To anyone that finds themselves in an unfamiliar town, it's difficult to learn your way around. Especially in the small town of Waco, finding a restaurant amongst such little verity that has good food isn't all that easy. After venturing to a majority of local restaurants, Cricket's Grill and Draft House has risen above the rest. Each time a friend or I myself have gone there, the food hasn't been a let down. Having been there roughly five times, I can't will myself to order anything besides the Balsamic Chicken Sandwich. A wheat bun loaded with chicken, cheese, grilled onions, and balsamic dressing, this sandwich made my taste buds feel they could trust the eateries here in Waco. Although I haven't been able to force myself to try something new, I have heard from others that items such as the Chicken Quesadilla and Four Cheese Linguine Alfredo are also good. The one drawback to the food is that items are served "À la Carte". Any sort of side cost extra, which can hike up the cost of the bill. Not only a restaurant, the bar is also good place to get a drink with friends. Whenever there's a sporting event on television, a crowd is gathered around the bar having a beer cheering for the teams playing. Bar games such as pool tables and dartboards also contribute to the restaurant's youthful and fun atmosphere. To those of age, the establishment is the perfect place to go for a fun evening with friends. However, the restaurant becomes solely a bar after a certain time, discouraging people to go there when accompanied by small children. The waiting staff is also great and your server always has time to check in. I haven't ever had to go more than five minutes with an empty glass. The only issue with the waiting staff I have ever encountered was when an order got lost and we had to wait an uncomfortably long time for it to be brought out. These small mistakes are inevitable and cannot be prevented. Overall, the food at Cricket's is delicious. It's easy to find something good, the ambiance is fun, and the service is great as well. Besides the minor issues that surface occasionally, the restaurant is still a unique and fun dining experience. Cricket's brings a youthful and special personality to Waco, and is an establishment I highly recommend. read more

Excellent food, huge selection of beer, pool tables, shuffleboard, a photo booth, TV'S everywhere! What's not to love?

This is a great place to grab some drinks! The bartenders are always friendly and give great service. The manager is always extremely personable and goes out of her way to make sure you have a great experience. It's a fun and safe environment. Whether you want to grab food with the family or a couple or drinks with friends it's always a great time. read more

Crickets rocks! The bartenders were top notch and extremely attentive. A big shout out to the manager Tina who made me feel at home! Would definitely recommend and will come back again read more

I came with a few friends to Waco just visiting and was recommended this restaurant by the hotel staff, so we went and saw the menu and the names and designs of the burgers were a little unorthodox but we came to try something different, I decided to go with the spicy Baja burger. A mix of guacamole and pico de gallo which seemed odd to me but when I ate it, it was amazing and I'm sure I am underselling it. My taste buds were all over the place in so much enjoyment! Absolutely great! My friend had the classic burger and he couldn't stop expressing his enjoyment of the burger, my other friend had the fried mushrooms and enjoyed them very much. I highly recommend this place to anyone! The service was friendly and easy to get along with. Must come back! read more

Adam was our waiter and not only was the food amazing...but the service was the absolute BOMB!! There were 9 women on a girls trip and he made it a BLAST. Everything he suggested was on point, from the beers to the apptz, to the meals. We Loved our experience THANKS to ADAM!!! read more

Elizabeth was attentive and helpful in making my choices. As a visitor to the area, I was expecting average service for the price point. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the food was inexpensive, delicious, and the service was exceptional. I overheard some of the other servers interacting with other patrons and I could tell that their experience was similar. Everyone was extremely polite, attentive, and helpful. I wish there was a place like this, and it's staff, in California. I was so impressed that I had to track down the manager and let her know what a wonderful experience I had. Great job, keep up the good work! read more

If there's a theme to my Waco reviews, it's that they're colored by nostalgia. I have a fond memory of coming here the night before a cross country meet, watching sumo wrestling, and having a terrible time splitting the check. In those days we were unaware of the impressive selection of beers on tap. We were content eating their traditional sports bar fare. If you're going to a draft house in Waco, you really shouldn't be complaining about their fried food. You can't get fried pickles just anywhere. That a place called Crickets is less than upscale, healthy, low-in-saturated-fats-dining should not be surprising. Just be glad it's not Applebees and is actually a neighborhood establishment. And as long as I'm on the topic of crickets, they are actually a plague-like phenomenon in Waco. Fortunately, Crickets' large, open space is free of crickets and has plenty of bar games and televisions to distract you from the invasion. read more

