The Crepevine Bistro & Wine Bar

My friends took me to this cute French Bistro and wine bar, right off of Colorado Blvd. in Old Town... more

My friends took me to this cute French Bistro and wine bar, right off of Colorado Blvd. in Old Town Pasadena. My first impression of the place is... more

I LOVE this place. We have been for brunch, lunch, and dinner. The food is very fresh and well thought out. The flatbread pizzas are amazing. I especially like the artichoke asparagus one. They have a wide variety of wines that are delicious. If you are not into wine, don't let this pass you by because you see the "wine bar" part of it. The food is SO good. I just really love places that have fresh ingredients and this place always seems to have that. I feel like you get great quality food for a very reasonable price. And the owners and staff are always very warm and welcoming. They have periodic live entertainment off to a corner in the form of guitar, singing, etc. that is very enjoyable and not intruding as some live music dining can be. It adds a nice backdrop to the meal. The location is also perfect because it is very convenient if you are out on Colorado Blvd. because it is just off of it in a little alley without all the hustle and craziness. It is more relaxing and intimate there than anywhere you would find out on Colorado. I am so glad we stumbled across this place when we did and I have always been just as satisfied after every return visit. Pros: Great food, great wine, great service, great value Cons: that it isn't right around the street from my house so I can't go there every day :) more

After dinner my date took me her for my birthday. We had excellent wine with crepes. I was in heaven. Very intimate and romantic spot. I would recommend it for dates only. more

I usually frequent Vertical Wine Bistro and Bodegas. I found out about this place through here and decided to try it out last week. It met my expectations. The food selection was limited but delicious and the wines we tried were superb. I will definitely include this place in my roster of wine cafes to visit in Pasadena. Thumbs up! Pros: Wine, Desert, Ambiance Cons: Selection of Food more

I went to Crepe Vine for the first time last night, looking for a glass of wine and a small meal. This bistro recently suffered a kitchen fire and apparently changed the menu because certain things cannot be cooked there any more. But I had a wonderful evening. From great wine-by-the-glass recommendations from the chatty bartender to the friendly greeting by the owner, Kate, it was a very pleasant several hours. I had the French dip sandwich that was sort of more like a panini, served on grilled bread with the traditional dipping sauce. The green salad on the side included cherry tomatoes and olives enveloped in a mustard vinaigrette. I would hope that this bistro does not lose customers due to the menu change, because what is on there now is very good, even if it no longer includes coq au vin, etc. I will certainly be back and would encourage others to go too. more

My boyfriend left our server NO TIP. NONE. Usually I would demand he leave something, but I totally agreed that it would be sending the wrong message, being that truly bad food and slow, rude, inept and offensive service (She rolled her eyes at my boyfriend when he asked a question about a sweet crepe) are acceptable. NO, we did not like the food. No, we did not like the atmosphere, No, we did not like the slow, HORRIBLE SERVICE. I wish I had brought a bottled water with me, I was dying of thirst and getting a glass of water require the negotiating skills of a diplomat. You could dehydrate waiting for that water. So do not touch the bread, it is not worth the carbs. Wait for the fries, IF YOU CAN MANAGE TO GET THEM SERVED TO YOUR TABLE AT ALL. They are good. but fries do not a bistro make. After a long wait for our dinner we still ordered dessert, that was our mistake and the final straw. Our server brought the wrong crepe and it took 20 minutes to get it replaced. We kept trying to find our server to cancel the order so we could leave- could not find her, which is odd because this place is very very small. Very. Even half full it is nerve wracking to be so squished together while you are eating. We found another server who brought us our check. We were charged for the crepe, but did not eat it. I was just itching to get out of there. Will never return. I Do Not Recommend Crepevine. Pros: NONE. SORRY, BUT NONE. Cons: SERVICE, FOOD, LOCATED IN AN ALLEY, NOT A "GROVE" TYPE OF ALLEY EITHER. more

Well not exactly there are a few good Indian places and some decent places for lunch but this is the only place we take people in Old Pasadena. My wife and I go frequently. The Hunchback is out of this world, we love the Tartar, and the dessert crepes are all great. Great wines too. The service is always good and the owner is great. If you are in Old Pasadena or in the Pasadena area The Crepe Vine is a must. more

a small little restaurant in an alley at old town pasadena. The escargot appetizer is good. more

a small little restaurant in an alley at old town pasadena. The escargot appetizer is good. more

My boyfriend and I like to try "new" places at least once a week. This has been going on for 6 months and this restaurant has been my favorite... BY FAR! From the service... the hostess was extremely friendly... we did not wait one second for our table (we did have reservations). Our server, Carrie was funny and knowledgeable about the menu. Even more impressive, the owner Kate was making the rounds seeing how everyone was doing. Really a nice touch. Sitting outside was great... plenty of people watching on a Friday night... not to mention you are somewhat secluded from the main street traffic (Colorado), so the background noise was minimal. We tried the steak tartare (best I've ever had!) and the Shrimp Diane (absolutely delicious). But my favorite was the Steak Frites... MELT IN YOUR MOUTH!!! So good. We may have to bend the rules and go back soon! Definetely worth checking out! more

