36 Below — Restaurant in Phoenix

This place has really opened my eyes when it comes to what my relationship with alcohol can be. Rather than settling for typical run-of-the-mill cocktails that I've been drinking since my early 20's just to catch a buzz, this place offers drinks made with so much love and meticulous thought, and it all ties into a theme, a story, or some kind of meaning. There's so much to get out of your experience here.

The combinations of ingredients and flavors are so complex and unique in every single sip. The drink evolves the more you drink it. You take a sip and at first it can be sweet and yummy, then next minute it'll totally surprise you with a myriad of beautifully unexpected flavors (earthy, vegetal, tropical, funky, elemental, floral, perfume, mineral, etc) that you'd never think would pair with each other. It really is like liquid chemistry. And it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to be the kind of person to create this experience in a glass.

You can have a drink that actually makes you think and feel awesome things outside the effects of the alcohol. The buzz you get is just a bonus compared to the journey each cocktail takes you on. I can actually have a much more satisfying experience with alcohol because of how these mixologists have taken it to a level I didn't think I'd get to enjoy. It actually inspires me to delve into the world of mixology on my own.

You're not going to be familiar with 90% of the ingredients in their drinks. So be prepared for some things to be over your head. But that shows the level of research and experimentation these folks have gone through to bring you something beautiful. They provide you with a flavor profile of each cocktail so you know what you're getting into, which is really helpful. I feel like visual representations of the drinks on the menu really help me make better decisions when choosing drinks, so I highly recommend you look up pictures of the drinks on their website while you're browsing the menu here, especially if it's your first time.

The last thing I'd like to add is that this place really does feel very inviting, not just because of the atmosphere, but because of the cocktail experience and how pleasant the staff is. It's just a good vibe here. Everyone is so nice, chill, and knowledgeable. They're also really flexible and they make it effortless for you. Scheduling and adjusting your reservation with their booking provider through their site is very easy. Give yourself at least an hour ahead of time to switch up your reservation if you know you're gonna be running late, and you can switch your spot with a push of a button through your confirmation email. I never really liked going to typical bars alone or having a drink or two by myself, but this place is a place I wouldn't hesitate to visit on my own. I could go here by myself any day of the week and never feel out of place or like something was missing. This place provides everything you need to have a good time, even if you don't have your buds with you. Even other guests are really nice to talk to because everyone is having such a good time.

I really like this place a lot, and I'll definitely be a regular here when I get the time to break away from my super busy life. It's so much more worth it than going anywhere else. Inflation is up and everything is expensive. It seems like at a lot of places you don't get what you pay for these days. But here, I can confidently say the value of the experience far exceeds the price I pay, which makes me feel really good.

I highly recommend this place! It's alotta fun and you'll definitely have a memorable experience.

Edit: big shout out to the owner who responded in such a kind manner. Yall are awesome. I'm gonna tell everyone I know about you guys for sure!!...

First off, I have to say I hate writing bad reviews, especially for local companies as I know times are tough but I couldn't not leave a review of our recent experience at 36 Below.

While the decor and ambiance are adorable and the drinks, while pricey, were tasty, our experience was pretty bad. During the entire process from making reservations to checking out, the customer service was horrible. Our server (a younger petite brunette) was curt, rude, not helpful and we had to wait quite awhile for our drinks and food. She was so bad that we asked another server, who was very sweet, to take our picture, which she kindly did.

Since they have a max of 4 people to a reservation and their private room was booked, we scheduled 2 reservations at 5:30pm and 6pm. I had emailed them asking if we could combine the reservations and the owner, Chiara's, response was very short and unaccommodating. We will always understand if something can't be done but the way the message was conveyed is what we have a problem with. Similar to the server, she was curt and not very helpful.

Anyway, we decided to have the girls take the 5:30 reservation and have the boys come for the 6pm reservation and as it turned out, we had (2) 4 spots right next to each other. Perfect! All was great, we thought. We asked if we could make the 2 spots into 1 so our back weren't to each other and our server said, "I'm not sure" with an exasperated voice, walked away and never came back with an answer. The place is very small so we shimmied the tables around, being mindful to keep the same pathway available. It was a bit awkward but we made it work and we were having a great time!

Then, the manager came up to us out of nowhere and very rudely told us we had to put the tables back. Mind you: we did not take up any more space than the way they had them originally arranged and we were very polite while ordering a couple hundred dollars of drinks and food while not receiving any sort of customer service at all. For him to come over so rudely right off the bat caught us all so off guard ~ we actually thought he was kidding!

One of the guys in our group matched the manager's energy and asked that he just speak kindly to us and the situation quickly escalated with us being asked to leave. We have never, in all our years of dining out, been spoken to in this manner and were quite shocked. During this time, we received the next round of drinks we had ordered and the manager just stared us down the entire time we drank them, with us still being bewildered with what just happened, especially since we were spending a couple hundred dollars at their establishment!

In addition to many of us having been in hospitality for years, we frequent many restaurants and bars in the valley and we all had to agree that this was one of the worst experiences we've ever had. Had the manager simply come over and politely say that we can't move the tables and ask us to return them to the original configuration, we would have gladly done so. However, when somebody comes at you in such a confrontational manner, that doesn't set up a discussion for much success. Especially when this was coming after having bad service from the server after not feeling very welcome from Chiara's email.

That all being said, the bartender and the other server seemed to be very nice and the drinks were tasty, which is why I gave 2 stars. Pricey...but tasty and we loved the festive flair. Unfortunately, our experience starting with the owner in our emails to the server to the manager gave us a night to remember but not in a good way ;( There are way too many nice restaurants and bars in the Phoenix Valley to go to one where the staff is...

What used to be one of my favorite speakeasies is now a place I’ll never return to. I made a reservation for my birthday on 8/22/25, noting it was a special occasion. When I arrived slightly early, I was seated at the bar—not ideal for a celebration. I requested a table, which they eventually provided. Once seated, I had a chair which was unbalanced, and I had to constantly maintain my balance while I sat due to the chair not being leveled properly or the chair was broken. Despite ordering multiple cocktails and apps (which were mostly good), not a single staff member acknowledged my birthday, made any small talk, or made me feel welcome for such a celebratory occasion. The workers only approached my table to take/drop-off my drink order. The service was cold and impersonal. I left no tip, as I felt the experience didn’t warrant it—no hospitality, no birthday acknowledgment, no engagement, and subpar seating. A man with short dark hair then approached me, rudely demanding a tip. He acknowledged the error with my birthday occasion and stated that the workers work for tips, and he then told me to leave immediately because I didn’t leave a tip. I immediately left feeling embarrassed and disrespected. This establishment literally thinks I have to pay a tip. Tips are for gratitude not a must, and is unprofessional for the manager to walk up to me and demand me to render a tip. This blank societal norm of just giving tips just because it out of control and a level of entitlement that is applauding. If you do not provide good service, no one has to give a tip for less than par service, period. Then have the audacity to get mad with my choice not to tip when they neglected my birthday. No sorry. No explanation. No apology. Just give me tip or get out type of attitude. With so many other choices for a speakeasy cocktail experience in the valley like Carry On, Trophy room, Tell your friends, Platform 18, and so many others, this will be my last visit at 36 Below, and I’ll be warning others too, as my friends and I love to visit speakeasies...