We sat out on the patio on a gorgeous night. Â Enjoyed a cocktail and ordered 2 appetizers. 30 mins later after not seeing our waiter, we followed up with the hostess stand. No order was put in for us. The manager was great and apologized profusely. Â Our order came out within 5 mins. We were encouraged to order whatever we wanted but didn't take advantage of the situation. The manager comped our food and provided 4 $5 gift cards to return. Â The calamari is the best in this town!!!
Review Source:$5 burger on a Wednesday? Why not? I came here during lunch with my coworkers. I wanted to check out their $5 burger and see if it was worth it to come here on Wednesday as well as going to Fleming's on Fridays for their $6 burger. And sadly, this place wasn't an addition.
Walking in, they had a very dazzling interior, quite dark, but nonetheless nice. Being a nice day out, our party thought it would be a good idea to sit outside considering the weather permitted it and that it will be one of those days that outside sounded better. (On top of that, I was told it was going to get really humid here and we should enjoy it before it gets there.) On a sunny, windless day, I would HIGLY SUGGEST that you should not sit outside. This is because right next to the seating outside they store all the trash and grease containers on the other side of the wall. That smell wafts over to the dining area. Unless you like smelling that summer used oil while you eat your food, by all means sit outside. If not, opt on sitting in.
Back to the food. The $5 Bistro Burger wasn't what I really expected. The overall dish was actually dry. Not as dry as the fries, but dry. The beef, cooked medium, was the type of patty that you have to constantly have your drink near you so it can be swallowed. This takes away from the taste of the burger then, because you're constantly diluting it with a drink to be able to eat it. I think a requirement of a good burger has to be the juices. One, that doesn't need any drink to eat and is moist. This burger had some condiments as well and it still came out dry. The bun to me was also really dry, and that just added to it tasting dry.
So, to summarize:
1. Save your dollar and get a Fleming's burger. (Doesn't matter how you get it cooked.)
2. Don't sit outside on a stale day.
2a. If you do sit outside on a stale day make sure you have a fan or some kind of perfume so you won't smell the grease containers or the dumpsters.
You must be wondering why I would give it a 3 stars. This review was only based on my one burger. I'm pretty sure there are other dishes that are amazing? I would like to think so if it's a 4 star restaurant. Plus, the service that we had was pretty good, so if there were mid stars I would give it 2.5. So rounded, 3. If I come back, I'll probably come for a main course and see how it fares with what they're asking in price.
Little plates. Good food. Â
I'm somewhat bothered by small plates. Â Don't get me wrong--I can appreciate a good tapas bar. Â But Cru doesn't claim to be a tapas bar, they're a bistro. Â So be a bistro, I say.
I like their brunch--especially the crab cake eggs served with fried spinach, smoked gouda grits, and Cajun tomato cream. Â
Outdoor seating area is nice in good weather.
1/2 price bottles on Tuesday...don't have an early flight to catch....eh, why not? ((Says the girl who rarely drinks...)) One bottle down, and I wanted another. Too bad that Tuesday Boozeday had a somewhat early bedtime on the agenda. Bummer.
I didn't have the chance to partake in ordering what looked like some phenomenal dishes since my friend and I were headed straight to the bar. I will say, the tapas looked delicious. If I hadn't just pigged out on...pig...I probably would have had late night snack with my bottle of wine.
The wine selected was huge, and we settled on a killer bottle of Massimo Rioja which ended up costing a whopping 13 bucks. I was surprised to see so many bottles on the half price menu - there was definitely something for everyone.
The service was great. The ambiance was amazing. The decor was gorgeous. Cru is perfect for a romantic little date night.
I anticipate more trips to Knoxville in my future, so I'll definitely be sure to hit up Cru Bistro & Wine Bar to try some of their dishes for dinner. Most likely I'll try to plan it on aTuesday so I can order a bottle of wine for half the price to go with it!
Stopped by on a whim and was seriously impressed. Â Atmosphere is great, service was impeccable and the food awesome. Â I had the Shrimp and Grits and my husband had Tuna Tar Tar, both dishes were outstanding. Â We each had a glass of Sangria ($4 each). Â Splurging a little we decided to share another plate of the Fish Tacos - incredible. Â Only thing I would say is that the music playing should be something a little smoother, maybe Jazz, what was playing didn't seem to fit. Â Will be returning.
Review Source:Great service at the bar. Good happy hour prices. We had the Soy Joy roll (from their sister restaurant Nama) and the 5 cheese pizza (I highly suggest adding Benton's Bacon for a slight upcharge). Both were delivered in under 10 minutes and were delicious. Manager stopped by for a chat as well. Very pleased with our experience.
Review Source:Nothing about this place really stood out aside from the waitress. She was one of the most experienced, knowledgeable, and accommodating waitresses I've ever had. As far as the food goes, I wasn't too impressed. We got the app sampler and the pesto pizza. The hummus on the app sampler was pretty good. Everything else was too rich. I usually like it when the rich butterfat of dairy is used sparingly to boost the flavor of a dish and not to bolster it completely, which seemed to be the case with the artichoke dip, the cornbread, and the pesto vegetable pizza. The wine menu did appeal to and they had some interesting wine flights as well though I didn't try any. That might be the main draw here, but for me the food didn't quite cut it.
