We made a reservation on Saturday night at 5:00, but showed up a little early. It's a pretty large space with two bars. We decided to sit at the main bar for dinner because it seemed more comfortable. The wine list is extensive and they have lots of options by the glass. Hubby had a pizza which he said was great. I had two small plates, the trout pate and the garlic shrimp. I can recommend both. Our bartender Ed, who is also a sommelier, was attentive and charming. The whole experience was wonderful. Highly recommended. read more

Crush Wine Bar - Trout pate - New American Near Me - Sandusky, Ohio

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Loved it! I am often suspicious of places that have a menu as wide as this one: small plates, sushi, pasta, steak, fish, they do it all. I can't tell if they can do it all, but I can tell their frutti di mare was excellent and so it was their Bolognese. Their fried calamari appetizer was good but it could use a different sauce. It is a wine bar so there are quite a few wine choices, I went with a vinho verde and loved it. The service and the atmosphere are excellent as well, a must try in Sandusky. read more

Ate here with friends for dinner last night. First things first while the prices are high, you get what you pay for here. The food was phenomenal. We both had steak and it was cooked to perfection. I rarely eat all my food and there wasn't a scrap left on either of our plates. The service speed left a lot to be desired. Took 10min just to get drinks. When my cocktail was empty she never came back to offer another. It tasted amazing and I would have definitely been down for one more. Waitress was super friendly just not super timely. We would definitely go back again. read more

This place is a gem of a find, they offer an elevated, diverse menu that has a lot of options for everyone. Tried a few dishes here and everything was on point. I really loved the fettuccine pasta and would drive back here for that dish alone. The service and ambiance are great as well, it reminds me of a big city restaurant. Sandusky is lucky to have a great restaurant like this. read more

Crush Wine Bar - New American Near Me - Sandusky, Ohio

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CRUSH is a full service restaurant focused on providing high quality food in an inviting and comfortable setting, with friendly and attentive service. The bar menu offer wines by the glass, wine flights, an extensive wine bottle list, spirits & brews. An eclectic dinner menu features small plates, entrees such as fresh pastas, grilled super thin crust pizzas, steaks, chops and daily features, as well as sushi. Centrally located in Downtown Sandusky a block from the water. Reservations are for tables only: the bar and the patio are first come, first seated. read more

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Went with a friend for dinner, the food and staff were phenomenal. We ordered 3 appetizers and 2 mains and everything was perfect. Hight recommend read more

Food was delicious, I especially liked the mixed green salad with balsamic dressing, strawberries and candied walnuts. My party had a range of options (appetizers, salads and both meat and pasta entrees) and all were good. The restaurant was busy but the service was still good. For dessert we had 4 cheesecakes and 1 mousse. The mouse was really disappointing (horrible texture, almost grainy or something) but the cheesecake was loved. Would definitely return. read more

Well we're out for the evening with some new friends. What an awesome night. They mentioned the crush wine bar said it was pretty good boy was that an under Statement. The bar/restaurant reeked ambience. The staff is very attentive and service was outstanding. We went inside to check in and we're sitting inside table. They have an outdoor seating area also that looks very nice.. I was looking at the appetizers and they had oysters. Outstanding. Yum yum.7 We ordered the beet salad that was outstanding it was a lot. Peggy ordered shrimp on a small plate. I had the filet mignon. Bottom line because I'm tired and will just get to the point and I'll wrap this up so I'm not talking too long oh I guess I should shut up. Crush Wine bar is definitely worth the stop. I would come back here in a heartbeat. The menu has lots of options. if you're in the area be sure to stop by you won't regret it. You have an awesome day enjoy your dining adventures via yelp. Thank you for reading. The old guy. read more

My first time here with a friend. She actually had been a couple time but some years ago. We ordered a mojito-nothing but lime and ice very cloudy. Expressed to our waiter I was disappointed in the drink he said oh. He left came back and I asked if I could order wine without charge for the almost full mojito. He said ok(something that should have been offered) we ordered the duck pizza it was burnt black bottom and edge. The calamari was soft but parts were seasoned well. Ordered the duck wings lots and lots of breading and ordered scallops- they were ok cooked well but little to no seasoning. Shared the carmel cheesecake it was phenomenal Parking was great read more

Wonderful Atmosphere with fun drinks and wonderful service! I would highly recommend it to anyone!!

