Cru

[Coop]

is really good. Went last night with Mrs Coop and the youngest Coop jr. We had dish after dish of perfect food. Cellar Door Ceaser, Scallops and citrus salad, Seafood soup, Bruscettas three way, Duck Cofit, Short Ribs with Macaroni and Cheese, Choclate Sherry Mousse and assorted Ice cream which included vanilla mascrapone. The texture was smooth and boy was it rich.

The place was packed, the dishs flew by our table the service was great. The only negative thing were the Americanos which just didn't have the flavour. They were made right but tasted like coffee and dishwater. My geuss inferior beans. The cups said Arrcaffe. New to be, nothing like Illy or Intelligensia that for sure.

I love the decor and the room is spotless. What's not to like about this place. The lighting in the door way makes people look awful as they wait for a table though, kind of like characters in a George Romero flick.

["T"]

I agree.

When I went they were busy, busy. The food was well presented and sufficiently proportioned. The wine list is a good mix of old world/new world lower, middle, upper pricing.

Can't find anything negative to say about the experience and wish them lots of luck.

Still dig Pastis a bit more.

[Jerry_A]

For me there is a lot not to like about this place. We went there a little while back for an early dinner and had one of the most disappointing experiences I've had at a restaurant in a very long while. We went in with very high expectations, after reading all of the glowing reviews and seeing Cru on many, if not all, of the best new restaurant lists, which may have hindered us from the start.

The space. Overall not that bad although much too narrow to be comfortable in my opinion. It is almost impossible to navigate through the tables, chairs, and servers to get to the washroom or back to your table. Everything else was ok, chairs relatively comfortable, decent amount of space between tables considering how small the place is.

The food. Again, not bad. I certainly was not blown away here as I thought/hoped I would be. We had the bruschetta to start, which was very average. The fig one was the best by far, but I would never order this dish again.

What made the bruschetta even worse was the fact that the two tables on either side of us received complementary bruschetta with an additional tuna tartare topping to boot. Now, I don't know what we did or did not do to not receive the free platter, but I can tell you I was not very happy with the fact that we had just paid for what everyone else was getting for free (and no they were not friends of the owners, at least as far as I could tell). After that I had some sort of prawn dish, which was pretty damn delicious I must say. Mrs. A had the Short Rib & Mac & cheese which we both found to be quite weak, I found both the short rib meat and the mac & cheese to be lacking in flavour (maybe they should walk up the street and take lesson from Vij in how to do short ribs). We were pretty disenchanted by this point so we decided just to skip to dessert where we split the Icewine cake. I enjoyed the flavours here, not too boozy, nice orange flavour, pretty enjoyable.

The service. Terrible. Had a nice greeting at the door, and initial chat while we received our menus, but it was all downhill after that. Our server offered very little insight into the dishes we asked about, and he, along with everyone else, virtually ignored us the rest of the night. Our empty plates sat on our table for waaayyy too long, and we had to wait forever to get the cheque and to get it paid. There was the minimum possible interaction with our server outside of here's your food and here's your bill. Now, I don't need the server, the chef, the whole restaurant to be fawning over my table, in fact I prefer if they don't, but being there when needed and answering any questions I may have is paramount, and Cru did not come through.

Overall. Just below average. If not for the prawn dish and Icewine cake, I don't think I would ever go back, and it will still be a long time before I do (if ever). We went to the Lumiere tasting bar on Friday and had a much better experience, better food, service, atmosphere, and much better value. I found Cru to be far too pretentious for my liking, maybe their heads are swollen from all of the good press, and there are too many other good places around for me to waste my money there.

Edited for spelling.

Edited April 19, 2004 by Jerry_A (log)

[Foodie in Vancouver]

Just have to add my perspective. We have been going to Cru since they opened last July and have always had great food and service. I realize, however, that eating at a restaurant can be both subjective and a factor of what else is going on in the room, the kitchen and with the server on any particular evening.

