Mastro's Ocean Club — Restaurant in Phoenix

On one hand, I wish we had one of these in Dallas. On the other hand, I'm glad we don't have one of these in Dallas because I would probably not be able to take a paycheck home and my clothes would no longer fit. What I'm trying to say is Mastro's Ocean Club is a top-tier dining experience from start to finish.

With a recent work conference wrapped, my folks suggested I cap off the event with a visit here. They had been to a few other Mastro's and this was their favorite location. (I believe I was in one one other time in the Aria at Las Vegas, but that was a long time and several martinis ago, so my mind is probably not what it should be.) I made a reservation on OpenTable and before venturing over last Thursday and steeled myself in for what I was hoping would be an exceptional dining experience.

That hope was absolutely met from minute one. The front desk staff leapt to attention to make sure we were being taken care of... and so that we could get into the building. (I believe it was the right door that kind of sticks but rest assured, it does open!) We were whisked into the dining room off to the right and along the way I noticed how cavernous the place was. I don't mean that in a bad way, either. It feels like it goes on forever! The glassed-in bar with the live music feels like another world, and it's only the other side of the dining room. Also, that bar looked very inviting and a good place to people-watch and watch TV.

I really hope our server's name was Danny... I'm awful with names. I think it was Danny. Maybe Daniel? Dano? Let's go with Danny and hope for the best... He was exceptional. A lot of times at "fancy" restaurants, you get a server who seems committed to rushing their guests through the meal so they can get another round of seats. Not so with Danny. He paced out our meal so well and never let us wanting for anything. His attentiveness and ease of service really stood out to us in the best way possible.

(Ditto the manager who came by to ask if everything was good. Not to dog on other steakhouses, but how many times have you been out to a "nice" dinner and the manager seems aloof or totally missing? The management here walked around the dining room, conversed with each table and made their presence known. That goes a long way with customers, I think.)

Cocktails are wondrous with a variety to suit everyone's tastes. And the food? Well, it keeps up with reputation this place has built over the years. I had the seared tuna before attempting (unsuccessfully) to finish the New York Strip. And it was not for lack of trying! The portions are big, and the sides are positively gargantuan. You will not go hungry here and if you're a local, you absolutely must take your leftovers to go.

I anticipate coming back the next time I'm in town but there is one incredibly minor thing I hope to see change. Brace yourself because this could very well be a side effect of me being on my feet at an event earlier in the day, but... I wish the chairs in the dining room were more comfortable. I know, it's a bizarre thing to point out and it's probably just indicative of me being exhausted at the time of dining... but if they ever get new chairs with better backings, that would be cool. If you've read this far into the review, though, please pay this nitpick no attention because when the only minor thing to point out has to do with the furniture, you know the restaurant does everything else so well that other neighboring restaurants could not even begin to compete.

So yeah, Mastro's Ocean Club is worthy of all the praise you've heard. They even called me the next day to ask how the visit was! I thought that was cool and goes a long way to reinforcing how much value they place on the customer experience. And with that in mind, you owe it to yourself to see just what this...

Right out of the gate, I thought to myself “dang, another steakhouse”. And while it has many similarities to an Eddie V’s or a Morton’s, they all have their own little flare.

First order of business - drinks. This was a 20 person corporate dinner, so getting drinks in hand is no easy task but, yet, an important one! Handled with ease, everyone had a drink within minutes.

Second order of business - ambience. It has the typical low-light, romantic, upscale steakhouse vibe that most do.

Now comes the good stuff…FOOD!

JAPANESE A5 WAYGU - I loved the steak selections. Being a midwesterner, we eat steaks frequently and it’s always the same options. We rarely see anything outside the norm, so I had to order something I can’t easily get back in Iowa. And being severely anemic, steaks are always at the top of my list. While the seafood looked good, I’m still a midwestern steak lover. I opted for the Japanese A5 Waygu, medium rare. This was a melt-like-warm-butter situation. Oh…my…! Definitely a top 5 steak in my lifetime, and I’ve eaten steaks around the globe. I couldn’t stop from devouring this steak. And I got it Oscar style, but that was a waste. This steak needed no sauce. While the king crab was delicious, it was unnecessary for this beautiful steak. If there was a steak heaven, this one sits on the King’s throne.

