Krave Wine Bar & Bistro

The only good thing about this bar was the drink specials. The door guy was extremely rude on the way in and on the way out. They literally pushed everyone out of the bar at closing and then wouldn’t let my friend get her debit card from the bar. The bathroom was upstairs and only had one working light so it was very dark and creepy. The DJ was probably the worst I’ve ever heard too. Overall terrible experience.

I can’t begin to express my disappointment in Krave. Since it opened, it has been my favorite, go to place. Swanky, live music, just the classy and relaxed atmosphere I was looking for. I have slowly seen a decline in service and last night was the end of the road for me. Unfortunately, I do not believe I will ever return again. I almost feel like I am going through a break up! :(.
Last night my husband and I decided to go for a nice evening to discuss each of our days events and unwind. We walked in the back door and discovered that there were not any tables available inside, so we decided to sit at the bar. We were initially greeted by one of the bartenders, provided menus and given a few minutes to decide. Soon after, two other bartenders/​waitstaff emerged from the kitchen and ran up to my husband telling him that they had missed him and were afraid they wouldn’t see him again. As this was a place that he would drop in on from time to time, I dismissed their comment and continued perusing the menu for my wine selection. I sat at the bar for a solid 5 minutes, completely ignored while my husband was immediately delivered beer. Finally, I walked out only to return when a table was available.
We did finish the evening there. We ordered food — including the «Big Dipper.» This was a colossal fail as it was a small bowl of queso and two bowls of hummus. The only thing served to dip was tortilla chips. Personally, I was not interested in dipping tortilla chips in hummus, so ²⁄₃ of the dish was wasted.
I sincerely the owners/​management consider a complete overhaul of the service here and make some changes to the menu so that one day I can once again enjoy my once all time favorite.

So I had my first visit at Krave in Round Rock in July 2014. For those of you that may read any of my reviews, you will see that there is not one establishment I have written about located in RR. I do not live in RR, and it is not a place I would ever drive to as a social destination (no not a baseball fan either!).
However on this occasion I had a good reason to come by and visit, and it is not too far (but not very close either) from my new job, so I made the trek out to RR. My expectations were not very high driving in to the bustling downtown area of Round Rock to visit Krave. I had not read any prior reviews of it here, and from the past drama that has been written about this place, that is probably a good thing.
But I arrived with no baggage of past service or management issues, and I have to say I was very impressed with Krave! I have visited all the cool wine bars in Austin, and that is a high bar of excellence to set, as Austin has some fantastic wine bars. This place ranks in the better half of those. Not a top choice, but very solid.
Let’s cover the vital statistics first– this is a historic old building, remodeled on the inside with modern and tasteful décor that is upscale. A very long wine bar with plenty of seating, as well as tables and a few couches inside to lounge on. All scored and stained concrete floor inside. Free parking garage on the side, and a small outdoor patio area in back. Walking in the bistro you get a good first impression. There was a small spot up front for live music, and the band playing was not loud so you could still have a conversation.
Wine selection was good– my date had the house red, and I tried one of their Malbecs. If you order wine flights, they have these neat metal crafted wine holders that look like silver tree branches. Nice touch. For appetizer /​snack food, the Italian meatballs are served in a great marinara sauce, and the tuna was tasty.
Service was a bit spotty– not sure if that was because they don’t focus much on people sitting on the back patio? Had to wait a bit for a waiter to come over and take our order, then for a while he was very attentive, then later on he would disappear again for long periods of time. Here is a hint for the wait staff and management at Krave– when it is summer in Texas and you have customers seated outside on the patio, they will need a lot of water to drink so don’t forget about them!
I really liked this place– not a chain, authentic ambiance with a modern touch, lots of seating area, easy parking. When service was available the staff is polite. This may be the only game in town for RR wine drinkers, but if you picked this place up and placed it near downtown Austin, it would still be a decent wine bar. Happy hour on a Thurs night ended at 6pm, which seemed a bit stingy– some of us have to fight a lot of traffic just to get there, give us some more time to enjoy happy hour! I would be much more willing to make the drive again if HH was extended to 7pm :)

