CRAVE Food & Drink Fargo — Restaurant in Fargo

My wife and I saw on the company's website that CRAVE was open until 8:00 pm on Christmas Eve. We heard mixed reviews regarding the food and service. We received a gift card from a family member so we opted to try it for ourselves. We saw that the place was only about a quarter full which was a bit surprising given not much else was open.. We chalked it up to being Christmas Ebve. The atmosphere was beautiful and we were quickly seated by a friendly hostess who provide us with menus and a happy hour menu. .

This was the end of our positive experience.

We arrived at 5:15. By 5:25, things already felt off. A person who we thought might be our waitress came to our table with water. She neither smiled or said a word. She placed the water and the full glasses on the table and simply walked away. At 5:35, a waitress came over to took our drink order. I watched our waitress stand in front of the very competent bartender make the drinks all the while playing with her bull nose ring. The drinks were complex so they took about 10 minutes to make. When the drinks were completed, the waitress removed her fingers from here nose ring and proceeded to grab our drinks with nostril-juiced fingers.

She then took our order. It was 5:45, 30 minutes after we arrived. We ordered a Sushi appetizer and two entrees. The drinks called the Wanderers, were delicious. We ordered our second drink when the Sushi Appetizer arrived at 5:50. The appetizer was delicious I must admit. Finishing the appetizer was the last positive moment of the night. It was 5:55.

At 5:59, our second drink arrived. The waitress told us that all "booze" (exact words referring to carefully crafted $6 cocktails) was supposed to be off the table at 6 pm (yep, one minute from the time they arrived) but she said she could let it slide for a couple minutes longer. She acted like she was doing us a favor by giving us additional time to slam our drinks that were designed to be sipped and savoured.

As we waited for our food, we observed the gate being partially closed and the hostess stand being repositioned so it would be inside the restaurant, an obvious sign that they were closing at 6:00 and not 8:00. Of note, the chef (term used very lightly) was standing at the entrance. Our food had not yet arrived.

The food arrived, carried out, not by the waitress but instead by the non-verbal, non-smiling water server who proceeded to give us the wrong plates.

The steak tasted like charcoal because the marinade was cooked to a crisp. I ordered the Shrimp and Scallop Saute. Each plate was garnished with a handful of cilantro thrown over everything including the steak, the seafood, the pasta, and even the broccoli. Cilantro never appeared in the description of what we ordered yet it was on everything. Neither my wife or I like cilantro and are very careful not to order dishes with it. We managed to pick out what we could. We ended up eating half our meals.

Trying to salvage the meal, we asked for a dessert menu. Our waitress, who seemed more interested in the bartender than her customer, stated that the restaurant was not serving dessert. This put me over the edge.

I am normally a 20% tip plus customer but I could not fathom a restaurant where the bill is $100 plus for two would even seat us if we would not have the opportunity to have a full dining experience.

My final act of frustration was to jot a few notes on the bill along with "do better" on...

Normally when one thinks about getting their brain rearranged by power punching culinary delights, the first place you think of usually isn't a shopping mall.

That has definitely changed with Crave. Nestled right in the end of the center, this unsuspecting eatery welcomes you with smiling faces and a very spacious dining area/bar.

Upon sitting, your drink orders are quickly taken and a lovely plate of steaming hot towels to wash your hands is given!

Sunday's happy hour gives you so many appetizers to choose from at a steal of a price.

The edamame is tangy, a bit spicy even, served in the pod.

The calamari is out of this world, delightfully crunchy with only the slightest bit of chew to it. Served with a garlic lemon aoli that will literally make you moan. How am I supposed to eat my entree when the entire appetizer gets eaten out of such deliciousness?!

The wife got the swiss mushroom brisket French dip, brisket so tender your lips practically do the chewing. Peppery, umami, robust on a soft absorbent bun.

Couldn't help myself and got the lobster mac and cheese. A heaven sent mixture of three divine cheeses and a GRIP of lobster, sometimes whole pieces of claws tucked in between the pieces of perfectly cooked cavatappi. Creamy, oceany, cheeeeeesy! Somehow I was able to push my plate away soon enough to have some dessert. Desserts are usually designed for sharing, so not wanting to rob the wife of her sweet finish, we ordered two....mistakes were made. Each portion of their NAUGHTY tiramisu was incredibly sized, sidecar with a cute lil finger pitcher of espresso chocolate sauce. We tried, we tried again....but in the end, we both ate enough that even if we only had one, we still wouldn't have finished it.

The wife had a delightful handmade cappuccino with her dessert, and I had a sexy Hennessy neat with mine.

Service was incredible, our heads where spinning with ingested bliss by the end of our meal and I'm slipping that delightful person's name but she was top notch.

All accounted for with a 25% tip, I spent roughly 180. Is that cheap? No. Is it one of the nicer wedding anniversary dinners we've had lately? Absolutely!

Crave is perfect for everything from afterwork drinks, to a 10 year wedding anniversary dinner, with everything in between.

Come on in to Crave tonight, and walk out having eaten food you'll...

I have been to this place a few times now. Please keep in mind all times have been during Covid. Between my girlfriend and I we've tried quite a few different menu items whether it was meals or cocktails. Every bit of the food we've been served has been excellent with one or two exceptions. I would just stay away from the mashed potatoes altogether because I've gotten them a few times now and they were extremely lumpy every single time. Last night they were dry as well. Just get the truffle fries. You'll thank me later. The only other food complaint would be that when I purchased the walleye dish the sauce was supposed to be on the walleye not underneath it and there wasn't much of it. I love walleye so that was disappointing as well. I actually haven't had an issue with the service besides one thing. I might be nitpicky on this one but it drives me nuts when they pick up the check while you're still "dining". Every single time I've been there the server has picked up the check after I've signed the check or in last night's case after they brought back my change while we were still seated with almost full drinks in front of us. At times I've even got the feeling that they think I will not pay or they're worried about their tip. Last night the server asked if we wanted our check while I was in the bathroom so I was pretty disappointed when I got back to find out the check was coming and that I would not feel comfortable asking for another drink as i felt that they were trying to rush us out. This is not a deal breaker yet as everything else has been pretty good as I said. They had domes set up last night that they are going to put to use starting today. You must make a reservation and the minimum is $150. I get pretty close to spending that every time so I am excited to give it a shot. The check thing seriously drives me crazy though and the next time it happens I have half a mind to call the server back to change their tip to zero the next time. Nitpicky or not I don't see the point of grabbing the check from your customer's table if the only thing left is to write in or leave the tip. I don't think I've even seen this at any other restaurant I...