Crave

3520 W 70th St (The Galleria)
Edina, MN 55435
(952) 697-6000
http://www.cravemn.com/

Category: American-Upscale

Rating (Scale 1-10, with 10 being the highest):
Food: 8
Service: 9
Ambience: 8

Recommendation: Very Good. The Galleria has upgraded its culinary options with the addition of this restaurant that focuses on fresh and organic foods.

Brothers Kam and Keyvan Talebi (owners of View and Bellanotte) have indeed developed a restaurant with equal focus on ingredients, menu, preparation, and atmosphere. The restaurant conveys an upscale vibe, with its rich warm interior and large open layout. Interesting accents include the artwork and glass ball chandeliers which add an art gallerish feel, the large tiled fireplace, and the floor to ceiling wine room in the middle of the restaurant. Seating is diverse with bar tables and booths, restaurant tables, and an indoor as well as outdoor patio.

The menu is inspired by organic, local, and fresh ingredients that are served up within 24 hours of purchase. Their lunch menu has a great selection of appetizers, salads, pastas, sandwiches and more. The Pita and Spreads appetizer (with organic hummus, house tapenade, roasted garlic) was very good. The hummus was a little sweeter (from the honey) and the pita was grilled to give it nice grill marks and flavor; the garlic could have been roasted a little longer to bring out more sweetness. The Tomato Pesto soup was rich in flavor but we would recommend skipping the Crave Salad, a simple salad of organic greens, pine nuts, and goat cheese. It was a little too simple and could use a punch of flavor. The Ahi Tuna Steak Sandwich was exceptional – it was marinated in sesame and soy, served on a roll with ginger wasabi aioli and as Asian slaw. A large sandwich, which would be better served open faced, it had awesome flavor with the creaminess of the aioli and the crunchiness from the fresh Asian slaw. The sandwich was served with house made root vegetable (beets, potato, and sweet potato) chips which were sliced thin and fried to a crisp. For dessert, the Coconut White Cake with mint rum glaze was light and flavorful. All the flavors were in harmony in this dessert. The dinner menu replaces the sandwiches with a larger selection of entrees. Also available is a full Sushi menu. Crave also features live Jazz music on Fridays.

Our server, Kim was friendly and had great recommendations. Even though the restaurant was busy during lunch the service was par excellence and even the General Manager stopped by the make sure our experience was up to the mark.

$$$. Appetizers and sandwiches mostly under $10 and entrees are $18-$25.