Unless you like a side of straight ghetto with your cheese and wine I would steer clear. A year ago I would of said, Hey lets got to Krave. After my Saturday night experience I’d say, all sorts of no.
When order a flight of wines. Pardon me but i do expect a card with a bit of a description on each wine. No no not here. You get a server with a menu in hand, having zero clue what is spilling out of his mouth. I could of done a better job even if that were my first night on the job. Which clearly for him it was not.
Wines were tasty I give Krave that-​decent selection.
After watching my server act a fool all night with this table I couldn’t of been more ready to get outta there. I’m all for playful banter, but keep it together dude you aren’t in a club.
15 – 20 minutes alter after having asked for the tab I get up to leave heading for the door to pay, and here he comes around the corner with a basket of bread for another table saying he made it for them personally in the kitchen. Now I am confused-​one i could of swore he wanted a good tip from me. Two is there not a chef in the kitchen. OR are you now server /​chef.
Anywhoooo…no I wont be back. Some where in a year Krave leaves me with zero cravings to ever return.

Happy Hour Review
Reasonably priced happy hour drinks but they should really expand the number of wines available on this list. Seems a little ridiculous that they only have 3 – 4 wines to pick from, total… Plus, I am tired of drinking «Flirt»!

This place was such a disappointment, and adds to my disappointment of Round Rock establishments in general. We went on a Friday night for just drinks with friends. Not only were we embarrassed because WE suggested Krave as our after-​dinner spot, but we won’t ever return, and here’s why:
The Potential:
— This place has a great ambiance. Well laid out and very nicely decorated. I noticed they have a patio also, but we did not check it out. It was a little chilly that evening, and we opted for the couch setting for our group of 4.
— Some of the wines served here are pretty decent.
The Unacceptable:
— I’m sorry to say that I can corroborate the other review about the rat inside. I also watched the unexpected guest run up and down a pipe in the corner of a wall, after which it also ran over a ceiling beam that was right above my head and behind a large curtain that the couch we were sitting on was in front of. We were so happy that we were only there for wine that night (no food)! And, the staff that was informed about it, didn’t seem to even care.
— Many wine selections were marked off the menu with a sharpie — really? Some that weren’t marked off, we were informed they didn’t have either.
— Two of us ordered a wine flight. The flights come on a large stand that is tall, and takes up a large portion of the table. If we were sitting at a high-​top that would have been miserable, but luckily sitting on the coffee table style that we were at, we could still talk over them. When the waitress delivered, she plopped one on the table first, then said she’d «be back» to bring our other drinks. When she returned, she again plopped the drinks down and walked off. I’m not an idiot, so did figure out which order the flight was in, but any good wine establishment would give a little dialogue, and not plop down a wine flight — maybe «here’s where to begin», and «you should end with this one». We used our noses, then a little taste to figure it out, but that’s just not cool, not cool at all.
— The server we had was definitely not in her element. No friendly table-​side manner, acted like she didn’t care to be there, didn’t seem to know or care anything about the wines, wreaked of cigarette smoke after her smoke break, and certainly didn’t match the ambiance of the place.
Sorry, Krave, we gave it a try. Should I assume you’ve given up since you’re not replenishing your wine stock, nor employing people who want to be working for you?

I will not ever step foot in this place ever again. While there was a nice local wine selection to choose from and friendly service and live music, there were two main things that will deter me from entering this business again.
1. This wine bar was way too loud. I want to go there with some friends and relax while enjoying my wine. I like live music but not in a small confined odd-​shaped room where there is no space between patrons and an extremely loud guitarist… it was overwhelming and we had to repeat ourselves to our party numerous times to be understood because of the noise. It did get better after the guitarist took a break.
2. While sitting at a table with my party, a rat (yes I said RAT) ran down the corner of the wall from the ceiling to about halfway down the wall. It then turned around and ran back to the ceiling where it proceeded to sit on a beam with its long tail hanging down moving back and forth. It then decided to run across the ceiling beam to the other side of the room. A patron joked that it was Ratatouille… not as funny as he had hoped since I was so grossed out by the RAT! I think pest control would be a wonderful investment.

