Roaring Fork — Restaurant in Scottsdale

This place is way bigger than I expected, with a great patio and lively ambiance. We were seated right away, and our server Kaileigh was fantastic: friendly, attentive, and full of personality. Honestly, the service here was the best part of the night.

The drinks, unfortunately, were a mixed bag leaning heavily toward disappointment. The house favorite Raging Rita was so tart it made my face pucker. It felt like they forgot any kind of sweet element—simple syrup, agave, anything—and the result was a “we have margaritas at home” kind of situation. I gave it a 2/10 only because I did finish it. The Category 6 Lemonade, on the other hand, was shockingly drinkable considering it had four different liquors in it. It was smooth without being too sweet and ended up being the standout cocktail. The Peach Palmer sounded great on paper but was so watered down it tasted like someone showed iced tea a picture of a peach and called it a day. My husband couldn’t stand it, and I wouldn’t recommend it either. The Envious Old Fashioned sealed the deal for the drink menu—just bourbon in a glass with a sad cherry. No balance, no sweetness, no depth.

Food wasn’t much better. The queso de puerco was the winner by far—creamy, spicy, full of pork, and packing a nice amount of heat. It was a little thin and oily until we stirred it, but it kept us dipping back for more. Sadly, everything else fell flat. The “Big Ass Burger” looked incredible when it hit the table but ended up being all show and no flavor. The patty was undercooked (rare instead of medium), unseasoned, and completely overwhelmed by the bun. Poblano? Nonexistent. We even tried drowning it in queso to rescue it, but eventually gave up and sent it back. At least the fries were crisp, well-seasoned, and perfect with the queso. We swapped the burger for the crispy chicken bites with Nashville seasoning, but that was no upgrade. It was basic frozen chicken thrown in a fryer and dusted with generic “Nashville hot” powder. Spicy, yes, but with no flavor beyond that, and the ranch dip was just as uninspired and definitely not house-made.

For a place with so many glowing reviews, this visit was a real letdown. The ambiance is fun, the patio is great, and the service, especially from Kaileigh and the manager, was excellent. But when the food is mostly a fail and the drinks can’t carry their weight, even great service can’t save the night. As much as I wanted to like it, queso alone can’t make up for everything else.

Sadly, we...

Oh boy what an experience. Our server Mike was an interesting character. To start we sat down and were asked abruptly what we would like to drink. We said we would like to look at the cocktail menu, so he said he would give us a few minutes to do so….then proceeded to spend the next 10 minutes giving us his whole life story. Then I asked him if the “house favorite raging rita” was spicy or not…. I got a good 5 minute explanation of all the margaritas and how some of them are even frozen….but no answer to spicy or not. My son then asked what the “green chile Mac & cheese” was, Mike proceeded to tell us that the kids mac and cheese is just straight out of the box… so I asked again what is the green chile mac, he responded with “yea we have that as well”. Next we went to order the food. Main reason we came here was so my son and I could split a tomahawk steak…. Of course they didn’t have any. Limited menu I can appreciate because it usually means higher quality, but to not have a major menu item and then not even give us a warning about it until we try to order is frustrating. Whatever, it is what it is. My sister decided to go out on a limb and try something new and orders the duck, Mikes response was “oh a Chinese Christmas” then proceeds to make it seem like it was an odd and bad choice. Weird move to downplay your menu items. My son orders the ribeye steak and street corn, medium rare, again Mike has quite a lot to say about his decision of how he wants it cooked, then finishes with “you’re the boss”. I also ordered the ribeye med rare my wife ordered the filet, both of us asked for a side Caesar salad.Lastly I order a bottle of wine that I specifically asked to be brought out once our meals are ready…. 10 minutes later Mike has the bottle at the table pouring away without providing a traditional tasting first. Next our duck and steaks came out from a different server who I would have much preferred to have as our main server, but no sides came out with our meals. Like I said it was quite the experience. Food was pretty good, not good enough to justify the prices. Once we finally got our salads they tasted very watered down. Moral of the story is Mike really ruined what was supposed to be an enjoyable night trying to treat my sister to a nice dinner as a thank you for hosting us...

Things have gone downhill at Roaring Fork, sad to say (written in March 2025).

They no longer have their super delicious cornbread and jalapeno mini muffins (these used to be on the table, in the way other restaurants serve chips, and they were so good, we genuinely came back JUST for the mini muffins). Crazy that they eliminated the best thing they ever made, but they did sort of "replace" them with an appetizer called Skillet Cornbread. Not as good – the mini muffins were flavor bombs, and the skillet cornbread is not very memorable in comparison. Such a loss.

The ambiance is stuffy and loud, with many booths located near the kitchen, so patrons feel a constant wave of heat emanating toward them (not to mention adding the clatter of the crew to the too-close voices of fellow diners). There are really no inside booths that give you a sense of privacy or noise reduction. The service is friendly and minimally competent, but they no longer take the time to note if you marked your reservation with a special note, like “birthday,” etc.

On to the cocktails. Every single one was served in the wrong glass! Glassware is so important to the experience and flavor of a cocktail… surprised their bar game is so poor. We ordered a Huckleberry Margarita that was much too sweet and watered down, and an "Escalade", which was too añejo-forward to be enjoyed as a margarita (especially not in a Collins glass – should have been a small sipper). No reposado margarita on the menu – odd for a restaurant that is focused on Tex-Mex.

The Green Chili Pork Stew has always been a crowd pleaser, but I wish they would serve it without the thick layer of flavorless fatty cheese on top (does nothing to enhance the dish), and with corn tortillas instead of flour. The Chilean Sea Bass had good flavor and was cooked well, but at $48 market price, served over a few stalks of thick asparagus (no rice or potato), the ahi tuna or the salmon may have been a better choice.

Overall, with the unfortunate quality of the cocktails, the mediocrity of the meal, and the grievous loss of the mini muffins, we won’t likely return. There are so many better restaurants in Scottsdale and beyond. It's a shame because they used to be...