CRAVE: Kitchen – Wine – Tap

Crave is excellent. My husband and I go all the time. The menu is always changing so there are constantly new dishes to try, however it is very limited in choices though. Crave has 2 bar areas, which is also a plus. The drinks are very good and their selection is great as well. If you are looking to sit in the dining room a reservation is a MUST or you will be waiting up to 2 hours, especially Friday and Saturday nights.

Definitely recommend the bar menu! We had the calamari and the wings for an appetizer, very delicious. The burger is very good and the sangria is amazing! Recommended for a more upscale, but not too fancy dining experience.

Best Restaurant in Amesbury for sure…

Crave was an extraordinary dining experience. Not only was the service, timeliness, and ambience top notch, the food itself was flavorful, well-​executed, reasonably-​portioned. We ordered the sesame arugula salad, the beef sirloin tartare, and the PEI mussels, and we were not disappointed. Having experienced many unimaginative, bland, and unsatisfying restaurant dishes, I wholeheartedly recommend this restaurant to anyone passing through Amesbury.

Love this place. Setting is awesome. Food is delicious. My favorite app is the calamari and tomato and mozzarella in a basil cream sauce. All the entrees are delicious. Desserts worth the extra five pounds. Sean is one of the most gracious owners you’ll meet. A smile for everyone

+: taste of food was pretty good, alcoholic beverage was good
-: time of service took too long, waitress did not check up on us as much, no specials (so the menu always remains the same!!!)…they ran out of muscles (on a thursday night?!)
tip: recommend going to phat cats bistro instead!

Really quaint place with wonderful food. I tried the crave burger and it was delicious especially paired with those tasty garlic fries. The fried tomatoes were very good also. Oh and can’t forget to give a great review to the friendly staff.

Been in a few times and the owner is awesome. Although a little pricy, the food and drinks have been good in the past. Having said that, a group of us went in for a drink and 4 out of 5 mixed drinks were either not made correctly. Part of the issue was that the soda was flat. Two of the drinks were just not made correctly. One was from their specialty menu and the other was an Old Fashioned. We politely spoke with the server and she replaced two of the drinks. The disappointing part was that no one offered to replace the drinks with the flat soda and when the bill came, we were charged for EVERYTHING. The drinks are not cheap and are relatively small so it was very disappointing that we had to ask to have the returned drinks taken off the bill. Mistakes are understandable but there is no excuse for bad customer service. Not sure that we will be going back any time soon.

So we finally visited the new gastropub at Crave. Meh. And meh. Very disappointed with the set up. Firstly, the scaled down «casual» menu is far too limited in size and variety to appeal to not only individuals with dietary reatrictions, but also the average patron. We were told the kitchen couldn’t handle a larger menu… that’s a shame with all those seats.
We started with some salads and ordered some protein on top. There was way too much dressing to the point that they should have been called soupy salad… blech. The protein portion was absolutley miniscule… and there was a half loaf of French bread homemade croutons… which was ridiculous. Worst part… one was $ 17 and the other $ 24. We had to leave and go elsewhere for dinner.
Not sure they know what they want to be yet. It would make a great place to gather and watch a game, but while there is a beautiful antique wall unit with a huge mirror that has been converted to the liquor display, there are only two tv’s, one in each corner. Not conducive to meeting up with your friends for a game.
There’s so much potential there but the horribly small and uncreative menu will not have us coming back to the gastropub side again.

Everything was delicious!!!
The tuna tartare nachos are a must. Hubby loved the deviled eggs. We split the burger. One of the best I have had!
Drink selection was light but unique.
We will be back! We ate at the bar! Looking forward to the dining room

Wow wow wow! Outstanding food!
Great menu! Had one of the best salmon dishes ever! Also had a taste of the filet mignon which was to die for! Fresh food, seasonal menu, cool vibe and really good wines! This restaurant is a must in the seacoast area of NH and NE Mass!

I was looking for somewhere different to go for a date night, and we weren’t disappointed. We got the crispy tomatoes and mozzarella and it was delicious. The crave burger caught my eye (grass-​fed beef and Vermont cheddar) and came with the most addicting garlic parm fries. I’m not from the area, but I will definitely be back to order from their extensive selection of whiskey

Amazing date night with my husband! From the wine to the main meal to the dessert… delicious! The scallops were to die for! The service was outstanding! Great atmosphere. Can’t wait to go back!

Amazing restaurant and I will absolutely be back! I’m in town visiting family for the holidays and the menu, food, drinks and service are equivalent of what you find at a Boston restaurant. Glad they’re here in Amesbury!

