Crayola Cafe

Overpriced sub par food. Buy your kid a box of crayons and color anywhere else but here.

Generally, buns of steel are a good thing, but not when they describe your burger.
We hadn’t been by the café in many years, and with good memories from when our kids were young, my wife and I decided to stop back by while spending a few days at Crown Center.
Years ago, the café was known for excellent food, including wraps, salads, and other healthy alternatives, as well as very good burgers and «kid fare.» Today, I’m afraid the crayons next door are more appetizing.
We stopped by on a Sunday about an hour before closing. There was only one other table occupied. Much like a gazelle on the Serengeti, I should have been more aware of my surroundings and taken warning.
We went in, where a very nice server seated us. Handing us something close to a xeroxed menu, it offered a couple of options of burgers and hot dogs. No wraps, nothing interesting at all. I was worried, but as I looked up, I noticed that their point-​of-​sale system had Sheraton’s logo on it, which I had hoped would mean reasonably good quality.
My wife and I each ordered a burger, and on the suggestion of the server, we ordered one order of tater tots. We were immediately brought our drinks, then after a bit of a wait, the food arrived.
My belief is that the buns had been frozen, then zapped in a microwave to get them ready. If you’ve ever tried (over)heating bread in a microwave, you know it can become as tough as shoe leather. It did in this case. We simply could not cut through the bun with the plastic utensils provided, and couldn’t even bite through it. In the end, we gave it up and ate the patty with fork and knife (plastic). It wasn’t worth it. Obviously fried on a griddle (at some point), the meat was pretty tasteless and the toppings bland.
The tater tots were a huge serving, fried, slightly over-​cooked. Still, they weren’t bad, especially with ketchup, which was plentiful (this IS, after all, a kid-​focused café).
The server didn’t return until we finally had to call her over for drink refills. The check was high for food that a Sam’s Club snack bar could easily outdo.
All in all, it was a pretty poor experience, and word has obviously gotten out. I only wish I had checked Unilocal before going over to it. I won’t be back, and at this rate, I doubt they’ll be around much longer.

I wish I could give no stars. Service was bad, hamburgers were the frozen kind from Walmart. Sprite tasted gross. Had to flag down different waitress because ours was AWOL from the floor for a while. Food reminded me of a bad nightmare. Would recommended skipping this place and going to a place in the food court or digging left overs out of a trash can instead of eating here.

I honestly expected much worse from this place based on the reviews. All in all, it was fine for what it is. I imagine if you have kids, you could do a lot worse if you’re needing some food before or after any of the many kid-​friendly attractions in the very near vicinity. Our waitress was quick and so was our food. I had the turkey burger with fries and my mom had a portabella sandwich with a side salad. The salad was much bigger than you’d expect which was nice. The food was hot, though it was obviously the kind of frozen fair that’s simply heated up when people order it. Our total bill was $ 23, so it’s not too pricey. I wouldn’t mind going back here with my own child one day in the future.

Obviously it’s not going to be the best of food, after a few years as a parent you know what these places are all about, but it was a fun time. The tater tots were good.

Food was mediocre. Somewhere along the lines of McDonalds. Kids liked it of course. The place looked and felt like it was closing down. One cook, one hostess and two waitresses on duty. The chairs at the tables were gross and need a good cleaning. Plastic silverware was a little cheap to me at a restaurant even if it was a «café». My son loves creative stuff, so the store was really cool.

Summary: good place for a family meal.
After reading some of the reviews on Unilocal I was hesitant to eat here but I was overruled by my kids. Thankfully things have apparently improved in the past six months or so. Service was friendly, the food was served hot off the grill and quicker than I expected, and everything tasted fine. The menu is very standard hamburger, hot dog, etc., nothing fancy but that’s OK. More variety such as at least one dinner salad would be nice. Prices might be slightly high but that’s what you expect at a tourist-​oriented mall.

First off, the best part of the visit. I am a watcher. The kitchen has an open concept so I could see back there. I watched the cook change his gloves 3 times while we were there. I also watched one of the waitresses use hand sanitizer behind the counter. Usually I don’t see that much. The waitress was attentive – we got refills and she was nice. My son’s kids meal was the size of mine, which was ok since it was $ 7.95. Worse part was the fries and tots were cold. I will take cleanliness over cold sides anytime.

We visited here with my extended family, including my 2 kids (ages 2 & 5). We received great service (from Eric, I think). He was very personable and we enjoyed his service. The dining area was clean. The food was good. I really enjoyed the décor and my kids liked coloring their own placemat! I think it was the first time that they wanted to bring home their restaurant drawings!

I visited this place on 12÷30÷14. We were seated immediately by a friendly hostess. That was the best part of the whole experience.
Our waitress was foreign and hard to understand. She was hardly worth the tip we left her. She got us drinks and we had to ask for refills and she wasn’t that busy. She barely check on us.
Now to the food. I say don’t waist your time eating it. My son ordered kids macaroni and cheese and it was bland and cold. My mom ordered a burger and fries. It was all cold. The fried onion pieces on the burger were burnt. I got mini corn dogs and fries. They were cold. We ordered my son chicken fingers and they actually came out warm after waiting forever to get them. We had to ask our waitress because she seemed to forget we ordered it.
Overall I am unsure of why our food was so cold. It was probably because it was just fried or nuked to serve. The menu says certain items are locally produced. If I was the one supplying them I would want my name off the menu. This place is butchering good food. I will not return.