Only come here for the beer selection. Food service is slow, even when they do not seem busy. They also ran out of COFFEE during Sunday brunch! Many of the brunch items are way overpriced for what you get. The food descriptions are misleading and my bf was very disappointed in the meager amount of food on his plate (he ordered "the commitment" which turned out to be a basic breakfast sandwich). Brunch is obviously an afterthought here, given the very small menu selection (6 items maybe?) and overpriced items for what you get. I think they charged $10 for AVOCADO TOAST. They didn't call it that of course, except I overheard the waitstaff call it such. Save your money and time and find a decent brunch elsewhere in Waco. read more

This place has been in better shape. The food is pretty good. They have quite a few drinks - ~100 beer taps and liquor. The service really leaves you wondering if anyone wants to be there. We played pool for about 4 hours and had the hardest time getting drinks and eventually food. The entire staff seems to have just a "don't care" attitude - starting with the managers. The overall upkeep and cleanliness leaves a lot to be desired. The restrooms smell more like portable urinals on a hot day or something straight out of the worst dive bars. I get that this place is geared towards college kids, and I am nowhere near their demographic - but I used to enjoy going to crickets whenever I am in Waco. I don't think that you have to be a dive bar to get the college kids to come in. I think that there could be a nice happy medium - like the place used to be - between dirty, smelly, loud, smoky dive bar and something that might run college kids off. The games are nice - they have pool, foosball (or table football), semi-giant jenga, giant connect four, darts, shuffleboard tables and golden tee. I may be missing one or two of the game. The pool tables look like people have been dancing on them. They are NOT taken care of at all. If you enjoy pool - this is not the place to play. The table are pretty uneven and the felt is horrible. There were no bridges to be found. The balls are mostly chipped. If you want to play pool to kill time and you don't care that shots won't drop because the table is uneven - then this may not be too bad. The foosball tables were both broken. I didn't grasp what was really going on, but it seems that management was putting bowls under the lid to keep the balls from coming out. We put a couple of bucks in each before realizing that nothing was going to happen. We complained and they gave us our money back, but later I saw one of the managers (or some sort of non-waitstaff employee) come in and lift the lid to get the balls out so that some other people could play. That didn't seem like a great way to do business, and it made me wonder how many people dropped money into those machines and didn't complain when the balls never came out. Speaking of smoky - that room in the back that people go to smoke in does nothing to contain the smoke and there doesn't appear to be any filtration system. We played pool a good way away from the room (as far as you could be and still play pool) and we went home smelling like we smoked all night. Again, I think that there are solutions to make both smokers and non-smokers happy. I've been to many cigar shops that have smoking in the back and generally they shell out the money to have an air filtration system to make sure that everyone leaves happy. Anyone can sling hash and beer and call themselves a "grill and draft house" I guess. I think that that this place is alienating a large population by making this too much like a college bar and not enough like a decent draft house. This place stays pretty busy, so they probably don't see the need to make an effort to be better than they are. I got to crickets several times per year whenever I visit waco, and I can say that its gone downhill over the past 2 years or so. The menu is better, and the food is better, but everything else is pretty much worse. read more

Food is ok, but a little on the expensive side. They have a really great beer selection, and the one time my friend got a skunk beer there the bar manager, Rich, bent over backwards to make it up to us. Overall, the great management, drink selection and service makes this place THE bar to go to in Waco. read more

Crickets is one of the saving graces of Waco, particularly if you are staying in one of the downtown hotels and can walk there. There is a good selection of beers with a reasonable sample of local microbrews, enough of a food menu to make it count as a restaurant, and pool tables, shuffleboard, darts, etc.. to make whiling away a few hours outside the hotel room more pleasant. That said, after around 10 PM the "no smoking" signs appear to become merely suggestions, the food menu was recently changed to the detriment of most of the semi-healthy options, and as someone well past 21 I find it a bit absurd to have to show ID and get a wristband when I go for dinner on a Saturday night. read more