We were there on Saturday night and as usual had a great meal. I love the tuna tartare and my spouse can't seem to stop ordering the Cellar Door Caesar. My braised short rib, paired with the Peter Lehman shiraz was wonderful - full of flavour and falling-off-the-bone tender. For us one of the great things about Cru is the ability to easily pair a glass of food with every course and to have just small tastes of several flavours in one meal. I can never eat a full main course and always order from the appetizers. From my experience, this is usually where you get the most creativity and adventure in flavours. And at Cru I have found this to be very much the case. Other dishes we have enjoyed include the scallops, wonderful - carmelized crust, tender and always inventively paired. The Mongolian lamb chops; several of the fish dishes, including the soup.

Perhaps the stand-out on Saturday was the foie gras. Heavenly - melt-in-the-mouth flavour. Truly a splurge - who can justify the fat-calories on a regular basis but when you do, it makes the hours in the gym worth it.

As for the room, for us it reminds us of all the wonderful small rooms we have eaten in NYC. The feel for us is that wonderful mix of neighbourhood, edgy and interesting. I for one don't mind the narrow space nor the closeness. But there are times when I want a different experience and I opt for a more tranquil room.

We have never had a concern with service- prompt, friendly to the extent that we need perspective on the food or wine and there when I need more water or more wine!

But I know that it is entirely possible for me to go to a restaurant that others rave about and have a truly awful experience - for me it was Blue Water Cafe. Nothing will ever induce me to set foot in that restaurant ever again. (Ditto Glowbal!) But many of my dearest friends love it. It is all personal - I love wine others hate and I have often fallen in love with the lesser priced wine. (Unfortunately, not often enough - I still can enjoy the expensive stuff!) Perhaps you might consider a return visit and give it another chance but with all the choices in the city it is hard to take a chance on repeating a less-than-stellar experience.

[Coop]

We actually went to Cru to break our Parkside cycle. Both are excellent places. I think one takes a chance going to these popular places (at least in my opinion) Raincity, Glowbal, Cin Cin, Blue Water, Wild Rice and Feenie's. They just don't seem consistent enough. Where as you hardly ever hear negative comments about Cru, Parkside, Gyoza King, Kintaro, The Bins and La Regalade.

For me I will never go back to Elixer or Brix, because they were so far short of acceptable in food and service. others may have a great time there, but I doubt it.

[M'd]

I too can uderstand the dissappointment one experiences after reading rave after rave and then finding out that your tastes have nothing in common with those of the ravers.

I found/find Cru to be a comletely different experience than Jerry A did.

My partner and I gravitate to Cru because of the tight comfortable room and compared to our other dining favorites (West in Van. and Deep Cove Chalet on Van Isle. etc.) the crew at Cru offer equivalent and often superior professionalism, knowledge and character with much less fan fare and pretense. One of our favorit e things in the world is a night of silver service in a glamorous setting. But for most occasions we count on Cru or others like Parkside and Vij's etc. to provide a unique, comfortable and exceptionally satisfying fix for our dine-out-addiction.

That said, is it not just awesome to have so many great options in Vancouver/BC to discuss and try?!?---some will fail us, but most will provide a pretty good to great experience.

-thank you for accomodating my opinion...

M'd

[Coop]

Jerry A I'm sorry to hear you had a bad experience at Cru. The first time we went the one week link was a less experienced waitress, but by the end of the evening she seemed up to speed. The room is indeed tight. I took many hits on the left elbow before I traded seats with my son, who is smaller, at least for now.

Although we enjoyed ourselves at Cru, it still comes up short of Parkside on Haro for food and way short of the great attention we have gotten from Andrey and Chris and their staff.

I will not be editing for spelling. Like a women who doesn't wax or shave her legs I want to be appreciated for the real me!

