As the waiter laid the plate in front of me, I knew Lindsay and I had made the right choice to come to The Crafthouse. The scent of atlantic salmon accompanied with butternut squash, potatoes, baby spinach, and roasted mushrooms filled the room, and that was when I knew I had not only discovered a great dish, but my new favorite eatery in Lubbock as well.
The Crafthouse gastropub is known for having high-quality food and drink and my visit proved this statement almost instantly.
The Crafthouse website describes a gastropub as “a place where people can order tasty, reasonably priced food and good beer and liquor to go with it. The atmosphere is always comforting and unpretentious. The name gastropub suggests community.”
Nailed it.
From the moment my friend Lindsay Viola-Vu and I walked in to the moment we left (two hours later) the staff was very attentive and polite. The waiter had many suggestions in regards to the new menu The Crafthouse recently produced only a few weeks before and definitely had an insight to the ‘book’ of wine and beers the gastropub offered.
Literally, the wine and beer list was a small book. It was simply another brownie point for The Crafthouse. The dinner menu contained eleven entrees and there were plenty of salads and appetizers to compliment the meal.
Lindsay ordered the shepherd’s pie, which happened to be one of The Crafthouse’s customer favorites. I now understand why. The pie consisted of beer braised beef tips, caramelized onions, celery, baby carrots, all wrapped up in the most flaky and delicious puff pastry I’ve tasted thus far. Then to top it all off, there were mashed potatoes on top accompanied by a side salad.
Is your mouth watering yet?
The Crafthouse is a suggestion I would make for any date night, catching up with friends, or even a birthday outing. The space is smaller, but what they lack in the building they make up for in their delicious food. I will say I liked the way the gastropub was decorated. There are large chalkboards on one side of the room that have many draft options and other specials for the day. The bar is fairly large with all sorts of drink options and lots of seating space.
As far as the bill goes it has similar pricing to Ruby Tequila’s and a little cheaper than Cafe J’s. My dish was probably one of the more expensive items on the menu ($17) but I thought it was worth it due to the presentation of the food, the atmosphere and the overall quality of the food.
I’m already trying to find an excuse to return to The Crafthouse gastropub…as in this weekend. So if anyone is interested in joining me for lunch, dinner, or brunch on Sunday feel free to contact me (seriously though). It’s the hole-in-the-wall experience I’ve been waiting for ever since I came to Tech four years ago. This gastropub is a best kept secret that needs to be shared with the Lubbock community.
The Crafthouse is located at 3131 34th St. inside the shopping center next to the Yoga Bean coffee house and is opened Tuesday-Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. They are also opened on Sunday for brunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.