Village Tavern — Restaurant in Scottsdale

We recently visited The Village Tavern for the first time and had a mixed experience.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by the hostess, Alivia, who asked if we had a reservation. While that’s a standard question, we watched an elderly group in front of us receive a rather curt response from her when they explained they had difficulty making a reservation online. Her sharp reply, “I was just asking if you had a reservation, you don’t need one” came off as cold and unwelcoming. When it was our turn, we told her we had a party of four and asked about seating options since we’d never been there. She seemed visibly annoyed by the question and was generally disengaged throughout the interaction. As the first point of contact for guests, I’d highly recommend some customer service training, or at the very least, a friendlier demeanor. We all have off days, but being visibly unhappy in a customer-facing role leaves a sour first impression.

Thankfully, our server Cayden turned things around. He was kind, attentive, and made helpful suggestions throughout our meal. The food arrived quickly and was overall enjoyable. We started with the artichoke dip, a small serving of dip but a very generous pile of chips. Despite the imbalance, the dip was hot, cheesy, and flavorful.

The kids’ menu was a standout, great variety and surprisingly affordable (cheaper than a McDonald’s kid’s meal!). The new crispy buttermilk sandwich was a hit, and the sweet potato fries were perfectly crisp. The French dip was also delicious, with generous portions that left us full and satisfied.

The drink menu is extensive, featuring wine, liquor, cordials, and craft cocktails. We visited during brunch, where they advertise $2 off certain cocktails, although that discount wasn’t applied to our bill (we didn’t mention it). They also offer half-off wine on Wednesdays, which wine lovers will appreciate given their large selection.

The atmosphere is dark but elegant, very clean, spacious, and with great acoustics. You can actually enjoy a conversation without shouting.

Overall, it’s a solid spot for food and drinks, with great service at the table but a rocky start at the door. If they could improve their front-of-house hospitality, it would make for a much better...

Okay, this place does some things very well. First, the homemade potato chips are worth a trip by themselves. Not as good as the Wynn in Las Vegas but only because they don't come with the Wynn's excellent in house made onion dip. Prime rib is decent here and a harder to find menu item on the usual middle upscale type place. Think a slightly darker Cheesecake Factory supper club type place. Lots of dark mahogany wood panels and faux leather booths. Can be loud on Wine Wednesdays with a mostly over 40, monied type crowd. The happy hour at the bar actually provides good value and options and friendly folks. It's not going to be the swinging 60's atmosphere although it's entirely possible there are some swingers in their 60s hanging out for all I know. Some Bentleys and Porsches in the handicapped spots kind of place. But hey, people who have lived that long actually seem to know decent value which at $13 for 5 large shrimp in the shrimp cocktail is reasonable. Service was excellent, Art, our server was attentive but not intrusive. The iced tea was flavorful without too much of a dirt water taste. Salads, housemade chips and shrimp cocktail this trip. Also the miniature caramel sundae which at $6 was delicious. The butter cake was also fantastic. The butter cake would be a highlight of a meal at the fanciest type places in LA, NY or Vegas, so definitely save room and order that (see photos). This is a place you wouldn't bring a first date if you're in your 30s or younger for atmosphere but is a solid option for long term partner date or just for desserts early on regardless of age or of course, married couples. Good food, good value, great service, the...

We ordered dinner for pickup 12/31. We ordered two butcher steaks with sides (order #112257FF). Shortly after placing the order online, I got a call from the restaurant saying that they only had one butcher steak left. I asked if they would substitute another steak since they were out, and the girl said they would. We selected another steak, and she told me she would have to refund our first one to charge for the higher priced steak. I questioned that, because she just told me a minute prior that they would substitute it since they were out of stock, but she now said they can’t do that..ok..I’m not sure what changed within the minute or two since I just asked that. To try to save the headache of having to refund and repurchase the item, we then just selected a chicken meal that was about the same price (actually a few cents less). When my fiancé went to pick up the order, he was told he had to pay for the chicken entree, and the girl told him that she said on the phone she was going to refund the first order and would have to charge us for the new meal. He heard the whole conversation when she called, and that’s not what was said. But, she said she already refunded the first meal to my card, so he had to pay for the second one. So, he did. (And was charged $26.20, $28.31 w/tax, when the price online says $24.95, Check #447.) Well, it’s now a week later, and I still don’t have a refund on my card for the initial order that was out of stock, so we paid for an extra meal that we...