Crown Bistro

Happened upon Crown Bistro by chance. I think I was on my way to a Pollo Tropical or Stoupsy’s downtown during lunch and decided to walk in. The little strips of shops where Crown Bistro is located isn’t terribly promising. Most of the retail shops around it are out of business, but that doesn’t impact the restaurant much. There’s never a wait for a table or a line at the counter.
The place is owned by Ruth, a very friendly lady who seems to have her hand in everything that goes on in the restaurant. I’ve eaten at CB three or four times. I vouch for the apple and beat salad, which is unique from any other beet dish I’ve had. I usually get the chicken shawarma (either the plate or the wrap), and I have never been disappointed. In addition to those staples, Crown Bistro seems to have a few other salads and sides in rotation. At least once, I’ve had a tasty pasta and edamame salad, and I’ve seen a carrot salad as well.
I’m a fan of Crown Bistro. I’ll keep coming back.

A colleague and I found ourselves downtown around lunchtime, and he mentioned this little hole-​in-​the-​wall place where he used to eat when he worked downtown. He couldn’t recall the name, but knew where it was, so off we went. Unfortunately, the place he had fond memories of was no longer, but Crown Bistro had popped up in its place.
Offering mainly salads and sandwiches, Crown Bistro has the potential for a booming lunch business, as it’s centrally located downtown. But in order to take full advantage, it’s going to have to streamline it’s confusing menu and get a little quicker in getting food to the customers.
My colleague and I both ordered wraps — I got chicken, he got beef. Simple enough, right? We were the only customers there at the time we ordered. Another woman came in after us and got her meal before us, and it was an actual entrée. It took a good 45 minutes for them to get our 2 wraps out to our table. That’s just not good business.
Prices are decent, and the food itself is tasty. But when you’re serving a busy clientele downtown, you’ve got to step up the pace.