Wine was delicious. Bread with balsamic was delicious, oysters on the half shell was ok. No we also ordered a California Roll. It tasted like the spicy tuna roll. It did not have cucumber, the meat was pink and when we complained, the wait staff and sushi person came out and said they have real crab and we were use to the imitation stuff. We did not eat it as it tasted like tuna. We were there an hour and it took 40 minutes to get a sushi roll that wasn't the roll we ordered. Experience was mediocre at best. read more

Crush Wine Bar - New American Near Me - Sandusky, Ohio

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I wish I was able to get some pictures, but I recently had an epic dinner at Crush Wine Bar! First off, shout out to my man Kevin, who took great care of our party all evening! A group of us were there for dinner, and so everyone ordered off the small plates menu and we passed everything around the table. I ate so much, I honestly can't remember everything we had, but there wasn't anything that we had that I was not thoroughly impressed with. Some of the highlights, the cheese plate, oysters, Bianco Pizza, potato cheddar pierogis, smoked trout pate, and several sushi rolls, which if I remember correctly were the surf and turf and the California roll. One member of our group also ordered the ribeye, and I was fortunate enough to get a piece of that as well, and it was cooked perfectly! And this was the food I was able to try, the truffle fries, the bread plate, and the bacon wrapped dates never made it to my end of the table, lol. I also did not partake in dessert, but heard the brownie and the pineapple upside down cake were both really good as well! I think the best part of the whole thing though was that the staff staggered when everything came out, so it felt like we were served 4 courses rather than everything coming out at once. Couple the amazing food with a really fun atmosphere, a great wine and beer list, several cocktails, and a great staff, and Crush Wine Bar just nailed it! Highly, highly recommend! read more

I don't often take the time to leave reviews, but I just had to do it this time. I was really impressed with the food here, like wow! It was so yummy, we will definitely be back to try more on the menu. Nice, warm, and comforting environment. And we really enjoyed our server slash bartender, he was really friendly and attentive. So if you're in the area, this is worth a stop, for sure. read more

The food is always consistent and amazing. We have been going there on our date nights for 15 + years because we enjoy the delicious and eclectic menu, the friendly and entertaining waitstaff and the ambiance. Their wine selection is the best in Sandusky. A great place to spend a quiet evening or have a party. There is a new addition that supports business meetings or parties. A great venue merely a few feet from Lake Erie. read more

The food and service was amazing. Shout out to our waiter Alyssa for making this a great experience. I had the sea bass special and my husband had the pork which were both fantastic. read more

We stopped in to get dinner and some nice wine. It was very warm and inviting inside. We wanted to order a bottle of wine to celebrate our birthdays. But we were told that they were all out of our selection. We asked about another but it was only sold by the glass. We kept striking out. The service was slow. It was a Saturday night but still. We ordered the salmon with couscous but waited an hour for it to reach our table. We begged our server for bread. The food was delicious and we really enjoyed it. I asked our server about the huge delay for our food. She told us that we ordered just after a party of 10 and that was the reason for the delay in getting our meals. We would love to go back but that wait for food and service has me thinking twice. read more

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The restaurant has a beautiful interior, classy & clean. The staff us very kind and attentive. The menu has lots of options. The drinks and appetizers were our favorite part. My boyfriend loved the duck wings, & I enjoyed the bread dip. The food takes awhile to come out, but we didn't mind as our party enjoyed sitting and talking anyways. Great for a dinner party. read more

