Cricket's Draft House & Grill

The nachos were super large. We couldn't finish them. Then, the chicken wings I ordered tasted a bit dry. The jalapeno poppers I got separately were the best, and the Blue Moon beer was really good.

First time here and we've never heard of Cricket's before. Went in Cricket's because it looked huge from the front and assumed it will not be crowded. It turned out it was a good choice and we had an overall good experience. We ordered the peanut butter bacon burger with fries, waco hot chicken crispy sandwich with tots and 2 sweet teas. The sandwiches were both veey good and tasty. The buns were soft, warm, and crispy on the edges. The fries were very good - perfect crispness and it had the skins on. Yum. The crispy chicken breading was very tasty and fried just right - crunchy, well seasoned and does not taste oily. The tots were plain but the quantity makes up for the flavor. Sweet teas were quite weak. Needed more steeping, i think. The server did not come back to offer refills or waters or to check if we needed anything. We badly needed napkins. lol. Had to catch his attention to let him know we are ready for the check. I do recommend the peanut butter bacon burger, if you like peanut butter and bacon. I also liked the decor and feel of the place, very high ceiling, cozy booths, and a large bar and pretty wide variety of beers/ipas. I imagined it will be noisier and busier during dinner and weekends. But a quiet and laid back lunch with tasty food is what we experienced today.

Love Crickets! Especially the peanut butter burger!! Yummy. Try to stop by any time we go through Waco!

I was at Crickets a few days before Halloween handing out free beer for work. The ladies that evening were phenomenal.. bartenders, wait staff and manager! Thank you so much for taking care of me.

Thoroughly enjoyed an excellent lunch complemented with great beer pairings recommended by our attentive and personable waiter, Harry. Wife had the mushroom Swiss burger and I had the braised beef quesadillas. Perfect portions and well prepared. Great atmosphere. We visited on a Monday at lunchtime but can imagine this would be a great place to spend an evening and catch a game.

Cricket's Draft House & Grill in Waco, TX, is a venue that immediately feels like home. Perfect for Baylor University's Parents Weekend, it offers a warm, inviting atmosphere with separate dining and bar sections, complemented by an assortment of games and arcade machines. The balcony is a standout, providing beer garden-like seating where guests can enjoy the stunning westward-facing Waco sunsets. The beer selection is impressive, featuring an extensive array of options on tap, ensuring that there's something for everyone. The brisket and fish and chips come highly recommended, cooked to perfection and bound to satisfy your cravings. For those with a sweet tooth, the banana pudding is a must-try, offering a delightful finish to any meal. As a Baylor student and now alum, I always make it a point to visit Cricket's when I'm in town for alumni events—it's a cornerstone of my Waco experience, blending nostalgia with delicious new memories.

I never make reviews on places but this is terrible. The renewed menu items are terrible, all of the food came out room temp not even warm. The server was awesome! But the food was a nightmare to say the least. Got the spicy chicken and mac and cheese and 90% of the chicken was breading. What chicken was there was probably 1/6 of an actual chicken breast that was clearly hammered flat to look bigger. Paid 70$ for me and my girlfriend to eat here and left upset on how bad the food here was. We also got the French onion soups and it looked absolutely sad and tasted as bad as it looked. 10/10 do NOT recommend the food here

We came in around 6:30 on a Friday. It was surprisingly not very busy. The waitress was initially attentive but seemed to forget about our table shortly after we ordered, even though we had 10 people. The food was mediocre, especially for the price. It was bland and some was even burnt. We thought it was just a torching to make it look nice but it tasted like burned chicken. The chips were cold and the queso watery. It took absolutely forever to come out and we didn’t even get it all. It came in two different batches with 10 minutes in between. Two items we never even got. Staff was informed and our waitress just magically happened to appear again after not seeing her at all since the first batch of food.

We had a great meal at Crickets after arriving in Waco a little later at night . The vibe in the whole place is awesome with plenty of bar seating or booth seating. Drinks were good, food was good and our server was great.

