Crave Ceviche Bar

As an Avid Ceviche fan! My best friend and I frequented this place on numerous occasions this summer…
For those who don’t know ceviche is Raw fish/​seafood marinated in lime or lemon juice with olive oil and spices and typically served as an appetizer. It has to be the lightest, most refreshing way to begin a meal and is super low in calories!!! for those who watch what they eat.
They have a variety of ceviche dishes, all are pretty small portioned and more than reasonably priced, so you are able to sample many different ones in one sitting! The place itself is quite small so it’s kinda a tight squeeze but completely worth it!

Teeny tiny in size (both the restaurant and the portions) with fantastic and unusual entrée combinations. Be sure to make a reservation or you might have to wait over an hour on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday night. Anything you order will shock your taste buds awake, and let your server suggest the perfect wine to accompany your meal.

Alas this perfect little find is closed, though according to the website, only temporarily. (As was the dry cleaning place next door with all the dry cleaning trapped inside.) Email
for updates. I sent an email and am awaiting a reply. This truly was a wonderful date night destination with lovely dishes and a killer sangria to boot. A true gem.
This is not your traditional ceviche but its nonetheless delicious. Fave dish there is the Colossal Lumb Crab with wok fried okra over sticky rice. The fish is always fresh and the portions are perfect for sharing. I always order an extra side of candied ginger icky sticky rice and the smoked cocoa spiked popcorn is a perfect compliment to the cardamom spiced sangria. What a great way to start the evening.
This place is tiny so I do not recommend coming here with a party larger than 4. 2 is ideal.

If you have the ceviche taste of your last trip to Playa del Carmen, Cancun, Lima, or any other Latin American destination in mind, Crave is not the place to satisfy that craving. This does not mean that the place is not very, very, very good still. It’s just that theirs is a different take on ceviche, using citric juices in all their plates to create delicious dishes.
A trip to Crave is absolutely worth it. There are only 2 dishes that resemble more traditional ceviche (one is shrimp and the other is something with popcorn, but the one worth your time is the first). Otherwise, I specially recommend the spicy tuna entrée, but really any one you choose is a winner.
The Chardonnay went particularly went with dinner and a sparkling rose for dessert. Yum.
2 complaints: the size of the portions is very small (I was reminded of that credit card commercial «it’s like elf food!») and they don’t have a dessert menu, but only this one strange ginger concoction that will only spoil your otherwise delicious dinner.

The food was good, but all of it wasn’t ceviche’d as advertised. We ordered 3 dishes, the South American Escolar, the Ecuadorean Ceviche and the Dumpling dish (don’t remember the dish’s name). The Ecuadorean Ceviche was the only dish that tasted like a true ceviche — it was citrus, ‘acidy’… which is how I am accustomed to having a ceviche. The bartender/​waiter mentioned that the dishes were modernized, not your usual ceviche, which I think was used as an excuse that it wasn’t going to taste like a true ceviche.
I went with 2 friends, we’re all latin, at around 6pm and the place got full by 7pm. The crowd was white as I am sure no latin customer revisits this place a second time.
The food portions were very small and expensive. The Ecuadorean Ceviche had the most food. But if I ever return here, I may just order 2 Ecuadorean Ceviches and put both in one plate. Ecuadorean ($ 14), Dumpling ($ 17), South American ($ 18).
You get much more in a true «cevicheria» in South America, Queens or in the Bronx.
Don’t get me wrong, the food was good, the music was ok, and the service was ok.
But the food was too little and too $$$, the music was ignored on my behalf, and waiter/​bartender made no sense at all when he tried to ‘explain’ the menu.
And lastly, DO NOT order the sangria. It was bad, it wasn’t strong at all. It tasted more like fruit punch.

I had a great dinner here with two friends last night, but do agree with some other reviewers… I’m not sure I think of this as a Cevicheria…
My favorite was the absolutely delish codfish with a smoked chocolate popcorn on top. It was probably one of the most traditionally done fish dishes, lots of citrus acidity giving it a great bite. The popcorn was strange by itself, but when mixed with the dish… I was practically licking the plate.
My friend loved the spicy yellowtail tuna, which was good… but kind of strange consistency. When I think ceviche, I think fresh, healthy chunks of fish… not mashed tuna. But it was tasty. The arctic char was fresh tasting with a slaw and some kimchee oil. I also loved the shrimp dumplings, which were chewy and meaty… pretty darn tasty in a meat/​tomato sauce-​broth-​thing.
All in all, great food, but not traditional at the least. That said, go, if only for the ridiculously good complimentary bite of dessert. Last night was a super sweet caramel with chocolate ganache and tres leches. I wanted to lick the bowl. SO good. Anyone got the recipe???