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This review is a smidge late... but I feel that it is representative nonetheless: Well, a "new" chef arrives at a great place and the hope is that new and tasty things will happen. Sadly it is the same things, just less tasty. It was a slower evening and I had a taste for steak. I generally order medium-rare steaks... mine was pretty far into medium-well. No, I didn't send it back because I don't like wasting food. Strangly the server just stared at me when I brought it up. No offer of a fix or a chance for me to ask for a little off the bill and to just eat the leathery thing. Anyway, once I did get a few bites in it tasted strangely metallic. So I stopped eating it. Sides were the usual hot and tasty. Seeing as it was slow I went ahead and ordered a Surf and Turf sushi roll (a long term fave) and all I can say is that whomever rolled this thing must not have much experience. It was loose. Like, with chopsticks it couldn't be ascended from the plate without failure. Once I realized that I wasn't going to get to eat a "roll" and instead I had a small mound of "parts" I dug out the fork and had a sushi salad. (Poke?) The parts were tasty and I imagine it would have been a good thing on the tastebuds as a homogeneous unit. So, I don't know how or why there's a new chef here, but I am far less-than-dazzled. I will have to go back and see if this place returns to its status as one of the best places to eat in Sandusky after the new folks get settled. For now it gets 2 stars for the great wine selections. Otherwise, I am nervy about the kitchen... Your mileage may vary. read more

In the past, we have always had great experiences at Crush and enjoyed the food. Sadly, this place has gone completely downhill and we will not be returning after the worst dining experience we've ever had. Our waitress was lukewarm at best and when we inquired about the oysters they had on the menu her response was "I wouldn't know I've never had an oyster in my life." The kitchen apparently had no concept of timing and two of our entrees came out with no sign of the sushi order. We waited and waited, with no sign of our waitress--she was clearly avoiding us. We also saw another table walk out in the meantime. After 10 minutes we finally got her over to the table and when we asked about the sushi it was somehow OUR fault for ordering it because she had "warned us" that the sushi bar was backed up. Why offer sushi on your menu if it takes over 40 minutes for a roll to come out? We also complained that the pasta was undercooked and she couldn't even bother to apologize. At this point, we were completely done and just wanted to get out of there. We told our server to forget about the sushi and we didn't want to pay for the uneaten pasta either. She went to go speak to her manager who wasn't even willing to come out and apologize to us. Eventually they comped us for the pasta and sushi but still NO apology and simply excuses. Overall, very disappointing experience from a restaurant we used to love. Not sure what happened to this place but they better get their act together if they plan to stay in business. read more

This is one of the more upscale eateries in town. It has a good wine selection and the food is good as well and offers a decent variety. You can get anything from a California Roll to one of their various personal pizzas (thin crust) to a steak. They also offer appetizers and small plates you don't see in many places such as fried artichokes and Brussels sprouts. The atmosphere is dimly lit and sophisticated (although they could do a better job of closing the doors to the cleaning closet and office while patrons are dining) but overall it's a very nice place. The bottom line: if you are looking for a more "fine dining" type experience while visiting this sort of laid back Lake Erie shore side town it's a pretty safe bet. read more

Favorite Date Night restaurant. The Truffle Fries are to die for. Always something cool on the specials list.

Cute, upper scale wine bar and restaurant in downtown Sandusky. I had the braised short ribs with butternut polenta and this was amazing! Large selection of wines. Service was prompt. read more

While the food is excellent, our experience with the serving and management staff left something to be desired this evening. When my wife's sushi order did not come out at the same time as my regular meal, we were told that it would only be a couple of minutes for her meal to arrive. 20 minutes later, nothing. At no time did the server ever come to the table to explain the delay. When I complained to the manager, all I got was a condescending attitude on why they are incapable of delivering meals at the same time. We have eaten at this restaurant several times and have never experienced such a lack of professionalism. It is obvious that the server and management don't prescribe to the philosophy of the customer is always right. Instead, then just wanted to argue about why they were right. Be warned. read more

Very good experience at Crush! We've been coming to Cedar Point for years but never ate here. We've been missing out! We loved the atmosphere. 2 of us did a white wine flight tasting of 3 wines. It was nice to taste an review them together. We tried Brussels sprouts, calamari, pierogies, bean dip & shrimp starters. Fettuccine, scallops, Mac & cheese & pizza Bianco for entrees. Everything was good except the Mac & cheese. Unfortunately it was very greasy & a disappointment. Other than that we loved it & will visit again. Columbus Ave. ends at the water. It is a very nice area to walk & explore. You can catch a ferry boat too! So happy we tried something different this time! read more

