The White Chocolate Grill — Restaurant in Phoenix

Oh my...as a top Google Restaurant reviewer I post honestly. So here it goes.. We were capping off Mother's Day with stopping by this restaurant of which I had never dined at previously but my date had and he said it was one of the best. Being Mother's Day and no reservations, I asked my date to go in and check the ability to dine comfortably. I gazed at the area around the establishment and found it to be nice and neat. My date returned saying there was no waiting and could seat us immediately. I was greated with smiles and politeness. The atmosphere was romantic and comfortable. The interior of the establishment was wonderfully maintained. While being escorted to our table I noticed that the diners were almost finished with their meals and thought it was perfect timing as the dinner rush was over. Our waiter gave us a moment to sit comfortably at the table before he approached us. Perfect. He greated us with an amazing personality coming thru. Asked if we knew what we would like to start with water or specialty drink. I chose a speciality drink, my date had a glass of beer, I think he had spotted the Jambalaya on the menu. Very quickly we had ice water and our drinks set before us. I noticed tables were being bussed with very little noise around us. Perfect! Our waiter asked if we had had enough time to look over the menu or if we needed some more time. Perfect! Our waiter turned to me first and asked what I would like. Perfect...women first! I replied, the Buffalo Chicken Breast Tenders, Couscous and French fries replacing the blue cheese with mayonnaise. He wrote it down, smiled, nodded and turned to my date. Our waiter asked what he wished to have, yes, I was correct, he had chosen the Mardi Gras Jambalaya with a side of Brussels Sprouts with Marcona Almonds. Our waiter nodded, smiled and left with our food order to the kitchen. We sat enjoying our drinks. I noticed our waiter was coming back towards our table, he had come back to let us know that another server would be bringing us our dinners as he was getting off shift and we would be in good hands! Our next server brought out our plates to our table. I noticed he had no trouble touching them. Humm to me that was not a good sign as he placed them before us. Okay for the salad plate not to be hot. He asked if there was anything else we needed and I replied not yet. The dinner rush was over. The plated food looked thrown on the plate,okay, I was hungry and hadn't eaten since breakfast. I chose to pick up a French fry with my fingers..barely warm. I put my knuckle into the buffalo chicken breast tenders..barely warm. The Couscous was adequate nothing to write up about. My date asked me to try his Jambalaya.. barely warm and his Brussel Sprouts with Marcona Almonds..well they looked like almonds but tasted like they were peanuts. I felt very disappointed in his thinking that this was going to be a marvelous place to bring me to dine. What was I thinking? I caught the eye of our new waiter/server and politely gestured him to approach. He came forward and asked if there was something wrong. I replied back in the same tone he had used..Yes, I said..please take it back and ask the chef to fire two new plates. He quickly removed my plate and my date's plate and walked away. He returned within a few minutes..what? Fire a new plate does not mean hold the existing plate under the heat lamps for 3 minutes. Oh my. He put them down in front of us, asked if there was anything else to which I replied I would let him know, he walked away. I was a bit taken aback about the perceived attitude by the server. I was trying to remember the prices on the menu. I picked a few french fries off my plate with my fingers and immediately turned to the busboy to come over. I handed HIM the French fries and asked if they were hot, no. Bottom line..Free dinners. MGMT did not apologize in person. No voucher to try again. Server/waiter tipped $10.00. At least he brought out the plates...nothing more. Not QUALITY DINNING. Bribe me..maybe! I give...

Unexpected Dining Gem My wife and I were in scottsdale for a long weekend to celebrate our wedding anniversary, and the white chocolate grill was close to where we were staying, Without any expectations, we went inside and experienced the best dining of the trip. The waiter was outstanding, and rather than try to spell his name, I will call "D". D explained all the nightly specials, all of which sounded fantastic. Looking at the menu, i found myself realizing that i could probable pick any dish and be happy. I can not imagine that a person could not find something on this deep and expansive menu. After a few minutes, my wife and i decided on our meals, and we started with the salmon dip as an appetizer. Many times, this is an overly processed, over mayonnaised dish. This was not the case here. I could have eaten this as an entree. The large chunks of salmon and the light dressing enhanced rather than overpowered this dish. The portion would be perfect for 2 couples to share, and we took some home to have later. Though they may look like saltines in the picture, the crackers served with this dish were far from that. And it only got better. When i told D of my selection for the entree, he asked if i was sold on my choice. I took this to imply that i might be better selecting something else. I asked for his recommendation, and upon hearing it, said yes. My wifes citrus and soy glazed salmon arrived, and its presentation and flavor was great. Again the flavors enhanced the food, not overpowered them. Now for my entree, the baby back ribs. A word about this choice. I dont eat ribs. Why? Because in a restraunt environment they are usually messy, fatty, and hard to eat. And normally over sauced with a sickly sweet sauce. I dont really know why i took the recommendation, but i am SO GLAD i did. Not 1 ounce or fat. Not 1 time did i have to gnaw on a bone to get the meat off. The sauce was a perfect sweet and spicy compliment to the most tender ribs i have ever experienced. Perfect. The sides if green beans and honey glazed carrots were great. Now for the deserts. Occasionally when dining a meal is so right, that something gets overshadowed, and for me its the deserts. They were both excellant, but the rest of the meal was so great, i found myself saying "its what i expected, nothing special". The key lime pie was great, as was the white chocolate rapberry cheesecake. They were both presented well, and we liked them alot, they just got overshadowed by the rest of the meal. This restaurant would be my go to spot for special people and ocassions, and i would not be afraid to order anything on this menu. The entire staff worked as a team, and was outstanding. "D" llet me know in a professional way what i wanted, even when i didn't know what this was. His ability and recommendations to both my wife and i made this meal a WONDERFUL experience, even with an above average tip, this conplete meal of drinks, apps, mains, and dessert was less than 175 dollars. Well worth every...

We’ve been to White Chocolate Grill several times and have always liked it—lunch, dinner, happy hour, we've tried them all. We’ve sat both in the main dining area and the bar, and this time we grabbed a booth in the bar for happy hour. Litzy was our server, and she was professional and attentive.

Service overall was good, but the drinks missed the mark. I ordered a mojito, and sadly, it showed up without muddled mint (the mint was just a garnish) and tasted off—didn't really taste much of lime or mint and the soda used was flat. Litzy absolutely did the right thing, took the drink off and swapped it out for a lemon drop, which was much better. Not her fault, but the bar clearly wasn’t having an off day. In all fairness, it appeared to be about shift change time, so perhaps that was the issue. It happens at all restaurants.

We tried the buffalo chicken strips, which were fine—but not my favorite. I personally like more of that bold buffalo flavor, and a crispier texture. Plus I missed the celery. Silly I know and totally a "me" thing as the menu made it clear it was not served with celery. Just carrots here, which felt like a shortcut. The blue cheese, though, was actually really good. Love the punch and enjoyed every dip in the blue cheese for the chicken tenders and carrots.

We also ordered the All-American cheeseburger, and that delivered—juicy, flavorful, and paired with perfectly crispy skinny fries.

And then came the raspberry cheesecake, which totally saved the day. That dessert? Absolutely worth it. If it's available, don't pass it up!

Only real complaint (besides the drinks) was the booth—it had crumbs tucked in the seams and the booth seat was sticky, which just makes the place feel a little less polished than usual.

So yeah, not our best visit. But the happy hour menu is still solid, and we’ve had enough really good experiences here that we’ll...