SHIV Supper Club — Restaurant in Scottsdale

I want to love Shiv so much. It has the potential and some great things about it. I’ve been four times out of pure interest in the evolution of this place and to see if they can “figure it out”. Feedback: Sound: Delilah and other similar places have mostly carpet, so the band and conversation at the same time works well. Shiv has all hard surfaces. It doesn’t work. Maybe some black sound absorbing panels on the ceiling. People yelling at other tables just to hear each other which kills the vibe. I’m 34 years old with good hearing. Table clothes: This is maybe a part of the sound problem, but it is definitely part of the cleanliness problem. Small pieces of food are smeared across the table when it is cleaned during the meal. Drinks: Medium. Huge ice and also not filled all of the way up. Feels like you are getting ripped off. Drinks sit empty for 20-30 minutes without anyone asking if you want another. Drinks take a long time even though bartenders don’t seem busy. Did they get the order? Drinks are nothing special and too expensive. Valet: After feeling like you are getting ripped off all night, paying $15 valet plus tip feels like the icing on the cake and confirms you are getting ripped off. Even wealthy people don’t like feeling taken advantage of. Have a $1000 restaurant bill and feel ripped off by valet? Dominicks is $6. The non cash fee. Again, just feels like you are being ripped off. I get three sides for just me so I can try a bite of them and I am a trust fund baby, but the non cash fee makes me not want to return. I want to throw in here some good things: The place has gotten better each time I have been. I know they are working on stuff because some of the dishes that were terrible have been replaced with much better dishes. Staff: Beautiful people, dressed well, and many have been super warm and friendly and seem to care a lot. Some seem very unhappy though. Band: Talented. Love that they walk around. Good song mix. Dancers were weird though the one time I’ve seen them. Steak: Quality of a national chain like Outback or Texas Roadhouse. Presentation not good. Food delivery person says plate is hot. It isn’t. Steak and plate barely warm. Experience not even close to Steak 44, Dominics, or Papi level. Prices indicate that the steak should be to that level. Ribeye full of bad pieces that were unchewable. Just needs to be a good cut, HOT and presentable. Has been cooked to the right temp three out of four times. Steak knives that don’t cut exacerbate the problem and perception that the steak isn’t good. Pasta: Gotten better each time. Short rib agnolotti seemed like it was from trader joes or Costco which breaks my heart because they said it was made from scratch – with all of that work it should be incredible. The shrimp and pepe ones were good. Sides: Not nearly as good as other places. Clam/Corn not good. Glad to see change. Corn with actual crème Brulé on top would play much better - see other top places. Mashed potatoes seem like instant. If they aren’t instant, maybe leave some chunks in there so it doesn’t seem like instant. Apple mac has improved but not as good as other places with “normal” mac.. Ponzu asparagus was was soggy. Brussel sprouts are getting less mushy, but not “crispy” as advertised in the menu. Crispy would be fantastic! Desserts: This is the stand out here. Everything fantastic. Flavor and presentation. Salads: Shiv salad was a stand out. Ceaser seemed soggy and not as good as other places. Like bagged lettuce. Good flavor though per everyone. I want to note that other steakhouses like Dominicks call customer for feedback...

I will start with the good, which isn't much. The lobby and bar area are beautiful, when you walk in, first impression is great. The hostesses were pleasant and the service overall was excellent. The staff appeared to be well trained from a service standpoint and were all friendly and smiling. That's where the good ends.

We arrived about 5 minutes early, and were told they are a little behind. Understandable for a new restaurant, no big deal, we stayed in the bar area and had a drink (95% of the tables in the bar/lobby were open). We were patient, but after a half hour I went back to the stand. I was told they can seat us now, which makes me wonder if I would have ever gotten seated had I stayed patient. She asked us to follow her, and proceeded to take us back to the empty bar area and seat us for dinner in the exact spot where they asked us to wait - needless to say we were confused. I expressed that was not what we were expecting and she went back and after a couple of minutes found a table in the dining area.

Upon sitting, we immediately noticed that this place has zero identity. The bar in the middle is surrounded by tables, which causes the patrons standing at the bar to be at your table with you. The area behind the entertainers looks unfinished and doesn’t go with the rest of the theme. They stress a dress code, yet 70% of the people there were in jeans, multiple people in shorts and one table had a toddler with them running around. This is Scottsdale's first Supper Club?!?!? Think Toca Madera meets Walmart, terrible for anyone who actually knows what a supper club is. The sound system was horrendous, and appeared to be at the maximum setting; you had to scream at the person next to you to hear a word. The singer was overpowered by the instruments, which was probably a good thing because when you could hear, it sounded like a poor karaoke performance.

And now for the best part - the Desert Room. When making reservations, we made dinner for 8:30 and 10:45 for the desert room, because it requires separate reservations. We assumed this was a separate room (given the name), similar to a speakeasy or lounge that we would be moved to, but no….you stay at your table and they give you a desert menu. I did not type that incorrectly, the desert room is your exact seat and they hand you a desert menu, what a concept.

Sadly, I can’t see this place being open in 6 months. With the abundance of incredible places in Scottsdale, this one misses on almost every front. Highly anticipated and massively...

6:15pm reservation today (Thursday 5/20) to celebrate my daughter’s graduation. They have a bouncer outside that verifies your reservation which was highly odd. Once they let you in, you have to check-in with a hostess again. Walking in, there was an immediate STRONG stench of sewage. It literally smelled like a bathroom. I asked the hostesses, and they just looked at me with a deer in headlights look and apologized. I was hoping it was just the lobby area, so we got escorted to our seat by another young woman. I asked her, and she said she also smelled it right when she walked in and she thinks it was because they had the doors open all day and it was coming from outside. But we didn’t smell a thing outside, but were happy she confirmed it smelled too and it wasn’t just us. She said she suggested lighting candles but didn’t know what happened. We got seated and the restaurant is absolutely beautiful, but was completely dead. Our female waitress came over to take our drinks order and we remarked about the smell again, and if there was anything they could do about it. The waitress immediately snarked back “I’ll get a manager”, ROLLED HER EYES, and turned around quickly and walked away without even taking our drink orders. I attempted to tell her off, but she walked away so quickly I couldn’t even get a word in. She went to a female manager maybe 10 ft away who was talking to another employee, and the manager told the waitress “Not right now, I’m in the middle of something”. Then our waitress disappeared. We got up and left, I couldn’t believe the attitude of the waitress immediately; it was apparent we weren’t the only ones that complained and she was fed up, but had no business rolling her eyes and stomping off without taking our drink orders. We eat at a lot of high-end restaurants and don’t mind high prices, but everything here was ridiculous. There was bread service for $44! There have been numerous local food influencers that have completely ripped this place in the short time it’s been open. I would love for management to reach out to me for constructive feedback, but we will not return. The waitress and manager should be fired; new restaurants cannot afford to have snobby employees treating customers in this fashion. This place won’t last...