North Italia — Restaurant in Phoenix

June 2025

North Italia Scottsdale, espeically this time of the year, feels a lot like a slice of summer with all their fresh ingredients! Visited for a late lunch and pulled up a seat at the bar...of course, I always this is a great choice when you want the inside scoop and excellent service. It's just easy!

Steven C. was our bartender and let me tell you, he was fantastic. Funny, attentive, and he listened before recommending anything (how refreshing is that?). He asked great questions about our tastes and what we were looking for and then offered thoughtful suggestions. It was clear he knows his stuff.

Started with two perfect-for-summer cocktails and a new favorite for me...the Ciao, Bella! This summer cocktail is light, peachy, and combines vanilla-infused vodka and a pop of brut rosé. Bonus? Just 230 calories, which makes it basically a health drink, right?

Also enjoyed a mojito which is often a go to choice and North Italia's version and was tart, minty, crisp, and so refreshing it made us forget (briefly) that it was 110° outside. Ugh! Is it November yet!

Then we enjoyed the Margherita pizza. Loved the crust which is the right balance of crispy and fluffy, easy to hold, and perfect to bite into without collapsing. Fresh mozzarella, red sauce, and plenty of fresh basil (not that sad single leaf some places give you). It was simple, classic, and really well-executed. I will definitely choose this pizza again!

Now for the fun part...these are some of the fun facts you learn sitting at the bar and enjoying conversations! We learned that Scottsdale was the very first North Italia location — and it’s often a training hub for the whole brand. Love that! Even better, their bartenders compete every summer in a friendly cocktail showdown, and guess what? Scottsdale has produced three national winners, including this year’s — who created a drink called Watermelon Sugar (yes, inspired by the Harry Styles anthem playing in your head now). I’m just saying… North Italia, if you’re reading this, I volunteer to come back and try that drink when the new drink menu launches. 🍉🍸

Corporate concept or not, this North Italia still feels local and special and the team really brings it. Well done,...

From the moment we stepped in, we felt like a bit of an annoyance. Only 10 mins prior to our reservation, got a terse "your table isn't ready, we're waiting for one to be cleared". OK. Wonderful, we weren't expecting to be sat the second we walked in. From then on, besides the food, a disaster. The food? Phenomenal!! Very good and fast service to have it delivered to the table. We ordered a 50 dollar bottle of Barbera. Not top tier, but as a service industry veteran and a Level 1 Sommelier, I expect a correct and thorough bottle presentation. The bottle was set down on the table and left while our server went to answer questions at another table, a definite no no. The wine presentation should be fluid. Never should hit the table and should be done before attending a different table. Instead? Left there for about 5 plus minutes while we stared at it, and then simply presented as "Your Barbera". Nope! The Winery, the wine type and then the year, at least. Bottle facing the guest. Properly. Have a personality and engage your table. At any point in the meal. At LEAST for the prices you charge. The bottle of wine was an afterthought and not a good first impression as should be. The rest of the meal was quite quick. No real check-ins from the server, yet she had time to chat at a sidestation in view of us intermittently. Not to mention while we waited for the table in the first place, the bartender IGNORED us. That could have been an easy 50 bucks while we waited for our table. Your loss. Again, sad! Because the food was good. Very good! But you can't charge the prices you do, for food, for wine, for anything...until you tighten up on service. It starts with wine, and it starts at the front door and the bar. You don't have to work in service or be a sommelier to know a first impression is SO important. I work in fine dining and I hope you take this as constructive criticism! You can't be better than a 4.4 anytime soon if you don't command a 5.0 caliber experience. I think some coaching is in order, because after paying 250, our group sure didn't feel as if we got much more than Olive...

Went to North on Saturday night, checked in to be told a 20-25 minute wait. We walked around the mall for a bit and came back, a different hostess told us the wait was 40 minutes and our name had 18 minutes. We were like ok, that’s odd but we waited. Sat down outside and a nice gentleman turned on our heater, 2 minutes later a lady in all black came and scolded the guy who turned the heat on that he couldn’t have it by the glass because it would break the glass window. I felt bad for the helpful gentleman. After all that we ordered the grilled bread and olive oil- took 20 minutes to bring out cold burnt bread and a drizzle of olive oil, we sent it back and they brought out a better version that was warm, still very little olive oil on the bread. Our food took 35 minutes to come out!! It was a little off putting to wait that long and not be updated on what the hold up was. Good came out and the vodka pasta with sausage has a few nibbles of sausage in the bowl, the chicken parm had a dollop of red sauce on the chicken. I asked for more sausage and a side of marinara that took another 10 minutes to get. Food was tasty and we didn’t really have that big of an issue with the main meal, taste wise. The bigger issue is the pricing vs what you get. We were charged an extra 3.50 for a side of marinara and charged for the bread which we believe should’ve been a concession for all the trouble. We asked to speak with management and the server Sassi got a manger who was beyond polite and understanding, wish we got his name! He understood and made things right. The server gave a little attitude after we asked for a manager. We also noticed other tables around us had issues as well. For the price and atmosphere more communication and customer service...