I had bought a gift certificate for this place a while ago and since I am planning a wedding it is a great time to eat some "free" meals. We sat on the side of the restaurant with the main bar and it had a cozy vibe with good conversations happening all around. Our waiter was very knowledgeable on the wine menu as well as the food menu (my biggest pet peeve is when a server doesn't know much about the menus). He was able to suggest a good Rose for me and a Cab that fit what my fiance wanted. Their wine is priced well and is very afforadable for being a wine bar! All of their food is made in house. They even have sushi- which didn't seem to match the rest of the menu but darn was it good! We started out with a simple Spicy Tuna roll and it was fantastic! You don't find that good of tuna quality very often in Ohio. My fiance ordered the Papardelle mushroom pasta entree and you could tell the noodles were very fresh! The flavor was there with the mushrooms and it was a perfect portion. I ordered the Burger and I enjoyed the simplicity of flavors. It came with caramelized onions and blue cheese and that was it for toppings and it was one of the better burgers I have had in awhile. read more

This place was amazing!! Great food, atmosphere and service. One of the best places we visited on our trip

Beautiful atmosphere and building. Server was attentive, not over bearing. Great California roll with real blue crab and roasted beets. Quite nice! read more

Excellent dinner! Service was fantastic, atmosphere was inviting (bar side better than restaurant side). I had a flight of wine which were generous pours and excellent selections. The beets and scallops were out of this world! Would go back in a heartbeat. read more

This is a review for the Kitchenbar Asian-fusion restaurant attached to Crush. Ambiance: Very nice modern atmosphere inside with dark woods, candles, and textures all over the place. Service was very friendly and average on promptness. Food: Started with the Sangria Flora which was an awesome white sangria, very fruity and smooth. The soft fish tacos (2) made an excellent appetizer to share, the savory creamy sauce they use was very enjoyable. My fiance had a dish with ahi tuna served on rings of heirloom tomatoes drizzled with a sweet sauce. It was absolutely delectable with the already sweet ripe tomatoes and savory-meaty tuna, easily could have eaten 2 plates of it. I had the beef ramen which was pretty good considering it's Sandusky. The broth was savory but nothing really stood out about it. The noodles were not too mushy but lacked the freshness and firmness of truly freshly-tossed noodles. The beef was plentiful for a noodle dish but was sadly overcooked and slightly mealy. Aside from mediocre bowl of gourmet ramen (especially for something supposed to be high-end) everything else at KitchenBar was excellent and I would gladly come here again. The drink selection is great and the chef does a good job of putting a fresh and flavorful spin on dishes, I'd probably give this place 4.25 stars since ramen is a huge part of the limited menu, small portion sizes, and lack of value but it's marketed as a high-end restaurant and it's Sandusky so I forgave all that and rounded up. read more

Crush continues to be a great spot in downtown Sandusky. Calm, relaxing environment, great food and great service. 50% off bottles of wine on Wednesday! Margarita pizza was great. read more

When I say this is the worst restaurant experience I've had in years, I mean it. Not only did we have to wait 30+ minutes for a seat EVEN THOUGH we made a reservation, we stood at the table for another 5 minutes while we waited for the incompetent hostess to find someone to clean it off. She then didn't alert our waitress we were seated, so we waited another 20 minutes. Then when we complained, the manager made excuses and didn't offer us anything to accommodate our miserable experience. Food was good but wow I'm never going here again. read more

NEVER a bad server is this place. Most time they will know you by name and what your preferred drink is. Good sushi. Calamari is the best I can find. Food is consistent. Atmosphere is 100%. Look forward to every time we step into this place. This may be the best Sandusky has to offer. I think I have a crush on Crush. read more

Covid hasn't been kind to crush. Used to love this place, not now. Ordered a Thai salad....hard to eat because the pieces were too big. (Take some time to chop up your salad.) also peanuts were stale. Pork saltambuca was awful!!! Won't come back. read more

Although Sandusky is a small town in Ohio often known for cedar point. Don't miss out on visiting Crush Wine Bar. It's modern with soft lighting perfect for a romantic date night or dinner. They have a private room for special events with access to a bar, full menu, and dedicated staff. I loved the sushi and charcuterie boards. We had an amazing time here. Staff was attentive and personable. Food menu was sophisticated but well priced and delicious. I have a new crush in Sandusky! read more

