Checked it out during restaurant week. The lobby and ambiance are nice. However, for the price point and the way the food looks, I was expecting a little more flavor. Minus 3 stars for gate keeping the Harry Potter dinners that are impossible to get reservations to because they only announce on social media when they are completely booked up. read more

I tried Alter Ego before seeing a show at ASU Gammage, and I was overall happy with my experience! It was a beautiful fall evening, so it was nice to be eating dinner at a place that plenty of open windows and doors to enjoy the weather. My partner had a great glass of Malbec, and our family shared the margarita flat bread as an appetizer, which was really good! I had the chicken for my entree, and I was impressed! I typically don't order chicken when I eat out, but I was happy with the portion size and that it was chicken breast and thighs, rather than a whole chicken. The cous cous and olives served with the chicken were delicious! Overall, I think it's a great place with nice atmosphere, but the menu is a bit limited so consider before going with a big group that might be picky! read more

Service was not good. Basically ignored the whole time. Food was fine but not worth it

The atmosphere is really nice here. I went for brunch and the food was very good. I definitely recommend this place.

The atmosphere was great. The food was pricey but average. I ordered Katsu chicken sandwich and it was processed meat. Very disappointed and grossed out. I returned it to the kitchen. I ordered the burger and much better. The waiter was the bartender. He was very nice and made argood drinks. read more

Alter Ego - Processed chicken- mystery meat - New American Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

5+ stars! This restaurant is part of the newly opened Canopy hotel. The restaurant was very clean and due to Covid it was not busy at all. We were staying at the Canopy hotel and had dinner and then breakfast the next day. At dinner, we had a side of naked chicken wings and I ate the Katsu chicken sandwich with fries and my significant other had the ego burger. Both dishes were delicious! For breakfast, I had the breakfast skillet and we also ordered the smoked salmon! Again, everything was delicious! We loved the ambiance and the service. We had Ruby as our server and she was very attentive to our needs. She delivered excellent service for a party of ten. I would highly recommend eating here for breakfast, lunch and dinner! read more

Alter Ego - Naked wings - New American Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

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I do not recommend this place and will never be returning. We made a reservation for 10:15, we were told to go sit on the front lobby couch of the hotel and wait. The manager was visibly irritated with us for entering through the door labeled AlterEgo. Apparently we were supposed to enter through the hotel lobby? We had to go get someone's attention to be seated after waiting around on the couch for 20 minutes. We had to ask the front desk what to do and they told us to go ask someone at the bar, of which there was no one there. There is no clear entrance into this restaurant and no host, very confusing setup. The table we were told to sit at had a dirty mug and napkin. Their menus lack a non-alcoholic drink menu, which is odd considering this is a restaurant for brunch. On top of that, the water is just tap water and the cranberry juice is obviously meant to be a mixer juice and is stupidly overpriced. We witnessed multiple different people trying to come in and being either turned away or completely ignored. It seems they are extremely understaffed, so do take this story with that in mind. We witnessed a table that had been sat for at least 45 minutes just barely get their food as we ordered. We ordered the Smoked Salmon Board, the Banana Pancakes, and the Varsity Breakfast. When the food was brought out we did not have silverware, our waiter acknowledged this, and then literally forgot. We had to stop him and had to ask for them after 5 minutes of sitting without. We then watched our waiter go to the kitchen and proceed to scoop butter into mini cups instead of bringing us our silverware so we could eat. The salmon was sent back because it was mis-colored and not good. The waiter offered to get my friend something else but quite literally told her that wasn't a good idea because it would take a very long time. The pancakes were dry and bland. Half of the varsity breakfast was inedible. The bread tasted like chemicals and the eggs were both gross and a weird texture. This entire time we have been here I have been staring at tables that have not been bussed. They still haven't. We've been here for almost two hours. We asked for our check before I started writing this review. We watched our server put the check in his back pocket, continue to scoop butter into dishes, and then disappear. We have a running timer right now to see how long it takes to bring our singular check, we aren't even splitting it. As we sit here waiting, we noticed that the kitchen staff are on their phones or completely missing from the kitchen altogether. There was some random speaker feedback, one of the portions of the TVs weren't turned on until the football game was put on. The tables still have not been bussed. There are two dirty, wet rags just sitting on nearby tables. We were brought a first iteration of our bill after about 30 minutes of waiting, which included the salmon board which, if you remember, was not eaten and was sent back. Instead of bringing us our check back, our waiter is currently taking other tables orders. There is now, for some reason, someone with a huge camera taking photos of the restaurant...? Also important to note, after we sent the food back, a manager was never sent to talk to us, and the ones that we did see were not very friendly. We had to quite literally ask for our check again, because our waiter obviously forgot and quite literally told us that he forgot about us. There were not that many tables either, so it's not like we got lost in the crowd. Overall, this experience was awful. We should've left when we first arrived and just never ordered food. Incredibly appalling service. read more