I need to take back my previous review. Shortly after my last review we moved 40 miles away and hadn’t been back. We were in the area on 13-​mar and decided to go there for dinner.
The new chef is gone. The food is far below where it was before he got there. Both our dinners were a big FAIL. The gnocchi was from a box and was under cooked and the Pizza dough was different. Don’t know how else to describe it. Call restaurant impossible because this place needs help.

My husband and I made reservations here for Valentine’s Day and decided to go with their «homemade» lasagna three course special. My hubs got the Italian Wedding soup for the first course, and I got the salad — and thankful I did since his soup was cold. The lasagna came next and both our pieces were also cold in the center. They used some ground beef, and honestly for the price tag, I was expecting some more refined ingredients (eg, mozzerella, basil). The last course was the nutella pizza, and by then we had enough and asked for it to go. It was literally a thin pizza crust with nutella spread on it and some chopped strawberries. For $ 75 for this three course «special», I was expecting a halfway decent meal and was sorely disappointed.
Cold, bland, overpriced food. Take your money elsewhere.

Our first time here, we were pleased with the Italian Meatballs and the Krave Plate. We asked for two shrimp tacos and one fish taco for that plate and our server was happy to oblige. Service was friendly and prompt during our visit.
The wine selection is somewhat limited by my taste. I am a staunch Pinot Noir fan and there were only two to choose from on the wine list. The California Chime was OK but typical of your low end Pinot. I suggested the establishment broaden their selection to include more midrange reds.
We will be back…

My husband and I hit Krave for the first time after having a horrid experience at Westside Alehouse. Walking in to Krave was a breath of fresh air after the dirty bars, poor service and bad overall experience we had walked out on to make our way downtown.
The Krave staff acknolwledged us immediately and were very friendly. They offered suggestions and assistance with the menu if we needed it and were very attentive. The ambiance was nice and the feel of Krave was warm and inviting. The music that was playing was fun and everyone seemed to be having a really good time. Not that it was rowdy, just upbeat and cheery. The food was fantastic, as was the wine and the prices were not outrageous, for dinner at least. We were very happy with the experience, it saved our night out!
Krave is definitely now «on the list» as my husband says and I have been back a couple of times since to find the same service and excellent wine/​food. Love sitting on the back porch when the weather is nice!

Me and my beau headed to Krave after dining out across the street. We were greeted by a charming hostess and a very cool interior. Rock walls juxtaposed against silvery glitter walls were just groovy. We had the choice of a loveseat or of sitting outside on the deck. It was a little chilly, so we hit the sofa.
Our waiter was hilarious and always animated. He knew the wines and beers, and he gave us great recommendations. He made us laugh at every turn, and was always around when we needed him. He made the night even more perfect.
I checked out the wine list. It made me exceedingly happy, because it highlighted a lot of Texas wines and beers. My guy got a BIG beer made in Pflugerville called Gigantopholis. It was dark and hoppy, and he raved about it.
I tried a wine flight made up of a selection of red wine blends. I liked all of the wines, and I wanted to try more. I tried the house red wine blend and found it very lovely at $ 5 per glass.
We didn’t try any canapes or desserts, but I suspect we will be back soon to do just that. Give this place a try, if you are around downtown Round Rock one evening. It will be worth your time.

