So relaxing and delicious. Great martinis and cocktails. Looking forward to taking more friendsread more

The self-appointed king of speakeasies is back at it with another one. This time, to review a…read morerestaurant group that is behind quite a few speakeasies in the greater Phoenix area. I stopped by The Blue Heron for dinner and drinks on a Friday evening at 8:30. I made a reservation. Parking won't be a problem in the charming shopping center that surrounds the speakeasy. Ambiance (3.5/5): If you see a Crust Pizzeria, expect that there's a speakeasy inside. Once you're inside the restaurant, find an unmarked door close to the bathroom. That will take you into the speakeasy. Since it's hidden, the Blue Heron qualifies as a speakeasy. My gripe? Like their other speakeasies, I wish there was something more creative than an unmarked door. A game or riddle to get in. Something more than a hidden door. Etc. Just something to spice things up. With that being said, when you're inside, the ambiance is nice. It's classy. There's some bird decor (it is named The Blue Heron after all), and it's comfortable. Service (4.5/5): Our waitress did a great job taking care of us. She was attentive, friendly, and checked in at the right times. No issues and there's not much she could have done better. Especially since the speakeasy was pretty busy. Food (4/5): With an Italian restaurant backing them up, The Blue Heron has a nice food menu. It's essentially a selection of items from the Italian restaurant. I had the vodka chicken parm which was a good portion. A bit expensive but a solid dish. You typically see chicken parm with marinara sauce so vodka sauce was a nice twist. It didn't come with spaghetti (or any type of pasta), so that was a bit unusual. Drinks (4/5): When it comes to a speakeasy, I look for creativity and an interesting blend of ingredients and flavors. The Blue Heron does that well. They have a nice list of creative cocktails to choose from, many fitting the bird theme. I had two cocktails and I was happy with both of them. The menu also gives a background on the speakeasy. Pro Tip: Crust Pizzeria has several other speakeasies including Ostrich Bar, The Goose, and two others. You can find them in various suburbs including Mesa, Scottsdale, Gilbert, and Peoria. I've been to three of the five. Two more to go!

Amazing service, super friendly, great atmosphere. I really enjoyed the Halloween theme. Bella…read moremakes fantastic drinks. The staff was all smiles the whole evening. I will be back.

What I got: Juicy Jack ipa…read more Bone Temple (black lagoon exclusive) Abyssas obsession ( black lagoon exclusive ) Finally got the chance to check the other location for the dagger room and black lagoon pop-up they were doing the space here is a bit bigger than the Arcadia location a longer pathway to get to the main bar and their own bathroom instead of shared ones at Arcadia , the decoration was on spot for the creature of the black Lagoon theme. I absolutely loved it. I think they did a really good job with the drinks they were really good. I tried a bit of one of the drinks from the dagger room's menu and it was fantastic. Everybody was kind efficient and took care of us really well I will always support this bar

My husband and I were the first ones in the restaurant at 7:00 AM. The inside of the restaurant was…read morea bit chilly, so we sat on the lovely patio accessed through the back of the store. Tay was an excellent waitress! She was very personable and knowledgeable about everything on the menu. She made sure we were well taken care of. She recommended the Vanilla & Toffee Cold Brew that they had on their fall menu, and it was VERY good. My husband and I both got the Smash Breakfast Burger. He got tater tots with his while I got fries. When I say the burger and fries were fantastic, I mean that I enjoyed them more than I would a burger and fries from Red Robin. The Smash burger had two patties, lettuce and tomato, cheese, a fried egg, and a delicious chipotle aioli to top it off. THE FRIES AND TOTS WERE SO GOOD. You can tell the oil they were fried in was very clean and that they were super fresh! This was probably because we were the first customers of the day, but it didn't change the fact that they didn't mess around with our potatoes. Any self-respecting restaurant should know how to cook their potatoes well--just like Thanks a Brunch. If you're looking for a bit more unique breakfast menu with twists on traditional favorites, this would be a great place to go. They had everything from "a boring breakfast platter" to a prickly pear cheesecake French toast. As far as cost goes, I wouldn't say it was cheap. It was $17 per burger plate, and our coffee cost $6, so altogether it was $40 for two of us, not including the tip. I think this price was worth it because the food quality, portion size, and service were all excellent. The restaurant inside and out looked very clean. We loved our experience; we just didn't care for the loud music, which was our only complaint.

First time visit to this local breakfast, which is pretty far out east Mesa, but worth stopping by…read morein the neighborhood! I had friendly, fast service from Tiffany. My breakfast burrito was served quickly and had a great eclectic flavor to it. A knife and fork meal than a handheld because it's very messy!

Loved this place!! First time here. Staff (Anna & Mila) were excellent. They were friendly and very…read moreattentive. The bar tender made some very tasty drinks and took time to talk about the cocktails. The pizza was so good! The butter crust and GF crusts were the best. The owner came out and explained how they made their Italian beef. I think they put a whole block of mozzarella on a pizza. Would highly recommend!!