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I was so looking forward to tasting their food. I booked a reservation online, for 5PM. However, I needed to change it to 530pm. Starting four days prior to my reservation, Itried calling. I called numerous times and never had anyone pick up the phone. I left three messages over 3 days, asking them to see if I could simply change my reservation to 530pm, and if not to let me know! No one called me back at all! This was so frustrating and put a bad taste in my mouth so I canceled my reservation. So disappointed. If they cannot answer their phones or return messages, what kind of customer service could they possibly have at the restaurant? read more

When I booked reservations at Alter Ego for post-Escape Room shenanigans (I know, we're nerds), I had no clue that it was inside a Canopy by Hilton. I usually avoid restaurant hotels as they tend to be overpriced mediocre food, but Alter Ego proved me completely wrong on that account. We came with some friends who like to eat, so we ended up trying a LOT of items: - SWEET THAI SHISHITO PEPPERS: if you haven't had shishito peppers, this is a great place to try them. Comes with an excellent dipping sauce - CRISPY "NAKED" CHICKEN WINGS: perfect for watching the NFL game on the TV screen behind the bar - HOUSE PICKLED VEGETABLES: the type of veggies you'd get as snacks at a wine bar - SOFT PRETZEL BITES: so unhealthy, yet so good... probably my favorite appetizer in the list - BANH MI BOWL: my entree and delicious. I wish it had a touch more tofu in it, but there were more than enough other items in the dish to fill me up. Think Flower Child - KATSU CHICKEN SANDWICH: strangely enough, our group couldn't stop raving over the fries that came with this dish; they were perfectly cooked to the ideal crispy finish - IN "THE POT" COBBLER: oh my gosh. If you like peach cobbler... even if you don't, actually, just get this dish. Make sure you save room for dessert since this one was well worth it. Loved the goat cheese ice cream on top as well Cocktails: - KISSED BY A ROSE: slightly sweet but not too sweet vodka cocktail - COPPER CITY CRUSH: bourbon drink but without the aftertaste. Usually when you order a bourbon drink, you expect a strong manly-looking drink on the rocks. This one is bright pink. I'm not a fan of sweet drinks, and I'd highly recommend this one if you like cocktails but don't love sugar Anyway, I'll obviously be coming back to try the rest of the menu, since we're only about 1/4 of the way. read more

Way overpriced for the value of food. The Valentine's Day menu was not well balance for the price we payed. For the appetizer, we for two shrimps and the rest green beans and sweet potato as filler, then for the entree the filet mignon was requested medium and it was over cooked, and finally the dessert was mediocre. All that to say I was not wowed unfortunately. read more

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Cute spot for brunch inside of a downtown Tempe hotel and they no not validate parking at the attached garage. Their portions are pretty big. The smoked salmon board was really good and a healthy portion. It took a little long to get the drink order in but we enjoyed our time there. Not sure if I could recommend this place for out of town guests going but it's a nicer restaurant for those staying at the hotel. read more

The good: the food here was absolutely amazing! Very, very tasty food and drink. It was an amazing flavor profile, well-crafted, and reasonably priced for what we got. The bad: holy moly the service was AWFUL. We were completely ignored nearly the entire time we were there and had to basically beg for someone to take our order or pay attention to our table at all. I honestly don't know why this was just so problematic for them. For about 30 minutes I wanted another drink, but no one came by to check on us. We had to ask twice for someone to bring our check. It was so uncomfortable to be so ignored. I would have given fewer stars due to this, but the food was just so exquisite. I wish I'd want to try it again because there were so many things I wanted to get. If the service improves, I'd be back. read more

