the crest gastropub

this place is the bomb!. we visited on a thursday during the second week since they've opened. i. love. this. place. the food was delicious (best hamburger i've had in a darn long time), the servers are very well informed about thebeer(and even tequila!) and patient when we were trying to decide what to drink.

there's a great patio, but even if you're sitting inside, the huge windows bring in a lot of light. overall, the vibe is casual but very convivial. i'm really glad this place opened up.

i've been to crest twice since moving to columbus and they never fail to impress. the food is phenomenal. the menu is full of such a wide variety of flavors. thebeerselection is huge and the wait staff does very well with recommending abeerthat fits your taste. it can be busy on the weekends but don't let the wait keep you from going. there's a reason everyone goes to crest. if atmosphere is important to you (don't lie you know it is) crest has that too. they have it all. i don't have a single negative thing to say about this place, it really has it all.

not bad, not great. this is one of the few times i wish the us app had an indifferent vote. hung at the bar waiting for table. cool scene & good cocktails. had the ebb & flow which i would recommend. our group was seated outside, also chill. shared apps, both good, i had the fish, well prepared. service was lacking. he forgot sides ordered for all. had to request drinks that were forgotten. once those came, realized he never put in my earlierbeerorder. requested it 3 times, it finally came after we were done eating. also, with the craftbeerboom, i've seen many places local & abroad with significantly broaderbeerlist. may need to rethink gastropub label. if you were in a small town, this place would probably be your best option. unfortunately for them, there are so many choices & new places always popping up so they would be low on my "gotta ge back list." probably better to hang at the bar during happy hour than dining.

disappointed. this was my second attempt at the crest, and i don't believe there'll be a third, at least not for a meal. the menu has been completely revamped and is a bit pricier than i remember, but on the other hand, it was happy hour so we were able to save a little on half-priced draft beers. on my first trip, i thought it was odd that i had to request abeermenu. this trip, there was a nicely detailed menu on the table. in addition to the new menu, the lighting/layout seems a bit different now, in a (mostly) good way. the only downside about the layout is the noise. holy cow, is it loud in there. being close enough to my neighbor to practically bump elbows didn't help.

the food - man, the crest really drops the ball here. wife had a pasta with veggies. menu promised broccoli, leeks, and i don't recall what else. instead, there was the equivalent of about a single spear of asparagus chopped up into a few pieces. not at all what she was looking forward to, and seriously overpriced at $16. i opted for the special - braised short rib w/ risotto, carrots, and peas. the waitress asked how i wanted my meat cooked which surprised me a little as i didn't realize you could braise meat to order. since she asked, i requested it medium rare. it came out as i would've expected - very well done. it was also very delicious, though, so put one in the win column. the risotto, on the other hand... wife says, "it just looks like rice." that's right, it does... because it's severely undercooked. guys, risotto takes time and energy to prepare, and should never, ever be crunchy.

we'd had enough fun for the evening so we opted to take dessert to go. white chocolate carrot cake for me, ricotta cheesecake for wife. $7 each. both had decent flavor, but also the tiniest portions of dessert i've ever seen. our waistlines were ok with less, but for $7....? next time i want carrot cake, i'll just swing by wildflower cafe a couple miles north and pay $4 for the slab of carrot cake that i can't finish in one sitting.

i really want to love the crest. but... no.


-----28 oct, 2013-----

unsure.... ...what exactly the crest is or wants to be. based on the very mixed crowd, i'd say that it wants to be something for everybody, and that's great. i've just never been to a place with such a high concentration and equal mix of yuppies and hipsters. interesting.

we'd been waiting for the hub-bub to die down some so that we could get (a) parking and (b) food without an hour wait. no doubt this place is popular right now.

service - good. attentive, friendly. i was surprised that, given the reputation forbeerselection, there wasn't a draft list on the table. had to request one. other than that, dude knew his stuff.

one observation about the service - some of them don't seem to like each other, and it shows. i witnessed some uncomfortably overt passive aggressiveness complete with eyerolls and snark. c'mon guys, at least put on a happy face while you're on the floor, hm?

food - wasn't bad. i do have to say that the best part of the meal, for me, was the warm bretzel pretzels. the rest...ok, but nothing super amazing. wife had fish tacos, they were cold. i had pastrami which was tasty, but being not especially tolerant to salt, i knew better than to order it. did it anyway. if you like pastrami, this was a good one, well balanced with cheese and rye. one note - the bread seemed a bit stale. *shrug*

overall, it was ok. i don't know if it's something i'll seek out for more than an occasional beer, but i can definitely see why people like it.

oh man,,,,,,,,im torn, i want to love this place soooooooooo damn bad!. what a great looking restaurant with a great vibe, awesome enthusiastic bartenders, great beer, fun neighborhood,,,,,,,,,,,,,,if only they would just quit messing with their food so damn much. they just need to learn that simple is sometimes the best and if you try to jazz up classic dishes with their little "twists", more often than not they will fall short. i love thebeerpart of their menu, great selection, has to be one of the best in columbus! i love a good caesar salad, and when theirs came out of the kitchen on a rustic wooden board, it was really really impressive to say the least, but one taste and i was ready to scream "whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy"? who back in the kitchen puts some spicy chipotle like dressing on something like a caesar salad? i don't want surprises, i just want a friggin classic salad. had they dressed this salad in the traditional way, it may have been the best c salad ive ever eaten! while im thinking about it, don't even think about ordereing a bloody mary at this place, as it is about as far from a bloody mary as you will ever drink..... it was terrible as evidenced by the 4 half drunk glasses left on our table when we departed. awesome french fries and like the crest burger better than the bison burger, but again,,,,, those sauted with something i couldn't recognize onions don't belong on either one of them. this place could be a top ten in columbus if they would just quit messing with their food. i really hope they get it figured out, because they are some really good people here, and ill keep coming back , for thebeerat least, but i want soooooo much more from this place. try it, really, don't let this review turn you away. try it for yourself, just ask a lot of questions if you don't understand exactly how the dish you are ordering is going to be prepared.

