Celts Craft House — Restaurant in Apple Valley

Crafty And You Know It...

If you're crafty and you know it, clap your hands. If you're crafty and you know it, clap your hands. If you're crafty and you know it and your food can really show it, if you're crafty and you know it clap your hands. Clap. Clap!

Well, now that I have that wonderful tune stuck in your head and you're at, stomping your feet, I'll try to help get it out by thinking about some food to check out. Our most recent visit at a place place that is indeed crafty (it's in the name), has some delicious food. That place is, Celts Craft House located in the Grandstay Hotel in Apple Valley.

If you've ever been to any of the other Celts Pubs in the south metro and left thinking to yourself, "Why did I just eat that terrible food" like I have every time. Well, the Craft House may just be the place to help you change your mind about eating at a Celts. I was very hesitant to check this place out, but glad I gave it a shot. The burger that I had and the sandwich my wife had were both delicious and I want to go back to get the sandwich again.

It was a family dinner; my wife and I, along with my parents and our little guy. We ordered some adult beverages and gave my little guy his typical bottle of almond milk. Shortly there after, we ordered our dinner. My mother - All-You-Can-Eat Fish, my dad - Braeden Burger, my wife - Craft House Club and I - Craft House Burger.

We'll get my dads burger out of the way. An 8oz. burger with applewood smoked bacon, cheddar cheese, onion straws and house made bbq sauce. I didn't try it, but there was nothing on his plate except maybe a crumb. My moms fish was pretty good and worth eating and getting some extra (if you're there on a Friday night), but I wouldn't add it to my top ten list. As for my burger and my wife's sandwich - now we're talking!

We'll start with my burger! The Craft House Burger starts with an 8oz. burger seasoned just right and made completed by adding a fried egg, hand-cut fries, pepper jack and American cheeses and house made roasted garlic aioli. The aioli and egg made this thing insanely awesome. This is definitely a burger worth checking out if you stop by the Craft House.

On to the best meal of the evening, my wife's sandwich. Her Craft House Club consisted of - Smoked turkey, house made corned beef, applewood smoked bacon, Swiss and American cheese, lettuce, tomato and onion on sourdough bread with house made roasted garlic aioli. I was happy and my family knew it! This is a must get sandwich while at the Craft House and will be my go to dish if we're ever visiting. It made me, clap my hands, stomp my feet and shout hurray.

Celts Craft House certainly has some dishes worth checking out if you're ever in the area. Ownership is priding themselves in authentic Irish cuisine and while I didn't try the Bangers or Shepherd's Pie yet, I'm thinking at some point and time, I know I will...

Happened to be in Apple Valley and found this hidden gem that is not very noticeable while driving. It's located within Grand Stay Hotel and Conferences.

It was late - around 1:40pm or so - and we were on a father-daughter lunch date. The lunch hour rush was behind us and there were just a handful of diners. I assumed most of the staff would have left and they would be closing down after lunch. But no, they were open with supposedly a skeleton crew and the bartender, Jim (Schire) attended to us right away. They have seating at the bar or tables or booths.

It was a very homely feeling inside and we settled down in a booth. They have a full bar and the choices of beer on tap made it a hard decision for what to have. Jim was happy to give us a taste. (I'll definitely be back for the nitro!). Did I mention, they have 22 or 23 different varieties on tap.

We ordered some Jalapeño chips and were pleasantly surprised when the order came. Assumed it would be potato chips with Jalapeño rub but they were actually jalapeños lightly battered. They had a mild heat, very tender yet crunchy. We came to know that Al (Brady), the chef/owner soaks them in his secret marinade the day before. Talk about labor of love, this is a must have again on our next trip!

The choice of burgers and sandwiches were also good. While my daughter ordered the Craft house burger, I went for the Rueben. It was loaded with corned beef which was so soft & tender that it literally disintegrated in the mouth.

It is evident that both Al and Jim take pride in the restaurant while looking after guests.

We live 35 minutes away but will be driving over again to try something else from their food menu and...

Celts Craft House has been a standard go-to restaurant for my husband and me - until last night. Their food has always been terrific and fast, friendly, attentive but not overly so service.

Let's start with the food. I'm a huge fan of their corned beef and cabbage, pot roast, the glazed carrots, their garlic mashed potatoes, and their fried jalapeno appetizer. My husband always orders the Kildare County Chicken in a wrap. We've never had a meal we didn't like there.

Until last night, beverage and food service has been spot on and super quick. We ordered beverages from the bar which came fairly quickly (no napkins under the glasses but, whatever). There may have been a few more tables occupied than usual - especially for a Thursday night but, they weren't packed. We knew what we wanted to order so once the waitress came back with our beverages we placed our food order. Then we waited. And waited. And waited. The waitress came to our table several times to apologize for the wait on the food saying it was just about ready. Well, we finally gave up. We paid for our beverages, told the waitress we were leaving, and left. Since it was almost 8:00 by the time we left, and we had arrived just after 7:00, we were hungry.

We are really hoping this isn't a trend like we saw at another local restaurant. Not sure if there wasn't enough kitchen staff or what the problem was. Celts Craft House has been one of the best casual restaurants in Apple Valley but after our experience last night, it may be awhile...