Cranes isn’t just dinner, it’s a whole vibe. Chef Pepe Moncayo takes Spanish + Japanese flavors and makes them flirt in the most genius way. Think tapas energy but with umami explosions — sushi meets paella, sake meets sangria. Every bite feels both familiar and totally new.
The space itself? Sleek, modern, and low-key sexy — perfect for date nights or celebrating big wins. Service is smooth, the team knows their menu inside-out, and you feel taken care of without it ever being stiff.
Favorites I’d go back for: their uni + wagyu bites (literally melt in your mouth), the gyoza with Spanish twists, and the cocktails that taste like art in a glass.
💯 Would I recommend? Absolutely. Cranes has that Michelin-star polish but still feels fun, approachable, and full of good energy. It’s the kind of place you leave already planning your next visit.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Derrick Stagliano
Excellent happy hour menu, delicious tapitas, and well crafted cocktails. The sake tasting menu they put together for me was excellent. Happy hour prices we're very reasonable for the area.
Sam took excellent care of us, and I would personally ask for him. I did not get the bartender's/server's name, but he was also excellent.
The ambience was perfect for my wife and I
Highly recommended.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Scott Mays
Absolutely incredible dinner experience. The food was dazzling. Highly recommend trying the tasting menu.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Richard C
We had a great time at Cranes for their Saturday brunch. They offer a very interesting array of small plates that interweave Spanish and Japanese influences. Some were better than other, but all were inventive and interesting. I will say, most dishes, although small in portion, are quite heavy in substance. We wished there were some lighter options on the menu to offer a bit more balance. Service was great. Thank you to Sam at the front of the house in particular for his warmth and attentiveness.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
T D
Best happy hour (four hours) in the city. The full dining is delicious too.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
PingYao Shen
Had a wonderful experience at Cranes. The food was amazing, and the service was warm, attentive, and genuinely welcoming.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Angela Impat
Love love love this place! We've been to Cranes twice and it never disappoints. We ordered their set menu during restaurant week with the beverage pairing. We left the place with no leftovers and with satisfied tummies. The service was superb as always. We enjoyed chatting to our sommelier, Eric. He was the entertainment part of our evening. We highly recommend Cranes for any special occasions or if you have extra money lying around and don't know where to spend it.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Rachel Barker
Our restaurant week lunch at Crane was a delight. The menu was thoughtfully crafted, and the bento box was a particular highlight —a wonderfully balanced selection of escalivada, miso tofu, vegetable tempura, butcher's fried rice, and chicken katsu.While every component was terrific, we were especially taken with the light and crispy vegetable tempura, the savory fried rice, and the perfectly cooked chicken katsu.lf you're looking for a unique spot that expertly blends Spanish and Japanese flavors, Crane is a must-try.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Yoi V
The oysters & the churros?! *chefs kiss*
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
FO
It took a very long time to get our drinks at the bar, probably 15 minutes and our bills arrived long before our drinks which wasn’t a great start. However, the virgin passion fruit martini was delicious and worth the wait! Food was good, my friends and I did restaurant week. The shrimp dish was most of our favourites, the steak main was ok but I wish I got the scallops instead. All round, a nice meal but I wouldn’t rush back.
The flavors were absolutely incredible, paired with wonderful and quick service. The restaurant week menu was truly unreal. A mix of different flavors, textures, and dishes. Easily one of my favorite restaurants!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Son Thach
We had such a great dinner at Crane last night! The vibe is modern but still cozy, and our server was amazing — super friendly and attentive without ever feeling rushed.
The food was delicious and plated beautifully. We especially loved the beef dishes and the seafood, both cooked perfectly with really flavorful sauces. Dessert was creative and such a fun way to end the meal.
The only little hiccup was that one of our apps came out pretty late, almost with the entrées, which threw off the pacing a bit.
Overall, Crane is definitely worth checking out — great food, great service, and a really nice spot for dinner in DC
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Rania
I loved their restaurant week experience! Everything paired so well with each other, the food was delicious and just filling enough for the 5 courses. It was fresh and innovative. Our service was exceptional too, they were so kind and informative while staying professional. I will definitely be coming back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sarah Montell
We came here for our anniversary and left really disappointed. We were expecting an inventive Spanish-Japanese fusion experience, but the food completely missed the mark. It wasn’t creative or memorable — the wagyu wasn’t Japanese but Australian and came out stringy, the Paella Nigiri was just basic nigiri on crispy rice with nothing Spanish about it, and the Unagi Paella itself was simply a thin layer of dry rice, not cooked in a proper paella pan and buried under a huge pile of pea leaves.
Service was equally underwhelming. No one took the time to explain the menu or offer recommendations and it was super difficult to get anyone’s attention despite the restaurant not being full. No one checked in with us about ordering another drink, and the beer that eventually arrived was warm from the tap.
Given that Cranes once had a Michelin star, it’s unfortunately clear why they don’t anymore. We should have chose differently for our special occasion.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
Daniel Chavez Bello
The system did not show my reservation, but the host was nice and the place was empty so I got a table , I didn’t know but was a prefix menu , and just 2 minutes after seat I receive a dish , no explanation, it was ok , then a main course , bento with good amount of food , kind of greasy but tasty , didn’t match the expectations, btw the place is huge
Cranes isn’t just dinner, it’s a whole vibe. Chef Pepe Moncayo takes Spanish + Japanese flavors and makes them flirt in the most genius way. Think tapas energy but with umami explosions — sushi meets paella, sake meets sangria. Every bite feels both familiar and totally new.