Thoroughly enjoyed dinner here, the cocktails were just average but the dinner was excellent. Sat near the open kitchen and had a great conversation with the chef. Made us a couple of great bowls with chicken. read more

Alter Ego - Triple Ice Cream - New American Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

I've been here only once, but was thoroughly impressed. I ordered "The Panini", (which they should just explicitly call a Cuban sandwich), and it was fantastic. All the flavors melded together wonderfully. Speaking of flavor, I also ordered the papas bravas, which were insanely good. I'm almost scared to try something else because I might not be able to top this! (Never as good as the first time, they say!) Also my server (don't remember her name) was truly awesome and friendly and attentive as well, which made the experience even better. She glowingly recommended both items I ordered and she didn't lie! Next time I'm gonna try the burger (and will definitely get the papas again)... Wish me luck! read more

Alter Ego - The Panini & papas bravas - New American Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

Adding on my review of the poor restaurant service & infuriating response when handling an allergic reaction at their venue. The issue at hand is not the money or any compensation, otherwise I wouldn't have paid for the food and tried to get my friend out of there so she had a fighting chance to live. The issue is the ENTIRE attitude, from start to finish, of the LACK of quality service (of any sort) and INDIFFERENT response to my friend vomiting out her stomach and being on the verge of passing out in your restaurant, possibly DYING because she couldn't breathe. We do NOT need every single ingredient to every single dish, what we needed are main ingredients to the dishes we ate that day. My friend has never had any allergic reaction to the foods she's eaten before, up until she ate at your restaurant. I understand you are reticent to provide guidance on this aspect, so we will have to guesstimate when working with her doctor. Thank you for taking notice of the issue at hand after my friend had to change the Yelp review from 2 stars to 1 star, in order to get any response from your Director. read more

This is a review for their 2021 Restaurant Week menu and service. Overall a memorable experience, probably more negative than positive. Since we came here for restaurant week, my friends and I decided to try a little bit of everything from the menu. For the appetizers we got the Takoyaki, Breaded Hearts of Palm, and the Grilled Broccolini. For the entrees we got the Mochiko Katsu, Crispy Pata, and Lau Lau. Then finally for dessert we got the Haupia, the POG (Passion Fruit Orange Guava Sorbet), and the Milk Pull Apart Bread. Appetizers came out cold and we weren't sure if the items were actually supposed to be cold or not but overall they tasted decent with the Breaded Hearts of Palm being my favorite and the Takoyaki being my least favorite. The Breaded Hearts of Palm had a tomato relish under and it paired well with the fried palms. It was a slightly sour and pleasant tasting appetizer. I really enjoyed the smoked meats on top of the broccolini. I'm used to fresh hot Takoyaki so it was a bit disappointing when the one my friend got was cold. I think from here we were expecting things to get better since we still had our entrees and desserts to go but sadly we think it just went downhill from here. The table next to us lost their credit card when paying so the staff were searching for the card and asked us for permission to move our table to search under it, which was understandable but however they didn't ask any other table around us or check under any other open table in the area when it was possible for it to fall under any of those tables too. The entrees were brought out to us and we were taking pictures and started tasting the food and the desserts were immediately brought out at this time. We thought it was a little strange that the dessert was brought out when we barely started eating the entrees since two of the desserts were basically frozen desserts. We asked the server if they could take the desserts back and serve it after we finished our entrees since we didn't want it to melt. The Crispy Pata tasted nice paired with the lettuce and pickled carrots. The sauce was also nice and pleasantly spicy. However the noodles were very soggy, reminded me of cup noodles that had been left to soak in the hot water for a while. I wasn't able to finish the noodles when usually I try my best to eat all my food. The Mochiko Katsu was probably the best tasting entree we got. The fish with the Lau Lau was a bit fishy tasting and the pork belly wasn't too memorable. Also none of the entrees were warm/hot either. :( We finally finished the entrees and were ready for dessert. The server brought back out the frozen desserts and we were surprised because they came back partially melted. If we knew it was going to come back melted, we could have just left it on our table as we ate the entrees. We were just a bit disappointed since we expected the desserts to come out still cold/frozen. We started eating our desserts and my friend who got the Milk Bread Pull Apart felt a bit nauseous after eating some of her dessert. She had to go to the restroom to vomit and the chef mentioned it might be an allergic reaction and asked the server to handle it. At this point we were worrying for our friend and the server was also probably panicking but the way she undermined the situation (my friend said she felt it was getting hard to breathe) saying it was a sugar overload irked us. It was also the first time my friend ever had this type of reaction at a restaurant so I headed out to get my car so I can just pick her up outside the place to take her to the hospital since my other friend said she'll handle the bill while I do that. Eventually I took my friend to the hospital and it really was an allergic reaction. My friend who paid was telling us about her experience paying the bill. The server took off my friend's portion of the bill but when they handed the check to my paying friend they didn't give her a pen to use. She had to hunt down someone to get a pen while making sure my other friend didn't pass out. Then she tried to find someone to take the check but there was no one around to take it and at this time I was outside with my car. She instead put in cash and just handed that over to the manager as she headed out. My friend who paid was really enraged at the overall situation and went back to the restaurant after we went to the hospital and she told me that she talked to the manager, providing feedback about the situation. She told her everything mentioned in this review and probably more. In the end the manager said she can give her a comped lunch or return the money. My friend took the refund since she doesn't think we will ever be coming back here. The manager said she will also email her a list of all the ingredients in the food my friend had so we can see what triggered the allergic reaction. UPDATE: Manager lied and didn't end up sending the list of ingredients to my friend. read more