I think Crepe Vine in Pasadena is a great little place to eat. I read the other review, and I disagree, I think their savory crepes are very tasty and the sauce was great. Normally, I would just order the sweet crepes but I thought I would give it a try and I was not dissappointed. I especially like the sweet crepes -I had one w/Gran Marnier and it was awesome. I will surely go back there and I think you should try it. Pros: Great Sweet Crepes Cons: Small space so hard to get seated more

The CrepeVine is a gem of a restaurant, hidden off the main flow of Colorado in Old Pasadena. Sure, it is small, and you sit close to your neighbors -- and you have to go around the outside to use the restroom (which by the way is clean and well maintained). But these are small inconveniences when the food is excellent, the service friendly, and the wine list extensive. The owner will remember your name, seat you herself each time you come back, and make you feel so welcome that you immediately start to relax. Human connection is half of the experience of going out to eat, isn't it? The food is wonderful -- fresh, creative, French classics with a twist. The house specialty, savory French buckwheat crepes, are especially good -- I recommend the forest mushroom. The wine list is constantly changing -- and they will let you try any wine before you buy it. But dont' just believe me -- walk by on any Friday or Saturday night, and you will see that the place is packed, sure sign that I am not the only person who loves the CrepeVine. Pros: food, ambience, personal attention Cons: bathroom outside more

Pasadena has so many great restaurants. Old Town has it's share, the places I "crave" and never tire of eating at. Thought I would try something new, so we stumbled upon Crepevine. I am always interested in finding new places to eat, so I was excited at the different concept. One problem. Well. actually more than one. The food is not good. I am being polte. Our crepes were not "savory" they were falling apart and oddly globbed with horrible sauce. Too salty and just not pleasant at all. There is nothing here to eat that I would ever "crave." The menu is heavy and fatty. We were blown away at the service, because frankly you do not run into service this bad very often. It was almost hard to believe after our third request for menu's, and forget about trying to find your waiter when your order is messed up, and it will be. Bad service ruins the dining experience as much as bad food. So I tried a new restaurant and it was a bad experience. Nothing new. It hapens. There are other restaurants that I have only been to once and never returned. You just know when the pieces don't fit. Oh, the inside is very very small. The bathrooms are not located in the restaurant but outside in the alley, and they are not used by just the patrons of this unfortunate bistro. Pros: The bar is great looking. Cons: Food. Service. Staff. more

I've been going to the Crepevine twice a month or so for almost a year now. What keeps drawing me back is the ambience, location, and overall soothing tone that the bar/restaurant sets. I haven't found a better place to read a magazine, drink wine, and eat a small meal in Pasadena on those casual afternoons or early evenings. When in the mood to eat/snack, I prefer the small appetizers and light crepes mostly. I highly recommend the patio seating when the weather is nice. The service is superfriendly. The female owner (blond) always has a smile on her face and will wait tables and do whatever to make your visit satisfying. The servers are fantastic and intriguing as well. One of the regulars (female, brunette, mid-20s, cute) has an incredibly happy aura about her and is great to strike up a conversation on those not-so-busy days. The regular bar tenders and servers really add a cozy, neighborly element that isn't so easy to find in the LA area these days. Overall, if you can tolerate a slightly pricy assortment of wines, I would recommend the place to almost anyone. Pros: ambience, people, service more

I have to say my dining experience tonight was very very disappointing. We got there and got seated outside because the place was full, that was OK for us. And then they ran out of their menus because they have a big party came in just right before we did. So we waited for at least 10-15 minutes and my Dad suggested for us to just find another place to dine. I insisted to stay because I came here once and their food was pretty decent. Although I did noticed that the wait was rather longer than most restaurants, but the first I was there was with a my friends and we weren't too hungry and able to tolarate the slow service. But tonight's experience was beyond aggravating! After we got our menu, we waited until another waitress came and took our order. Then the wait for the food...I thought it was very long and we had to request them to move us in because it was too cold outside. By the time we got our food it was already passed 30 minutes, then they forgot the fries which I had to ask for TWICE! The fries came later after we finished all our foods. After we finished eating, we had to wait for the bill, which the waitress forget, again. When she finally brought us the bill, we had to wait for her to take it and I finally had lost my patience by then. So I walked up to the counter to pay and get the change, and after another wait I had to ask my change to the waitress. And guess what? We had to wait again! Because she decided to chat and serve other customer rather than processing the cash transaction and give me the change. Finally I had to ask another waitress to get me the change. Unbelievable! The amount of torturous waiting we had to go through. Bottomline....customer service is horrible! Unless you have all the time in the world to eat for 20 minutes and wait for 2 hours, I would not recommend this place. more

