Cravings Market Restaurant

Great lunch place in the south part of Calgary. A little hidden gem.
It reminded me a little of the large market type restaurant that I used to frequent downtown.
The best part of the way they do things here is the card system.
It definitely cuts down on the line ups and waiting.
We ordered items from the salad and sandwich bar but I was conflicted because the pizzas look fabulous as well!
Staff was friendly and food was really good. I will definitely be going here again.

Wednesday morning, quiet atmosphere, lots of available tables. Good place for a small business meeting. The atmosphere mimics that of an outdoor bistro, with outdoor lighting, plants, and a small gazebo. Now it’s time to try the food!

A great place to eat for any meal. Great variety! Interesting idea! Amazing food. My only beef is that it’s a tad expensive.

I come here a lot — everything from breakfast meetings, coffee dates and a little alone time to grab a bite and catch up on work.
The food is great — so many choices — and the staff are very attentive.
It’s a great place for large groups or small one on one meet ups.
I’ve never used them for any catering but I would.
It’s always a positive experience.

This place has went downhill over the past couple of years. I ordered a large latte — got a large cup of boiling hot milk. My spinach salad was just a large bowl of spinach with one piece of fruit in it. The Fish and Chips my son ordered were worse than McCains frozen fries and 2 tiny pieces of fish — looked like chicken fingers. His smoothie was undrinkable — it began to separate within a couple of minutes and it tasted like powder. I brought a pizza home for my other kids and they said — this is the worst pizza ever. I will not be returning. For the prices they charge — I expect good food, not fast food.

I have been here many-​a-​time and I think it’s great. Like really, love it.
The «market» concept is super easy, so basically you get a card and can walk around and choose all of the delicious things you want to eat. Everything from amazing salads (which is what I get 99.9% of the time, three huge salads for like $ 9), pizza, pasta, butter chicken — it’s all there.
Yesterday we went for Mother’s Day Brunch and it was fantastic! A great buffet, amazing dessert options (INCLUDING MACARONS. Oh my god, macarons), salads forever and great service.
My mum loved it, my sister (who’s seventeen and picky) ate an entire plate of bacon and said it was «unreal» and my brother was pleased.
It was a great brunch! But go there for lunch or dinner too. So great.

I really loved this restaurant, and was really excited to go apply for a job here! I recently went to drop off a resume in store. I was looking for a serving or hostess job. The lady, whom I assume was the manager, legally told me she could not TALK TO ME due to the fact I didn’t have a pro-​serve. After telling her I would be more than happy to get one if I was offered a position, she refused to take my resume, and asked me to leave. As I was leaving she told me that I would not even get a interview in another restaurant until I had the pro-​serve, and then re-​instating. Not once did she apologize. She was overall very rude about the whole event, when I was still nice, and understanding of what she was saying. This situation has completely ruined my opinion about this restaurant. Will not be going back.

We called in to make a reservation for New Year’s Eve and the hostess on phone indicated that we shouldn’t come as they will ‘probably’ be really busy and they want to go home early so best not to come in. Great! Please let the owners know! OMG!

Hadn’t heard if this place before but apparently they’ve been around for 9 years. We were lost upon entering. Didn’t know about the card system and just walked up to the counter. No biggie there. The menus were appealing with lots if choice. Customizable too. The two big knocks I had against this place were the prices. About 16 bucks a meal plus drinks. Even for a quick light lunch. I think to come here often the pricing needs to drop about 3 bucks a plate. Our bill for two people came to 55 dollars including one glass of wine and an iced tea. The location is okay but a little far from Chinook mall. Lots of parking however. All in all a decent place to visit once in a blue moon but the prices will prevent me from becoming a regular.

I’ll admit, I find the concept here is super strange. I like the round the world upscale food court thing though but the ordering is weird and I admit it sets off my germies alarm. Everyone is given a card when you walk in. You walk up the cooking station, read the menu/​specials and then hand your cook your card when you want to order something. Front of the house then knows where people with that card are seating and you have a running tab for when you leave to pay at the exit. The germie pings happen when I think about all the public people holding these cards and then passing them to the food service staff that immediately starts cooking without hand washing. Eww. I’m sure worse things happen all the time else where but i actually get to see this and get confronted with this when I order. I ordered a Oktoberfest special and it was a cheese dish with egg noodles and it was delicious. I also had prezel bits which were good but very little prezel for the price in my opinion and much of the two dips were wasted and I imagine that’s the most expensive part of the dish to make. The deserts were great though… I think mine was a chocolate torte and I could eat those everyday (but glad I can’t). Overall I would come back as it’s great food.