Review Source:Got to be kidding me. Serving size is just too small. I get the idea of less is more, but the $10 cheese plate had 4 very thin slices of cheese (all of which are at food city) and less than an ounce of preserves. It did have a lot of really stale bread. The pork was a good entree, but I'm still starving so we are leaving to go elsewhere.
Review Source:Many things I could say about this place but I'm kind of stuck on how exactly to judge it. First the size of the plates.....they are small as is made clear by the menu and waitstaff. I would say that the average person would need 2 to 3 plates to be satisfied.
Price: 2 to 3 plates will run you between $17 (for 2) and $26 (for 3) or a little more depending on what you get. Average to the expensive side for a single entree at a "normal" place.
Food: I'd say the food is pretty good. I sampled the Frites (fries for we non-french folks) with chipotle ketchup and garlic alioli mayo....crunchy and salty with good flavor in the dipping sauces. The chicken and waffles...a sweet syrup with a very small waffle (3X3 inch square) and two small pieces of chicken...tasty and not overly sweet. Grilled cornbread was moist and dense with pimento cheese melted over the top....very nice. Also sampled some of the cheese plate. It had brie, goat cheese, porter cheddar, blue cheese and a couple of other things. Fairly standard stuff but paired well with wine.
Wine: Good wine list......glasses run $7 and up.
Service: Very nice and friendly and quick on the delivery of food/wine/water but it was a Monday so it wasn't real busy.
Overall: Small plates but good food. However, with wine (one glass) you have to be willing to throw down a minimum of $30 or $40 for a meal. Worth going to for the atmosphere and food but I wouldn't make a habit of it just from a price perspective.
I've been here twice and it was very good both times. It's small, and I sat in the bar area once and outside once. Though i'd typically prefer to be outside, I would choose the bar over outside here, unless a panaromaic view of smoggy parking lots really does it for you.
To begin with, they have a nice wine list and i've tried a couple of new & delicious wines per my server's suggestion. I got the cheese plate both times and it was very good. The variety was really nice each time, and the portions are a bit better than some similiarly-priced restaurants. I would recommend from the menu: the wild mushroom pizza, the wedge salad, the calamari, and the fries with various ketchups. There are many things I'd like to try that I'll be going back for.
This place is great. The wine menu is obviously stacked, and there are several good beers on tap. I went with my team to cast off a co-worker moving to Florida. I ordered chicken and waffles and the tomato/potato soup. The soup tasted like a thicker tomato bisque, and I would definitely suggest it. The chicken and waffle came with little pieces of bacon and a great sweet apple/cinnamon syrup all on top. I loved it! I nibbled on the burger sliders and enjoyed its almost sweet flavor. I didn't hear one person at my table of 8 that didn't enjoy there food.
The two rooms in this restaurant make it great for dining, happy hour, dates, or large groups. The menu also features some of the local sushi favorite, Nama, signature dishes. It's worth heading here for dinner or drinks. The only items not good are the lackluster desserts.
We've been to Cru three times now - twice for dinner and once for their Sunday brunch - and they have all been great.
The concept is small plates, so each person is likely to order two things off the menu and then share a little with your dining companions. Cru serves some items found on the menu at Nama, such as ceviche and tuna tartare. The night that we had six people there, we ended up with twelve small plates, plus a cheese and charcuterie platter. It was a ton of food. Probably too much food. By the end, people were negotiating with others to take something just to avoid having to take anything home. "You want one of my mini burgers? Half a burger? How about a quarter of a burger - I'll cut it for you and everything."
Personal recommendations:
potato-tomato soup
Greek burgers
"Sea" burgers
Grilled cornbread
wild mushroom pizza
hazelnut baked brie
frites (with chipotle ketchup)
charcuterie & cheese combo
grilled cornbread with pimento cheese
In addition to the usual menu, they also had some dinner specials that were more like entrees in both size and price. They all sounded good, but we went with the smaller, more shareable options.
I also can't say anything about the desserts. They look good on paper, but we've never been hungry enough to try one after a meal. Maybe we'll stop by  some afternoon to just get dessert and coffee. I'll report back if that happens.
The decor is nice without being stuffy. You'll see people wearing jeans, suits, and everything in between. We've not had a problem just walking in after some shopping. I wish we lived closer, but Cru is a good excuse to drive out to Turkey Creek. They've got outdoor seating if you're into that kind of thing. Eating outside borders on camping, so I prefer the safety and comfort of indoors (no bears).
Other highlights:
Cool color-changing light fixture over the entranceway
Good selection of draft beers
DIY Bloody Mary bar on Sundays
Odd note:
My wife informed me that there are two sinks in the ladies room, yet the restroom only accommodates one person at a time. Curious. We spent the duration of one dinner trying to figure out what you could use the second sink for. Keeping a baby from rolling off the counter, perhaps. Washing socks? Or filling it with ice and keeping your drink cold while you freshen your makeup. Maybe you'll think of a good use for it.
The 5 best restaurants in the 2015 Denver Restaurant Week
3,611 Views | Category: Denver
The complete list of 2015 Denver Restaurant Week businesses
1,972 Views | Category: Denver
The tourists' guide to Portillos: 5 must have dishes
3,318 Views | Category: Chicago
Pho = Pronounced "fuh" not "foe" for pho-king sake
2,915 Views | Category: Denver
Indulgery selected to exhibit at Collision Conference
2,987 Views | Category: Press Releases
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
Add Your Business
