Cru Bistro and Wine Bar

Not sure what happened here. It’s great for food and wine. But, the service is declining. Had a server that must’ve considered my number only being one and thought she’d be better off continuing a lengthy inappropriate conversation with another gal; offered up some disgruntled opinions about another place they worked, Seasons.
The guy that helped me was awesome. His service is consistently superb no matter the numbers. Hope this helps.

My first, and last, experience at Cru was for a corporate event this past Thursday. The food was mediocre at best, wait time for replenishing the food was slow and the staff was rude and seemed annoyed that we needed food and drinks. I would hope the management will take a good look at their staff and the way they handle private events.

Apparently under new management. Hosted a corporate event this week and was extremely disappointed. Staff was exceptionally rude. Food quality was average. At one point, we were waiting 30 minutes for buffet to be restocked. Would never recommend and will never be back. Similar reviews suggest this is their norm for events and behavior.

Was there this past week and I can honestly say I will never be back!
Wait staff is rude and the food sucked! Was with a group that dropped $ 2,500+ on a slow Thursday night and they acted like they could care less about everything!
Go somewhere else!

The atmosphere is really intricate and detailed in this place. I was very impressed with the décor. The staff was attentive and the manager even turned on our daytime lamp so I could see what the reflection on the wall was. The food was very, very good; but I frequent the Cru downtown and am used to amazingness.
If you’re there, try the tower salad. It was so good we all ate some and preferred one!!!

We had a very nice meal here. Very wide ranging menu with something for everyone. Large wine list. Small plates, killer flatbread pizzas and steaks and sushi. I had the tenderloin sliders and they were melt in your mouth. Crab bisque was excellent. Wife had the wild mushroom pizza which was great. Son had the hot chicken and a beer and was happy. Orange vanilla crème brûlée was an excellent dessert. We will be back.

When a local event was cancelled due to rain, my friend and I stopped in here for dinner. We were both disappointed.
For the prices we paid, the food was an okay quality and the quantity was not there. I was shocked to see her sliders come out and they were just two small buns with a little bit of meat. For $ 15, we weren’t impressed. My filet mignon, at $ 27 was average. Nothing special about it and it was cooked okay.
The service there was good, but the food needs improvement. It didn’t help that both of us were sick for the following 24 hours after eating there. I don’t think we will be going back.

Very good meal! Food was cooked to perfection. I had the salmon with blue crab butter served with broccoli and roasted grape tomatoes. It was delicious!
My husband had the tomato basil pasta and the flavor was excellent. We definitely will be returning!

Very good service, large portions and always has a special going on! Tonight is ½ off sushi!

Hubby and I really enjoyed our light dinner here. No reservations needed on the night we came in, seated right away by a great hostess. Our server was great and funny. Hubby had the seared tuna, I ordered the stuffed mushrooms and pesto calamari. Absolutely loved both, and that they are small plates/​tapas. The crème brûlée that we had after, was amazing. It had a citrus taste in there that was just right and different.

The food here is pretty good. The service is great. I would definitely appreciate them adding some vegan options to the menu. For a downtown setting, I’m surprised they don’t offer that. There are a few vegetarian options. My mates ordered pizzas, they are personal sized and made fresh.

Hubby and I always love Cru. We love to sit outside and enjoy the patio. Love the food! They have great specials all the time. The wines are good. I wish they would offer more by the glass. We don’t always want a whole bottle. But we love to try new wines.

I have had the pleasure of going to Cru at least once a month for meetings for over two years! The service has always been impeccable. The food — outstanding! They also have fantastic specials! I highly recommend Cru Bistro!

A party of 6 visiting this establishment took part in their «half price on Sunday wine» only to be told in an inappropriately, less than professional manner that this only applies to «bottles». AFTER 2 hours of drinking glasses of wine. If you check the photo you will see that no where does it state this is the requirement, and false advertisement along with improper customer service lead to a below acceptable score.

The Sunday brunch is awesome with great drink specials. The lunch & dinner is excellent!

Service was nice, lunch was ok, but expensive! I had the crazy tuna roll, nothing crazy about it. Very bland, no flavor at all. It did seem fresh, and it was a big enough roll for me, but I was not impressed, especially after it cost $ 18! I probably won’t be back.

Place is really cute. Nice wine bar. Not very big so be prepared for a wait. But a good alternative to all the chain restaurants. Not the best food you will ever eat in your life, but consistently good food and service. Fresh, different, and cozy, can’t ask for much more when dining out. They are tied in to Nama Sushi bar, so this family owned brand is all about providing great alternatives in the city.

This place is great! Love ten atmosphere and the service was awesome! They had a reasonable wine selection and the dining menu was good. The chocolate raspberry tort was awesome w/​a glass of red wine.
Next visit in plan on a wine flight to try a few other wines. The location here in Knoxville was good. Small but in a good area next to good shopping.
I would definitely recommend you try it at least once.

I’ve had a couple of opportunities to try Cru. Once from leftovers and once sitting down and eating. We were there for a Wednesday lunch so got a 5.99 burger and a pizza.
The service was great and the burger is good quality. We had the buffalo chicken pizza which could have used a kick but it was still flavorful. The crust is thin but crispy and the buffalo mozzarella was pretty tasty.
Burger is one of the best in Knoxville. Will definitely be back.

$ 5 burger on a Wednesday? Why not? I came here during lunch with my coworkers. I wanted to check out their $ 5 burger and see if it was worth it to come here on Wednesday as well as going to Fleming’s on Fridays for their $ 6 burger. And sadly, this place wasn’t an addition.
Walking in, they had a very dazzling interior, quite dark, but nonetheless nice. Being a nice day out, our party thought it would be a good idea to sit outside considering the weather permitted it and that it will be one of those days that outside sounded better. (On top of that, I was told it was going to get really humid here and we should enjoy it before it gets there.) On a sunny, windless day, I would HIGLY SUGGEST that you should not sit outside. This is because right next to the seating outside they store all the trash and grease containers on the other side of the wall. That smell wafts over to the dining area. Unless you like smelling that summer used oil while you eat your food, by all means sit outside. If not, opt on sitting in.
Back to the food. The $ 5 Bistro Burger wasn’t what I really expected. The overall dish was actually dry. Not as dry as the fries, but dry. The beef, cooked medium, was the type of patty that you have to constantly have your drink near you so it can be swallowed. This takes away from the taste of the burger then, because you’re constantly diluting it with a drink to be able to eat it. I think a requirement of a good burger has to be the juices. One, that doesn’t need any drink to eat and is moist. This burger had some condiments as well and it still came out dry. The bun to me was also really dry, and that just added to it tasting dry.
So, to summarize:
1. Save your dollar and get a Fleming’s burger. (Doesn’t matter how you get it cooked.)
2. Don’t sit outside on a stale day.
2a. If you do sit outside on a stale day make sure you have a fan or some kind of perfume so you won’t smell the grease containers or the dumpsters.
You must be wondering why I would give it a 3 stars. This review was only based on my one burger. I’m pretty sure there are other dishes that are amazing? I would like to think so if it’s a 4 star restaurant. Plus, the service that we had was pretty good, so if there were mid stars I would give it 2.5. So rounded, 3. If I come back, I’ll probably come for a main course and see how it fares with what they’re asking in price.