Chart House

Reviews 4

A

A Private User

The restaurant was fairly empty on Sunday at 5:45 P.M., but it was off season and the restaurant was located close to many vacant resorts. The environment was soothing, offering a retro vibe of dark wood and dim lighting. There was also a southern, windowed seating area with panoramic views of the lake. Our waiter was cordial, if not a bit stiff, and tended to our drink orders quickly. My glass of wine arrived, and looked to be just shy of a six once pour. Considering that the Sauvignon Blanc I had chosen was $9.50 a glass, I would have been pleased if it had been a more generous pour. We started with two appetizers, Oyster’s Rockefeller and Lobster Spring Rolls. The latter were served pleasantly enough, but after one bite, they tasted as if they had been thawed and perhaps purchased frozen as opposed to being made on the premises. They were dry and not particularly flavorful. The Oysters were fine, but only just fine; they lacked the size, flavor and richness of similar preparations I had enjoyed at other local establishments. When I placed my entrée order, I asked Bob, our waiter, for his recommendations. He stated that the halibut was one of the freshest and most flavorful selections. When my plate of halibut arrived, I was pleasantly surprised by the portion size and that the fish was cooked appropriately. Surrounding the fish was a small pile of overcooked vegetables and a yellowish rice pilaf that tasted as if it had been prepared from a mix. Although the halibut was moist, I found it to be bland and merely satisfactory. I have prepared fresh halibut many times at home, and I prefer the price, preparation and quality of eating it at home over this restaurant’s offering. We thoroughly enjoyed watching the native birds from our dining view and also the rich ambience of the restaurant décor, but it didn’t make up for the mediocre dish offerings. Considering the price and quality, I would not visit the Chart House again. There are too many other superb dining choices in the Valley of the Sun.

A

A Private User

After hearing great reviews for birthday events, I decided to surprise my fiance and take him out to a nice dinner. Guess I should have come somewhere else!!! I specifically spelt his name and gave the reason for the reservations when I made them. The lady who took my reservation was so excited to celebrate his birthday with us. When I we got to the restaurant, I told the hostess our reservation name and said we were there for his birthday. When we were seated, not only were we stuffed in a terrible corner but there was NO PERSONALIZED MENU or confetti on the table for him. I kept waiting for something to happen.... nothing!! Then we told the waitress it was his birthday and she was so pumped and asked if we wanted the molten chocolate cake to celebrate (since you have to put the order in early). We figured it was compd so we of course said yes! While we were waiting on our food, I excused myself and went and asked the hostess why we never got anything special for the birthday. She said, Oh... hang on. She fumbled around behind the desk, then pulled out two menus with Happy Birthday R______!! typed in a size 10 font on the top and said, Here they are. Do you want these? I was shocked! Not only were the menus terribly disappointing but the girl never apologized. I told her that the only reason I brought my fiance there was because I was told how great the birthday presentation is, and instead THIS is what I got. She said, Yeeeahhhh.... oops. (?!?!?) Food came and it was ok. Good enough to enjoy if it hadnt been for the rest of the experience. The molten cake was also wonderful, which is should have been considering we paid $12 for it! Yeah, they didnt give us menus or confetti, never apologized for it, and then the waitress tricked us into getting a $12 dessert. We asked her about the charge and she said, Yeah, we dont do free desserts. Im sorry. My fiance and I just looked at each other, paid the tab, and got out of there as quickly as we possibly could. And will NEVER go back.

KA

Kathy Mowery

My husband surprised me with an anniversary dinner at the Chart House. Got there a little earlier than our reservation but was seated right away. Our personalized menus were ready and waiting. The man that seated us (manager?) was a little rude by asking my husband if our 19 years of marriage was consecutive. What? We were put in a corner booth behind the salad bar. We didnt mind the privacy but after looking around, we realized it was the furthest away from the beautiful view (and there were seats available so it isnt like he didnt have a choice). Our waitress was pleasant and helpful. Husband ordered scallops which were amazing. He substituted the green beans for asparagus which they forgot to do. He tested the waitress to see if she realized this mistake which she did not even though they had a long discussion about the switch when he ordered. I ordered the mixed grill (salmon, scampi and crab cake). Salmon (great), scampi (okay), crab cake (dry/rubbery). Water glasses were kept filled, empty plates removed quickly. We did notice the waitress tried to upsell everything: wine, meal, dessert. Didnt pressure us when we said no to her recommendations though. I mentioned that it was my husbands birthday as well as our anniversary to see if we got complimentary dessert since I watched another table get a slice of cake with a candle in it delivered to their table. Nothing more than a congratulations for him. Even chain restaurants give complimentary dessert (especially for an annivesary/birthday combo). Noticed some body language with her and the manager (eyes rolling/smirk) when he stopped by our table and asked if everything was "well". Not sure what that was about. Overall, I liked the atmosphere, didnt like the manager and by the end of the evening wasnt too sure of the waitress. The food got an okay from me and an amazing from my husband. I think we will try some place else next time.

MA

Matt Rix

The service was deplorable. There were only 5 occupied tables when we were seated for dinner, and 3 waiters working the floor ... yet our waiter was "lost in action" and forgot to bring us our salads or re-fill our glasses. We literally waited over 15 minutes for our waiter to re-discover our table!!! THEN ... he asked if we still wanted our salads since the main course was ready to serve. HELLO??? To make a long (and painful) story short, after the main course our waiter offered to "comp" one full sized dessert in lieu of "forgetting about us". After requesting the manager and explaining the situation, he offered to comp 50% of our bill. I guess in his eyes, since we only received half of a waiter, we should only have to pay for half of our (luke warm) meal. The food was borderline passable (although my tilapia was more sashimi than grilled), the atmosphere good, location is excellent, but without great service and attention to details like service and food quality, why would anyone want to pay their $$$ prices??? In Scottsdale, there are too many GREAT steak and seafood restaurants to have to accept bad service, undercooked fish, and complacent management. Happy hour ... 2 thumbs up. Dining experience ... 4 thumbs down ... and a hardy dose of Pepto! HOWEVER - as a professional speaker and humorist, this story is a priceless example of how to quickly kill your business without even trying. Thank you Chart House for supplying new material for my Story-Selling keynotes and workshops! After all, humor and irony are where you find them, and your location is a "target rich" environment!!!