This place is tiny! By my count, there are 22 seats, 16 at the bar and 6 at tables. They will only seat parties of two or four at the tables, we were a party of three and were seated at the bar.
The bartenders were very knowledgeable of the menu, and since there are more spots at the bar than anywhere else, I guess they would have to be. They were very helpful and made a lot of recommendations, which we ran with.
We had:
Spicy Tuna — which was delicious, my favorite dish.
Bread & Butter Ceviche — also good, a different take on a bread app.
Fluke — I thought was okay, but was my wife’s favorite.
Char — also good
Cod — done as a more traditional ceviche, but then topped with a tasty chocolate spiked popcorn which was excellent.
Shrimp Dumplings — a fine dish, but more like a regular dumping, not as interesting as our other dishes.
Also had the sangria which was very good.
The check came with a tasty, small, very rich chocolate, caramel & leche ganache, which we all liked.
Great place to go, the service was great. Very attentive, but we did not feel rushed at all, even though the place is tiny & they must need to turn over the seats to make money. Will definitely be going back.

The hot new place to be! Crave not only has style but substance to this restaurant. During my visit in October, I found out that they had only been open for about six weeks. Good news spreads like wildfire. When we first got there we had to wait a bit for seats since the place is so small. While waiting we had a couple of glasses of wine standing at the door. What else is there to do at a wine bar? They have an amazing selection of wine to choose from, and not only do they have a huge wine selection but their sangria is amazing.
We had the spicy yellow tail which is one of their famous dishes and the Ecuadorean shrimp. Both was very tasty but in small portions and slightly expensive for my taste. For the two dishes and two glasses of wine plus tip the bill came out to about $ 65.
I loved the décor and the mini square plates that the food was served on. I do appreciate the fact that they gave a complimentary dessert: caramel with a chocolate ganache in tres leches. A little too sweet for my taste but still very good. After talking to the bartender I found out that they are hoping to expand soon. Go Crave! I certainly plan to come back, but I also plan to bring my rich friends to come pick up the tab.

Really, Really great. The sangria is just the thing to tide you over whlie you wait for one of the 3 tables in the place. There is also room at the bar, but don’t go ravenous because you’ll be waiting at least 30 minutes. The food was fresh and unique. For 2 people we ordered 4 dishes. The gnudi, under the :“dough” section was hearty and delicious. They don’t do dessert, but with the check they bring a nice dark chocolate, caramel thing.

I thought the vibe was cool, the owner Brian and waiter/​bartender Howell were lovely.
I think the food is light and delicate, yet deceptively substantial enough to fill you up.
We split the Tuna salad appetizer and I had the Arctic Char with champagne, strawberries, truffle oil and caviar. The oil was too much, overpowered the fish, fruit and caviar. Beyond that, I think it was a lovely meal — complemented by the most AMAZING little dessert: a homemade caramel topped with a chili chocolate ganache.
I would go back.

Like WHOA. I’m a big fan of this place… every single thing I had got a «wow this is so good» after and while I didn’t try the corn, I’ve heard good things about that to. «Ohhhhhh the CORN» was pretty much how it went. Also a great place if you like a good wine list… try the chef’s
(Tom, I think?) favorite wine — it literally says that on the list — and if you’re buying a bottle, the Wild Horse Cab. And if you have no idea what to drink, the bartenders are very friendly and helpful. Little pricey, but then again… it is new york.

I went to Crave Ceviche last night after reading Jinny S.’ review on it… I go there early to save the 6 seats I needed for our party. I have to say… the food was amazing, the waitress was Very sweet and adorable, and the concept was unique.
This is not Ceviche in the traditional meaning of the word, but everything was served in a Ceviche type manner… sans the saltines.
We started with ancho chili popcorn, surprising flavor… quite yummy.
Onto the fish, lump crab ceviche over sticky rice… I am not even a fan of crab and this was great; Yellowfin and avocado ceviche, tender and delicate; and my favorite, arctic char with strawberry.
We probably could have stopped there, but no, we ordered more. Spicy tuna over fried yucca… great! and lightly fried artichokes and hearts of palm… not greasy at all…
Everything as great… even down to the wine selection… we opted to order a bottle even after we had consumed a glass (or more each). let’s say the end of the evening was a little fuzzy… but not too fuzzy to remember the delicious carmely chocolaty fudgy thing that appeared in front of me for dessert… compliments of crave. I could eat this is vats… well maybe that is exaggerating… but it was great.
I can’t wait to go back. My sister lives close by so I am sure I will be making visits to her hood to eat some more ceviche.

