CRÚ Food & Wine Bar - The Domain — Restaurant in Austin

This is update to our prior visits to Cru: Having had a couple unpleasant experiences, I must say the last several visits have been exceptionally better (I now will give 5 stars) than in October and I am past due in reporting. Our most recent trip was for Valetines with our server, Marisa being very attentive and great service. The Prixe Fix menu for dinner was excellent in flavor and served with great timing. Marisa inquired for further wine and of course couldn't pass that! Then on Friday 2/16 friends wanted to meet for HH at Cru and again service with Scott was wonderful and attentive to refills. We had the Charcuterie Board, Goat Cheese Beinets, Meatballs, and Bruschetta all being served at desired temperature and timely manner. The Beinets were very tasty as were all items but they really stand out! Keep up the great service and food and we will continue to visit Cru for their great wine selection also!

I will preface by saying this was one of my go to places for friends, supplier and clients in the past. The last couple times that seems to be a decline, especially with the service. Four of us went last night and were disappointed primarily with the service. The food we ordered met our expectations and was very good, however things just were not clicking with the service. We each ordered a flight and appetizers to begin. All was great with the flights, however we were being served our appetizer and right behind it were our entrees. I came close to returning the entrees, but we decided to work through the situation. There were only 4 tables inside so this is not a reason for this type of service. Not once were we asked if we wanted another flight or glass of wine. I finally got the attention of another server who took our order for the wine. I realize there are personnel issues in the service industry, however when I am paying $60 per person, i expect management to be directing or at minimum have trainied staff. I always give an establishment three strikes and your out rule and will for Cru. This is the second strike and will modify if it warrants on...

I visited this wine bar for a date night, on a Friday evening. We were seated by a hostess, who told us the waitress would be with us in a moment but we ended up sitting there without menus for around 10 minutes. This is a small wine bar with mood lighting and very pretty Christmas decorations. The ambiance is classy and romantic, definitely a special night out type of place. It’s very quiet and more formal than we were expecting, even with most tables full. Dinner menu has about 12 different “wine flight” options, each flight comes with 3, 2 oz glasses of wine. We didn’t receive another wine menu, the waiter told us we could also order an individual glass of any of the 3 wines from each flight so there were about 36 wine options (not close to the 300 boasted on their social media pages). Almost half of the “shareables” were not actually shareable but more like lunch options (salad, soup? Not shareable?) and there was just one charcuterie plate option. The wine was just okay tasting, but the flight thing was cute. The charcuterie plate was tasty but smaller than other wine bars offer at the domain. Individual wine glass prices were high for The Domain but the flights were reasonable in my opinion at $11-$18 each. I will try this place again for brunch or lunch, (the wine flight option is unique and fun!) and try sitting out on the patio for a more casual feel. However, I probably won’t return for a date night as there are other bar options at The Domain with more variety in shareable foods with better ambiance...

Avoid this place at all costs. This restaurant provided the worst service I’ve ever experienced while dining out. My wife, our two young children (ages 2 and 4), and I visited for Mother’s Day brunch, arriving at 12 PM. Upon arrival, we stood at the entrance for nearly 30 minutes without being acknowledged by a single staff member. Employees repeatedly walked past us without saying a word.

Finally, a waitress informed us that walk-ins would not be accepted until 1 PM, so we waited outside patiently. We returned at 1 PM and waited an additional 40 minutes—again, with no one speaking to us or offering any kind of update. When I approached a staff member to ask why we were still waiting, she told me that walk-ins actually wouldn’t be accepted until 3 PM.

I explained that a different waitress had told us to return at 1 PM and that we had already been there since noon. I requested to speak with the manager, and when he eventually arrived, he was completely dismissive and unapologetic. He showed no concern for the clear miscommunication and poor handling of the situation.

This experience ruined what should have been a special Mother’s Day for my wife. It was an absolute disappointment, and I would strongly discourage anyone from dining here....