It was a decent evening at Cru. I was somewhat disapointed as based on the previous reviews I was expecting so much more.

The room is beautiful. It is softly lit and the music playing softly in the background provides a very welcoming and cozy setting for dinner. We arrived just before 6:00 and there were only 2 tables seated. The waiter gave us a table at the back far away from the other tables and we did not have anyone sitting near us until we were almost finished our dinner. That was great. The service from the staff was very good considering how busy the restaurant got as the evening progressed. We ordered a baguette to go with our dinner as it is not included if you have the small plates. We commented to our waitress that it was somewhat dry and it was like eating day old bread, she was very good about giving us another order (dry again) and she said that she would not charge us for the baguette. Our wine and water were topped up constantly during the course of the evening. Good quality checks on the food throughout the evening as well.

For dinner we had small plates:

Sauteed mushrooms on brioche with aged cheddar and salad - this was very good with a generous serving of mushrooms - $11.00

Miso sable fish with Kale and pureed cauliflower - beautiful presentation and the fish was nice and moist, a very small portion but probably in line for the price charged - $14.00

Duck Confit with goat cheese spatzle and cabbage - skin on the duck leg was nice and crispy and the meat very juicy and well cooked. Spatzle and cabbage complimented the meat nicely - $16.00

Syrah braised beef shortribs with macaroni and cheese. - meat was very tender and well prepared, very small serving of macaroni and cheese accompanied this dish. A bit on the high side price wise $18.00

Cavatelli Bolognese - this was my husband's favorite dish. I found it a bit salty - $13.00

For dessert - Little Goat Cheesecake with spiced pumpkin and cashew nut granola. Very good but as one other reviewer mentioned very small and not good value at $8.00.

Dinner with a bottle of wine was $140.00 + before tip. Not outrageously priced but I think the value could be better. We would probably return but Vancouver has so many really outstanding restaurants that it might be awhile.

I took my employee here for a goodbye dinner and we were excited to eat here. We were given a one page menu and when we asked for items we saw online on the regular menu that were more expensive, we were told that those were not available, just the DOV menu was. NO where on the website did it say this...so first disappointment. We had limited choices and none were that appealing. But we were already here.

We both settled on the Caesar cellar salad and the croutons were delicious. Romaine is Romaine after all...we both ordered the Duck Breast that was an extra $5.00 each. It was a small non crispy fairly flavourless breast with something akin to a small slice of bread pudding and a GREY smear of sweet potato puree (grey???) with a few dribbles of something red. Tiny portion and none of it memorable. There was absolutely no choice of dessert except one which was a chocolate cardamom pannacotta with 2 teeny cookies. My guest who is 6 mths pregnant didn't find the pannacotta appealing and when she asked if she could have the creme brule instead was flatly told NO.

Soon another table was seated beside us and they too were shocked at the limited menu and they also asked if they could order from the regular menu and pay the higher prices, but were also told NO. They in short order decided to leave and eat elsewhere and I wish we had done the same for a "special farewell" dinner that was not special. I won't return.

I went with my wife and two good friends for Dine Out 2012 based on the reviews and awards they had. Overall, I really enjoyed what I ordered, but unfortunately my wife was not as lucky. She ordered the Natural Pork Tenderloin. Some of the pieces were completely raw (not pink). She asked the kitchen to recook the portions that were raw. They brought back the plate with a slight problem. Here's a simple kitchen "common sense" question: if you have four pieces of meat, three pieces are pink and one is raw, which piece would you recook? Logically, you would recook the raw piece and not touch the pink ones right? Nope! I guess the kitchen doesn't have any common sense apparently. They recooked all four pieces which means that the three pink pieces are now overcooked and white and the raw piece is now perfectly pink! Secondly, it was the tenderloin that needed attention, not the couscous. It came back completely dry! Where is your head guys? Do you lower your standards because it is Dine Out? Mostly, I choose future visits to restaurants by what they serve at Dine Out. Sorry CRU, I will not be coming back to visit you again. You lost a future customer because you did not use basic culinary common sense.

UPDATE: I posted my concerns on the Cru's FB Page. Serving raw pork, lack on culinary common sense...in less than 5 minutes after I posted, they deleted my comments. What a bunch of @$$ holes.

After reading all the positive reviews here, we decided that we must try this place. We planned it weeks ahead and was looking forward to it as the days go closer. I was very excited and couldn't wait to get together with my friends and enjoy a nice dinner together.
But...boy was it a disappointment.
The restaurant was small and crammed. Kinda noisy since everybody can hear what everybody was talking about.
The service was good. Our French server was trying his best and he treated everybody fairly.
As for food, I'm rolling my eyes right now. We all ordered the prix fixe for $42. We had onion soup, salad, beef carpacio as appys. For entres, we had smoked pork tenderloin, beef tenderloin and ling cod. I didn't hear any mmmm's at the table. I knew something was wrong. The soup was good but not the best. The salad was average. The carpacio melted in our mouths.
The pork tenderloin was miniscule, approx. a size of a quarter and there were 3-4 pieces. Oh I was so full afterwards! j/k It came with some mush stuff which I hoped was mashed potatoes but it wasn't. Beside it was some satee onions? I dunno, it was super salty and ridiculous. The dish also came with a decent sized pork belly on the top. It was dry, tasteless and inedible. I was not too happy about it cuz in my opinion, pork is supposed to be the tastiest meat. Btw, I didn't ask for pork belly! The beef tenderloin was kinda dry. It was supposed to be medium rare but it turned out one side was more cooked than the other. Wth? The ling cod was ok, it did not melt in our mouths.
For desserts, we had creme brulee, chocolate cake and cookies. Their creme brulee was average and cold. And the rest was ok.
So overall, it was a disappointment. I don't remember the last time I had a bad meal at a fine dining restaurant.
Oh yeah, the only good thing was their comp. warm fresh baguette. But their crust were abit too soft.