I am a huge fan of Krave. They have a great wine menu, good beer and the food, while very small portions, is very tasty.
We have friends that play live music here from time to time, so we enjoy stopping in for drinks to see them play. Most nights, you will find live local music, so that’s always a huge plus!
Their Sangria is HUGE and well worth the $ 9 per glass. They also have a descent happy hour, with $ 5 appetizers and discounts on drinks.
The manager is friendly, the bar staff is very knowledgeable and friendly and the ambiance of the space is relaxing. This is a great date night space or just a space to meet friends for a drink!
We stopped in on a Tuesday to see a friend play live. The place was packed and yet they closed at 10pm. Round Rock has strange laws that require bars to close at midnight, so I am not quite sure why they closed so early at 10. I would like to see longer hours, we certainly would have stayed later!

I went to Krave once a long time ago and had a very pleasurable experience, so I decided to go back on a date with my girlfriend. Turns out they are not running the place the same way they used to.
When we arrived we were told it would be a 45 minute wait, unless we wanted to sit outside. (It was currently 65 degrees). She told us they had heaters out there, so we thought that would be fine and agreed.
At this point I thought it was odd that it was a «45 minute wait», yet there was no-​one waiting in front of us. Not a single person was standing or waiting anywhere in the front or outside. Everyone was sitting at a table or at the bar. How could it possibly be a 45 minute wait if all you need is a single table to leave in order to sit us?
As she walked us back she stopped to tell the bartender that she was seating us outside. I watched him acknowledge her and nod. Then as we continued to the back we walked past at least three empty tables and numerous (6+) empty seats at the bar. It was just two of us so it seemed odd she wouldn’t have offered any of those seats to us. Then when we got outside there were no heaters set up, but the hostess assured us they would come set them up for us soon. The heaters were actually all locked away in a corner on a steel anti-​theft rope so the only way to pull them out was with a key.
So we sat down at the table and started looking over the menu. We waited about 15 minutes before the same hostess walked outside with another couple. That other couple’s reaction when they walked outside was «There are no heaters on out here…» followed by «I’m going to say no» after the hostess promised to have the heaters turned on. So at this point we had waited 15 minutes with no heat, and the temperature outside was starting to dip a bit lower and the wind was picking up.
As the hostess started to walk the other couple back inside she looked at us and asked «Has anyone been out to take your order yet?» To which we both replied «No, and we’re still waiting for heaters to be set up as well.»
So we waited another 10 minutes and we finally got fed up and pulled out our phones and started searching for other options. Clearly even if someone did come out to take care of us the service was obviously not going to be good, at that point someone did come out to take our order, but she was unable to set up the heaters. So we just told her we’d waited long enough and we were going to go some place else.
From the time we walked in to the time someone approached us to take our order was nearly 30 minutes, most of that time sitting outside with no heaters. I don’t understand why this is so hard. The 45 minute wait seemed very unlikely given that no-​one was waiting in front of us. I understand that if a restaurant is understaffed they will sometimes make people wait even if there are tables available, but then why offer to seat us outside in the cold? And if you’re going to offer outside seating, why weren’t the heaters at least removed from storage so all you’d need to do is turn them on when you seated people outside? And why weren’t we offered the numerous places available to sit inside?
This is one of the worst cases of «employees just don’t care» syndrome I’ve ever seen.

I am giving this three stars based on my average experience between happy hour and lunch. Happy hour there are decent specials (appetizers and drinks) and it’s a pleasant atmosphere. When it comes to lunch, if you are on a schedule (which most of us who work in that big employer in Round Rock are), this is not the place to come. Went with a group of nine and most of us ordered soups and/​or salads, and the lunch was about 2 hours and we were one of 3 tables there for lunch. The food was decent (similar to what I have experienced at happy hour), but certainly not worthy of the wait… thankfully most of our schedules were flexible that day, but not a place I will frequent for lunches, particularly when I don’t have much flexibility.