On a Sunday afternoon, a place to sit at the bar and sip at a beer while charging electronics. This place is absolutely "family friendly" and I could tell by the kids that were hyped up on Coke running about with the occasional piercing scream from a four year old blonde girl. As well, the scraping of chairs on the concrete floor were grating. I did sit for about 20 minutes before the bartender noticed I was here, which was fine. If I wanted to place an order, I could have waved her down. Beer was flat - Southern Roots Alico - but I didn't really want it anyway. I bought it to "pay" for my space and get my laptop and phone from 15% to 80%. Oh, and I was never able to get the wifi to work. Hooray for my hotspot. Burgers and other appetizers looked good. The waitress in the section near the bar was definitely moving to keep folks satisfied. So maybe next time I try a full meal (other than the noise). [Review 607 of 2024 - 460 in Texas - 21638 overall]

Good beer selection, poor food quality. Half the menu was unavailable when I was there and the fries were inedible due to being way overcooked.

Management reached out to provide service recovery for our experience. We'll be back to try this restaurant again in a couple/few weeks.

I love Crickets! The food isn't the best thing in the world but it's pretty good for the price! My favorite is their chicken sandwich with honey mustard sauce. It sounds basic, but it's delicious! Their Brussel sprouts are also very tasty! Whenever we've gone, service has been great. Sweet and attentive waitresses, no complaints. The atmosphere is a grill / sports bar so it can get kind of noisy but that's to be expected. The location is also great because it's right next to Spice Village! So I can go browse around there while my husband stays at Crickets to drink a beer and play pool lol! Overall I would recommend trying Crickets if you're in the area!

This used to be our go to spot when we lived in Waco - it was a beer oasis back in the '90s when craft beer was still taking off. Coming from seven and a half years in Northern Europe expanded our beer tastes, and Cricket's opening was a lifesaver. It's still a good place to grab some basic wholesome pub grub, and they still have an impressive array of beers for whatever style you crave. Our server was spot on and took good care of us, genuinely friendly and added to our enjoyment. (Shout out to Harry T for taking care of us!) Check it out next time in Waco!

Stopped in here for dinner on our trip to Waco. The food was good and the atmosphere was nice. The server was ok but we did feel rushed when he put the check down after having a couple of bites of food. The restaurant wasn't busy and I would understand him doing that if it was. Overall glad we found this place.

On a Sister trip to Waco and staying down in this area so we tried Crickets! So glad we did! The food, the service, and the atmosphere were all perfection! Highly recommend the peanut butter hamburger... so so good!!!! Their giant chicken strips are the best I've ever had, but just order one because they are the size of a plate! Three of us split one!

We always make a point of stopping here when we drive thru Waco. Delicious brussel sprouts and beef melt. Great beer selection.

Addi gave great service while training a new staff member. Chicken Nachos $14 were good for two but just average. Coke products $2.79 with lots of beer choices. Address takes GPS to rear of location. Strip center parking. This is a big place.

We were here for lunch with a large group (twelve) and this venue turned out to be a perfect choice. Several played pool before we ordered and then had a wonderful meal--it seems everyone ordered something different and the presentation on all of it was great. Our server (Tracy) managed to keep up with drinks and food service for our pretty disorganized group and didn't flinch when we asked for five separate checks. Interesting atmosphere, too.

The food was great! However, the service was not the best. It took 15 minutes for the waitress to get a to go box and the check. And then, once the waitress we felt rushed.

"Good Lord willing and the creek don't rise My baby's got a song to sing While the crickets and the train whistle harmonize" (Little Big Town) Crickets is a cavernous bar/restaurant/pool hall/arcade college bar that must be filled to the rafters with Baylor students during school season. The bar was quite impressive, it seemed like they had at least 50 taps ready to pour your choice of suds. There are TV screens everywhere, and the NHL draft was being televised -the Mon We enjoyed a solid dinner last night. My wife's San Miguel Salad ($14.99) was loaded with cotija cheese, chihuahua cheese, avocado, tomato, cashews, pumpkin seed; and plenty of grilled chicken, and bacon with a chipotle lime vinaigrette. My Steak Quesadilla ($12.99) was a big portion loaded with diced steak, cheddar cheese and pico de gallo. No complaints at all with the food, price, value, or service.

Food was fine. Took 30min to get drinks - had to ask the bartender to help us. Food runner brought out some of our plates and just left them on the bar next to us. The manager, Audrey brought the rest of the plates to the table and was incredibly rude when we pointed out that our plates were on the bar with a snappy, "I got it, guys!" as if we were being demanding. She barked at us when we had no silverware and asked for some. We reluctantly come here as it is. This visit put the nail in the coffin.

can yall at least let your fried food especially the cod drain a few seconds instead of throwing it in the to go plates. I'm sure the breading wouldn't have been all wet if you did.

