Local Bistro — Restaurant in Scottsdale

TL;DR?  The food was good, the service was great but the building was very loud.  There’s no tap beer and I wonder why the owner specifically needs me to know I’m paying for Prop 206.  I go to a restaurant for the meal, not their politics.  I am super tired of divisive politics.

Prior Experience Out of the four of us attending dinner on a Friday night, the other couple had been here several times, my lovely wife once and myself never.  So, let’s get started:

Pros The Open Table reservation worked flawlessly, we were seated immediately in a booth as we’d asked for. The restaurant was clean and modern.  It had some cool design features, such as the large, fully glass enclosed wine cooler occupying one wall. Our server Christina was quite friendly, helpful and professional.  She never ignored us but she also wasn’t all over us, it was just the right amount of attention. No appetizers for us tonight, we went straight to dinner.  The other couple had Tagliatelle alla Bolognese and the Sauteed Chicken and Artichokes.  My Mrs also had the artichoke chicken and I had the Rigatoni alla Vodka.  Everyone was happy with their dinner.  Portions were generous; Mrs took home half of the chicken and I had to take home about a third of the rigatoni.

Cons About the time the restaurant was roughly 75% full of diners, the din from people just talking made it so we couldn’t hear the person speaking on the other side of the table.  If there was any ambient music playing, I sure couldn’t hear it.  Apparently little consideration was given to acoustics as the floor, walls and ceiling are all hard surfaces.  A bit of professional acoustic treatment to the ceiling and/or walls could probably help tone this down. If you like beer, be aware there is nothing on tap; it’s all cans and bottles, although they’ll pour it in a cold glass for you. I didn’t notice until I got home but there was a charge at the bottom of the bill, “Surcharge P206.”  For those unaware or don’t remember, AZ Prop 206 was a ballot initiative passed by the voters in 2016 and it provides for a progressive rise in the minimum wage and requires businesses to provide paid sick leave to their employees.  Realistically, you could see this “surcharge” on every single bill you get at any business anywhere in the state, but you don’t.  Most businesses either absorb it or quietly and tactfully raise prices to account for the extra cost without the need to post it in your face.  When I see this on the bill it makes me wonder if the owner or manager is bent about it and wants to put it right out in front that hey, you people passed this law, now you’re going to pay for it.  I just think it’s tacky.  With tip our bill for two people was right at $100 and apparently I’m meant to look at the extra $1.80 they’re charging me to pay for their employees to have an almost liveable minimum wage and some paid sick leave?  SMH.  I am SO tired of politics.  I just want to have dinner in some semblance of peace.

The big question … would I go back?  Well, the food was good and the service was great, so if we were discussing dinner and someone said they really wanted to go to Local Bistro I would have no problem...

Having recently dined at Central Bistro, we decided to give this North Scottsdale favorite a try. Unfortunately that night, the restaurant fell short of its reviews. When we first got there, we anticipated a wait and were going to sit at the bar but the hostess suggested the patio. It was a warm-ish night and the hostess sat us at a two top next to the parking lot. The mister dripped all over us and cars pulling in and out blinded us with their headlights. When we asked to be moved, the hosted could only think of moving us to another two top with the same conditions. Frustrated, we walked by her back into the main room and told her we would wait.

Papardelle Bolognese when I heard the pasta was fresh made in house. While we waited for our entrees, we attempted to break bread, then tried to cut it with a knife. The bread was so , it was not a chewy crust but a hard shell. We never did eat the bread and were never asked what was wrong. Soon thereafter, our entrees appeared. The salmon was cooked perfectly and seasoned just right without some citrus-y sweet goo that many restaurants use to cover the fish. the fingerling potatoes and vegetables were cooked to a firm perfection. Next, I dug into my long anticipated pasta only to be disappointed in a thick, super wide tasteless pasta that wan not chewable. The sauce was a tasty melange of meat and tomatoes but was not enough to overcome the pasta's shortcomings. I set that aside and our waitress came by and said, "Is there anything wrong?" It was obvious and she said she would get the manager. He came over and I explained my disappointment and offered to replace it. I have a policy not to order again because when you return food, the staff is upset. They care less about the customer than their work. Due to the late hour and my hunger pangs I ordered a cheeseburger and fries to make it quick and easy. Again, within a few minutes, the manager appeared with my replacement order. I cut the burger in half and noticed it was cooked a perfect medium rare. I took a bite and savored the charcoal grilled flavor. In my second bite, the flavor changed to a heavy salt flavor so i opened the burger and found clumps of salt and clumps of seasoning. Rather than return a second meal, I scraped the salt and seasoning off the top and finished it. I could not eat the fries because of the heavy dose of salt. When the waitress and manager came back, I told them, it was cooked perfectly to temperature and asked for our check. We paid and left right away. No offer for a comp desert or anything but no loss. We were glad to get out of there. There may not be another visit...

Stopped in for dinner after a day at the Renaissance Festival. The reviews looks great and the menu online was enticing. We were seated in the patio but were told it was warm as the heaters were going. Our server, Casey, was friendly and when we asked for a heater to be moved to our corner, we were told “no problem”. It wasn’t moved until an hour later when another party was seated next to us and asked for it to Be moved. We ordered calamari fritti, and it was good. Next came salad. Hubby had Caesar, and I a house salad. His came out fine, mine came with little to no dressing, so I asked for a side. It took about half an hour for it come out, and that was after asking the server again and the busser. Dinner was ok. My husband had the pancetta pasta, which he enjoyed, but the calamari in my seafood pasta was terribly overdone, and I have to say I do not like when chefs leave tails on shrimp that are in a sauce like that. Very messy eating. Our sever Casey came at the end of the meal and was clearing plates. He was ready to take off with the dirties, when I had to ask him to box up my leftover pasta. He never offered. Being already upset with the dressing and lack of attention with the heater, we still ordered dessert and I a cordial. Again, 25 minutes past with no dessert, so we asked for it to be removed and just bring our check. He stated he removed our appetizer charge and left the check. No sooner did he walk away when another server dropped off our panne cotta. The atmosphere here was nice, but I think our server was overwhelmed. Hopefully, it was just...