CHILEAN SEA BASS - husband got the Chilean Sea Bass with a blackened seasoning. No disappointments here; fish was white, thick cut, hearty and flaky, and perfectly seasoned. Blackened spice had bold flavors and a small kick, with the temperature on it spot on. Not overcooked and rubbery, like many fishes are.

SIDES - were family style, all delicious! We had Asparagus, broccolini, white gnocchi, lobster mashed potatoes and onion rings. All fire!

HEIRLOOM TOMATO SALAD - was nothing special; honestly, I thought it was bland. Tomatoes weren’t in season so that didn’t help but this dish lacked any flavor. Even the balsamic was tasteless.

WEDGE SALAD - I love a wedge salad, so we ordered one when the server’s intro speech recommended their wedge salad as the most popular salad. This is pre-chopped, and I didn’t like that. Half the reason I love wedge salads is because it’s a wedge that I cut myself. It’s the fun of the salad, so when it came pre-chopped I wasn’t impressed. Now, to be fair, it does say “chopped” on the menu, so that was my bad for not putting the dots together there. Also, I like a balsamic glaze drizzled over the top of my wedge, and this didn’t have that either. Underwhelming salad IMO.

BUTTER RUM CAKE - what they’re most known for, and I can see why. It’s a rum-soaked, dense pound cake, and it is decedent.

FLOURLESS CAKE - is rubbing myself in flourless chocolate cake a crime, because this cake was so rich and creamy, I half expect that it would double as a great body cream! Thick, rich, creamy and delicious…so glad we didn’t have much to go around because I would’ve eaten the whole thing and been miserable. Even more miserable than I already felt after eating half the bread basket (before our salads) plus everything else!

All in all, this is a top 5 for me in the Scottsdale area. And we’ve eaten our way across Scottsdale so finding dream locations isn’t a daily occurrence. We have many we like but don’t love; this...

Great atmosphere went to have a late dinner with my son, and my wife. Tried a bottle of their house Pinot noir and was descent. We had appetizers, a dozen of half shell oysters and everything was tasty. My wife had the sword fish and my son and I had steaks. We like our steaks medium/medium rare. When we recieved our main entrees my sons steak was perfect pink throughout with a warm center, however my steak was brown with slight pink in the middle clearly over cooked. The waiter we had was awesome he immediately took his flashlight out and saw that indeed it was over cooked. He immediately went and grabbed his manager and the very polite manager said no worries he would get another out to me promptly. He also at that time told me not to worry about the charge of my steak that it was taken care of. I said great. We'll about 30 minutes later my second steak came. Perfect! However 30 minutes later I was full with all the sides we had ordered and my wife's left over sword fish. I asked to just box it up for me. Then came the bill. Roughly $365. No worries then I did what I never do and checked it. There it was my steak charged, not as manager had promised. Then I told my waiter and he said oh yeah defenatley let me get it removed. He comes back and said I'm sorry sir but my manager said that you will be charged for two steaks not three?? Then he said that his manager was coming out to speak to me. That's when Mr. Gil Prado came out. He said how may I help you. I explained what had happened and that the other manager which had gone home for the evening had told me that there was no charge for my steak. I also mentioned to him that I only took one bite from new steak and had just boxed it up. NEVER in my life had I met a restaurant manager so conflictive and just his demeanor was horrible. He was turning my great night out with my family into a bad experience. In which is hard for me because I love dinning out. This manager Gil Prado just about wanted me to regurgitate the steak that I had eaten to be able to fulfill the previous managers orders. He then had the nerve to ask me to open my take out box and prove to him I had not eaten the steak. I have never been offended at a restaurant in my life. So of course I opened my to go box and there it was my complete steak with one small piece cut out. ONE BITE!! He then got upset and said OK I'm removing the steak but I am keeping this steak??? Horrible now I was embarrassed and now I'm getting upset. He then just turns around and walks away from us. I hate to leave such a bad review for a nice place to eat but this guy Gil Prado belongs at Sizzler not at a restaurant where the service must be as good as the food. Sorry Mastro's but I thought you should know what kind of treatment we recieved tonight. My bill still was close to $400 with tip. I did not have dinner with my family, my steak confiscated, and to top it off now upset and can't sleep for how bad I was treated this evening.

Steve...