves a great eatery. First off, the family and people who run this, as well as the (way too few) servers, are GREAT people. Makes it even harder to dish out the truth...it's as if this is their first restaurant, and they are more impressed with themselves having merely opened than actually delivering great food and service to a competitive and intelligent market. Feels like they are "playing restaurant". I say this to say, when a server delivers an appetizer at the END of the meal, after an excruciatingly long dinner process, and brushes it off with no apology nor awareness of the faux pas, instead replying with "the chef has his own timing" as if such shtik will endear you to the customer, you have failed. That was insult to injury.People primarily dine to satisfy their hunger. They order appetizers to satiate themselves while waiting for the entrée, and perhaps to be teased by the quality and creativity of the appetizer itself, and with quick delivery as a sign of good things to come. But like the appetizer, these things never appeared. How prescient that frustrating little app turn out to be.It takes FOREVER here to get attention, get seated, get service, get food, and then GET OUT. Why?? Both times the place was less than 50% full, yet you'd think they were slammed. Quality of items are hit and miss. Usually half the items are great, half are worse than mediocre. Your eyes will burn from the ambient smoke. Your blood pressure will rise wondering why the hell it takes so long to get anything in an empty restaurant, and when items finally arrive they are delivered out of order. Wife ordered a greyhound, and after 15 minutes they delivered the drink with a salted rim. That is a salty dog, not a greyhound. Server didn't know the difference. Bar fail.Lastly, the space is beautiful, the new owners did a great job on the remodel. Its just a matter of time before a real restauranteur eventually lands in this space, and delivers what the customer sorely wants, and needs. Save yourself two hours of frustration. Go elsewhere.

Well wouldn't you know it, a brand new restaurant to review. Let's dive (bomb) right in! (I'm gonna go ahead and apologize for all the bird puns in advance - please dont... murder me).Located on Western, you will find a new concept in place of the long adored VZDs. What once was a rugged locale is now a quaint eatery with a sense of reinhabited dimensionality. The dining gallery has a diverse selection of seating along an unwavering bar, broadened by its extension into the preparation area. One glance at the wine list and you will know there is something different about this place.A limited menu of sharable plates & eye-catching ingredients prey on intrigue. Bread and Butter? Sounds simple enough... but let me tell you, it was as if it were flown in on wings from heaven itself. Easily could be an entire dinner on days my cortisol spikes (well with wine of course). I paired this with a deliciously sauced Shrimp & Cabbage plate, which in contrast, was more minimalistic than expected. For what is considered a sharable plate for two, it should have included more than 3 small crustaceans... But that's just my pinion... Next, I turned my beak to the dessert lineup. A promise of a banana thing or a peach thing. I went with peach and asked if it was safe as cargo. I was assured it was best in house, but seeing as I was moments away from rolling my body out the door, I decided to take it with me. To my surprise when I arrived home, the peach thing is actually an apricot thing? Or perhaps they are the smallest peach halves I have ever seen. Nonetheless, I delightfully pecked at the fruit feathered between layers of vanilla sweet cream, deconstructed chocolate cake and a yolk of citrus curd. A little sweet for me but nothing an espresso couldn't fix.I won't say I will be raven about this place to friends (okay, really sorry for that last one). But for what it's worth, I won't take my first experience as an omen. Thanks for the wonderful service, I like the concept and think it needs a little time to spread its wings before I return to the crow-bar. For good caws, I will end with a killer slogan: The Raven really puts the Crow in Crown Heights (okay, I'll see myself out now).

Overall, Raven was such a cool experience. The atmosphere is neat, food was DELICIOUS, but the service was very slow. When we sat down, it took over 5 minutes for anyone to come take our drink order. The food was very tasty, but super small portions. We ordered the lamp chops as an appetizer, the scallops and shrimp and cabbage as our two entrees. Everything was spot on but we were still hungry after leaving. We went straight to Chick-fil-A to get more food after haha. I would recommend Raven, but maybe eat a little bit before coming, or expect to need at least 2 dishes each.

The place is classic but in an understated way. We love the wood-panel skylight. The service was great. The menu is limited. I think it starts with apps/salad at the top of the menu and then the entrees towards the bottom of the menu.The food was seasoned but it was heavily salted. It took some time for them to come out. But we can tell some thought and effort were put into it after we saw the food. It is beautifully plated. The twisted tree sourdough was creative with unique ingredients such as dry fish flakes and bone marrow butter. So delicious. For the price, the beef tenderloin entree was incredibly small. The meat was tender though. But again it is heavily salted. We were still hungry after our meal so we got the ox-tail mac and cheese. It was okay, it had an interesting cheesy flavor. The chocolate croissant bread pudding was restaurant quality. And cocktails were well-made and reasonably priced. Dinner was expensive but we had a great tasting experience.

This place is incredible. Great, prompt and attentive service (the bartenders will refill your iced tea or beverage without asking) and a cool interior environment. Every one of their dishes is like a work of art and did not disappoint. Their bread-butter dish was very interesting and had a great flavorful paste with fish flakes. Their tomato / burrata caprese salad was also on point, the dressing was spectacular. Their max and cheese (cheese with elbow pasta) was to die for and a very innovative twist on a classic. Finally, I got both of their desserts - a brûlée banana bread and an orange chocolate trifle - both were amazeballs but the banana dish had more of a memorable comfort-food flavor. Definitely recommended! It is also where VZD used to be!

Food was cooked and presented perfectly! Ambiance is super cool and chill. In from out of town and came based on a recommendation from a local friend. Worth the 15 minute drive from the hotel and wish this place the best of luck and many years of success. We had the sunchokes, mushrooms, crudo, and ribeye! Perfect dinner for two. Service was spot on, attentive and knowledgeable.

Love this place! The environment is so cool and the people are so cool. The food is fresh and made when you order, so be prepared to hang out and drink some great drinks while you wait. But it's worth it! Great experience in OKC!!!

Finally got the chance to try Raven, and wow! We had a raspberry lemonade mocktail and a raspberry mint cocktail to start, and they were delicious. Second cocktail was "dealers choice" and our amazing server/bartender made a passion fruit creamsicle, and that is exactly what it tasted like! To eat we had the featured mushroom toast and the lobster roll. Food took a little longer than expected, but it was well worth the wait. Salt on the mushrooms was a little heavy, but it didn't stop us from eating every last bite. The charcoal potatoes were also delicious with a lemon aioli to dip them in. It wasn't very busy at all when we got there, so it was nice and quiet. The restaurant definitely kept the VZD's character. Highly recommended, can't wait to go back.

What a wonderful way to bring in the New Year. Chef Timothy put together a four course, fixed price menu for New Year's Eve dining. It was wonderful to see this place packed to the rafters all evening. I think the word has gotten out and what an exceptional dining experience. I have termed it fine dining in relaxed, friendly atmosphere. Do yourselves a favor and try out one of OKC's finest new restaurants. Exceptional food and exceptional service.

The Pommes Anna!We went on a freezing Tuesday night and it was almost empty. It's a good space. The staff was friendly and attentive. We started with hot olives with grilled bread. The hot olives were hot olives. The bread was perfect - qcrusty and irresistible I ordered the lamb chops that were good if a tiny bit overdone. We shared the Pommes Anna. It was DELICIOUS. Browned and crunchy and tender and buttery. I want to go back just for that.The lemon curd parfait was exactly what it sounds like.