Shift Kitchen & Bar — Restaurant in Flagstaff

I think there is nothing worse than after a meal you think about how else you could have spent your money vs being grateful for the meal you just got to experience.

I have gone to both the bake sale and the dinner for Shift, and since the bake sale is only done once a month, it is less important, but here it is. With exception of the 12 dollar burrito, I will say that my expectations were more than met. I wish that the owner of Shift will make a bakery, as Flagstaff is lacking in a good sweet bakery (of which they informed me has been tried but was sadly unsuccessful). I think the once a month bake sales should be a monthly tradition for anyone in Flagstaff, minus of course, the 12 dollar burrito, which although good, does not command the price it ask.

Excited from the bakery, I ordered the four part taster for dinner. The first course, the salmon, looked good, but I have never been crazy about raw fish, but over all, it was fine, but maybe a different judge is needed for this item.

The pumpkin pasta was amazing. I thought the sage flavor could have been a little stronger, but I would have loved to have four plates of it alone and if Shift was just a pasta place, I would easily given it five stars. I can't say enough about the pasta, except I wish I had more.

(The sorbet was a nice pallet cleanser, but it's a pallet cleanser, it is not what you go there for)

However, it is not, and that brings us to the lamb. The most expensive item on the menu (40 dollars) and it tasted....odd? At first I tried to make excuses for Shift in my head "well I do not eat lamb all the time, maybe that is the taste," but then remembered that several places in Flagstaff that I go to often do indeed serve lamb, and I am sure to always order a side of it. Again the dish looked good, but the 40 dollar menu item was something I'd rather not have ordered, and instead have gotten another place of pasta.

The biggest offense was the pumpkin pie. Still confused from the lamb, I was greeted by what I can only describe as a sliver of a slice of pie, that was then "deconstructed". For 13 dollars, and after having the disappointing lamb (and the fact that none deconstructed hamburgers are on the menu) my thought was that this is honestly just a way to make as much money as possible from giving a little food as possible. If I was a ruder person, I'd definitely have sent it back, and asked were my slice of pie was (as something I do not think is too much to ask for a single slice) and had flash backs of when Gordan Ramsey was served half of a cake for over 50 dollars, but, I am not as aggressive as Gordan Ramsey, and had faith from the pasta, which was misplaced. The sprinkles were unneeded and out of place. Between being a flakey pie crust and having a more expired texture, I'd go with expired. The filling was fine, but even if I did have a slice of this pie, I'd have just thought that I could make a better pie, for just as much money, at home.

For pasta and for the bake sale, I'll give this place a 5/5, but odds are, you are likely to have an experience out side of just those, so I must give it only one. You're likely better off going to Brix or Tinderbox for a "not mountain food" experience. Maybe I ordered some of the more mediocre items, but with a kitchen this small, I'd expect there to be no fat...

I have been to Shift many times over the last year or so and unfortunately it has gone from my absolute favorite restaurant to one where I am debating whether to go back.

Food: On my last visit I ordered the lobster risotto and the lobster was incredibly rubbery and so tough that I had to saw at it with my knife. Usually the quality of food is excellent and the cocktails have always been smooth, delicious, and inventive. The flavors of the food have always been great. I have seen other reviews complaining about tough meat and thought those people were absolutely crazy until my meal last night.

Service: On recent visits I made day of reservations requesting bar seating and was told both times after we arrived that it is in high demand and was unavailable that night despite 2 seats being open for the entire duration of my meals. On the second occasion, a couple was seated next to us and they asked if they could move to main bar seats (the same location I had originally asked for and where there were two empty seats since before we arrived). They were originally told no, then the hostess returned and said they could sneak over as long as they "don't tell anyone." I understand the difficulty of people not showing up and the challenge in trying to time meals, but to have this happen twice and then see one couple receive what felt like preferential treatment over us and our request was disappointing and confusing. Hopefully it was bad luck and not many other people have experienced this.

Ambiance: On my last visit there was a family with 4 very young kids and one periodically screamed throughout our meal and threw silverware onto the floor several times. Absent small screaming children, the main bar seating is fantastic, the back bar seating is my least favorite (but gives you an opportunity to talk to your date more since you are basically looking directly at a white wall), and the tables are cozy and quaint, especially in the back room.

Overall: Probably will not return...if it was just an issue with service I might consider going back, but the tough and rubbery lobster convinced me that my money and time are better spent elsewhere. There are other restaurants in Flagstaff with more reliable and higher quality experiences and food. I wish this wasn't the case and hope that Shift is able to return to how it was a year ago on the food quality and customer...

Man-o-man. What a disaster this experience turned out to be. Well I’ll start with that the server we had was absolutely amazing. She was so well versed when it came to the menu. We got a bottle of wine and she did the whole bottle presentation. Very professional. We did have an issue that turned into us getting 86’d from the restaurant. Now I’m not attacking anyone here. But the “manager/chef” was with out a doubt the most immature adult I’ve ever crossed paths with. My friend at the table had ordered a burger well done. (I know I know, but that’s how she like her burgers) so well done, literally means NO PINK. Like that’s that option. Well it came out the first time, rare. Like very pink. So as uncomfortable as it was to send it back, she did. And when it came back a second time, still pink. And again, unfortunately she wanted well done. She can’t handle pink meat. Which is why she chose an easy burger. My scallops came out raw. Not cooked and still cold. There was no crust on the scallops and the flavor wasn’t great. So again, had to send them back. Which is literally, the worst thing. So after now sending back 3 dishes, I’m freaking out, but I had to eat so I ended order a sweet corn type pasta. Holy moly, absolutely fantastic. All the flavors were there. It was different comforting and delicious. On top of that ALL of our food came out at different time. So we never got to eat together. Anywho, so the bill came out and my friend was about to be charged for this burger that she never ate. That they kept sending out wrong. So now this manager/chef joins us. And my god, she needs to chill. She straight up told my friend “ITS NOT HER PROBLEM, there’s no such thing as a “well done burger” I’m am now shocked and just embarrassed for this “manger/chef” lady. I know this was uncomfortable but the way she handled herself, and represented the restaurant was just poor. And to top it of it, she walked away, turned around yelled “OH AND ALSO DONT EVER COME BACK” and left the host there to cash us out. Sometimes food just comes out bad. Like sometimes that happens. The server and host handled themselves better, even after the manager made the whole situation way worse. I was just blown away. So cheers to shift, god forbidden someone else orders a well...