Crave Grill - Windsor

The service at Crave Grill on Ottawa Street was lacking, as a new server was working alone and seemed unsure of what to do.

If you've ever been there, you know why. It's closed and done and that is that. FYI to Trip Advisor.

We dined there this evening and found this to be the worst restaurant we've ever eaten at. The service took for ever, the entree I ordered was not what was brought to the table; the dessert I ordered was also wrong. When the bill arrived the price for each item ordered was significantly more than what was on the menu and the explanation was that the new chef had upped the prices and some old menus were still being used. We were forced to pay the new price though this had NOT been communicated prior to ordering. The meals themselves were wonderfully mediocre, huge carrots were on our plates, a burger that seemed no better than a frozen one you'd buy at the store and the wrong chicken dish was full of thick cream sauce with no flavour. Save your money, time, palate, and frustration, this place is terrible!

Took a couple of friends to Crave Grill at the end of RRSP season since we were discussing foreign travel and different cuisines at the end of our annual RRSP meeting at the office. The husband mentioned that he enjoyed his business trip to Austria and that the food they ate there, at this little out of the way Forest type Inn, was the best they had ever eaten. He went on to rave about how good the Wiener Schnitzel was. Well not to be outdone I told him how I loved the Austrian Wiener Schnitzel that I too had on my trip at this little out of the way mom & pop Bavarian Inn and it seemed that we may have both eaten at the same hidden away truck stop type Bavarian Restaurant in the middle of no where run by an older couple. I told him that Crave Grill had a delicious Wiener Schnitzel and that the potatoes, the way that the Chef was now preparing them, were absolutely out of this world. It was nice to talk to another world traveler who appreciates good food and other cultures. So I phoned over to make a reservation and the three of us headed over to Ottawa Street. We all had the fresh spinach salad with wine poached pear and goat cheese and each of us loved it. It has to me my favourite salad at the Crave Grill. That was followed up by the sorbet trio, a pallat cleanser consisting of blueberry (too faint to tell), vanilla (delicious), and maple (excellent). There was a small scope of each but hit the spot. I felt like I was cheating and eating dessert in the middle of the meal...lol. We all three followed that up with the Wiener Schnitzel which was extremely generous and well prepared. It was not overdone but perfect as it has been before with Chef Syril. It arrived with the carrot, celery, potatoes & yam mash which has a unique and enticing appeal along with the carrots. My friend was thoroughly impressed and even rated it as good as if not better than the one he ate in Austria where the little ole man pounded the daylights out of it on the wooden island in the kitchen with his wooden mallet to tenderize it. His wife enjoyed it too and had enough left overs for her next day's lunch...assuming that it lasted that long and her hubby didn't raid the fridge over night. For dessert we tried the creme brulle as well as the pyramid cake and we all agreed the creme brulle took the cake...no pun intended. Another great meal at the Crave Grill. And as for Chef Syril...Toronto's loss is Windsor's gain. A+ again. It's great to have someone as talented as Syril is with his knowledge of various dishes and cuisines so that people can enjoy something new and pallet pleasing. I wonder if Ted Whipp, the food critic for the Star, took my suggestion and checked it out yet....

After reading the reviews, I decided to give this restaurant a try. I was impressed with the menu and the variety of choices. The food was delicious and the service was great. The only downside was that the room felt a bit chilly. Despite that, I would still recommend this place. It was busy, even on a Saturday night.