Great prices. Tons space. Great specials. Wednesday night had just 1 waitress but she handled 6-8 tables with ease.

We waited over an hour and a half and never got our meals. The service was horrible. The appetizers came out after an hour, and were cold. The only positive thing was that they didn't charge us.

We went on a Monday evening upon arriving to town. It was pretty empty, very large and open space. I can see where it would be a fun place to hang out! We shared a pretzel appetizer, which you can't mess up! My daughter had the salad and I had the quesadilla. All yummy with no complaints!

Fun pool house and cheap drinks. A live DJ plays music at least on Saturdays. We had a fun night there.

Kind waiter, slow midday during the week. Food was not great, I had the basil pasta chicken and it could've been better. Wouldn't try again, would try another local spot.

Cricket's Grill and Draft Dined here Mother's Day weekend was busy and had a time trying to find a parking spot. Ordered the Brisket and Cheese French Fries which is an absolute winner. We scarfed that down pronto. The Commitment Meal was a massive amount of food delicious to everything. 10 cent Champaign on Mother's Day Fun place and good food.

environment was amazing! our server was so attentive and sweet. food was delicious, got the club house and mac and cheese as well as fried pickles. The cocktail flight was good too, my favorite was the swimming with sharks.

Stopped in on a whim and had the best service and ate amazing food. We were visiting Waco during a recent trip to Austin. After seeing the Texas Ranger Museum, we traveled to the Spice Village (not what you'd think of by the name) and Crickets was in the same building. After shopping, we were hungry and thought: "why not?" We were seated immediately, and our server promptly took our drink order. When she returned with them, we were ready to order; Fish and chips for him, while I had the basil pesto chicken mac and cheese. I'd say the Mac and cheese was the best I've ever had. The basil pesto chicken added great flavor to the creaminess of the Mac and cheese. Hubby also says his fish and chips was some of the best food he's eaten in a long time. The portions were huge, and we had plenty to box up and take along for another meal. Pricing was reasonable for the portions we received. We'd definitely make another stop if we're back in the area. (And we will be back as we have family in the Austin area.)

Stopped in for dinner last night. Hubs had the brisket burger. I had a bite of his burger it was very flavorful and just the right amount of pickles and sauce. I had the fish tacos, they looked like a burrito that was flattened. Kind of flavorless too. The beer selection was large to say the least. Great place to play pool or watch a game. Great vibe! Service was wonderful.

Love that this place has endured with all the challenges to local restaurants. But my fish and chips were horrendous. The "chips" were just normal French Fries and the fish was tiny, oily and mostly batter. I don't remember actually tasting fish. But everything else was great, especially the fried pickles.

Came in for dinner tonight because Ninfas Mexican had too long of a wait . The food was ok. The cocktails were so bad we barely drank 1/4 of either of them. And our server Shawn was awful. Not friendly , took forever for everything , no dirty plates were ever removed from our table and he barely checked on us .

We met some friends at this restaurant. It was our first time. It's a big place and very busy on a Saturday night. They were quite a few TVs and lots of space but don't expect much from the service. It took us about 15 minutes just to get a water after we ordered and the food was just so so. It is typical bar food and service is really slow. We will not come back and eat here.

Crickets, as in the sound heard while waiting for our food. We don't mind waiting on food, but mediocre food at best.

Don't be fooled by the 5 star reviews and google photos. The food here was terrible. We had a party of 8 and no one got a great meal. The service was great, the apps were fine and the hot brownie was the best thing we had. However, the meals themselves were terrible. Chicken sandwich was overly breaded and they used dark meat instead of chicken breasts. So. Weird. It's a fun vibe if you want to hang out and play pool, but again, the food was the worst. And it took over an hour to get our food and the restaurant wasn't full. Should have taken that as a sign. Save yourself and skip Crickets.

Honey Mustard Chicken Sandwich is made with crack! Im sure of it!! Just couldn't stop eating it, so deliciously satisfying!! A definite stop and enjoy!! Us Alaskans shall definitely return! Thank you for the great visit :)

Really enjoy Crickets for good food and friends. They have a large menu and fun atmosphere.

