Style and Execution by Gene

How will you ever know if you and your group will be allowed in if the dress code of style and execution is arbitrary and not based on articles of clothing i.e.(caps, tennis shoes, jeans, etc.)(These items and others are clear). One of the guests in my group was denied access based on style and execution and the guy at the door would not say what would need to change in order for him to be allowed in. Just beware if you plan to visit you may not get in.

Kind of a long story, but will save you the trouble: by Diego Montenegro

Kind of a long story, but will save you the trouble:
Last night, a group of my closest friends decided to do something low key, being that it was Wednesday. One of my friends suggested this place, Crave, to which I hadn't been to yet. When we entered, we were greeted by the hostess, gave her my name to wait for a table for 7 and we proceeded to the bar for a cocktail in the meantime. After about 45 minutes, we noticed that the guests at a table near us across from the bar had left. We waited for the bar back or waitress to come and clear it, but many minutes went by and nothing. Hence, it was a Wednesday night and the place had guests seated at every table, but the night was not out of control. I made my way toward the hostess and found her using her cell phone texting her life away. When she put her phone away, I told her if she knew of the table that had been unoccupied for a while now, and she said she had no clue. I told her that I would like to take it before anyone else does and if she would please send someone to clean it. She said, "yeah, a waitress will take care of that". I was astonished by her answer. I returned to the bar. We waited again for someone to clean it and nothing. So, we just had a seat. Fifteen minutes, still no service. I noticed a man carrying a hookah pipe to another table as he walked passed us about 3 times. I called this man over and asked him to please have someone clear the table and give us some service, "we have been waiting forever". A minute goes by and he returns to reprimand us, saying "next time, you must wait for a waitress to clear the table and make her aware that you are going to sit here. If the table is dirty, you do not sit!" My friends and I were appalled by his comment. At this point we are leaving. My rebuttal to him was: "Ahhm...excuse me? Buddy listen: A. You do not talk to a customer that way. B. All you needed to tell me was "sir, I will take care of it for you. We apologize for the inconvenience" and C. "You have no idea how long we've been waiting". Then he says: "Hey, you know what? This is my place and I'd like you to get out of here, but don't forget to pay for the tab at the bar".
Wow, what can I say other than this place is not gonna make it. Word on the street is that this owner guy is from LA, and that his poor unprofessional attitude is not a fit for hospitality, especially not for our Southern Hospitality. This place is certainly "Craving for Failure".

by Amit G.

All I can say is that I will be going back and eventually will try everything from the hookah to the the key lime pie, again! Great ambiance, cool setup, great service, swank music, and did I even get to the excellent desserts. They have an extensive selection of alcohol and a very nice 4 pages worth of deserts. Also some appetizers

by Bill F.

Great (strong) pours, delicious dessert, chill atmosphere. Great place for friends. After reviewing a couple of yelp reviews and hearing about it from a store's employee, I decided to try out Crave Dessert Bar this Friday with a couple of friends. We had an early dinner, so we headed over to crave for a few after-dinner drinks and of course, dessert. We walked in around 8pm and the place was empty, but it's to be expected. We were also trying to dodge the late-night crowd. After 15-20 minutes people started coming in and the place slowly started to fill up. After a quick visit from our server, we told them we had never been here, that we wanted to come and lounge and enjoy our first visit. He acknowledged, and listed the specials for the evening. We wanted to read the drink menu before we were ready to order, he did not want to give us the time. He came back only moments later and asked how we were doing. We ordered our drinks, see below: Started with a Brulee Martini. It was rich with hints of raspberry, and had what I can only assume was fine flakes of graham crackers around the rim. It was delicious, and very strong. I drink martinis all the time and I felt this one halfway through. My friends got the Bleeding Heart (quite tasteful, to my surprise) and the cheesecake martini (not quite as good as the brulee). Immediately after serving us our drinks he asked if we're ready to order. "Not quite yet" we told him. We were there to enjoy our $12 drinks also, my friend. Two minutes pass and he comes back. Asks if we're ready. "No." we state impatiently, straight to the point. Without getting into too much detail, that happened ALL throughout the night. We wanted to order drinks, drink them casually, order dessert, eat it in peace, and then order drinks after dessert, spending quality time mingling. He wanted us to do all of that quickly. I was not happy about it. We were only there for about 2 hours, and we were feeding the business money...what's the deal?! Sorry it's not fast-food for martinis pal, it's a fine establishment where my friends and I want to ENJOY what we're spending money on. For food I had the black forest of adebowale. It was oh-so-delicious. A not-so-me lemon pie martini followed. I preferred the brulee over it.The music was pretty chill at first, it was pre-selected, a little mix of light house and some instrumentals. Then at 9:30 or 10 the "DJ" showed up (with his laptop) and started his iTunes playlist? It was a mix of 80's and just crap music. They also BOOSTED the volume on it to where it overwhelmed the vibe they had going. People had to start screaming across the tables to their friends to be heard. I slowly started losing my voice for only 30 minutes or so. I was disappointed about that part. That particular experience barely earned them a 4, it's a shame none of it had to do with the quality of the consumed.  I'm a big fan of customer service. Hopefully next time I go I won't get hounded every 5 minutes by the waitor.