How has this place gotten such high ratings? Only their super friendly staff was a bright spot in the evening, but she was so swamped that we didn’t order drinks for a half hour or food for over 45 minutes, and the kitchen was even slower. Our 6:30 rez for five turned over after 9pm. The worst offense was not having a vegetarian main option in this day and age. Really? The owner came over and offered subs like the «tuna without the tuna», etc, but after specifically asking when I made the reservation, my dining partner was severely disappointed. Yes, the crispy tomatoes are very good. The mussels, though, are served in an overly sugary sweet coconut broth (if you choose the «red curry» over the white wine, as we did, always hoping to find a Plum Island Grille imitator and always failing). I ordered the salmon, which is artfully presented, but overpriced for a small piece of well-​prepared fish and fried polenta reminiscent of dried out tofu with a squirt of spinach purée. The boy was not happy with his $ 15 side of soba noodles. One of us had to wait a while for his steak to finally be served. Dessert was adequate.
The room was noisy. A lady at another table kept kicking out the plug on our only source of light, the Christmas decoration. Parking is a challenge. Our server apologized profusely many times for the slowness, but no manager or owner ever did. We got yelled at for departing via an exit that several people used and wasn’t in any way blocked.
Disappointed.

If you find yourself in Amesbury, you must try CRAVE! We came here on a Tuesday night and I was pretty steady, which is always nice to see. We started out with the fried calamari which was amazing! The sweet and sour chili sauce put the calamari on another level. For the main course I had the balsamic Portobello mushroom sandwich with the garlic fries. The sandwich was prepared well and the fries were delicious. My boyfriend had the steak frites, which he was raving about.
Our server was very attentive and explained the menu very well. Oh and the lemon hummus that’s served with the pita bread is also fantastic. We will definitely be back!

Overall a great dinner.
Pros:
Nice cocktails
Lovely waitstaff
Attentive owner (Sean) and service
Diverse menu
Reasonably priced
High quality ingredients and preparation
Delicious food!
Comped us a round of drinks (unsolicited) due to dish that needed to go back for some additional heat.
Warm atmosphere.
Cons:
No reservations for small parties.
Bar could be expanded along right wall for more than 6 seats and to take the standing area away from the high traffic path to kitchen and restrooms.
They left 3 tables for 4 vacant, rather than seating twosomes there.
Loose the TV over the bar. No one cares and cheapens the overall experience across the dining room (pet peeve)
Looking forward to returning.

Perfection. The Crave model should be a new standard for the dining out experience.
Great food. Just incredible each time I’ve been.
Great service. Every. Single. Time. Always friendly, welcoming and knowledgable about the menu. This goes so far.
Great selection of wine and cocktails.
Great atmosphere. Intimate setting but large enough space, fresh and somewhat trendy design but still casual enough to feel at home.
The owner has done an amazing job with this place. Two thumbs up!

All the food is good, well cooked, nice variety, specific menu, not as large.
Full bar, wine, beer on tap, sandwiches, entrees, comfortable atmosphere. Everything I have eaten has been great, been a few Times, great meal, whether it was a burger or steak or seafood.
Highly recommended.

I should mention that my parents are regulars at this restaurant. Yes, the owner knows them by name and spent about 10 minutes chatting them up when my brother and I took them out for their anniversary over the summer. He is a super nice guy, clearly cares about the quality of his restaurant from all angles, and was totally self-​aware (didn’t linger at our table, yet made my parents feel like old friends and my brother and I feel welcomed.) You could feel the pride he takes in his work from the atmosphere, service, food and community.
Unfortunately, the Sunday night we went was the day before the restaurant was due to close for a vacation, so they were out of some ingredients, which didn’t bother me too much because it just proved that everything they use in the restaurant is fresh. I ended up getting their blue cheese beef tenderloin, and was not disappointed. I also stole one of my dad’s fried oysters which were amazing! Their wine selection was fairly broad, but obviously well-​thought out and paired with the foods they were serving for the season. We ended up getting a rose, which they kept in its own wine-​shaped cooler on the table (a little hokey and cumbersome for my taste, but it did its job well.)
I adore the atmosphere here. I would love to come back in the wintertime to sit in the large booth next to the fireplace. The restaurant is small, and I’m guessing even when it’s packed in there, the noise level is pretty mild.
I appreciate that they rotate their menu based on seasonal and local offerings, and look forward to returning at some point this winter!