The space itself? Sleek, modern, and low-key sexy — perfect for date nights or celebrating big wins. Service is smooth, the team knows their menu inside-out, and you feel taken care of without it ever being stiff.
Favorites I’d go back for: their uni + wagyu bites (literally melt in your mouth), the gyoza with Spanish twists, and the cocktails that taste like art in a glass.
💯 Would I recommend? Absolutely. Cranes has that Michelin-star polish but still feels fun, approachable, and full of good energy. It’s the kind of place you leave already planning your next visit.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Excellent happy hour menu, delicious tapitas, and well crafted cocktails. The sake tasting menu they put together for me was excellent. Happy hour prices we're very reasonable for the area.
Sam took excellent care of us, and I would personally ask for him. I did not get the bartender's/server's name, but he was also excellent.
The ambience was perfect for my wife and I
Highly recommended.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Absolutely incredible dinner experience. The food was dazzling. Highly recommend trying the tasting menu.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
We had a great time at Cranes for their Saturday brunch. They offer a very interesting array of small plates that interweave Spanish and Japanese influences. Some were better than other, but all were inventive and interesting. I will say, most dishes, although small in portion, are quite heavy in substance. We wished there were some lighter options on the menu to offer a bit more balance. Service was great. Thank you to Sam at the front of the house in particular for his warmth and attentiveness.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Best happy hour (four hours) in the city.
The full dining is delicious too.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Had a wonderful experience at Cranes. The food was amazing, and the service was warm, attentive, and genuinely welcoming.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Love love love this place! We've been to Cranes twice and it never disappoints. We ordered their set menu during restaurant week with the beverage pairing. We left the place with no leftovers and with satisfied tummies. The service was superb as always. We enjoyed chatting to our sommelier, Eric. He was the entertainment part of our evening. We highly recommend Cranes for any special occasions or if you have extra money lying around and don't know where to spend it.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Our restaurant week lunch at Crane was a delight. The menu was thoughtfully crafted, and the bento box was a particular highlight
—a wonderfully balanced selection of escalivada, miso tofu, vegetable tempura, butcher's fried rice, and chicken katsu.While every component was terrific, we were especially taken with the light and crispy vegetable tempura, the savory fried rice, and the perfectly cooked chicken katsu.lf you're looking for a unique spot that expertly blends Spanish and Japanese flavors, Crane is a must-try.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
The oysters & the churros?! *chefs kiss*
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
It took a very long time to get our drinks at the bar, probably 15 minutes and our bills arrived long before our drinks which wasn’t a great start. However, the virgin passion fruit martini was delicious and worth the wait!
Food was good, my friends and I did restaurant week. The shrimp dish was most of our favourites, the steak main was ok but I wish I got the scallops instead.
All round, a nice meal but I wouldn’t rush back.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Restaurantji Recommends
The flavors were absolutely incredible, paired with wonderful and quick service. The restaurant week menu was truly unreal. A mix of different flavors, textures, and dishes. Easily one of my favorite restaurants!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We had such a great dinner at Crane last night! The vibe is modern but still cozy, and our server was amazing — super friendly and attentive without ever feeling rushed.
The food was delicious and plated beautifully. We especially loved the beef dishes and the seafood, both cooked perfectly with really flavorful sauces. Dessert was creative and such a fun way to end the meal.
The only little hiccup was that one of our apps came out pretty late, almost with the entrées, which threw off the pacing a bit.
Overall, Crane is definitely worth checking out — great food, great service, and a really nice spot for dinner in DC
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
I loved their restaurant week experience! Everything paired so well with each other, the food was delicious and just filling enough for the 5 courses. It was fresh and innovative. Our service was exceptional too, they were so kind and informative while staying professional. I will definitely be coming back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We came here for our anniversary and left really disappointed. We were expecting an inventive Spanish-Japanese fusion experience, but the food completely missed the mark. It wasn’t creative or memorable — the wagyu wasn’t Japanese but Australian and came out stringy, the Paella Nigiri was just basic nigiri on crispy rice with nothing Spanish about it, and the Unagi Paella itself was simply a thin layer of dry rice, not cooked in a proper paella pan and buried under a huge pile of pea leaves.
Service was equally underwhelming. No one took the time to explain the menu or offer recommendations and it was super difficult to get anyone’s attention despite the restaurant not being full. No one checked in with us about ordering another drink, and the beer that eventually arrived was warm from the tap.
Given that Cranes once had a Michelin star, it’s unfortunately clear why they don’t anymore. We should have chose differently for our special occasion.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
The system did not show my reservation, but the host was nice and the place was empty so I got a table , I didn’t know but was a prefix menu , and just 2 minutes after seat I receive a dish , no explanation, it was ok , then a main course , bento with good amount of food , kind of greasy but tasty , didn’t match the expectations, btw the place is huge
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 4
Loading...