by Travis W.

Really "cool", "laid back" atmosphere at Crave.  I have been a few times with groups of friends.  The drinks are quite pricey, which for me was a disappointment, however having 10 friends sitting on couches passing around the Hooka was super cool and a great time was had by all.  I have recommended Crave to a lot of people around the Charlotte Area.

by REBECCA S.

best new hot spot for couples in charlotte!  the cupcakes are like nothing you've ever had the pleasure of tasting!love this place!  my new favorite sugar spot!!

by Sam P.

It's a Dessert Bar. My girlfriend loves Dessert. I love alcohol (Bar). So, it's pretty easy for us to like this place. We went on Thursday after dinner and were pretty impressed by the whole place. It was pretty chic, sleek, modern and swanky. We liked the seating options, we sat in the tall booth-like seating along the wall,  It was comfy and had high back so if you lean back your head still hits cushion and not a hard wall. The booth-like seating was nice so couples can sit together.We even enjoyed the music selection, i don't know what you'd call it, but it wasn't loud and obnoxious. There was a musician tuning up to play, but we ended up leaving before he finally started performing.  Now to the dessert...it seemed like a pretty good variety of dessert, we were hoping for a bigger selection of chocolate choices, but the one that we chose may as well be the only thing on the menu because it was so damn good. The Victorian was a chocolate cake, with chocolate mousse between layers and a rich chocolate icing (almost fudge like). Now to the drinks...A good selection. Being a cheapass when it comes to drinks, i was happy that they had some drinks at half price. Not sure if it is a regular thing, or just happened to be on that night. But, we tried 3 martinis. Martini is not my typical drink so i just tried some that were in the 1/2 off section. My special lady friend ranked them as so: 1. Fatal Attraction - really tasty, didn't seem very alcohol filled. 2. Mojito Martini - good taste, easy to drink, 3. Banana Cream Pie (?) - Thick, wasn't as tasty.Normal price was $9 for these martinis. They had some wine 1/2 off, but they didn't have a list.  The service was attentive. Cost of the desserts was around 7 or 8 dollars. We split the Victorian and it was plenty after just having eaten dinner. They do indeed have a few things to iron out, but based on the dessert and atmosphere they earn a 5 star rating.

by Faith D.

Mmmmmm, delicious.  However, who serves cupcakes, cakes, and other desserts without having milk or soy available??!! I've never heard of such a thing.They have plenty of other types of beverages, but again, no milk or soy. The coffee isn't that great either.So enough with the beverages, that's not why you go there. The desserts are a treat for the eyes and for the tastebuds. You will definitely get your sugar fix in this upscale establishment. I went here on my anniversary and our cupcakes came out with sparklers on top. They sure know how to add a little happiness to the night. I was so impressed by the desserts I brought my family when they came to visit. It's definitely a place to impress others!

by Michael E.

