Lucky Cricket

I have been a fan of Zimmern and was psyched about his restaurant so close to where I live. It did not disappoint! The menu was eclectic Chinese and the decor was quirky with an Asian flair. We loved the shrimp toast- such great flavors and textures! We also tied the sticky rice with pork belly appetizer which was good flavor, but could've used more texture variation. The glazed ribs were fantastic- a great mix of sweet and sour, perfect with the peanut sauce, with a crunchy exterior but most meat. We highly recommend the Lucky Pilot to drink as well!

We wanted to love this place. My husband surprised me with dinner out at the Lucky Cricket, and I was excited to experience some flavorful and unique items. Sadly, everything we tried was fiercely underwhelming. Our server prepped us by saying that the portions were large and "family sized". We decided we were ok with leftovers and ordered 2 apps and 2 entrees. We started with the Szechuan Wontons, which were slathered in chili oil and lacked any other real flavor and egg rolls, which looked great, but again lacked any flavor. Our entrees arrived and while pretty, were not "family sized" as described. The Tangerine fried noodle dish had zero flavor unless you happened upon a tangerine peel. The Wagyu beef sandwich was tough and again, tasted like nothing. The meat was also breaded and fried...which seemed off. It was served with crunchy potatoes which also just tasted like chili oil. They were served with a sauce that was described as "very spicy", but actually didnt have any kick to it. Finally, we finished with mango sticky rice, my absolute favorite dessert. Sadly, it was skimpy on the mango and not very sweet. We paid our nearly $80 tab and went on our way. I would not recommend this restaurant.

First off the hostess mentioned they have updating the menu so regardless of past reviews go check it out. Decent portions for the price. Good wait staff. I didn't get to sit on the patio but it looked nice. -5 stars for the inside decor. Super fun and playful. -5 stars for the drinks (Mia Thai, Saturn & the bartender was great). The Saturn was awesome. -4.5 stars for dumplings. -3 stars for the shrimp toast. Super crunchy & nicely plated. Lacking in shrimp favor for me. *the sauce is midwest spicy I would call it on the low end of medium. -3 stars for the sesame orange chicken (would have given it 4 if it didn't have orange in the title). Zero orange flavor and it needed a little more sauce. Chicken was wonderfully tender and not chewy or overly crispy. Over all I would give it 3.5 stars leaning closer to 3 for the food. But I think with a few minor tweaks in the 2 items lacking in some favor could easily be a 4 star place.

We went as a group of four and recommend getting a bunch of things to share. The long beans where our favorite side dish. They had a great taste, flavor, and texture. The 3 cup caramel chicken was also very good and easy to share (not spicy). We did not get rice, but I would recommend getting a side of rice to go with the chicken. The crispy glazed 18 our ribs were our favorite dish of the night. Oh, and we started the night with the dumplings which we easily could’ve had two orders of. There are lots of yummy rum drinks, but I prefer vodka so got the cherry zinger and it was delicious. When we got there we were told there is a 45 minute wait we walk to the bar and found table in about five minutes. If we would’ve had to wait 45 minutes it would’ve been worth the wait.

By far one of the best meals I have had this year. As a foodie - I need to tell you about this place. Forget what you may have heard before. The Lucky Cricket is here to stay. The food was fresh and fabulous. Mandee, my server, was on point with her knowledge of the menu, food pairings, menu suggestions, thesaurus word choices, and personality! My meal was superbly crafted and paired. The drinks were a beautiful fusion of classic and modern. Top it off with the lemon curd doughnuts. Look for this restaurant to be big news.

The ambience is very nice and the place is so centrally located, it's hard to miss. A very convenient dinner place if you are going to watch a movie at the ICON theater, that's what we did! Our dinner of two consisted of the Hand cut noodles and the Crispy pork ribs. The crispy pork ribs was really good but we were disappointed with the Xian noodles. The noodles felt chewy and inconsistent and the braised lamb smelled strongly of lamb (if you know what I mean) even though we were told that we would hardly be able to tell. All in all a good experience but next time will probably go for the lunch specials if we do!

Controversy aside, Lucky Cricket is a frustrating experience. Imagine if the last 20 years of restaurant, food, and cocktail development had never happened and you have a good idea what this place is like. There's very little that's new or innovative here, and much that is an unfortunate throwback to an earlier time. Take, for instance, the cocktails. Tiki drinks are sugary novelties that don't pair well with food. And having more than one should come with a side of insulin. On top of that, here they are loaded up with crushed ice, making them a bad value. But where are the fresh takes on classic cocktails? Where's an Asian Manhattan or a five spice Old Fashioned? Cocktails have undergone a significant change in the last 10 years by incorporating botanicals, bitters, smoke, etc. None of that is present here. But I don't even think Trader Vic's would recognize the Lucky Cricket Mai Tai. This could all be forgiven if the food were amazing, but mostly it's just ok. The standouts for us were the ribs and the toothpick lamb. Both were well seasoned and tender. But the dan dan noodles only had an initial bite of Sichuan peppercorn. Beyond that first bite, the dish was bland. (I recommend the dan dan noodles at Szechuan Spice on Lyndale as a better option.) The Chinese broccoli was sweet and smoky, but the dumplings were bland too. The worst dish of the night was the sweet and sour chicken. It was swimming in a bland sauce, and the presence of peas and diced carrots made it feel more like a school lunch than a well prepared dish. It's criminal that none of these dishes arrive with a staple of much Asian food - rice. I didn't realize it needed to be ordered separately, and it wasn't offered as a suggestion. As for the space, the Tiki bar decorations are confounding, particularly when paired with a classic rock soundtrack. I like The Who and AC/DC just fine, but classic rock seemed out of place with the intended ambiance of the place. It's like the bartender just threw on a playlist he created for his grandfather. I'm not looking for pan flutes and wind chimes, but something more mid tempo and ambient might help. Again, the music seems to come from an era long past. It's fine, but not what I would expect from a new restaurant in 2019.