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Odd combo for a hotel restaurant. The food was better than expected and the drinks were awful. Drinks- Glass of wine and a manhattan. You can't really screw up wine, but the Manhattan was weak and they used maraschino cherries. Ugh! Food- Asian Pear Salad, Salmon and Sweet Thai Shishito Peppers. First, the peppers are on the appetizer menu, but they didn't bring it first. They brought everything out at the same time, like the kitchen had no idea how to time a meal, or the waiter didn't know to put in the appetizer first. But, the peppers were perfect and there was an incredible agave tumeric yogurt. The Salmon was fantastic, crispy on the outside and melt-in-your-mouth tender on the inside. Finally, the Asian Pear Salad was not what you expect. It was way way better! Chopped salad style with tons of flavor. Wonderful. read more

Casey was amazing and the food outstanding. It was a great experience!!!!!! Will definitely be back again. read more

Located inside the Canopy by Hilton hotel in Tempe, Alter Ego is a stylish restaurant and bar serving American fare, cocktails, and beer. Even if you're not staying on property, Alter Ego is a hidden gem I would go to during lunch or to grab some dinner before a night out in Tempe. They have a small food menu but do offer a variety of items. We started with the feta cheese toast and it was delicious. Next was their Alter Ego burger, which although it isn't on the dinner menu, you can still order and is an excellent choice served with crispy fries. For desert we ordered the chocolate tres leches but unfortunately they were out of it and brought out a chocolate and peanut crunch cake with ice cream. We were a bit disappointed with the desert and the runner that dropped it off at the table didn't seem concerned that it wasn't what we had ordered. Overall it was a good experience, fairly priced, great ambiance, and tasty food. If you're in the area, definitely check it out! read more

This place is just ok. Food was mediocre. The vibe was mid. But Service is bad. Would I go back? No.

This place had some good reviews and I wanted to try the octopus appetizer in particular. However, they no longer have the appetizer available. So that was a bummer. The food was tasty but not really what they described or done correctly. I had the salmon they were supposed to be a maple glazed along with the crispy brussels sprouts. There was no maple glaze or flavoring to the salmon, but luckily they had a Thai chili sauce with it that was very good. The brussels sprouts although the top leaves are crispy are way undercooked and incredibly hard. The carrot salad was delicious but the carrot ribbons are much too long and need to be cut in order to eat properly. read more

Alter Ego - Un-maple glazed salmon, with ribbon carrot salad and very hard, dense undercooked Brussel sprouts - New American Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