This place does not make my list of "places that don't suck" in Waco. But for the memory of their once glorious cheese fries, I would only give it 1 star. If you have to get something from the menu, go for the overpriced fish tacos. And I fully appreciate Robert H's appraisal of the clientele but wonder why on earth he would rate it so high. If you like beer, go to the Dancing Bear or Barnett's. Don't go to this ridiculous warehouse full of annoyance. read more

Great beer selection! So-so food. Pool. Shuffle board. Wii. Lots of tv's.

Came here after a long drive into Waco. Staff and service was okay. Cheese dip and salsa was solid. Really liked their salsa best. Beer was good and cold. Ordered a burger that had brisket on it. Don't usually do that but I did. It was fantastic. Would order it again. read more

I've been here a few times in the past year and the food is always pretty decent. The service on the other hand has never been great. I was excited that they have a new brunch menu since a good breakfast place is something Waco is lacking. I was extremely disappointed. If you're looking for eggs benedict, pancakes, omelets or other traditional brunch items unfortunately this isn't the place to come. read more

We come here a lot. Good food, menu is nice with good mix of options. Bar is impressive. Staff was friendly and attentive. Zac and Hunter are our family favorites. But my issue is with the deplorable state of the women's restroom..Every time we have come here since our first visit i dread the inevitable statement from one or all three of my young children that they have "to go potty" because of the filth and disgust that is ALWAYS waiting for us in there...The outside and base of the toilets are caked with human waste and vomit, as well as the seats. The walls of the stalls have smears of hand prints and splattered fluids everywhere, so do the actual walls of the room. I don't believe the changing table has EVER been wiped down with anything but a dry towel and there is scattered trash on the floor. I believe the sinks are supposed to be white but i have never seen them that color. Hair is always present in each sink and water is all over the floor and sink counter as if no employee ever goes in there to mop up, making sure that no customer or anyone else could possibly slip. We enjoy the food and service here but we will not be back unless serious attention is given to this issue. It worries me that a restaurant, an establishment that serves FOOD, would allow conditions like this in the same building as people are eating. It makes me wonder that if they tolerate a bathroom in this state then what must their kitchen be like? What kind of preparations are they doing with the food? Is it prepared safely? Could it make my children sick? Could it make anyone sick? And what about the video games? Which my children love by the way..Do they sanitize the buttons, guns, footballs, basketballs and joysticks? I can"t be sure at this point..If they resolve this issue then we will be back, but until then Crickets will not be getting our business. read more

My friends and I came here for the first time during our conference. We didn't know what were good to order, so our waitress was really friendly and professional on helping us pick out the food. The food came out fresh and fast. My friends really liked their food! read more

Great food, great craft beer, polite service. The Brussels Sprouts are to die for!!!!!

Great food and superb service. Hunter was fantastic! Attentive, friendly, fun, perfect! He made a great meal even better!

Not with your money. The food is just average and the wait is long. There are so many restaurants in Waco that are more reasonably priced with better food. read more

My husband and I were in Waco for a short weekend and had an early Friday evening dinner at Cricket's. The food was great and the atmosphere (early evening) was subdued enough for us to have a conversation over dinner (again, it was early). We had an appetizer of fried cauliflower with a chipotle sauce that was tasty and for my entrée, I had a wonderful Avocado Toast with a fried egg on top. I think it is called The Hipster. Anyway, it was a perfect light meal and my two glass of pinot grigio were a perfect match. I would definitely return. read more

Great beer selection, but food was very average and overpriced. i wouldn't go back.

I actually really liked my burger when I came in the first time even though our waiter was horrible and no one informed any of the people that were at the table that the burgers don't come with fries... which is strange. I tried to call in an order recently and no one answered. I called 3 times about 5 minutes apart. Terrible customer service so I won't be wasting my time here again. read more

Best fish tacos I've ever had. Service was great, thanks Rea. Traveling through from out of state....so worth it. 100 plus beers on tap, just another reason to come back. Manager was very personable and friendly. read more

Zac was great!!!! Had the the chicken in the pig-amazing! Chicken was great, waffles were great! Coffee was the best.