I want to sleep with the fishes. Mainly so I can turn over in the middle of the night and take a big bite out of them.
My time here last night was superb. Food was excellent, wine was perfectly paired, and the atmosphere was lively. Oooohhh, and I tried a third of the menu. Always a plus. And lemme just say to the fishes harmed in the making of my meal — be proud, be honored, because you, my little fishy friends, are part of something special. Something that other fish can only dream of.
For starters, or as the Crave people like to say, what you order before your order — I tried the spicy yellow fin tuna set on top of planched seared yucca with a lime butter ceviche. Man, that was good. Tender tuna. Creamy yucca. You really just have to try it. I also tried the traditional shrimp ceviche with charred corn and hearts of palm in a cilantro and fresh lime ceviche. Well, of course, that was just excellent. And when they say charred corn, they actually mean ancho spiced popcorn. As my friend put it, «I had to get the traditional ceviche. It comes with popcorn!» Well said. They also had oysters on special, in a tomato and young ginger sauce. Didn’t actually taste one, but my fellow eater’s eyes rolled into the back of her head. I think that’s a good sign.
Entrees came next. I had the artic char with truffles (i totally just said truffles), strawberries and caviar in a champagne and sea salt ceviche. It sounds interesting doesn’t it? I was a bit skeptical but I had to try it. Champagne and truffles? You might as well offer me some crack with my meal. It was amazing. I mean, really. Amazing. As Ron Burgundy would say: «By the beard of Zeus!» It was that good. Also got to try the kona kampachi with curried chickpeas, cucumber and green mango in a mint, yogurt and fresh lemon ceviche. Also very tasty. I may have had some trouble spearing the chickpeas with my fork but that’s just because I’m slightly retarded when I’m hungry.
Also tried the pupusa with spicy florida red snapper slaw with naam pla, lime juice and kalamanzi ceviche. I’m not usually a fan of snapper but it was quite good in this dish. Really, it was the perfect summery dish — a heaping mound of citrusy cole slaw over flat bread.
My friend also had the filet mignon slider with manchego cheese, house made sour cream and chive potato chips in a worcestershire sauce and lemon juice ceviche. There was more eye rolling. I had a chip. It was tasty.
We only tried one of their sides. The grilled red corn with queso blanco. Well, I had it. And I didn’t share. It’s not that I’m selfish, it’s just that it’s, well, corn on the cob. Really not easy to share with others. And to be honest, I don’t think I could’ve shared it. I love cheese on my corn, and when there’s a sizeable layer covering the corn and it tastes like heaven, I’m just lucky I don’t eat the cob itself.
To drink, I had the Las Brisas wine and it was described well on the menu — peachy and floral. By the second carafe, I may not have noticed the peach as much, but again, a personal issue having to do with lack of self control. Others had the white sangria which looked refreshing and delicious. Unfortunately, they don’t serve cocktails, but I think you can get pretty toasty despite their lack of a liquor license.
Our waiter had a touch of the ADD. But, to be fair, there were a lot of shiny things in the place. And, when he could bring himself back to paying attention to us, he was quite funny. I learned that: 1) the filet mignon slider is much better than white castle sliders, 2) that the kampachi is flown in from Hawaii every day but that it does not fly itself, people do that, and 3) that my crewneck sweater was, indeed, too provocative. All excellent insights.
The space is a bit cramped. There’s really only room for maybe 20 people in the whole place, and out of those 20, only about 6 can sit at a table. The rest are relegated to sitting at the bar, which is arranged similar to a sushi bar. I thought it was quaint, but I definitely wouldn’t suggest taking a large number of people here. And, it’s quite expensive. All that stuff I listed up there? That was for 3 of us. Mmm hmm… 3. I’m not even going to tell you how much I paid, all I will say is that it was worth it.
So, we get the bill, right? And guess what comes with it? Free dessert. This amazing frozen spicy chocolate something (ice cream mebbe?) with flavors of caramel mixed in — UNFREAKINGBELIEVABLE. I can see why they put it in such a small bowl. Otherwise, it might have ended up in my hair as I put the spoon down and ate it old skool trough style.
To sum: Great place. Creative, yummy food. Free dessert.