Cru Restaurant
How could I not go? Cru is literally around the corner from me. I walk by everyday.
From a visual, the place is really boring. Very clubby. The bar area in front has some tables and chairs and stools at the bar. There are no flowers, no accessories, nothing to create a warm intimate vibe. It as if they built a men’s club and forgot to budget money to complete the look. I actually spoke to one of the managers about it but he seemed to think it wasn’t cold. I guess they didn’t hire a decorator. Too bad.
The main dining room is very spread out. The acoustics are so much better than they used to be in that room. They have definitely spent a lot of money on changing the place from Washington Square Park where you could not hear yourself think. They could benefit from putting a few more tables in. Again, it looks as if they didn’t finish the room. It is sort of strange.
Cru has been open for a month or so and it was not that crowded last night. The food reviews have been stellar but the place isn’t full. I think it has to do with the ambience because the food is quite good. They also have 2 huge books on the wines they carry which is impressive and overwhelming at the same time. So, from a foodies a perspective, high kudos but the vibe is so boring! They really need to jazz the place up a bit. Bring in someone to help u – please! I’d like to see Cru succeed.
Typical in high end restaurant fashion, they bring little tastings for the table inbetween your courses. We were served a curled beet potato chip with puree beet inside as a little bite to start. Delicious! We were also served proscuitto wrapped around crunchy melon, small cheese balls, small tarts filled with figs and mascapone. All tiny and all packed a big punch. Before our appetizer came, one more item which was a sunchoke soup in a tiny container. Then, after all that food, the appetizers came.
There are appetizers and there are crudos to choose from. The crudos are small portions of raw fish served sashimi style highlighted with different tastes. The appetizers are larger. Nothing is too large but really just the right size. I had the artic char served with a vanilla oil and the fluke which was rolled up with a dollop of caviar on top. Both excellent. Our friends each had the warm bean salad with a pistachio type vinegarette. They loved it.
For dinner, I had the lamb chops with were really served beautifully and cooked to perfection alongside a fava bean puree. My husband had the roasted monkfish, also very good. Our friend had the ravioli which is served as one long ravioli. Great presentation. The other friend had the duck, which was also good and again, the right portion.
We passed on dessert but they brought us four different treats as I knew they would. One was a chocolate pudding cup which was a bit too heavy on the dark chocolate, another was 4 spoons of chocolate raspberry bits, another was lemon pieces and also carmelized macadamian nuts. Just the perfect sweet amount for the end of the meal.
The food is really top. Well prepared, beautifully presented, etc. They take their cooking very seriously. Nothing new and different just well done. But, the place is just a boring men’s club. I hope they succeed but they really MUST create a better more sophisticated ambiance to go with the fantastic food they are serving or honestly, we won’t come back.