Craft836 Canteen — Restaurant in City of Watertown

Our family meets in Watertown NY often as it is a half way point for our families to gather and enjoy a day together. Of course our adventures begin with food. We came here yesterday and from pulling in to park until our departure everything about this restaurant is 10 stars and beyond! The building is gorgeous looking from outside, with lots of great convenient parking to the entrance (and it was very cold and windy so that was very much appreciated)! Once inside, a warm greeting Immediately from the server and she gave us a clear run down on how their restaurant ordering system works. She gave us options on our seating and we took our places and quickly took in the ambiance. The place is beautiful inside and out. Very family friendly, cozy couple oriented or a pack of friends for sure! Ordering is done through the app, which honestly is just so much easier for a group than you might think at first. I’d say take a moment to get familiar with the app process and then enjoy looking through their very wonderful menu options. The thoughtful menu ordering system makes this process so simple, even more so than a server taking your order as we got to take our time in looking over the menu items, greeting each other as a family, and soaking in the surroundings without feeling pressured to get our orders in to the kitchen so the server can move on to another table. Our server was so quick to get our drinks after we ordered and as the food came out… WOW is all we can say! Amazing food. 3 of us had eggs Benedict and they were the most perfectly prepared eggs we’ve ever had (besides at home because one of us are a gourmet chef- so getting really Great food out, is rare). Not here! This place had us raving for their food all the way around! If you’re tired of Trying to find great food, come here! You won’t regret it! We will...

Unfortunately this was not a great experience for our group. It took a little over an hour for us to get our food whoch was not worth the wait.

There was very little service and the environment reinforces that by having you scan a QR code and place orders yourself. If you want water, it is self service. When you are ready to pay, just do so the same way you ordered. Very impersonal and not a great experience.

A few downsides to this, 1: when placing orders you are unable to get recommendations or do any substitutes. It does allow you to check off boxes for allergies but that is it. 2: Because of the lack of personal service, no one checks up on your table and see how things are going, or notice if your food is taking a bit longer, etc...

Some of the food was good and others not so much. Maybe it would be better if we didn't have to find someone to let them know we haven't received our food after 45 mins and then still didn't get anything for about another 20 mins after that.

I do feel bad cause it seemed they are maybe understaffed and didn't plan properly for how busy they would be... but they are also new and should try to be on top of their game especially when the customer is doing most of the stuff besides cooking and bringing out food.

In the tip culture we are in, it was very hard to even want to tip, not just because our food was late but because we have no idea who the tip would go to (since no server) and why should I want to tip if I'm doing everything?

Hopefully they improve but overall not a fan of how they decided to run...

Truly a wonderful restaurant! Everything from the food, service, atmosphere, and accommodations would be hard to find anywhere else.

We experienced this restaurant for the first time in the summer of 2022. From the moment we called to see if we could get in with a party of 5, we knew we had picked the right spot. Food was excellent and the QR code menu/ordering system they have is something all restaurants should have.

Fast forward to the summer of 2023 and I am working to coordinate a dinner for 45+ guests. I knew from a food and environment perspective this was the place for us but was worried that the limited notice and large party they wouldn’t be able to accommodate. Mike was absolutely fabulous! He responded immediately with making this work for us and was insistent that he wanted our group to have fun! And we did! They put up with 20ish young lacrosse girls and 30ish adults - with all of us leaving beyond happy with food, service, and allowing us to have fun! It went so well that another large group booked the following night.

Anyone with a large group or even small group knows that separate checks can be a nightmare, for guests and even more so for the restaurant, but with the QR Code menu and ordering they have in place, this made an easy transaction for everyone and was another added bonus for why we will be back!

Cannot recommend enough for small or large parties and our families from Rochester will be back next year!! ...