My husband and I were in town to see the Magnolia Silos. We met a gentleman on the trolley who worked there and recommended that we come for their hamburgers. We went for lunch. I had the pimento cheese burger and my husband had the mushroom Swiss burger. Both were moist with great flavor. The onion rings were very light, slightly grease. I tried the cheddar fries and found them to be soggy. Our server, Bibiana, noticed I wasn't eating them and removed it from our bill. She was very attentive to our needs. Would absolutely return. Great food and great service. Thank you JP for recommending your restaurant! read more

Stopped in here tonight not knowing what to expect, having never been here before. We had a great server named Zach. He suggested a beer for me that was just what I needed after walking all over Waco looking for a place to eat. Service was great, beer was great, food was great! read more

Zac was an amazing server! He was super friendly and made sure we had a good time and get got what we wanted. Go visit Zac and you will have a great time!!! read more

Ok let me start off by saying that Adam was the best waiter. My mom and I drove from Ft. Worth and were going to Spice Village to shop. We decided to go to Crickets before shopping. That was the best decision ever. Adam made the best suggestions for our food choices and has a wonderful personality. We will definitely return. The ranch rocks too! read more

I really wanted to love this place... Great selection of beer, but terrible service. The man sitting next to me at the bar was so drunk he fell off his Barstool. They got me confused with him and cut me off and then proceeded to ask me to leave the restaurant. Never so mortified in my life about bad treatment. Again fantastic selection great ambience worst service I've ever seen.... I will not return, there are plenty of places with comparable I'm Beyonce and selection with much better service. read more

went there for lunch had fish and chips which were decent. some of teh fries were a bit rawish. homemade salsa was good. huge beer selection on tap, would be a better place to go for dinner and make use of those beers. read more

My new favorite place!!! Food was amazing!! Bibiana was our waitress and we loved her!!! She is very friendly and outgoing which made our experience much better!! Cant wait to go again!!! read more

Draft house and pool hall. Beer is not cold and I dare you to try to find a pool cue that is remotely straight. 2 VERY key items to have, wouldn't you think ??? read more

Great beer selection and decent food. Customer service was very poor though. Myself and a group of coworkers were asked to leave the night of 7/27/17 for playing darts. The DJ stand took over the dart board area and 5 paying customers were asked to leave by the bouncer and manager on duty. We were not even allowed to finish our game. Very disappointed with the management at this establishment and do not plan to return. read more

I'll be honest, this place is... a little weird. Every time I've been here the restaurant is nearly empty but the bar is full. Even though the atmosphere is strange in a way I can't quite put my finger on, I still like it here. They rotate beer selections often, which is great, but none of the drinks menus say the same thing. They serve a huge selection of craft brews and lots of ones from Texas specifically. The bartenders are very friendly and knowledgeable, and they'll let you try a sip of something if you're not sure what to order. You have to have a sense of humor to enjoy this place but you'll be glad you stopped in. read more

What a great experience! Staff are awesome and quickly get what you ask for, Food is delish. Recommend Loaded French Fries, Onion Rings, Fish taco, Pimento cheese burger....and don't forget the chicken skewers with Brussels sprouts which was out of this world. Tina and her staff will take great care of you. It was a great Waco experience. read more

Friends folks, not outstanding food. Ladies bathroom had a very bad toilet problem, leaking, but could access one. There are 3-4 toilets.

Hard to find because the address is to the back of the bldg. Drive around front to park. Crickets burger with cheese was messy and tasted great! Recommend the home battered onion rings. Big and uniquely tasty . Waitress lacked knowledge of the vast amount of draftbeer avail. When leaving we stopped by the bar and the bartender was very helpful in explaining the beers and even let us taste several. read more

Great food, good service, fun atmosphere. We were driving through, found the place fairly randomly, and enjoyed a good meal. We had the chicken tenders, the grilled chicken sandwich, and a house salad. All tasty. read more