First time at Alter Ego and the only reason I'm not giving 5 stars is due to service being pretty slow. Ordered the Tamarind Mule which is delicious and had the margarita flatbread, also great! The best part of our meal was talking to one of the chefs, Vern! He is so friendly and informative on the menu. Our flatbread did take some time to get out and he offered a couple of free ice cream scoops along with his apologies. We enjoyed talking with him! Entrees: Katsu Chicken sandwich is INSANE!! So good. The flavor is amazing. The wings also INSANE!!! The Siracha honey sauce that comes with them is my new favorite suace, I highly recommend. Wish I had pictures to add but we ate it all so quickly! Dessert: We tried the dole whip and marshmallow specialty ice cream flavors. We scraped both bowls clean it was delicious and the dole whip was just like my favorite in Disneyland! Again I can't express enough how nice it was talking with Vern, so final shoutout to him! read more

I wanted to check out this place before we arrived at Arizona and was very happy when I found out it's open on Christmas. I came with friends. The food was very flavorful and filling. The price was also quite reasonable for such a nice restaurant. The only small problem was that their salad dressing is a bit on the heavy side. For those who like salad for their refreshing taste, they might wanna order sth else there. read more

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We started with the feta toast, which was so crunchy and over-toasted that it tore up your mouth. The shrimp appetizer was my favorite part of the meal. We had a variety of entrees and flat breads, which were all okay. The patio was nice and so was our server. The restaurant is located in a university area, so it's probably considered one of the more upscale places around. Overall- fine, but I'd try something else next time. read more

Alter Ego - Whipped Feta Toast, Brick Oven Calabrian Shrimp - New American Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

I have been here twice. I ordered a parfait and a salad. Wasn't a fan of either. Staff was friendly. Atmosphere was nice.

First time guest. I had brunch with visiting family and even the kids raved about how much they liked the food and style of restaurant. If I could rate them higher than five stars, I would. I love the ambience, live music, great food, and friendly staff. Definitely will be coming back here again!! read more

Alter Ego - Chicken Katsu and waffles. Delicious! - New American Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

LOCATION: They are in the Canopy by Hilton, you enter through the main entrance of the Canopy by the Valet parking off of Myrtle PARKING: Valet by the entrance, there are also several garages around that block and several parking metered spots that are connected to the Park Mobile app (we paid over $3 for 2 hours at the Park Mobile meter) VISIT: end of May 2021 RESERVATIONS: booked through Open Table WHAT WE ORDERED: [COCKTAILS]: Eclipse de Luna and Manhattan, [RESTAURANT WEEK MENU]: Takoyaki (Octopus Dumplings), Crispy Pata (Pork Knuckle) and Milk Bread Pull Apart [REGULAR MENU]: Brick Oven Calabrian Shrimp, Togarashi Blistered Bok Choy, Seasoned House Fries, Chocolate Tres Leches Cake LOW CARB OPTIONS: Brick Oven Calabrian Shrimp (skip the bread, and pair with the bok choy YUUUUM!), Steak Salad, Ego Burger no Bun, Asian Style Baby Back Ribs (served with bok choy), Steak Chimichurri (sub potatoes for low carb side) HILTON BONUS: The charges spent here display at Canopy by Hilton so use your Hilton credit cards for extra bonus points! It is RARE that I write and post a review the next day after dining somewhere - but it was THAT great of an experience! I have been following Alter Ego on Instagram for quite some time and when they were listed for Restaurant Week, I knew it was fate we had to check them out! And I am so PISSED I did not check them out sooner. From the food, to the decor and the service we just absolutely loved the vibe of the entire restaurant! I have been so interested in their regular menu that I opted to not try the Restaurant Week options, but my husband did. My biggest reason for not coming here sooner is I was fearful of the lack of low-carb options, but I was wrong! So I wrote about those options above! From their Instagram photos, I couldn't wait to try the Calabrian Shrimp and it did NOT disappoint (note my shrimp came without he heads on, which I'm sure most would like - I was a little disappointed as the heads on shrimp has so much flavor, but I didn't miss it in my dish). As a lover of bok choy, I was dying to try their bok choy and I HIGHLY recommend it! For those that aren't sure about bok choy, this is the place to try it. As for the fries, next time I would pass, they are battered, I guess is what you would call them, which I really don't like - similar to Arby's curly fries texture. My husband's Octopus Dumplings were delicious (I was afraid to try them, but they were currently only on the menu for restaurant week). My husband did say he was disappointed in the Crispy Pata as it was a LOT of pork knuckle and not much meat. Both desserts were good and my husband was AMAZED with his Manhattan. The staff was excellent with all waitstaff and chef very attentive. I chug water, so having my water always filled is something I am always watching closely. Food came out timely and at good temperature and the place was clean. We are pretty sure Alter Ego will now be a regular of ours! PS their brunch menu for weekends and weekdays BOTH sound PHENOMENAL so much so that we almost came back the next day! They always have specials and events going on, so follow them on Instagram! read more