[Jerry_A]

I believe it was a combination of our lofty expectations and the underwhelming atmosphere that did us in. That and the nagging feeling that we were being ignored due to our youthful appearance (we're cursed, I know), but that is just par for the course.

I obviously must agree that it's hard to hold a candle to Parkside right now. We have been there several times and are never anything but completely satisfied. There is something to be said about the comfort level there that I just did not, and most likely could not, feel at Cru. Whether it is the staff, the space, or the food that does it, I don't know.

As far as I'm concerned Parkside is dollar for dollar the best place in town right now.

And Coop I'm glad to hear you don't wax your legs, but it could help you slip through those tight areas between the Cru tabletops.

[Coop]

I understand the patio is now open at Parkside. Making it an even better bet.

[Keith Talent]

Following Coop around town is becoming a habit. Went to Cru on Saturday night with anther couple.

Arrived, greeted by name by the owner?/manager? Thought it was a nice touch, didn't realize it was because they were dreading our arrival and watching the front door hoping for a no show. We were told that our table wasn't quite ready and would we mind taking a seat at the bar. This foursome had no problem what so ever sitting at a bar. Drinks ordered. Had a nice converation with the owner/manager about the fact that a Martini is a Martini, nothing else. He confided his pet peeve of being asked to see the "Martini List". What list? Gin, vermouth, olive. How many variants can there be that you require a list? Death to Green Apple Schnapps in a martini glass drinkers.

Out came the complimentary bruschetta Jerry A got screwed out of. (Sorry man, but the Tuna that was missing off yours was f'ing superb.) Out came the owner/manager with a concerned look on his face. Seems the restaurant is overbooked. We've got no space for you. Oops. We were sitting at the bar on the corner, with a couple on either side of the "L" would we mind taking our meals there. We were quite happy. The stools were comfortable. The arrangement was actually quite ideal. He're the sweetener he told us. "Accept our apologies for the error, I'll buy your drink, the bruschetta and a bottle of wine with dinner." No problem. We were all over that, hell, buy us our first round of drinks and we'd be happy. Absolutely stunning generousity. Even if the food were crap (which it's not) I'd wish these people well. There should be a Cru on every street corner. Superb customer service.

Then onto dinner. We all had the prix fixe menu, gotta be the steal of the decade, 3 courses, 32 bucks. The menu has four selections each, of two courses so we ordered one of everything planning to send each plate around the table (bar). The caeser salad was the only thing that wasn't oustanding in the appetizers, the pork entree was dry/tough. Everything else was phenomenal, doubly so considering the price.

I subbed cheese for dessert, five dollar supplement. Never pass on a chance to eat cheese is one of my life philosophies.

Food was really really nice. Decor was good, with the exception of the t-bar ceiling, felt a little too much like being at work. I felt an uncontrolable urge to surf the web and post shit on bulletin boards. Service was great, one of the most extravagant "I'm sorry" I've ever received in a restaurant.

Eat at Cru.

Anyone eat in the place that was in that space before. We looked at the menu on prior occasions while milling about outside waiting to get in next door. It looked good, very traditional and uncool, so uncool that it kinda was cool. Classic french I beleive.

[Coop]

Cyrano's. Planned to go the night they closed their doors. How ironic. So Keith.. Parkside or Cru. Both good food, service prices and the owners are great people. I can't choose.

Edited April 26, 2004 by Coop (log)

[jayhay]

That and the nagging feeling that we were being ignored due to our youthful appearance (we're cursed, I know), but that is just par for the course.

Ha.ha...wait until you feel you're being ignored because of your "elderly" appearance (we're cursed, I know)...

Not that we were at Cru...in fact we had a lovely evening!

Three of us had the set menu, & loved everything. At the end of the meal I mentioned we had heard of the place through egullet & the server said..."Now you tell me! I could have given you free stuff". She then called over the owner, who seemed to be impressed that we were "from" egullet.

We would have gone back anyway, but this didn't hurt!

Edited April 27, 2004 by jayhay (log)