The place is cavernous. Lot of room to move around and looks to be probably a exciting venue for the young adults after football games. The service is ok, the bartenders are typical for a college town. They don't know much about the liquor nor about the drinks. Best to order beer, shots or a simple 2 ingredient drink. Food was bad and the expedition from the kitchen was glacial for the rest of my group.

Wednesday the 13th my colleagues and I were in town for a convention across the street and we were advised that this was "the place" to go for lunch. Our waitress was friendly enough, she was a manager of a nearby restaurant who was there to help out the other three employees (reportedly) that were present for work that day. The food took just over an hour (after we ordered it) but unfortunately for me the "Legendary Starter" that I ordered... the "BBQ Braised Beef Brisket Cheddar Fries" were as far from legendary as I can possibly imagine. I could have done better with frozen foods in a microwave. When I say disappointing I mean It was if It were prepared an hour earlier. The fries not overcooked but hard and dry. They'd been sitting out for a while. The cheese was also hard (and cold) and whatever the meat on top was entirely inedible. It tasted like smoked rump roast and was over-spiced. I couldn't choke down a quarter of it... (See photographs) Oh the place is nice, they even had Shufleboard tables (you just don't see those everywhere). Every sort of alcohol known to anyone was there. TV's all over the place, a bougie decor and enough liquor to last through a prohibition era doesn't make up for slow service and inedible food. Why not just be a bar? So my recommendation would be just to shut the damn doors when you're understaffed and folks like me won't have anything to Yelp about, besides being closed due to staff shortages. I go to Waco periodically but I'll never go back in there, for sure. It was an total disappointment.

This is a great college bar! Great for freshly 21 year olds. I came here to get a good meal and received the compliment opposite. Appetizer's were cold, burger was a hockey puck, fish was dry and the chicken tenders were over cooked. The young lady that was our waitress was super nice but they over booked her area and it was tough to get service from her. Wouldn't recommend this place for anyone over the age of 25 years of age.

After a bad first experience (and the restaurant attempting to make it right) we gave it a second chance tonight. Once we got seated the fire alarm started going off (and the waitress told us about the "last time it went off") I had some pretty low expectations of the evening. While I do love the atmosphere and concept of this restaurant the food is just "ok" but the service (or lack there of) is really sub par. It seems like the staff do care and try but the service is still just bad, almost like they have no idea how to work in a restaurant/bar environment. It's seems like a small investment in employee training, some tweaks to the menu, and a deep clean could really make this and incredibly place. However, after two visits with sub par service and "ok" food/drink, we can safely say we gave it a fair chance and as much as we do like the atmosphere/concept this place just isn't for us.

If you appreciate good tasting food, this is not the place for you. I got the bbq grilled cheese and it had zero flavor. If I couldn't see it, I wouldn't have even known their was meat on it. My husbands $16 salad was the size of a side salad and they didn't even toss it (Caesar salads should be tossed). Kids meals were even worse with store bought tortillas, over cooked chips, and Kraft macaroni. Just skip yourself the heartache and go somewhere else.

Went for brunch and didn't get a server to stop by for a half hour. After we ordered, it took another 45 minutes to get our food. The food was warm, not hot and very mediocre. Our server was doing the best he could and was extremely nice, but apologetic about the wait. We spoke to the manager who also apologized, but just stated that they were really busy, so tough. Just poor management.

Food is really good, a little loud for me, customer service was good Monte Cristo Monte Cristo

We were at the bar for about 30 minutes waiting to be attended to & we were continuously ignored. None of the bartenders made any sort of eye contact with us, except for one who half heartedly answered a question before he moved on to other customers, never coming back to get our order. People that came in after us were attended to before us. Wonder why? Perhaps has something to do with the color of our skin? Anyway, we obviously left after we noticed the pattern but seriously, do better.

Our waiter was trying his best and the appetizers were good but this was potentially some of the worst food I've had. My chicken sandwich had no hot sauce on it and dripped with grease, the mushroom Swiss burger had 2 mushrooms and white American cheese on it and the bun was solid as a rock. I feel bad for the staff because we waited over an hour for our food. Respectfully don't come here!

