Phoenix City Grille — Restaurant in Phoenix

I wanted to love this place based on reviews and experiences of others, but I wasn't 100% happy with the experience of planning a private event for my client.

When I originally reached out on Sept 23rd about noon I received an automatice response that someone would get back to me within 2-3 hours and if i needed a quicker response to reach out directly to Brittnee via email or phone which i did that also because we wanted to book as soon as possible as my client had looked over the menu and we has everything pretty much decided on and the date was right around the conrer. Well, when I sent the form online, I also called because I assumed I could just book over the phone. After a few hours, I still didn't hear back. It was a Friday, so I said to myself ok I will wait to hear something back come Monday since the weekend most places don't respond until the next business day, and places are busy on the weekends.

I had other events booked for the weekend, and we are closed on Mondays. I got back to my office Tuesday, and Seen I received an email at about 930pm. on Friday. The restaurant has a policy that they will place a hold for approximately 24 hours or something along those lines while waiting to get final details, etc, after receiving the proposal. Again, in my mind, I was thinking my 24 hours would have started Monday, being the response was after business hours on Fridays...

As I'm in the process of replying back with further details, I get a cancelation email of my reservation. I instantly reply back. I got the email at 832am. My response was sent at 836am. Giving the same details of the menu guest count, etc. I was told that my reservation was canceled , and she would have to see if another client wanted to book before she would take my reservation. I was a little confused because I literally sent all my information Friday ready to book and now I'm being not only canceled but bumped although again I was ready to make a deposit etc on behalf of my client that Tuesday morning. Brittnee and I went back and forth for almost an hour on how she wasn't willing to take my reservation at that time until she had confirmation from a different potential customer...

Long story short, if my client had not had her mind set on this place, I would have booked her event somewhere else.. and I actually did attempt to look at a different place for her but couldn't find what she wanted in such short notice. We not only had to adjust her time for her event. I wasn't allowed to come in a few minutes early to set up the space how my client wanted, nor was the room set up the way it was asked to be set up.

Being disappointed was an understatement and after this was done I expressed my frustration to my client and she as well was sadden to hear and wish I would have told her prior to the conclusion of her event as I had to explain why certain things were not done for her. The ONLY reason I gave 3 stars was because my client and her guest liked the food, and the servers that I dealt with while there were very helpful, although 1 did cut and touch my clients cake without gloves🤦🏽‍♀️

Disappointed we didn't receive the great service prior to the...

11/2/24 - Short version: Wonderful experience! Absolutely no complaints. The food was fantastically seasoned, came out hot, great plate display, service w/ Karla was top-notch, and it is a very laid back restaurant. Definitely will go back.

Longer version: stopped in this particular Saturday around 3:45. There are a quite few parking spots on the east side but even more parking available to the north, thanks to its location in a strip mall. Karla came over quickly after being seated and took our drink order. So there is one complaint actually: the special cocktail (Clarified Kentucky Sour) was not available until 5:00. LOL! No worries, we were there long enough to get it.

The eggplant bites were thin and crunchy, the Danish ribs were spicy and fell off the bone, as did the short ribs (they were not spicy).

The green Chile cornbread was not inundated with chiles, the mashed taters were creamy with a small amount of herbs to add a touch of flavor.

All the cocktails were excellent (the PCG designed into the bourbon ice cube is a classy touch), even the non-alcoholic passion punch was tasty.

The desserts were over the top. That buttermilk pie was to die (in hindsight, I should have ordered one to go), the apple crumble pie was so damn good, and oh man, that bread pudding was mouth-watering good. NO RAISINS! I have always been picky about bread pudding, only ever loving my Mom's old old Better Crocker recipe. Well, PCG's recipe was the closest thing to it. It was dense and flavorful. I could have easily eaten the whole thing (it's a small serving) but I wanted to save some for later -- which was extremely hard to do. ;-)

Our server, Karla, was exceptional. She was funny, attentive, and very interactive with us. She kept heckling me about my distaste for raisins, and joking with us about hassling the bar tender for our 5 o'clock scheduled Kentucky sour special. PCG is lucky to have her, and we were blessed to have her for the short time we did.

If you have not tried PCG, why the heck are you...

UPDATE. Read this honest review and then read the manger's defensive, self-centered excuses and condescending corrections to how I described the hummus mess on my plate. So, it's my fault for not bringing an issue with the food to your attention?

This was a business lunch and a rather serious one. Correcting your employees and getting the food right was not our priority.

It's not about you or your hardworking team. I am sure they are. Everyone makes mistakes or gets tired.

It's about your customers. You take care of them and refrain from the vaguely insulting replies to reviews and your customers will take care of you.

Sadly, this was our last visit.

ORIGINAL REVIEW. This was the third trip here over the course of 9 months. Food has until today been acceptable - but with offerings that suggest a chef is trying too hard to innovate. Yesterday was typical of that. I ordered the hummus, which came out full of edamame, cilantro, and lightly steamed carrots and celery, which made the whole bowl a mess. What am I supposed to do with giant slices of al dente cooked carrot slices stuck in the hummus, alongside the limp steamed celery? Steamed celery? Really? The bread was bread.

The salmon skewer appetizer I ordered along with the hummus mess was intensely overcooked and did not resemble what the menu described.

The waiter seemed preoccupied with something other than us. At one point he even said, in the middle of the meal, "See you guys later."

Thus, while the interior is very inviting, the food and service made us want to leave. Over-priced. Typical of a local establishment that is resting on its laurels but unable to keep up with the newer...