Hmmm.....6 reviews on a bar?  I can see my move to Charlotte is going to make one of the "head Yelpers" in this town as I RARELY could find a review in Chicago with 6 reviews.   Hey, I'm down with it and lived here before, so I have reasonable expectations *wink*.  Third ward in the center of Charlotte..........and NO I'm not calling it uptown or downtown for that matter mainly because I lived in NYC and the center of Charlotte (as nice as it is) is small, so there *grin*.  Seriously, the Third Ward is just a few blocks from the  main strip of Tyron Street and a breeze to walk to if you are staying in the City.  Keep in mind that the center city has about 50 bar/eateries and a very small area, so you can have a lot of fun just in the city alone as well as venture out, but I'm digressing.....The bar and seating areas inside are nice, but not upscale in my opinion.....I expected more red velvet and dimmed focused lighting.  With booths along one wall, this has a more open feel than I expected and when the place gets packed forget about having a conversation....with concrete floors and exposed wood beams, this place gets loud...Note....not a good date bar if its packed.....if it is not packed, then this is a serious consideration and unique as date locals go.I had my first date in this town at this location....trying to be a bit creative it bombed as they were having some sort of Fashion show which had the placed so packed we were regulated to the outside seating which is sparse.  So we notified the hostess our location for a server to wait on us, but the fashion show impacted service as it was very poor.  Even when I caught the attention of another server at the table beside us and told him of our long wait, he indicated our server would be out soon.....now if I owned this business I'd smacked that server in the back of the head....your title is "server"...so serve or in other words, just take the damn order and pass it onto the other server and get the "serving" going would you please *grin*.So for service, I'll have to go back to see if this is a greater problem...........maybe *wink*.  I'm living in the center of the city, but with so many selections, if I get service from this place again like this I'll make it a point to not patronize it nor recommend it to anyone, so I hope they improve for my next visit.When it comes to selection, they serves up a woman's "wet dream" in the sense of sweets.......in Chicago........the Cupcake is queen...in Charlotte, all bets are off what what I can tell, but they have a unique selection for sweet eats.  Drinks are also nice...mainly more focused on the "Sex in the City" type cocktails, but the one I had....and for which I WILL NOT write here lest my man card get taken away....was good!  They even have hookahs, but I know nothing to comment here at this time....Costs here are not high either in drinks or desserts, though I'm not sure I could be an expert on dessert costs.Since the fashion show was going on, I cannot for the life of me tell you who frequents this place, but even for the fashion show there was a large age group in attendance.The date factor here, less fashion shows, is high.....small and quaint and full of sweets, this is a place to put a smile on your female friends face, so I'd seriously consider it as the place to take her AFTER dinner.I'm new to town and single, so I'm also going to comment on places where singles might have a good time..........mind you I'm not a fan of meeting people in bars and most women never go to them to do that, so I'd say that it is rated a "poor" because most folks are here to eat sweets and have dates, not meet folks.So if you want to get your sweet on and make your dentist a bit more rich, then check out Crave!!!!

by Eric K.

After a fantastic dinner Uptown, we decided to wander over to Crave to check it out to and try some dessert.  It's tucked away near the Cotton Mills apartments and CANS.  The atmosphere inside was great.  Very modern and, for lack of a better word, "hip."  The space was very open with brick walls, low-lighting, and large windows.  I could tell it was a great hangout spot and a place to see and be seen. There were no tables available, so we headed to an open spot at the bar.  The bartender was very friendly and, of course, very scantily clad.  We asked for drink and dessert menus.  There was definitely a great selection to choose from.  We first ordered drinks -- $12 martinis.  Yikes!  I wanted something sweet, so our bartender recommended the "Clean Slut."  It was Pear Vodka, pear puree, Apple Pucker and pineapple juice.  She was right.  It was fantastic, but at $12, one was my limit.  Now, mind you, I would have rather have had the drink called the "Dirty Slut," just for kicks, but its ingredients were not my thing.  So I went with the Clean Slut, but called it a Dirty Slut.  Their dessert menu offered cheesecake, cupcakes, cake, etc.  We decided to split a cheesecake and went with the Caramel Pecan Turtle.  Our server/bartender came back and told us that they were out of that one.  So we ordered a Southern Comfort Pecan Praline.  Minutes later she came back and told us they were out of that one, too.  Hmmm...  A dessert place with no dessert?  At $8 a pop, you'd think they'd make enough to be able to sell, don't you think?  We chose a third one (Bananas Foster) and kept our fingers crossed.  This one came through.  It came nicely presented in a small dome shape (instead of your typical slice), with the drizzles and banana slices all over it.  It was definitely delicious, but at $8 a scoop, it, too, was a little pricey.  We definitely enjoyed our experience at Crave Dessert Bar, but would have liked to have stayed longer to relax, if it weren't for the extreme prices.  At that rate, I can only afford a drink and dessert or two drinks, and then I'm outta there.