Wow. I am amazed at the planted reviews posted here. I have not seen such glowing wildly over the top restaurant reviews except those reserved for L.A.'s finest- Nobu, Patina, Campanile etc. This is not a restaurant, it is a very small bar. Not charming European cafe small, but cramped shoebox small. The tiny bar is utilized with 20-something poseurs and the food they serve is some odd mix of pseudo-crepes served by surly unprofessional waiters. I know more about wine having lived in Napa for four years than the bartender I dealt with, but I would never correct his mistakes as that is kind of hostile and not my place. My friend and I watched a couple try to get served bread. This went on so long that I got up and told their waitress that her customers really wanted some bread. Sad. It should also be illegal to plant reviews of your own establishment to try and drum up business. What's the point? I don't know anyone who has ever been back for seconds. Ever. The owners of this joint are completely out of their league. They should just try being a small winebar and forget the food, as it is inedible. Pros: None. Cons: Total farce as a dining establishment. Should just stick to being a bar. more

It's good to see so many glowing reviews of the food at the Crepe Vine - unfortunately I was never given a chance to try it. I went there with some friends after work and the restaurant was nearly empty - at around 6:30PM. We asked if we could sit on the patio, since it was such a pleasant evening. We were seated, given menus, and then completely ignored. Not even a glass of water - for at least 20 minutes we sat, making eye contact with the waitress more than once, and being completely and utterly ignored. And there were about four people inside - it's not as if they were too busy to serve us. We left when it was clear that we wouldn't be eating or drinking at the Crepevine that evening. I'm sure the food is great but I don't tolerate that level of customer service, so I won't be going back. Pros: I'll never know Cons: The waitress refused to serve us more

I can't believe some of the negative reviews of this place, and I had to write my own. I imagine that their location exposes them to a lot of amateurs who don?t appreciate good food and an inviting atmosphere. Clearly the clientele of Old Town's corporate restaurants spills into the few top-notch places along the boulevard. I will assume the bad reviews were written by some of those folks. I had to share my impressions. To begin with, the owner is so lovely and gracious. I was shocked to find out that she?s the owner ? I?ve seen her bus tables, deliver food, seat people and pour wine, all with a genuine smile. I?ve never seen an owner work so hard and be so kind. I appreciate that she puts so much effort into making her customers comfortable. Her charm is matched by the food. Anyone who knows anything about the restaurant business knows that even the nicest atmosphere simply cannot overcome bad food. The food is great and surprisingly affordable for the quality. I have been there several times with friends, and so I?ve had a chance to try many things from the menu. I have never been disappointed. I was skeptical about savory crepes at first, but the stroganoff crepe is truly incredible. The wine list is also exceptional, and it manages to appeal to wine novices and experts alike. My only possible critique is that the place is small. However, I imagine that if they took out a few tables, the wait would increase, which really wouldn?t help anyone. As for comments from other posters, I don?t doubt that the Crepevine has had bad nights and made the occasional bad dish. And I?m sure their servers sometimes run out of patience and get tired of demanding customers. However, this place obviously takes pride in serving good food and making customers feel at home. I have never hesitated to recommend it to my friends. This has truly become one of my favorite restaurants, and it?s no surprise that it?s packed every time I walk by. Pros: excellent food, friendly people Cons: can get crowded more

I had been here once before, and had a fabulous time, but I was half in the bag when I arrived, so upon reading the reviews here, I thought I had perhaps missed something. I hadn't. Despite the vitriol in other reviews, I decided to give it another try, this time with a different companion and arriving totally sober. It was, in a word, excellent. Even though we arrived a mere half hour before the kitchen closed, we were not rushed in the slightest. We were greeted in a friendly manner which persisted throughout our meal. We weren't pressed to order (or NOT order) dessert, nor were we pressured to leave. The service was competent, knowledgeable, friendly, and attentive. The food was delicious and priced well. The wine list was beautiful, and they have my beloved sparkling Shiraz. After reading some bad reviews, I was dubious and perhaps more critical once I entered and even with that, I have absolutely nothing to complain about. If you are used to huge, spacious restaurants with no real character of their own and no noise other than the clink of glasses, I wouldn't recommend this establishment. However, given the quaint alley location, and the decidedly NON-trendy feel of the place, I feel that they've done an incredible job with the amount of space and the location challenges they've been given. I would not hesitate to eat here again, nor will I pause in recommending it to friends and strangers alike. Delicious food, excellent service, and a lovely wine list. What more could a person want? Pros: Food, Service, Wine List, Ambience Cons: Bathrooms in adjacent facility more