Atlas Bistro — Restaurant in Scottsdale

My first visit to the wine shop here was quite enjoyable, and I was hoping to continue to love it, but things went downhill when dining at the bistro. On my first visit, I sat at the bar area, and one of the owners, Todd, poured my friend and I a sample of wines. We stayed and chatted for quite a while and I left with a few lovely bottles. I was eager to return, and invited 3 girlfriends to join me to dine. I will say the food, although a bit on the salty side, was overall good in terms of presentation and creativity. The issue lies entirely in the service, mainly provided by the other owner, Oscar. Oscar came to our table, did not explain the menu or mention they were out of the foie gras which was one of the reasons we came, and immediately asked us if he could pour wines for us to try and what we like in terms of style. I knew this was a BYOB, but I did not bring a bottle of wine and decided against purchasing one from the shop since I wasn’t sure if my friends wanted to drink. I figured he was allowing us to sample some wines just like the other owner Todd did on my first visit to the wine store. Well he kept pouring all night, so we were kinda stuck with what he brought us, and he never went over the prices, but we enjoyed the bottles so it was fine. The issue arose when we noted a $50 corkage fee on the bill. We asked why he did not share there was a corkage fee, since customarily, that is charged when a patron brings their own bottle of wine. We did not, nor did we buy any from the shop. Oscar served it to us directly from the restaurant, without even being upfront about what he was doing, and then charged us. His response was the corkage fee is stated on the menu. Instead of a simple, “I’m sorry you didn’t catch that and it wasn’t clear that even though I am pouring the wine from the restaurant directly, we are going to charge you a corkage fee that doesn’t fit the definition of the term in order to act as a BYOB because we don’t have a liquor license”, he literally asked if we could read and was extremely disrespectful and condescending. On my way out, I attempted to tell Todd I was disappointed by his partner’s behavior and would not be returning, but before I could another patron at the bar l started screaming over me. I am appalled that the owners of this restaurant would treat us this way and allow for us to be verbally assaulted by a random man. It says so much about the establishment and the type of people that frequent it. Please, please, please do not support this demeaning behavior and...

My family had dinner at Atlas bistro last night. It was a big disappointment. From the start nothing was quite right - specifically the service. We had a wonderful experience there a few months ago with friends and decided to return. Unfortunately it turned out to be a complete disaster. The greeter/server, Todd was rude from the beginning - didn’t take time to explain the menu or suggest any accommodations for my granddaughter. He seemed to be troubled with any questions whatsoever (and at the time we were the only ones in the restaruant). Then he was on the phone the entire time. The food was presented without fanfare, literally dropped off in front us - no explaination on anything and timing was off.The portions were considerable smaller than the last time we visited. Also, seemed to lack the creative touch for which Chef Cory is famous for. Our server never bothered to check on how we were doing or what we thought of the 1st or 2nd courses. For the 3rd, three of us ordered the same main entree, the risotto. It was the worst prepared food we had in any restaurant in a long time. The rissotto was extremely overcooked - it was total mush. Again, no one came to check on us. When I finally got our servers attention and explained, Todd seem annoyed and asked if I want something else instead. Two other people in my family confirmed the risotto was way overcooked but he didn’t seem to care. They were hungry and kept eating, but Todd failed to offer them the replacement. I expressed my disappointment to other server in the room but he didn’t seem interested. No apology offered at any time. Such a shame. Atlas Bisrto, your food and service failed miserably. The service being the worst - rude with no attention to detail. Needless to say, we will not be returning and certainly won’t be recommending Atlas Bistro to anyone...

From the outside, the Atlas Bistro and wine shop may seem closed. They may even seem closed if you press your nose against the glass, as I did. As it turned out, the dark tint of the glass hides two gems within: a wine shop and intimate dining room. The restaurant is BYOB, so you can either bring a bottle or two with you, as we did, or buy a bottle in the wine shop, which we also did because it has such a great selection from the world’s top wine-producing countries. But we kind of copped out by buying a bottle we already knew and love. Next time we will try something we have never heard of, from the well-curated collection. The wine shop has a small bar. Although we often eat at restaurant bars, we opted on our first Atlas visit to dine at the only table along the dining room’s front wall. This turned out to be an excellent choice because two good friends with excellent taste in wine, who were surprisingly and coincidentally dining at the next table, were just finishing their meal but hadn’t finished their excellent wines, which they willed to us, which made our own bottle last through the 5-course meal. I’m usually not much of a prix fixe guy because I believe the higher the concept of the food the less you’ll remember it the next day. But as I sit here two days later I do remember the local peach salad, firecracker shrimp, foie gras mousse (supplemental 6th course), pork belly, prime filet mignon with tempuraed oyster mushrooms, and churro-ish donut holes. All were excellent, as was the service. They probably change the menu pretty often, if not daily, so I look forward to our next prix fixe Atlas...