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Love a good hotel bar! Great addition to the neighborhood. Decor is super cute, Arizona mural wall is a great photo op. Service was fantastic, food was amazing. I had the Katsu chicken sandwich, as you can see from the pic, the portion size was more than enough for me. The honey sriracha sauce was amazing! I'm a lightweight when it comes to spice & this wasn't overpowering at all. A little messy, but totally worth it. Huge TV above the bar makes it a perfect spot to watch a game with a few drinks. I just stopped for a bite, I didn't have time to make it upstairs to the rooftop bar. Will definitely be back to check it out! read more

Alter Ego - Katsu chicken sandwich with Asian pear slaw & spicy sriracha aioli - New American Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

If you're there Monday through Thursday go to the bar and see Rafael! Amazing bartender! Super outgoing and very attentive!

We tried this place on the way to the airport. The service was good. Ambiance was very hip and it fits the location near a college down the street. Food selection was pretty small, the steal salad and salmon entree were so pretty that we didn't want to dig in. Very tasting and healthy. read more

I feel like my review isn't totally fair as I didn't eat here. We stayed at this hotel and my son and I went downstairs to listen to the live music. It was his 5th birthday so they surprised us with a really beautiful cake and ice cream, candle included! It was such a thoughtful touch. The ambiance is 5 star for sure. We will definitely be back and will plan on eating here. We ended up going out as we thought the food wasn't as kid friendly... but then ended up being disappointed by the food we did eat, and they hardly ate it anyway. Thank you to the staff here! You guys are great!! read more

I came here for restaurant week. The pimento cheese and bread was a delicious combo and pickled vegetables acted a excellent palate cleanser. The kissed by a rose tasted like pink lemonade so it was rather good. The cornmeal blossom were crispy and not greasy or heavy the corn purée was creamy and fantastic. The green tomatoes relish added a nice bit of tartness to cut the richness. The sweet corn soufflé was amazing it was perfectly moist and light in texture and the huckleberry coulis was delicious and sweet. read more

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Dined in tonight and while the food was good and the service was okay, they have the chief cooking out in the open. I thought it would be cool to watch, however frequently watched the man touching food without using gloves and then touching his hair and a rag he had attached to his apron. While I know this may be common (unfortunately) in a lot of kitchens, you'd think with an open style kitchen he'd be wearing gloves and keep his hands out of his hair. Seriously so gross!! read more

My friends surprised me for brunch for my birthday and this place is soooo dope. it's so elegant and laid back. they had live music and AMAZING mimosas. It was kinda busy so the service wasn't the best because our waitress hardly came to check on us but overall, i will definitely be returning next week for the Drag Brunch with Ivy! read more

Not great ambience. The hotel vibe was hard to get past. There was no hostess stand and even though we had a reservation we were told to "sit anywhere". The food was just okay. I don't think I'll be back. I will say our server was nice but that only goes so far. read more

Spent anniversary in the canopy in Tempe, ate at the alter ego and we were not at all disappointed We loved the food and staff. read more

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Good atmosphere but pricey and not a lot of selection on the menu. Pretty drinks for the gram

Wow! This is not your regular hotel bar and restaurant! Food is creative, fresh and portions are large but not huge--perfect! We kept coming back during our stay but if we lived in town we would be regulars. Great staff as well! read more

Alter Ego - New American Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

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The bartender Rafa (Rafael) is the best!! He makes great drinks, especially the Paloma and is super friendly! I highly recommend trying this place out even if you're not staying here. read more

Alter Ego - NY strip-amazing - New American Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

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It's a typical restaurant in a trendy area where it feels like they are concerned with curb appeal more than an enjoyable meal. Came in on a Monday evening just after 8:30pm. Service was very slow but friendly. Overpriced for the quality of food. read more