So apparently their chef quit, they had no food service for a week and then supposedly «snagged» the number 3 chef in all of Austin who refuses to cook any of the original menu items… some guy from Italy who came over just a year ago. They put a «transitional» menu in front of us with next to nothing on it and no descriptions of what the items were. It was ALL italian food with no hint of the Krave favorites like sweet potato fries. And it was ridiculously priced for a lunch menu.
We’re willing to go out of comfort zones so said sure, we’ll try the new menu. I ordered Lasagna after being told how amazing it is and my friend ordered the pasta Bolognese.
NO BREAD (even though oil and vinegar were on the table). NO SALAD. The portions that came were the size of the palm of a hand. The lasagna was HORRIBLE. The bottom layer of pasta was literally black from being burnt. It tasted like a mushy pasty mess. The Bolognese was so salty it was almost inedible.
The wait staff stood around the bar and you could tell how unhappy they were. Such a disappointment…

This 2 star review is literally because the place is physically cool and quite possibly the only reasonable thing to do in Round Rock other than go to an Express game. I’m not saying that Round Rock is a terrible place that might only be good for refueling your car on the way north or south, I’m just saying there’s not much to do there.
I excitedly went for happy hour when I had to work and was so underwhelmed that I wish there was another prefix for whelmed that made it seem lower than underwhelmed. The ambiance of this place is too good to not back it up.
Why was I so uberunderwhelmed (i winged it with that prefix)… the happy hour food… Frozen sweet potato fries, ok wine, and a cheese platter that my grandmother couldve done better creating.
The cheese platter in particular looked like someone walked into the front of any supermarket, looked at the cheese selection, and was taken by the cracker barrel 2 for 1 sale. From there they ran to the cracker aisle to buy the fancy Pepperidge Farm crackers, but upon realizing they weren’t on sale, just went with whatever looked circular and had an in-​store coupon.
I know it was happy hour, but come on…

I went on a Friday evening a group of friend from my Meetup group. They place is very nice, great atmosphere, staff is friendly, outgoing and have great personalities.
House wine is decent and reasonable price. Wine list is very extensive and is good for experienced wine drinkers. I really can’t rate their food because all I got was the Krave Fries from the Happy Hour menu but the sauce they give you is «ish» — it is a few pieces of cheese cut off and warmed up in the microwave.
Happy Hour is from 4pm to 6pm — they really need to extend it in till at least 7pm to give folks that get off later enough time to take advantage of.
Staff seemed a little disorganized at times when more of my Meetup group showed up.
Overall experience was well and I am likely to return.

Great selection of wines, well thought out and represented accurately on the menu. The bartenders are top notch and this is definitely a sit at the bar type of place. Our waiter Kevin was great with our large group (even though the management wanted a «fee» to reserve space for us – like our $ 900 bar tab wasn’t enough) but Kevin did lack a sense of humor and managed to annoy several in our group
I’d say go for the wine and great ambiance (you can hear the music from Junior’s next door if you sit on the patio, replete with mister fans!) but avoid the food. The pizzas are ok for the price but very greasy and the rest of the food is way over priced. The $ 5 bruschetta at Happy Hour –three small slices of toasted french bread with a dab of tomato and basil was particularly frustrating. If you’re there for happy hour and absolutely must eat, the hummus/​queso combo seemed reasonable and was tasty.
I’ll go back, but it won’t be for the tiny $ 12 salad

I went into Krave having little expectations but was delightfully surprised. They have a great happy hour with $ 5 wines (not limited to just one red or one white) and $ 4 appetizers. They also have a Saturday happy hour that includes $ 3 flavored mimosas.
They have a large bar and ample tables. There is also a nice covered patio that could use some misters. The décor is warm and aesthetic.
I met up with Julie T. and we shared the bruschetta and the hummus on happy hour. The hummus was topped with finely cut cucumber, olives and feta cheese. The pita bread was served warm and had a flavorful seasoning. This was the fav of the two dishes. The bruschetta was chock full of fresh tomato, drizzled in balsamic and topped with a sliver of mozzarella. It was OK but I prefer bruschetta to have at least a hint of garlic. The Bogle Syrah was decent for $ 5 and Julie seemed to enjoy her mango mimosa.
If you have trouble parking in this area, there is a free parking Garage around the corner.