The problem with Cravings is that it’s a complete crapshoot. You’ll either have a great evening with great food, or a really mediocre one. Because of this, we have decided to give it a break for a while since we have gradually seen the quality of both the food and service falter over several years.
The first time I came here I was blown away. Outstanding food, the kindest waitress, and great seating. After that? Not so much. It seemed to steadily decline in quality with each subsequent visit. The last time we were here, we were seated by the woman whom I assume in the manager, but the location was BAD. It was just the two of us, and we were seated at a table for 4 right along the edge of the aisle, with everyone walking by and brushing up against my chair. First fail on their part– and no, they were not busy. It was a Tuesday night and there almost a dozen other places they could have seated us. What the heck?!
After that, we got up to order (as is customary, you get a little card that they swipe at the stations and it adds your order up as you go). I’m a vegetarian, so there are a few options here for me but not nearly as many as I’d like to see. You’d think as a «fresh market restaurant» they’d have more things made without meat…
Drinks: they didn’t do a good job. At all. I reiterate that it was a Tuesday night and it was not busy. It took well over 20 minutes for them to bring us the two drinks we ordered (quite simple ones too, not rocket science) and the worst part was that we could see the bar the whole time and the drinks were sitting there for almost 10 minutes in plain sight. No waitress. I almost got up to get them myself. When she finally brought them to the table, she wasn’t apologetic at all. Hmm.
The food (when it finally got to us) was just not good. I have had so much better from them before. My dish, The Garden «Na’an-wich» was half grilled and soggy and my salad had more dressing than leaves. My boyfriend ordered the Lobster Ravioli, but it arrived without lobster. How can you possibly forget the main ingredient? If it was because they ran out of it, they should have let him know– he would rather change the order than have it arrive half completed. I’m starting to think that much of their «fresh market food» is pre-​frozen, which is incredibly disappointing given the price. As Chris S. said, this place feels like a Sunterra knock-​off.
We will not be returning for a while, that’s for sure!

As can sometimes be the case here on Unilocal,the ‘point 5′ is needed. Just not quite a 4 here.
For those unfamiliar with the setup: when seated, you are given a card (similar to a hotel door card). A server takes your drink order, and you go to one of the prep stations (about six) to order. There’s a meat one, a pasta one, a salad one. Perhaps too generalized, but you get the idea. Since you talk directly to the person preparing, some customization is possible. You tell them your order, and they swipe your card. You sit back down, and your food is delivered.
I have eaten here probably half a dozen times. The food is consistently good. Fresh, temperature appropriate, very well presented. We have tried most things from the different stations, and indulged in dessert about half the time. Serving size errs on the ‘too much’ side, which certainly isn’t a problem for me.
Never a problem parking. Room is lit well, and the one time we ate on the patio, very nice. Restrooms clean and easy to find. Different but comfortable seating.
On the flip side, and a couple of common themes echoed in other reviews, are price and service.
The prices are just a ‘bit too much’. Nothing exorbitant, but noticeable. Service can be a bit of a wildcard. Never bad, rather ranging from acceptable to great. I have never received Bad service, but the odd time there is the server who would rather be somewhere else. On that topic, the cooks behind the counter could stand some charm lessons.
A bit different if you would like to try something so.

Went here once for lunch about 5 years back. I had fettuccine alfredo. It was good but really overpriced. This place is a Sunterra knock off. You go to whatever station and order your food, but here is where it is weird: once you order it converts to table service and you now have a half waiter that demands a full tip.

I go to Cravings with coworkers every few weeks for a beer and a bite. I have tried a few different things already. The Butter Chicken I had a bit ago was very bland, which perhaps I could have expected. So I tried a chicken sandwich the next time which was good, but it was just a chicken sandwich and hard to ruin.
The last two times I went with the panini/​salad combo. I love the broccoli salad (broccoli, apple, cranberries, onion) and I will have that again. The paninis have been a split decision however. The first was another bland dish, lacking seasoning or a good spread and the second was a nice flavour.
The service is usually quick and the panini combo is only $ 10.45, which no one could argue with.

I love Cravings! I’ve been coming here for a few years now and I really enjoy the restaurant for many reasons.
The restaurant is set up like a little EUropean street (inside) with different ‘vendors’ that offer a variety of food choices. There is a lot to choose from, so it is really well suited to people dining out together that have different tastes. The portions are generous and the prices are fair. The quality of food is reliable and consistent.
I feel relaxed when I come here, the environment is causal and the experience of the card system they use is fun and convenient. During the day the restaurant is bathed in sunlight, and at night there a lots of little twinkling lights, just like you’re really eating on a Euro patio.
On one occasion, I was disappointed with my meal. I shared this with the manager, I was not charged for the meal, and I was also given a gift certificate for the value of the meal. He told me he would give my feedback to the kitchen, and encouraged me to come back and try the meal again. I was not disappointed.
All in all, I really enjoy Cravings. I have taken friends, family and dates here and no one has been disappointed. My favourite meal is the Portobello Stack, and my favourite side is the mashed potatoes (I don’t even like potatoes, these are amazing!).
Also, they have a wonderful salad selection.
Recently my diet became gluten and grain free, the kitchen staff was able to accommodate me with no problems.
If you are laid back and love to eat in peace, this is a great place to go. They are also open a bit later than most places which I love because I never manage to make it to dinner before 8pm. Only one downside, they are closed on Sundays :(my laziest day!

