Sel — Restaurant in Scottsdale

As a seasoned foodie and travel writer, I was genuinely excited about dining at Sel Restaurant in downtown Scottsdale. The website, the glowing reviews, the inventive menu—all had my palate in a tizzy. We were a party of six, celebrating a birthday, and several guests had dined at Sel before and raved about it, setting expectations sky high.

Worth noting: for parties of six or more, Sel requires a meal deposit, which is applied to the final bill.

We began with cocktails. The menu offers intriguing options, though none particularly jumped out at me. I opted for their “Bartender, Take the Wheel” option—where you pick your base spirit and tell the server what flavors you’d like to avoid. I ended up with a tequila-based concoction: beautifully presented and well-balanced, though it didn’t pack much punch. My girlfriend had two cocktails and also felt surprisingly unaffected.

The menu offers both à la carte and prix fixe options, but for larger parties, the entire table must choose one format. We went à la carte and opted to share a few dishes:

Seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras with fermented apple cobbler, Bordelaise sauce, and candied applewood bacon streusel was a fun mix of flavors. However, the portion of foie gras was scant, and the plating wasn’t particularly photogenic for a dish of that caliber.

A special diver scallop crudo, tostada-style, was the star of the evening. Vibrant, beautifully plated, and bursting with fresh, balanced flavors. We both really loved this one.

Jumbo Lump Crab with Uni Butter and Sourdough was flavorful, but the portion was tiny, and the infused butter was nowhere near enough for the amount of bread served.

Braised Lamb Ravioli with aged Parmesan and black truffle jus sounded like a winner. It was tasty indeed—but four ravioli with minimal filling for $42 felt hard to justify.

Service was generally warm and knowledgeable—our server knew the menu well and kept our waters topped off—but the pacing between courses was sluggish. Ironically, the restaurant requests that guests wrap up within 90 minutes to two hours, but we couldn’t have done so even if we’d tried.

We dined on the patio, which was charming under the Scottsdale sky. However, it cooled off considerably toward the end of the meal, and though heat lamps were nearby, none were offered or turned on. We later noticed other tables had them lit—just a small oversight, but one that stood out.

Presentation of dishes was a highlight. Sel uses unique serving ware that suits each course, though one plate arrived with a spot of food on the rim—an off note for a high-end restaurant.

Inside, the restaurant is intimate, stylish, and modern. The restroom was pristine, which always speaks volumes about a place’s overall attention to detail.

In the end, while the company I was with was absolutely delightful—and I had a truly enjoyable evening—the culinary experience fell just shy of expectation. The food was good, but not exceptional. And for the price point, I was hoping for something more memorable. It lacked the “wow” factor that lingers after a truly special meal.

If I could, I’d rate Sel 3.5 stars. It’s a restaurant with promise, and perhaps we caught it on an off night. But when pricing starts to stretch the bounds of value, expectations naturally rise—and sadly, ours weren’t quite met. I did have a wonderful evening with J.S. and her friends, they...

As someone who sits down for a fine meal on a regular basis, Sel was an odd restaurant. It has a great atmosphere (very 'home art gallery') and a wonderful, friendly staff, but some of the food itself leaves a lot to be desired.

Some of their choices felt like they were from entirely different chefs- if you order here, order things that are more traditionally Southwestern, because they will have a better balance and more effective presentation. While the other choices were overall good (with the exception of the scallops, which didn't really have any defining flavor), they were not generally above what you'd find at a lower cost eatery.

With this being said, to get the most out of your experience here, I recommend the following:

Spring Garlic Soup - Well presented, complex, rich, and lovely.

Tempura Corn Custard-Squash Blossom - a wonderful combination, reminds me of an upscale Mexican restaurant in presentation and tastes just as good.

Grilled Baby Corn - Despite the odd description, this came with some excellent cheeses.

New Zealand Ora King Salmon - this is the star dish, in my opinion. Again, well-balanced but displays its flavors unafraid, pairing creamy and soft with salmon that's cooked exactly to specification.

Grilled Maple Leaf Duck Breast - This is some of the better duck I've had, for sure. However, much of the dish is ruined by the amount of charring on the vegetables around it - a burnt flavor is strong through the whole dish if you don't get rid of the cauliflower first.

Chocolate-Hazelnut Praline Tiramisu - this dish tastes the least like Tiramisu out of any other Tiramisu I've ever eaten- it's more of a gentle chocolate sponge cake with a bit of dulce de leche ice cream on top. Very sweet, almost no alcohol taste, very smooth.

Overall, Sel left a lot to be desired. It has low consistency across its whole menu, which can be frustrating for new customers. The second option to each of the first three courses couldn't hold a candle to the ones I've listed above - the Langoustine Ceviche in particular was disappointingly simple, and the Cervena Venison Carpaccio had an awful aftertaste. If you choose the above, your experience is otherwise likely to be wonderful, but unfortunately, that inconsistency is difficult to work with for an...

What a PHENOMENAL place to eat! My boyfriend took me here for my birthday, and what a special place to celebrate! Considering we both love going out to eat and I am a total foodie myself, this blew our minds. Everything from the decor, service, staff, cocktails, and food were above and beyond exceptional. Our server was Bradley, and he can answer ANYTHING you could think of asking. The bartender, but really mixologist is more appropriate here, really knows his stuff. We started with a bottle of Spanish white wine, which we love and was very reasonably priced considering restaurant markups. We decided the best way to go is the Prix Fixe menu, 4 courses for $60 a person. So glad we did this option, as it gives you a taste of more than half the menu if you share your plate with another person! We also 'subbed' the Filet for the Kobe ribeye for only half the cost of the ribeye and that was the best decision of the night! They are one of the few restaurants in the country that have the true certification, not the 'American waygu' that is quite frankly a sham. What people say about it being so buttery from the rendered fat were not kidding, it was PERFECT, I might never eat another steak again! (Kidding, of course!) I am not a huge mushroom person, and the Roasted Chanterelle Ragout was delicious, however a bit heart for being the first course. I cannot believe a restaurant put out mushrooms that I ate up like hotcakes. In the same vein, the Greek salad had a twist with candied olives (and I hate olives), but they were scrumptious! But the real star was the Kobe, that came with the accompaniments of the Filet, including Pecorino-White Truffle Gnocchi. I grew up with gnocchi, and these were the fluffiest, lightest, most flavorful ones to date. We could have sworn we were eating clouds. Then the restaurant surprised us with a comped birthday dessert! As a former baker, I am a bit snobby about it, but we were floored by the complexity and nuances of the tiramasu.

All in all, VISIT! It is expensive, but worth every second. This is not the place to skip out on something because of the price. Sel is a special place for special food and cocktails, and that is...