Chula Seafood Grayhawk — Restaurant in Scottsdale

I want to begin from the beginning.....

We made a reservation online a couple of days ago for 11am for Saturday, today, assuming it would be a busy day since this location is celebrating their 2 year anniversary and the menu offerings would bring seafood lovers in...especially with all day happy hour and $2 oysters.

We arrived at 10:55...walked up to the counter and advised the young lady at the counter we had a reservation for 11am. She looked at us as if we just landed our spaceship out front. Clearly, that meant nothing as she proceeded to tell us to sit where we want and, since we requested them, handed us the menu's of the day. No smile, no water, no "once you look at the menu, please come up to the counter to order", no courtesy. Why bother offering reservation options?

We have been to one of their other locations and were aware we had to order at the counter, however, what about first timers? Most places ask "is this your first time visiting our restaurant?" If someone says yes, then educate them!! Finally, when we realized we weren't getting any water, or anything else for that matter, I went up to the counter to order. Now, even though I had a reservation, I am waiting in line. When my order was finally being taken I requested 6 anniversary oysters and 6 reg oysters. The counter person said to me "Mame, we just have one kind of oysters". Really? Did she look at the anniversary menu that was emailed to everyone announcing this event? Doesn't seem that way. After I completed paying for my order I showed her the email and she said "Oh, those are the anniversary oysters." and rolled her eyes...as if I hadn't asked for those....are you kidding me?! Well, that's what I asked for and she so condescendingly said "we only have one kind of oysters". This led to me having to pay an additional $6+ tax for these special anniversary oysters. It should have been given complimentary since it was her error, not mine. I get it, it is a busy day, Saturday, the anniversary, but, there were very few people there at that time, what happens when it does get busy later in the day?

When the oysters came out, I counted them and there were only 11. When the server came out, I advised him and he then counted them and said "oh! I owe you one!". ya think? In addition, he did not bring any mignonette sauce which is indicated on the menu and a staple with raw oysters. 1/2 of our dozen order had the anniversary style on top but nothing was provided for the other 6. I watched while I ate, just about everyone who ordered the raw oysters, non-anniversary style, had to request the mignonette sauce. They shouldn't have to.

These are the reasons this is not a 5 star review.

Also to note, playing music while people are eating is understandable, as long as it is not loud, however, most people, while they are eating, drinking and relaxing, want to enjoy casual conversation and not have to talk over the music. If this were a club or sports bar, I would get it, it's not. Many customers are in their close to or at golden years...keeping it low would be appreciated.

Check out review on yelp from 8/5/23 Regarding last years anniversary..very similar.

The ambiance was pleasant, casual, and comfortable.

I say this with all due respect to the staff and owners. I have worked in this industry and I know what the expectations are of customers. When people are spending the money, especially for good seafood, they don't mind spending the money, however, they do have expectations......

SERVICE WITH A SMILE! KNOW THE MENU! CHECK THE ORDER BEFORE IT GOES OUT! DON'T BLAME THE CHEF! THE SERVER IS THE ONE BRINGING IT TO THE TABLE, HE NEEDS TO CHECK IT!

Simple, correctable things.....all of which will keep people coming back again and again.....as we will because we know, giving feedback to good eateries is essential to their success. They can't fix it if they don't know about it.

God Bless and...

My wife and I decided to have a nice Sunday dinner at Chula Seafood at Grahawk. We arrived just before 4 PM to an empty restaurant. This was our second trip to Chulas this year. I ordered a two piece Fish and Chips at $18 and Pat had the two piece Crabcakes at $29 plus a draft beer $6. Both meals were served with coleslaw. I was driving so I settled with water as my beverage. We were greeted at the fish counter where we placed our order with a very pleasant young lady who gave us a number to take to a table. I wanted to make sure that my fish came with tartar sauce which turned out to trigger an extra charge for a tiny 2oz cup. Our dinner came to our table after a reasonable wait. The food was served on a metal tray with a piece of paper under the meal. It was hot and ready to eat. However there was no tartar sauce which was soon corrected. We were also served a opened warm bottle of Ketchup. Don't know about your house but we keep our opened bottes of Ketchup in the refrigerator. The crabcakes ($29) were served with a generous helping of coleslaw and my wife enjoyed them. My fried fish, $18 for two average size pieces, had about as much taste as unglued cardboard that was slightly over cooked. My chips, french fries, were very good as was the coleslaw. I have eaten fish and chips on two continents and several Pacific and Atlantic Islands. I had never been charged extra for a fish sauce/topping. Never had such tasteless fish either. Our total tab was well over $60. If you are looking for any sort of value for your dinning dollar, find...

We've been looking forward to visiting Chula since they opened this location, a long time now. The cóctel de camarón was extra fresh, prepared authentically using cilantro and not too much onion. The grilled oysters' sauce is a perfect combination of garlic, slight chipotle taste, just amazing when hit with fresh lemon. The toast sitting under the oysters is perfectly seasoned and crisp. Their poke bowls can't get any fresher! The marinated salmon was amazingly seasoned, not overbearing. The guy at the counter was completely preoccupied, no greeting or eye contact. The screen menu is large but the font is pretty small making it a challenge for anyone to read.. completely my fault for forgetting my glasses. They should consider first timers that may be unfamiliar with the walk up'n order style. New patrons may need a bit of guidance or pointers. It would help to have the daily specials or happy hour list written on the large chalkboard located at the entrance. Yes their drinks specials are there but missing chef's choice, noteworthy dishes and instructions for ordering. The servers were attentive and courteous. We purchased a pack of their homemade chocolate toffee bark the Mexican hot chocolate - earthy hint of toasted spices but not spicy 🤌🏽 and the chocolate chip cookies, super moist but not oily and not overburdened with chocolate chips🍪! (or salt just a hint) We plan to visit on a much...