There is nothing special about this place. It appeals to kids but has nothing on the menu for adults. My guess is that food is cooked in the Westin and shuttled to the restaurant. I hope they continue to make changes as crown center develops back into a place visited by Kansas Citians. I used to have fond memories of the place. Customer service is responsive to questions or concerns which I appreciate. Won’t be going back though unless they make big changes. Good luck

Ordered mac’n cheese and childrens kids meals. The «kids meals» were 9 $. And full size. Why not just call them «meals»? If you do and i suggest not too, but uf you end up going, split the burgers and fries between 2 kids or even 3. Avoid the M&cheese. Apart from it being a watered down disgusting mess, it was full of rotten spinach, wilted and slimey. I ordered a burger and it was paper thin amd cold as ice. The oinions that came on it were so hard they nearly chipped my teeth. The cooks obviously gave zero f***s. If you could give negative stars, I would give –8. I was so mad i decided to not box any food up and leave emediatly.

Beware Crayola Café has changed and not for the better. The menu has been reduced to a single page and has burgers, hot dogs and other similar fare. All four of us were in agreement that the quality of the food was poor. Buns seemed old, salad was dry and wilted. Save yourself and head to the food court on the lower floor.

I went today expecting a great salad or my favorite mini grilled cheese sandwich with tomato sandwich. But, I was denied. The menu has been changed. No salads, no grilled cheese and no tomato soup.
It looks like there is new owners who speak very broken English. I was the only one in the restaurant at noon. I should have left, but I love to color the placemat.
Mi ordered the Mac n cheese and it was served in a bowl. They didn’t drain the pasta well and there was a lot water in the bottom of the bowl.
I won’t be back.

Food was just horrible! Expected much, much more for the price. Waitress was hard to understand, sloppy Joe sandwich seemed like it was put in a very fine grinder, and «bowl» of soup was like the size of a Dixie cup. Not happy and won’t be returning.

The service was fine and the people were nice. It was a neat atmosphere but the food quality was rather poor. Not what I expect from a $ 10 meal.

The family and I recently drove up to K.C. for my son’s birthday. So around lunch time we decide to go try out the crayola café. When we arrived to our seats there were crayons and placemats evryone could color on, but when we received our menus I could tell this was going to be awful. Everything is at least $ 11…even a side of fries is $ 5?!
Well we order our food I get the 4 cheese mac as does my wife and mother in law. Father in law gets the taco platter and my 4 year old gets the pizza. When we receive our food the mac looks good. But after the first bite, I look up and see everyone elses expressions I know they are thinking the same thing I am.
The mac and cheese was awful, the chicken in side of it tasted like it came out of a can. My father in laws tacos came out soggy and falling apart. The meat inside (turkey) looked like a finely ground dog food. My son’s pizza he took one bite of looked like it came fresh out of the microwave.
Then there was the service… Noone at our table received a refill once. The table across from ours had a drink spilt by a little kid no big deal right. Well the so call waiters (I use this term loosely) just would walk right over the spill as it creeped closer and closer to the table in front of us. It took a guy from that table to go talk to the manager before it got cleaned up…
So by the time we received our check I had eaten roughly half the mac, the only reason I ate that much was because I was hungry. My wife ate 2 bites of hers as did my mother in law. I look down at the price and it felt like a slap across the face… $ 80?! My father in law went and spoke with the manager and told him how unhappy we were with everything and he comped it 50% without question.
So basically avoid at all cost unless you enjoy bland overpriced food.

Our family has season passes for the Aquarium and go at least once a week. We decided to go to the Crayola Café for our three year old. We had an awesome waitress and she was great with our daughter. It was very clean and of course bright colors everywhere made it cute.
The only thing that was «crayola fun» at our table was a place mat to color and crayola crayons. Besides that it wasn’t anything special. The food wasn’t great at all. My husband and daughter shared a pizza and it tasted like school food. I had a chicken salad sandwich and it was edible but that is about it. I will not return and would never recommend. Also it was expensive for the quality of food.
If you want a fun experience while at the Crown and good food go to The Fritz downstairs it is a lot of fun and worth the money.

Brought my princess for a daddy daughter lunch.
She enjoyed her pizza. She was almost three at the time and basically, if it had sauce and cheese she would love it. I felt the taste was similar to something you could pick up in the frozen food section and microwave.
I had a macaroni dish that also disappointed.
Our server was attentive and friendly. Before reading the reviews here I would have been wiling to give them another try based on the great service. On second thought I think we would be just as satisfied with a frozen pizza and a box of crayons at home.

Crown Center Shops is not known for culinary excellence by any means, but if you have the kids and want a fun and very casual lunch, this is the place. A friend and I took our daughters. The tables of course have crayons and place mats with frame worthy borders for any artwork you may create. The menus are simple seperated by Little Kid and Big Kid. My little kid had the spaghetti and meatballs and she rated it very highly. My friends daughter had the chicken strips and rated those highly.
Off the big kids menu, my friend had the chicken strips and I had the 4 cheese mac and cheese. Now at first I was skeptical (any Unilocaler who knows me knows my ultimate food is mac and cheese) because in stead of a baked cheese or buttered bread crumb crust, it was topped with crushed sour crean and onion potato chips and surprisingly was VERY yummy
This gets a three stars because the food is simple fare, nothing challenging and the space is rather noisy (it is on a balcony overlooking the main entry foyer into Crown Center. Other than that, a nice luncheon spot with the kids.