Crave American Kitchen and Bar (fun and classy Woodbury bar and restaurant)

We recently went to Crave bar and restaurant to celebrate our friend’s birthday. Kayla and I had been to a different location once before (by the Orpheum theater in MPLS) and enjoyed our experience. The previous time that we had gone, we were super rushed due to having a show that we had to get to.

Crave Woodbury was an awesome experience for us. They had a great variety of high-end food to choose from, but not so much as to make the menu overwhelming. If you like quality sushi (Kayla and I don’t prefer seafood, but I do enjoy vegetarian sushi rolls), elevated Asian food, or just stick to classics like steak and chicken, you’ll find something great here.

The ambience is fantastic. Even though this is a bar establishment, you don’t feel like you’re in a BDubs or honkey tonk. It’s a classy ambience all around. If you need a higher end bar to meet clients or need to make a good impression, this place delivers.

The staff are all professional and polite. Getting questions answered or making reservations is simple pain free.

Between the 4 of us, we all enjoyed everything that we ordered. We enjoyed an appetizer of truffle fries, a side of avocado sushi rolls, and a round of cocktails while we waited for our entrees. The wasabi included with the sushi rolls includes a free side of kick-in-the-pants if you want to scare unsuspecting table guests.

The entrees were all to our satisfaction. If we were going to nitpick, our order of steak frites was served on a bed of french fries. The asparagus and juices from the steak rendered the fries as a soggy mess. A little more delicacy with plating would have helped with that entrée. We also felt that the vegetables in general erred on the side of al-dente. Not necessarily undercooked, but perhaps a bit more firm than we would have preferred. All things considered, we were all satisfied with the meals we received.

While the entrees fell somewhere in between “good” and “good-enough,” our cocktails were simply fantastic. I didn’t expect to enjoy the drinks as much as I did. I personally had a Blackberry Mule and a Raspberry Ginger Gimlet. The table also had a Blood Orange Margarita, a Crave Old Fashioned, and a special-menu Irish Cream drink.

The Blackberry mule and the Raspberry Ginger Gimlet were noteworthy to me. The Blackberry Mule had just enough ginger and lime to offset the sharpness of the Vodka. Blackberry was the pronounced flavor and it was excellent. The Raspberry Ginger Gimlet had notes of raspberry and ginger (as you would expect from the name), but also had leaves of basil in the drink. I thought it was an appropriate flavor profile, albeit a little basil-forward. The notes of raspberry were hidden under the basil in my opinion. Still a terrific drink that isn’t going to be found at your local Applebee’s bar. Just beware that if you don’t enjoy the nuances of basil in your cocktail, you may find it off-putting. Kayla was not as much of a fan as I was of the drink, although she agreed that it was a nice change of pace and worth trying.

Crave has a fun birthday dessert that you are sure to witness if you visit. It’s a tasty brownie that has something of a chocolate-chip cookie crust on the bottom. It is served with a side of ice cream. You’ll know it when you see it since it has a roman candle fire-fountain sitting on top. It’s a fun desert and a dazzling visual spectacle. Pyro-maniac approved.