A friend and I went here last night after a concert at the gazebo in downtown Sandusky. We ordered the small plate of scallops and it was delicious! It was just enough to be satisfying but not over filling. I will definitely come back to sample some of their other selections. A bit on the pricey side but we thought it was worth it. read more

Crush Wine Bar - New American Near Me - Sandusky, Ohio

Delicious food and great service! We are from out of town and consider ourselves to be foodies. To be honest, I didn't expect much from the Sandusky food scene but this place very pleasantly surprised us. We shared a bunch of food among our family of four including a surf and turf with scallops and sirloin, small plates of prodigies, greens salad, calamari, Brussels, and a cheese pizza for the kids. We ordered chocoholics anonymous to share for dessert. Everything was excellent!! We each had wine and the kids had a lemonade and a Shirley temple. Bill was $103 which is super reasonable for such a delicious meal plus drinks and dessert! We'll definitely be back! read more

The frutti di mare was awesome. Nice selection of wines. Bigger menu than I expected. Good sushi, also. read more

Crush Wine Bar - New American Near Me - Sandusky, Ohio

Eight of us had dinner to celebrate my daughter's upcoming wedding. Jeffrey was a superb waiter and all of us raved over our meals. Great service, great food; whats not to love! We spent a very enjoyable evening here and cant wait to go back! read more

Wine bars are fickle creatures that reflect their surrounding environments. As such, Crush is a product of being in the historic waterfront part of Sandusky, OH. While those in my group did some research, it's not what was expected. As usual, I was traveling for work, and having dinner with fellow co-workers every night meant room for exploration. Crush fits the "stereotypical" wine bar recipe: art on the walls, dimly lit, live music, extensive wine list. However, we were surprised to discover that we were the youngest table in the joint (by at least 2 decades in my eyes). It's a trendy place minus the trendy young people. Quite the paradox. Now, as I mentioned, the wine list is as it should in a wine bar: pages and pages of different kinds, from different places, with different names. Options for sampling included a 4 oz, 6, oz, and bottle size, and yes they will cork it for you if you cant finish it by the time desserts arrive. They also have wine flights, and my decision on the Cab Ride was an enjoyable one. The place also had a top shelf bar with fine scotch whiskeys and Johnny Walker (insert color here) Label. Yeah, your booze tab can tally up pretty quickly. The food menu is more limited, but contains fine cheeses, unusual appetizers, and entrees with lots of adjectives, before and after. Don't forget to check the board as well, which contains daily specials. The duck wings were unbelievable; so rich and juicy with whimsical flavor. We're talking honey-truffle-balsamic-asiago flavor. Calamari was pretty standard, but included fried peppers and the dipping sauce was a chili lime. An unorthodox but welcome twist. For the main course, we chose to partake in the special, which was Braised Short Ribs on a bed of Parmesan risotto and Brussels Sprouts. The entree was TINY! The portion could have fit on a tapas plate, but the flatware it was served on only accentuated its meager size. Now, if was absolutely fantastic to taste, but I'm a man who requires quantity with the quality, and found myself unsatisfied in regards to my stomach and my wallet ($19). Dessert found its way to me shortly thereafter in the form of a chocolate mousse in a champagne flute. Others around the table enjoyed the Creme Brulee and Pineapple Upside Down Cake, which we all sampled and earned our seal of approval. Bottom line: A small niche wine bar with the makings of a popular hang out, overrun by the older citizens of Sandusky. Food and wine that is exceptionally prepared and served, and quality service by the staff. However, a wine flight, appetizer, entree, and dessert set me back $50 before tax and tip. And I gave serious consideration to grabbing a McDouble on the way back to the hotel. read more

My son is new to the Sandusky area and on a recent visit we were looking for a "nice" local eatery. This was the perfect place. Historic location downtown, fun & friendly atmosphere, superb wine list - something for all tastes, professional service, excellent food and deserts to die for. Young professional clientele, casual attire, maybe a little pricey but, hey, you get what you pay for. All those years of just coming to Cedar Point and now finding out about Sandusky's other treasures - this has got to be one of the best. read more