First, my real rating is more 3.5 than 3. It’s simply that I don’t find the service particularly astounding and the food a bit too pricey as explained below.
Cravings Market is a open resto concept not unlike the popular Moevenpick in Toronto and Ottawa. Instead of the menu coming to you, you go to the menu at a set number of stations, such as pastas, soups, salad, s desserts, coffees and the like. It’s not too unlike a mall Food Court or the famous Singapore Food Markets, except that you go to each station, your order gets put onto a card, and then you pay at the end of the meal at the cashier at the door.
I used to go to the Montréal Moevenpick all the time (and the Toronto and Ottawa ones as well), as I enjoyed the stations, especially as they were usually manned by someone who would specialize at that dish as opposed to a resto. However, it does get to be really pricey really quickly.
The food overall is fairly good. Not one of the best, but still whole and heatty, Portions are also decent, and I especially like the soup area.
Overall, it’s decent, but just find it a little too expensive for the food. Still, for a snack, a quick lunch or dessert, it’ll do in a pinch. There are also theme nights during the week whereas certain stations are cheaper during the week.
Oh, on early Saturday brunch, it’s breakfast a la carte, with service just like any normal resto.

Cravings is different than most other places. I like the marche style and they fact they have so much variety. I also love that everything is made to order so its fresh and tasty. Its great for groups as the «card» system you have tracks exactly what you’ve ordered… no dissection of a bill required!
During my most recent visit I had the Friday special of beef, a mini yorkie pudding and seasonal veggies. I chose the sweet potato fries as the side (okay, that doesn’t really «go» but I had a «craving» Ha!). The boyfriend had the steak sandwich and the child who is rapidly creeping into adult menus, had the half rack of Dr Pepper BBQ ribs. He finished his whole plate which means they did something right!
The three of us also indulged in dessert — something we rarely do. The boys had chocolate high five cake (a giant slab of über rich choc cake) and I had the pecan pie. To. Die. For.
There is a real casual elegance to this place. So much so you can almost forget it is located on the edge of an industrial area. The only thing I’d improve is maybe make the servers a little more attentive and also make the paying for the bill at the front cash area go a little more smoothly-​it can be a bottleneck.

I gave Cravings 3 stars, only because my family and I have been coming here for a few years now and they still don’t seem to recognize as being regulars.
I’ve been to other restaurants only a few times and they already know what our favorite dishes are off the menu.
If you haven’t been to this restaurant before, it’s a scaled back version of the Movenpick type eateries like the one that use to be in downtown T.O. before it closed. The concept isn’t new, rather taken from other ones found in other restaurants from down east.
When you walk in the door, each guest gets what looks like a credit card. You get seated at your table, then a waiter/​waitress takes your drink order. You then take your individual «credit card» looking thingy to whatever food station you would like to order from. For example they have a main grilling station where they prepare steaks, chicken, burgers, ribs, etc. They take the card from you and they «swipe it» and it records what you have ordered onto it. There are approx. 5 or so different stations. A pasta station, pizza, soup & salad station, and a desert area with coffee bar.
I actually don’t mind the concept behind eating at Cravings, especially if you have kids. My son, who is 9 yrs. old takes his card up to the pizza station and orders his on his own. My wife goes up and orders her soup and salad at another staion. I wait with my soon to be 4 year old, and when they get back to the table I go and order my half roasted chicken dinner at the main kitchen area. When and if you go there, you’ll know where I’m talking about.
The half roasted chicken, comes with your choice of mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes and seasonal veggies. All for around $ 18.00. It’s the best value IMHO on the entire menu. They’ve sold out on one occasion when Ive been there.
I’ve only been disappointed once with the quality of the food at Cravings. I don’t know what happened that day, the food just didn’t taste right. We didn’t say anything, and didn’t return for about 6 months. I have to say we have since returned, and have seen a slight improvement with the overall qulity of the food.
Will we return to Cravings? yes we probrably will. Do we care for the service? it could be better !

What I like best about Cravings Market Restaurant is that there is something for everyone.
Not for the hoity toity. You will have to find your supper at one of the many stations, but can «Mix and Match» whatever you want and it’s perfect for anyone with an allergy.
I am especially fond of the sweet potato fries with chipotle may (?) and their wide variety of fresh salads. Pick 3 salads for a mixed plate.
Pasta is always a good choice too.
The take groups and have a wine tasting nights, deserts and coffee at the front … and Wi-​Fi.

I finally had a chance to return to Cravings and this time I had lunch. I’ve upgraded my rating because the experience and food was just what I was hoping for.
I arrived at 11:30am and good thing because I got a nice window seat before the crowd arrived. The Market was full by noon. I had a lobster wrap which was very thick and tasty. I also ordered a side of broccoli salad which had green apple, sesame seeds, cranberries and substantial dressing. The combo is different but just as good as my recipe and I really enjoyed it. The portions were so large that I had enough leftover for a filling second meal. I paid just under $ 15 with tip and think it was reasonable. My lunch buddy had a piping hot dish of pasta and even though I didn’t ask him how he liked it, it certainly looked delicious.
I love that you never have to fuss over the bill because you have your own charge card. This is a great lunch destination.