I have been here twice. The first time, the food was incredibly tasty. The second time, the food was good but not that impressive. This accounts for my "solid" rating rather than anything higher. However, judging from the crowds they get each evening (the place is hard to get into without reservation), my second visit may not be a typical experience here. Everything else -- service, ambience, and wine selection -- is excellent. You won't be disappointed.

Cru offers a very pleasant dining experience in a intimate dining room with comfortable booths, chairs & cushions. I especially like the two-seater low-back booths/mini-sofas for the 4~5 top tables on one side of the restaurant. The use of the mirrors along one wall makes the place appear more open then it is. The lighting is nicely bright-to-dim without being florescent-bright while not being candlelit-dark either.

You won't be made to feel underdressed nor too overdressed in this casual elegance that seems to make it work both ways. The excellent unassuming & unintrusive service helps to make you feel at ease as well.

The prices are actually pretty good for the type of service & plating work and fresh ingredients you get. The $36 3-course price fix is very reasonable with relatively healthy portions (compared to some other like establishments) though, obviously, not trucker-sized portions nor is it enough to satisfy someone on an Atkin's diet or what have you.

The food is good, but not exceptional. Every dish is well-prepared and the pastry tart/flan (not the raspberry lemon/custard tart one, but the other that's made entirely differently but at the moment, I can't quite remember exactly what it was) is nicely crisped, fluffy and light (I suspect it's made with some rice pastry wrap) which I did prefer much over the raspberry tart they are also currently offering on their menu.

I can see how noisy it can get when the place fills up, and though I love the design of the place, I'm not crazy about being able to hear every bit of the conversations when I'm not actively filtering them out, between the two tables on either side of mine but that seems to be the trend of most upscale restaurants these days.

Food was good, but not outstanding. None of the dishes really stood out, but they were all tasty. We split 5 dishes between three people, although Cru isn't really much of a tapas place.. regardless we were all still decently full by the end of the night.

Started off with the caesar, which was pretty standard tasting. The pieces of lettuce were big and had to be cut with a knife, and the croutons were toasted pieces of bread rather than the usual hard store bought ones.

We also ordered the hand-cut frites, which were served with something that looked like and probably was mayo. The plate was pretty big, and the fries were good. They were soft and tasted more potatoey than regular fast food fries.

The Calamari, which was tender and gooddd.

The Beef Short Rib w/mac and cheese. Decent... but kept reminding me of Memphis Blues, which when I think of gives me the feeling of being overly stuffed.

The Lamb Chop. The Lamb was nice. Very pink and nicely spiced. The spätzle it came with... not so great.

Service was slow to start. After we got our drinks and were ready to order, the waiter didn't show up for a while. But when we got his attention everything was smooth after that.

The blue lights make the place seem cheesy when spotting the place while driving by, but beyond that little foyer, the restaurant looks pretty good. It's small and intimate, dim but not dark. Nice place to take a date, although it was a little loud because of the size of the place. Be sure to make reservations before coming.

All the food is kind of on the verge of being really really good, but just falls short a little. I'd like to come back and sample some of the other dishes to see if one really shines.

I really wanted to give Cru a big thumbs up, but disappointingly, that didn't really transpire. Gastropod, my last fine-dining experience was just more innovative, elegant, and attentive in the service department.

Service: Waaaaay too laid back, someone was late in greeting us at the door. Servers wore their own clothes, which contributed to a bistro type feel, but they just didn't look sharp or snappy. No one offered to take my jacket.

Ambiance: The restaurant is narrow, but amply cushioned by thick bench wall-seating and lighting covers so the acoustics were of a tolerable level. The front door felt like entering an apartment complex - black steel framed door with a matching pleated door handle- largely unimpressive first impression. Also the wine glass was dusty and my water glass had a chip in it! Overall, the dining room was comfortable, albeit lacking a bit in polish.

Food: Tried their $42 Prix Fixe Menu: Beef Tenderloin Carpaccio with caperberries, truffle aioli was quite good. The beef was buttery soft and was a complmentary constrast to the sharpness of the caperberries and parmesan shavings. Very nice. The lamb loin was served a bit cold - the cold basil pistou with port reduction just didn't jive with me. The baby green beens and roasted cauliflower was nicely done. The spatzle had a weird rubbery texture - left most of it on my plate. The creme brulee was not the best I ever had, needed more vanilla bean and the caramelized topping was too thick.

A nice relaxed restaurant with adequate food and service, but nothing to write home about either.

This restaurant is perfect for people who like to eat small portions and likes multiple courses. Small restaurant, but great small dishes! We had the 4 course small dish celebration menu with the wine pairing (4 glasses) The food was excellent..

Service was abit slow and unattentive.

Every time when you go to a restaurant like this don’t expect a good value. But the quality at CRU is definitely up to par

I would say Cru is the best small restaurant in Vancouver

Food: there is not so many choice but Taste is above average. I try the beef. Meal very soft and juicy. Excellent job.

Service: Excellent. the lady who service us is very patience, friendly and simile.

Ambiance: It's small restaurant, I would say there is only 15 tables there. However, i feel very confortable. Actually, that is fancy restaurant but it doesn't have dress code. I can see all people enjoy there.

Good to try. Expecially for first dating.