very disappointed. we dined at the crest recently and we were so disappointed in the food and service. this was our third time there. the first time, we had to get ourbeerat the bar because our server who said she would be back, never came back. we asked nearby patrons if we could see their menus. she kept saying she would be back and after 55 minutes, we told her we had to go. we gave it another try as it was relatively new our first time. we went back a second time and had an enjoyable meal. the third time, we had the mushroom pate and it was bland. they give only two pieces of bread for all that pate. we asked for more and it took almost 30 minutes for that to arrive (no embellishment). we didn't want all our food on the table at once so we waited to order but we ended up with our pate (still waiting for the bread), our salad and entree all at once. we waited 20 minutes when we ordered wine. we just got excuses when we asked where it was. there is no excuse for excuses. the beet salad was o.k. but the mahi mahi kabob was way over cooked and the bell peppers were burnt completely black. we understand the restaurant is busy (and this wasn't even a weekend) but there were enough employees and yet we had to be there two hours. too bad.

what a gem!. oh my. i am so glad we discovered this place! food is delicious, creative, and locally-sourced. we split the silver platter appetizer, with pimiento cheese dip, pickled veg, caper berries wrapped in duck prosciutto, and stuffed grape leaves...all excellent. i had the kimchi hot dog, which featured thinly-sliced granny smith apples and red pepper relish. very good! the highlight of my meal, however....the sweet potato fries! where have these been all my life? thin, crispy on the outside, and perfectly soft and tender on the inside, served with a delicious housemade aioli. greatbeerlist. we'll be back!

pretty good. the crest is a nice place. thebeerselection is top-notch. the food is good, although i'm not sure it warrants all of the accolades it receives. it's standard upscale pub fare - no better but no worse. service was good. ah, that "wait." well, not much to complain about there when you choose to go a place that does not take reservations on the weekends. it's too bad there isn't more room at the bar to sit or stand, as standing outside the restrooms is a tad annoying. but, again, what can you do.
having lived in clintonville for almost a decade but gone now for several years, i'm glad to see a place of this caliber in the ville.

great food, awesomebeerselection. i particularly appreciate the emphasis and attention place on local beers and spirits.

one of my new favorites. finally made it to the crest with a group of friends. it was a weeknight and the place was still packed. the only downside was that we had 6:30 reservations, but were made to wait until 7:00 to be seated. it was a bit annoying, but we used that time to sit at the bar and check out their incrediblebeerselection. it has to be one of the best in the city. the bartenders were all friendly and knowledgeable, and were willing to give samples of whatever you were interested in.

once seated, our server quickly came over. he was very friendly and helpful too. he suggested that we order another drink as happy hour was ending in the next few minutes, which we appreciated. drafts are half off during happy hour. our server gave suggestions based on our preferences, and he hit every one of them out of the park. the standouts at the table were the mac & cheese (add prosciutto) and the pulled pork burger. the mac & cheese was one of the best things i have ever tasted. and both the beef and the pork on the burger melted in my mouth. both of these dishes were around $10 and worth every penny.

other dishes that were recommended to us were the lamb burger, the bison burger and the prawns. i will have a hard time ordering anything other than mac & cheese or the pulled pork burger, but i hope to go back to the crest again and again until i try everything. this place was wonderful.

2 visits...and done.. pros:beerlist, goat cheese balls were awesome
cons: burger tasted like frozen meat, serving a salad on a cutting board is ridiculous.

awesome!. my wife and i stopped in for dinner. on our walk into the restaurant no less than 3 smiling happy employees engaged us and said hi, how are you? . we had a brief wait for a table (maybe 10 minutes and they were busy). a waitress promptly came and asked us if we wanted drinks. thebeerlist is ridiculously big and impressive. she quickly returned with our drinks. we were sat down at the table and the 1st waitress found us and we settled out tab with her- again very, very friendly. then you get to the food. we had the chorizo/potatoes which comes in a cast iron skillet. the chorizo was sweating some kind of amazing hot sauce. we next had the pretzels with the homemade mustard that was fantastic. the last bit to eat was a split crest burger that could not have been better. the ingredients were very fresh, the burger was cooked perfectly- highly recommend this burger to anyone going to the restaurant. the last, but most important, thing to mention is how incredibly attentive the wait staff was. even people not assigned to our table would come by and clear plates and ask us for drink orders. everybody was smiling. it was just a fantastic experience. do yourself a favor and drive over to this place!

very impressed!. the last time i was at the crest it was a dive neighborhood/college bar. what a change! the atmosphere is very urban and pleasant,beerselection is almost overwhelming, and appetizers are unique and delicious. i had the pastrami sandwich, which was delicious.

disappointed !. i stopped by today because of good recommendations from my friends. the environment and service was refreshing. however thebeerprices were over the top. i was served the wrong draft beer, but was charged full price regardless it was happy hour! an organic pub with materialistic marketing, interesting ;{(

the crest is inconsistent when it comes to their food. and who ever was running the kitchen during lunch on july 5th needs to learn quality control and a little respect for the customer. our server brittany was great.beerchoices were excellent. food was hit or miss. my wife's sandwich was great while my pastrami on rye was burnt on both pieces of bread. so when brittany took it back i received the same sandwich back with in seconds from who i can only assume was a manager. they replaced to top piece but the bottom piece was the same burnt piece. i really wanted to like this place....