The Pemberton — Restaurant in Phoenix

I just returned to the Pemberton for its grand reopening night, last night. The renovations and new layout are very fun and add a lot to the space. The bathroom situation is not necessarily my favorite. Perhaps, there were other restrooms that I did not find, but the ones inside the building seemed to have long waits and were poorly marked. This is not a cheap place, expect to spend $18 a cocktail, and $7 on a single taco. I opted for the slider trio, it was delicious. My meal was interrupted when a member of staff came to tell me my chosen table had been reserved. There was no sort of signage to indicate that the spot I had chosen was reserved. I did take note that other tables did have small plastic signage on them , hence why I chose my particular spot. This left a sour taste in my mouth. The food/drink service was a little slow, but I expected as such being the first day open with unusually large crowds. Now for some fun stuff- the art was vivid and interactive. It was nearly impossible to take five steps without stopping to gawk at something. If you’re familiar with the original concept, take that and give it some steroids. That being said, if you’re familiar with the old concept, forget what you know. The layout and the way things are ran are very different. I’m excited to see how this concept pans out, particularly the food service. The menu had a nice variety of choice, I’m sure anyone can find something they’d enjoy. The Dirty Martini bus was an absolute favorite of mine, the staff in there was so bubbly and the decorations were positively outrageous. I’m excited to return to continue exploring all the nooks and crannies. PSA: They have a very strict No Smoking Policy. There is a zero tolerance for any kind of smoke- including e cigarettes and vapes. I saw someone being escorted out for hitting their vape. No complaints about that- just know the staff take it...

The bartenders are disingenuous. I ordered a mocktail for $10 at the bar. The employee offered to add a shot of tequila and they made it sound like it was going to be a courtesy. I agreed to the shot and when the final charge came out it ended up being $23. They didn’t tell me that they would up charged that much for the added liquor and they pulled a fast one on me. I complained to the higher ups at the establishment and they weren’t helpful. Never going back to this place again.

UPDATE 6/22/25: The owner responded in an unsatisfactory manner. They say that the upcharge showed up on the payment screen before I paid but that is not the issue. My issue is that the bartender didn't tell me about the upcharge before adding the shot to my mocktail. It's strange that the bartender warned me about mocktails having no alcohol (mocktails don't have it by definition and it also said it doesn't contain alcohol as listed on their drink menu) but didn't warn me about the upcharge. Since the drink was already made, I felt obligated to pay and I wasn't made aware of any alternative options.

As for the refund, the person I spoke with said they "could've" offered me a refund in retrospect. They only talked about what this establishment "could've" done for me in the past tense and what they "could" do for me next time. In other words, they didn't actually do anything constructive for me when the actual incident occurred, including NO OFFER OF A REFUND. Their claim is misleading. This only reinforces why I won't come back to this establishment. Instead of offering an sincere apology for their wrongdoings, they want to subtly attempt to invalidate my experience and water it down to feelings instead of acknowledging the fact that they pulled a sleezy sales...

If you’re looking for good food and you don’t drink… don’t go here, specially on a Saturday. The art is really cool but there isn’t a lot of food options. A date took me here cause there use to be a lot of yummy food trucks, well now all the food trucks are bars. We had to walk through a narrow maze of drunk people just to find a small food truck in the very back selling $6 street tacos. We waited 25 minutes, listening to club music from the 2000s. & the tacos were so gross! We ended up throwing them out and going to a yummy taco shop down the street. If you’re not hungry, looking for a drink, or already drunk and want some super expensive tacos, while looking at art. This is totally the place for you. I MIGHT go back after I had lunch somewhere else on a Wednesday afternoon to look at the art. Cause that part was really cool. I loved the decor and gallery art everywhere. I wish they weren’t so focused on being a bar and party environment. Or at least had some good food and nonalcoholic vibes like they use to… maybe I just went on the wrong day, at the wrong time though. 🤷‍♀️ Oh, I almost forgot the mention.. the ladies room is a makeshift bathroom, made out of a storage container, and the stalls are SO small. You’re literally kissing the door when you close it, and at 110 and 5’3 I had to sit sideways so my knees didn’t hit the door. I ended up pulling my pants up outside the stall cause it was ridiculous trying to bend down and grab my pants while my head hits the door. I hope they fix this. I couldn’t imagine if I was wearing a leotard or a one piece. And I don’t know how they accommodate for...