A new location for an old favorite, Crave Italian Oven & Bar recently celebrated a move and grand re-opening with live music, Italian delicacies, brick-oven pizzas, signature cocktails, fine wine, high-end liquors, and the unveiling of a major expansion. Located at the site of the former Bonefish Grill (7401 N. Kings Hwy., Myrtle Beach), Crave, which re-opened in late December, has been gaining new converts and pleasantly surprising long-time regulars enjoying this new chapter in the popular eatery’s story.

Upon entering, you may not be greeted with a literal kiss on the cheek, but the Italian experience is as legit as it comes. The vibe is modern-yet-classic. Casual upscale with a boisterous lunch crowd filling the dining room after 11:30 a.m. Monday-Saturday, and just as busy at dinner time, seven days per week. The main dining room is perfectly lit at lunchtime with the sun filtered through roll-down shades. The subdued afternoon and evening lighting from spectacular fixtures and Edison bulbs keeps the dining areas relaxing and palliative from Happy Hour forward. A mix of booths and tables include cozy two-tops up to large corner booths and bigger tables for large parties. Crave seats some 225 patrons. 

Plenty of booths and bar seating in the relaxing lounge and even more in a newly constructed, climate-controlled screened porch (with a massive wood-burning fireplace), means even more seating year-round. The walls are adorned with art featuring celebs of the great Rat Pack era, and great Italian (or wannabe Italian) film stars: Joe Peci, Sophia Loren, Marlon Brando, Marilyn Monroe, and others. 

The energy at lunchtime and at the dinner rush are reminiscent of popular big city eateries, where word has gotten out and the crowd has followed. Not unlike the Italian culture itself, Crave’s mood is at the same time passionate, expressive, and welcoming.

Familia
Grand Strand magazine first met Crave restaurateur Steve Spadaccini some 10-years ago when he and partners Jill and Jesse Vaugh, along with Spadaccini’s wife, Coleen, and son Anthony, first opened Crave at 5900 N. Kings Highway in Myrtle Beach. Since then, the restaurant group has opened another Crave in North Myrtle Beach (2023), along with 357 Raw Coastal Bar (a marina bar & grill adjacent to the Marina Inn, Grande Dunes), Sol Y Luna Latin Cantina on the north side of Carolina Forest and the brand-new Crave Italian Oven & Bar at 7401 N. Kings Highway.

Mangia
Regardless of how trendy or inviting, a restaurant must rely on the quality and consistency of its food and the friendliness and efficiency of its staff and Crave does not disappoint. We sampled several dishes that appear as recurring daily specials, amidst a large and diverse everyday menu.

We started with bruschetta unlike most you’ve had before. Crave’s toast rounds come topped with stracciatella (mildly flavorful buffalo milk cheese), finely diced tomatoes and herbs, balsamic vinegar glaze and olive oil. Magnifico.

Then came the equally delicious sachetti, a small, stuffed round pasta ball filled with fresh pear, burrata cheese, pecorino cheese and tossed in a light mascarpone sauce, topped with jumbo grilled shrimp.

Next came a 14-ounce bone-in veal chop, pounded at preparation, coated in seasoned breadcrumbs and pan-fried, topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. 

“This cuts with a fork,” says Spadaccini, and he wasn’t lying.

Known for their pizzas as much as any other food item, Crave has recently christened Eleanor 2.0, an imported Italian brick oven using real wood and gas to reach up to 750 degrees, the sweet spot for perfect pizza crusts with a slight bit of charring on the bottom, and known for turning dough and toppings into masterpieces. We had The Chenel made with caramelized onions, imported Italian goat cheese, prosciutto, arugula, garlic oil and a balsamic glaze. A fine pizza and just one of some 12 to 15 house specialties. 

“Eleanor 1 and Eleanor 2.0 both came from Italy,” explains Spadaccini, of the ovens named for Vaugh’s grandmother. “We had to leave Eleanor 1 at the old location,” he says. “They’re built from scratch and nobody makes them the way the Italians do. Eleanor is a workhorse and will burn forever.”

Additionally, the Crave menu features salads, including a family-sized Famiglia Antipasto, some 15 small plates around $10 each, including meatballs & ricotta, eggplant rollatini, P.E.I. mussels, calamari, and others. The dozen or so pasta dinner portions are served with house salad and fresh hot bread. Add optional proteins such as meatballs, sausage, chicken and shrimp. Dinner entrees also come with salad and bread. Choose from center cut filet mignon, braciole (pronounced brah-joel), pork osso buco, shrimp, grouper and fresh seafood Pompeii, an assortment of fresh seafood and shellfish sautéed in a mascarpone cream sauce of spinach and sun-dried tomato served over risotto.

Lunch, served until 3 p.m., features right-sized (and right-priced) small plates, more than a dozen (around $10); creative Italian salads with or without added proteins ($8-$13);  pasta dishes (served with house or Caesar salad) $13; lunch specialties such as chicken Parmigiana, chicken Marsala, and more are all priced around $14 with choice of salad. Plus burgers, sandwiches, pizza, calzones and rolls. 

Forget the gun, grab the cannoli!

Desserts are not an afterthought at Crave. Homemade tiramisu, cannoli, cream puffs, Key lime pie and butter cake with vanilla gelato will satisfy any sweet tooth, as will imported triple chocolate cake and more.

You’re likely to hear Billy Joel, Journey or other Yacht Rock piped discreetly through the speakers, fitting tunes from a Spotify or Pandora playlist. Live music will continue to be a part of the new Crave as well, mostly in the form of soloists or duos, or the occasional band for special events.

In a sort of stream of consciousness, Spadaccini rattled off descriptions of  Crave: “Italian, fresh, homemade, brick oven pizza, pasta, chicken, veal, beef, seafood, daily specials, craft cocktails, high-end liquor, homemade desserts…it’s that simple.”

Open for lunch Monday-Saturday at 11:30 a.m., open for dinner 7 days (Sundays open at 3 p.m.)  

Crave 
7401 N. Kings Hwy, Myrtle Beach
(843) 213-0500
www.cravemb.com