12 West Brewing - Downtown Mesa — Restaurant in Mesa

Wife and I went on a late evening date to check out this new brewery. A run down of our experience. We first got there, we entered thru the back door, we quickly wandered around wondering if it is self seating or are we seated by a hostess or something. We asked the bartender and she said self seat. It would have been nice to have a sign that states self-seating, just to help direct traffic or the people that don't get out much (us). Once we got to the bar, we got a quick low down on how things are currently being operated (only been open officially for about 9 days). We placed our food order at 1 bar, closed the tab, had to go to the other bar to get the drinks we wanted. There is no cocktail menu so the wife had to ask the bartender for some recommendations (you would think they would at least have a starter cocktail menu to get things going). After she got her drink the bartender rang her up and I assume had to make up a price since the did not appear to be a set price list anywhere. After that we went up stairs and our food arrived. We had both ordered the Steak Sandwich (2 plates with fries). But one of them was a different dinner plate. They eventually took that one back and my wife and I shared her Steak Sandwich and fries. We finished that plate and were then still waiting for my Steak Sandwich plate. Once that finally came it did not have fries because they dropped them on the way. Now my wife and I were sharing our Steak Sandwich, finished it and still no fries. I ended up going down stairs (because it had been awhile) and found one of the ladies who was helping deliver and who had originally heard of the wrong order and the no fries. She said she would get them. Then as I am walking towards the stairs I saw the "server" that had originally brought us our food at the bar (probably on break eating dinner and soda). I am pretty sure if I did not go down and ask for my fries I would have not gotten them. Also, we had to refill our own water at a pitcher station. We are not lazy or anything, just never seen that before. Overall, we REALLY enjoyed the Steak Sandwich, had some great flavor!!! But the location still needs to figure things out. The servers that helped us were a little cluster-fuc*ed and were running around due to incorrect order and trying to unofficially help customers out (no assigned server). I understand that the establishment is new but it seems that some of that stuff should have been figured out prior to opening. *Need a better bar money linking system. It's super inconvenient to open and close a tab at each bar. Need servers designated to areas of the brewery to go around and ask if people need anything (no one is walking around to ask for more condiments, etc.). Need to get food orders correct, ours and another 2 parties there had incorrect food, or it was assigned to the wrong party number. Need cocktail menu, at least a starter. **We will most likely go back and bring other family that like breweries, but this establishment still needs to get things figured out before it make it a more enjoyable location. Final, the facility is really nice, has a great set up. The balcony upstairs is...

Though it pains me to write this review of a hangout, fairness & objectivity dictate.

It has its positives. Wonderful patios. Indoor spaciousness. Happy hour excluding Saturday but all day Sunday. Live music. Friendly young servers.

I want to love it. I try repeatedly to love it.

Unfortunately, it's become a Castle of Inconsistencies, plagued with problems that can no longer be overlooked. It's worth noting that I've worked many years in food service in many capacities in FOH & BOH. I'm no stranger to a ship well run or not.

Food is a MAJOR ongoing issue.

Temp. Have had exclusively hot dishes. Around 6. Of them, only 2 arrived hot; the remaining were lukewarm. That's batting 2-4. Not good. Downright embarrassing.

Delivery. Wait times are exceptionally long — even when it's not busy. Substandard delivery times not only affect customer immediate experience but chance of returning. It also means hot foods arrive lukewarm after having sat under a heat lamp. (yech)

One recent memorable experience stands out. Tuesday evening, sloooooooooww. Bavarian pretzel ordered. Gets no simpler. Warm in an oven for a few minutes, plate, done. Waited 10 minutes, 10 became 20, pushing 25 minutes. Was about to cancel the order once the bartender (sadly pretty inattentive, station not his forte) finally reappeared and answered my question why a pretzel was taking so long. Kitchen forgot to turn on the oven. Ouch.

Bar service. Inconsistent, depending on personnel. Most certainly seem friendly, engaging, reasonably competent. Unfortunately, even my regular "best of the bunch" barkeep (knows my preferences, etc.) drops the ball. Such things matter.

In hospitality, all things matter, the details especially. Consistency too is a foundation of any good business. It's just not here. As a local, that absolutely impacts where I take my dollars and time and above all loyalty. And customer loyalty is a most valuable asset of any business.

In sum, there's not only room for improvement but need. I genuinely hope management takes heed. There's much potential here and opportunity to shift the place made mediocre by glaring flaws into one...

We went there for our anniversary. Because it was our first time, we ordered a lot of menu items to sample and share.

We tried the Booze and Brew, which was amazing. Truly the best alcoholic drink I've ever had, though I drink only a couple times a year so take it for what it's worth.

The whipped ricotta is unexpected and delightful. I think they should expand it to offer it with fruit as an alternate choice as well. It could be a dessert.

We ordered the 12 West Burger. It was surprisingly underwhelming. The meat was cooked properly. The garlic in the garlic aioli is undetectable. Considering this was the reason we tried that burger, this was disappointing. The ingredients were fresh and quality. The flavor was just bland.

I had the Birria tacos. The tacos were delicious, though they could have used a little salt. The consome was very bitter and canned tasting so I skipped it. The chips and salsa were good. The salsa is a green salsa, which was unexpected but delicious, if a little hot.

My husband ordered the fish tacos, which he said were really good and said that the fish was super fresh.

Service was lacking. When we arrived, there were only two other tables. The waitress was pretty inattentive. We waited for a while after a runner dropped our food for the waitress to come by and check on us so we could request silverware. At one point I got up to refill my own water because my glass had been empty a while and she hadn't returned. She wasn't overly busy--she walked by us frequently, but rarely acknowledged us. That dampened our experience a little.

The vibe is cool. There's a beautiful patio that we can't wait to try out when weather is cooler.

My husband wished they would add a few gluten free options like a GF bun, or GF bread for the ricotta.

Overall, we'll be back for the tacos and Booze and Brew, and hope for a better...