Oh Cricket's... a college staple for me. Cricket's is a huge restaurant/bar with pool tables, arcade games, huge Jenga, a photobooth, air hockey, etc. It's not gimmicky like Dave and Buster's; it feels homey. There's a fair amount of tables at the front of house and the back is all fun and games. They also have a cute balcony that you can sit and eat/drink/people-watch at, but you have to order at the bar as there are no servers up there. Food is typical bar food and I've always liked everything I've tried here. They have delicious cocktails (try the Gator Kiss!), a long beer list, and a wide selection of alcohol behind the bar. It can get hectic when it's busy, but it's definitely worth checking out. Bonus points for the cute "congrats grads" menus from this Dec 2021 Baylor grad :)

First time going while taking a day trip to Waco. Looked appealing by the ads. The atmosphere was nice, our server was efficient and tended very well to us. The food was not good though. I ordered a burger that was supposed to have bacon and bbq sauce it had neither. It did, however, have a slice of ham on it... I was also supposed that most entrees didn't come with a side. They don't have to-go cups. They don't offer military discount to active duty soldiers. For 2 adult entrees and 2 kids meals with 1 alcoholic beverage and an appetizer of fried pickles my total was $98. Definitely not worth the price and I wouldn't go back.

First time here and I can honestly say everything we ordered was soooo GOOD including the service!! Our server was Aubrey and she was sweet as can be and very attentive. There was even another server who attended to us, to ensure we had everything we needed. No complaints here.

Good food, service is slow sometimes. The only thing I hate is the parking. That whole area is a nightmare for parking.

Food was pretty good, but service was really bad. I don't know if it was the server or the restaurant. Out of the 9 people in our group on a slow afternoon, 4 of the orders were very wrong. We asked for queso and chips, that never came. Several orders were delivered after everyone else was done eating. I had to walk around the restaurant and track down my server to get what I needed. The food was good, but it was not a fun experience.

I'm writing this review because Cricket's is usually our "go to" option for a meal and drinks before Baylor Basketball and Football games. I would say that me and my group typically meet up there a minimum of 10 to 12 times per year. Unfortunately something has drastically changed. Service use to be good. Last 3 times it was horrible. Each time, the wait staff has apologized profusely and said they are terribly understaffed. Last night (3/4) we went there before the BU/UT game. Got our first drink fairly quickly. Ordered my second drink and it took 45 minutes (seriously!) for it to arrive. On top of that, they were then out of what I had originally ordered (Stella). The waiter ended up apologizing again and comping the drink. You're losing customers and losing money. You passed up on a least 2-3 rounds of drinks for a party of 5 because we couldn't get served. Please get this fixed or we're taking our business elsewhere.

Great food, fair prices. Easy parking. A little crazy on Friday & Saturday nights but nonetheless a nice place. One of our favorite servers there is Alyssa. She is so sweet & really attentive. We go there about once a week because of the simple atmosphere, good food & service. A Waco gem for sure.

Host was not friendly, from the time we walked in. We waited for someone to approach the front, when she did we were told immediately the kitchen was going to close and we're not welcomed with the option to stay for drinks. We decided to leave and go elsewhere.

We like Crickets because we can have adult fun time with food drinks and games. However, since we started coming here years ago, I have to say I am now on the hunt for a new fun place. There's pool tables, Jenga, shuffleboard....but there's also RUDE bartenders and dirty draft spouts. They have a beer here that is not on tap anywhere else locally, but it just doesn't taste good here, nor did a few others I tried in place of it. I bartend part time and have met others that worked and managed here and couched for dirty spouts. Phone Mr. Taffert???? The last time we went was the final straw with the bartender they currently have. She's an older blond lady and smile and polite are not in her vocabulary. I asked for a Mexican Martini, pretty basic in Texas, she didn't know how to make it so I helped her. The first pour I watched her make a full margarita, pour half of it I. A martini glass and hand it to me. The second time, a little larger glass and the third, I said "how about I just get the regular glass you usually serve it in". Finally got the full drink purchase. Anyways I could go in and on with details, but I will say for the owners sake, talk around town is not positive about Crickets and there are cool new places opening. Please hire some awesome staff, clean the bar and be great again!

All I have to say is their service was wonderful. My youngest son and I were I town for a band competition to watch his older brother perform. They let us camp out for hours while my youngest played video games on the laptop over their Wi-Fi. Dillon was especially considerate and attentive. Will visit again next time I'm in Waco! Thank you Dillon & Crickets!