Crave — Restaurant in Albert-Eden

Went to crave after getting recommendations from a coworker. The vibe was really good and we were seated fairly quickly by friendly staff.

We started seeing some red flags here and there, especially when they brought us water in plastic cups to drink from. Didn't make sense why a proper cafe would not have proper glassware, then again, we were there for the tasty food so we ignored all that and continued to wait for our food.

We ordered the french toast, salmon benedict and K Chicken with a coffee.

The coffee came first and it was pretty good. Nothing special though, was a tad too hot.

When the food arrived, we dug into it immediately, starting with the chicken. And it was far too saucy and the chicken pretty flavourless. Then again, a lot of places get Korean chicken wrong, so we just tried not to pay too much attention and move onto the other dishes that should have been easier to get right.

The salmon benedict looked good and the real disappointment came when we took a bite of all the different elements on the plate and it all tasted like nothing. The egg was slightly overcooked - not runny. The base for the Benedict was a potato base which completely overpowered the rest of the ingredients, including the salmon. It was so disappointing that the Korean chicken started to taste "good".

We still tried to keep an open mind, since we heard such amazing things about the french toast, and dug in. First of all, it had salad bits on top of it. I have no idea why. Then a bunch of candied fruit which is really not for me. It also had some fruit, all overpowered by flavours of rockmelon. The fruit bits could easily be described as disgusting. So removed all of that from the plate, to dig into the bread itself. I swear to God, that was the sweetest french toast I have ever eaten in my life. And I take 2 sugars with my medium mocha, just to give you an idea. No french toast should ever be that sweet, not even close to it. And I'm not sure if the "toast" was even some type of bread because it was so drenched in caramel/syrup that it became a hard, sticky, layered cakey-bread. What a terrible experience, and I kid you not, it all cost $88.

There are too many good cafes around to ever...

I popped by a good several months ago for breakfast while the missus was away. At the time, there were some issues with seating me (perhaps it was because I was a solo diner on a busy Saturday morning), the coffee I ordered was more bitter than expected, and the french toast I ordered had more sugar than my coffee.

Several months later, the missus was hankering for something a little more hearty and being fresh out of ingredients for the fridge, I decided to take her out to brunch on a Saturday morning.

It was not overly busy at quarter to 10, surprisingly. There was a good crowd but there was not a queue forming and neither did we have to wait.

The moment we walked in through the doors, we were immediately greeted and seated. The server was round in literal minutes for our coffee order and soon after, another came to take our brunch orders.

Speedy service today too, a lot faster than I remembered them to be. I would easily say that we were served brunch a mere 10 minutes after placing our orders. And this time, the food was delicious.

I opted for the "Benediction" - eggs bene with the manuka bacon option and it was drizzled over nicely with a nice, slightly tart hollandaise sauce. The eggs were poached to perfection with no hints of vinegar (a usual technique for solidifying said egg during poaching) (see photo below) with a beautiful deep yellow yolk. That said, the eggs were lukewarm, making me wonder if these were poached in advance rather than to order. Plate decorations of sweet balsamic vinaigrette with sprinkled cayenne pepper on the plate added to the classiness of the meal.

Coffee, however, was still the same. Not bad but nothing to write home about either.

All in all, a nice meal in a lovely environment, but with some little missing details that would make this...

Crave Cafe has a really big and beautifully decorated space. The cafe is spread across two floors, offering lots of different seating options both inside and outside, so it’s easy to find a spot that suits your mood. When you first walk in, the space might feel a little overwhelming because it’s quite large and has many different areas, but overall, it’s cozy and welcoming. The way they decorate the place is really nice and gives off a modern, stylish vibe that makes you want to stay longer. As for the coffee, in my personal opinion, it didn’t taste very good. The pastries were also a little dry and didn’t seem very fresh. Overall, the coffee and pastries were okay for a casual visit if you just want a place to relax, but they didn’t really stand out. For such a big and well-designed cafe, I had hoped the drinks and food would be better, so I felt a bit disappointed. I also saw some online reviews where people gave one-star ratings, mostly complaining about the food and the service. While I didn’t have any major issues with the staff myself, I do think the service could be friendlier and more attentive. Sometimes a little warmth and extra care from the staff can make a big difference in how you enjoy the whole experience. Overall, Crave Cafe is a nice place if you’re looking for a spacious and attractive spot to work, study, or hang out with friends. The atmosphere is definitely one of its strongest points. But if you’re someone who really cares about excellent coffee, tasty food, and top-notch service, this cafe might not fully meet your expectations yet. It’s a decent option to check out, especially if you value space and design, but there’s still room for improvement in...