ZuZu — Restaurant in Scottsdale

We tried their tasting menu which was their best of their best. Unfortunately it fell flat. The dishes were creative and original, and surprise courses can be subjective as not everyone likes everything. But some of the courses just weren’t well executed. We sent the main filet back because the sauce was so salty the beautiful dish was inedible—like biting into a salt cube. Since the sauce was over everything, we asked for a replacement to share without the sauce and instead they brought a very pretty salmon dish for each of us. Unfortunately it had a sauce which appeared to be the same base as the filet but with a bit more sweetness. Like the filet, it was inedible because the salt content was so severe. So again politely, but awkwardly sent it back. The dessert was a play on s’mores where you toast a marshmallow and there’s a nice chocolate on the inside. Unfortunately it was nearly frozen so the marshmallow was falling off and the interior reveal was nearly impossible to bite through. But after so much bad luck and feeling guilty for complaining about multiple courses, we didn’t have the heart to complain further.

After receiving the bill for the full tasting prices plus our bottle of wine, we did ask for some consideration. It was clear they hadn’t hit their own standard so it was a little aggravating to be billed as if they had. The manager didn’t come to see us but did authorize the server to provide a little discount to which we gave back to the server in gratuity.

For similar money, the tasting menus at other well known establishments within walking distance of Valley Ho provide a better experience in our opinion. We didn’t feel the misses were due to our subjective tastes but to bad execution on this night. I don’t believe anyone who commits to that type of dinner would have been happy. I’ve had plenty of good food at Zuzu so I don’t think the chef would have been happy with what was going out had the chef tasted it.

Usually restaurants that put up that style of offering understand the expectations. I think Zuzu does too, but unfortunately they had an off night with our experience. Getting the full bill was interpreted as “we were the problem”. That was...

My husband and I dined here while visiting from out of town. I chose this restaurant based on the positive reviews and appealing menu. We had an 8:00 PM reservation and were seated in a reasonable time frame. However, the service did not meet our expectations.

Our server took several minutes to greet us, and another male server had to check if we had been helped. I ordered the smash burger with fries, which was delicious, but it took a while for the food to arrive.

The main issue was the lack of attentiveness. I had mentioned I wanted a drink to the waitress , but she didn’t return to take my order until what felt like 30 minutes after taking our food order. During that time, I noticed she was much more attentive to other tables. Additionally, she didn’t remove the menus from our table after we ordered, and unlike other tables, we didn't have a small light in the middle of ours.

While the food was great, the service left a lot to be desired, and it unfortunately overshadowed the overall experience. As someone who usually leaves a generous tip, I didn’t feel compelled to do so this time. I’m not sure why the service was lacking, but given the lack of diversity, I can only make certain assumptions.

Unfortunately, based on our experience, I won’t returning. I don’t want to call the waitress out by name but my check number was 633866 and I dined...

The restaurant itself is nicely decorated. I loved the painting of the matriarch ZuZu on the wall. And it’s not too loud. The live music(Saturday) was fantastic. The smart casual attire dress code, is very loosely interpreted, As guests can come to dinner straight from the pool. So definitely go however you are most comfortable. The food however, was the biggest disappointment and not what we expected. Especially at that price point. I had the rib-eye and it was not hot when it came out. Probably because they sliced it and it sat at the server window. And it was a low grade ribeye at that. Fair amount of gristle. My husband had the lobster Mac & cheese—which was better than the ribeye by far and worth eating. Just not seasoned properly. The trio of desserts we ordered were just ok. We didn’t finish them, which says a lot. Being that the desserts were small. We have agreed to go back to try their showstopper shake sometime. Here’s hoping that, that lives up to the hype. We won’t be trying the chefs menu. Which was what we were going to do the next visit. We just don’t think the food is worth that elevated price. And the drinks were just ok. Not somewhere I’d go for cocktails. Our server was very nice though. All the staff, we came in contact with was. I enjoyed the relaxed pace and never...