We went to Crave last night to celebrate my daughter's birthday. When we were seated, I let our…read moreserver know it was a special occasion. She immediately told us the kitchen would be closing in 10 minutes (we arrived at 7:19 and they close at 8), which already made the experience feel a bit rushed. We ordered a deep dish pepperoni and sausage pizza, a Caesar salad, fries, and water. The salad and fries came out quickly and were good, but we waited until 7:52 for the pizza. During that time, several staff members including what seemed to be a manager, were loudly yelling back and forth across the restaurant about staffing and schedules. With no music or TV volume, it was impossible not to hear, and it felt very unprofessional. Meanwhile, our water glasses sat empty. I had to ask three separate times for refills, and the third time I actually had to get up and find our server at the bar, where she was sitting, still discussing the schedule. When the pizza finally arrived, it was delicious. But basic things like Parmesan and pepper weren't offered. I had to flag someone down to ask. And even though we'd just received our food, the lights on the patio were turned off while we were eating, and we were brought a box very quickly, which felt like a not-so-subtle hint to leave. Overall, the food was good, but the customer service and atmosphere really took away from what should have been a nice birthday dinner for my daughter. Very disappointing experience.

Smoke & Grain is such a hidden gem in Gilbert! Don't let the fact that it's attached to a gun club…read morefool you. This restaurant is legitimately fantastic and deserves to be discovered by more people. My husband and I went on a Friday night, and the place was absolutely poppin with a great, lively atmosphere. We split the Ammo Burger with onion rings and the Philly cheesesteak (we added jalapeños, of course!) with fries. Everything was phenomenal. The burger was delicious, the Philly cheesesteak was fantastic, and the fries deserve their own shout-out. They're cooked in beef tallow, and the crisp on them was absolutely perfect. The onion rings were also delicious! They had an amazing beer special while we were there, buy one, get one for $1, which I believe may have been a Labor Day special, so definitely check before you go. But we were more than happy to take advantage of it! One thing I really loved was seeing the chef come out and make his way around the restaurant to say hello and check in with everyone. That always creates such a welcoming, personal vibe and says a lot about a place. Seriously, if you haven't discovered Smoke & Grain yet, put it on your list. Great food, great atmosphere, cold beer, and an all-around fun night out. We will definitely be back!

Service was excellent, portions were huge, prices fair, and the flavor was there…read more But wow, everything was insanely greasy. Fries, onion rings, even the sandwiches. And it was freezing inside, people were putting on their hoodies. Maybe great after you've knocked a few back, but not for us.

We had an amazing time celebrating our anniversary. From the incredible service from Tyler, to the…read morefood to the incredible evening on the patio and a special congrats and treat from the manager it was perfect. We can't imagine having spent anywhere else for our special celebration

Came here for happy hour since I was craving some oysters. There were a decent amount of people…read morewaiting when we got there but we waited less than 20 minutes. We got seated at the bar and just ordered a few items off the happy hour menu. We ordered the voodoo fried rice, smoked trout dip, and we ordered 16 oysters. The fried rice was great! I love that it was a little spicy. It was a good size of split between the 2 of us. The dip was also pretty good and had a good Smokey flavor. We ordered 16 oysters ($2.50/ea) and got 8 buck & rider, 4 Hama Hama, and 4 Hollywood. They all were really good. I think I liked the buck & rider and Hollywood the most. Service was really quick as we were sitting at the bar so they were pretty attentive. The dishes came out pretty quickly after we ordered. It was a little loud in the restaurant so it was kind of hard to hear each other but that's ok because they were pretty full so that's to be expected.

The Vig is one of those places that strikes a nice balance between a relaxed neighborhood hangout…read moreand a polished dining experience. We started with the hummus platter, which was a lovely introduction to the meal. The hummus was exceptionally smooth, accompanied by crisp vegetables and warm, pillowy naan. Simple ingredients, thoughtfully executed. I also ordered the Parmesan truffle fries, which were golden, crisp, and pleasantly restrained on the truffle. It's an ingredient that can easily overpower a dish, but here it complemented rather than dominated. The espresso martini deserves its own mention! Smooth, balanced, and neither overly boozy nor cloyingly sweet. Exactly how I like mine. Service was attentive without being intrusive, and everything arrived at a comfortable pace. Nothing overly elaborate, just a consistently enjoyable meal in a welcoming setting. I'd happily return for another round of fries and martinis!

I'm a big fan of The Vig Fillmore, so I was excited to try this new Mesa location. This location…read morehas a much larger dining room. The bar is quite large with seating all around. There is a small room off the back. The decor is a little different, brighter, and you can see that there are heavy curtains that usually close it off. Patio is actually really pretty - - I would say it's got a much nicer atmosphere than the dining room. We were seated in the little in the back. I'm not sure why, because I was plenty of seating in the main dining area. I didn't love it because it was kind of bright and not really a great date night dining area, compared to the rest of the restaurant. Our cocktails were quite good, and my husband really liked his burger. He ordered a side salad with the Gorgonzola dressing, and that was amazing. It made me wish I had just ordered a salad because that dressing was so delicious. I ordered the salmon which comes with butternut squash and Brussels. The salmon was fine but I did not like the brussel sprouts or the butternut squash and I did not like the glaze on any other food. I picked up my salmon and left the rest. Hubby was nice enough to offer me half of his salad because he saw how unhappy I was with my mral. That said, I'm sure that there are other people that would absolutely love that meal and that was just a personal taste of mine. Overall, this was a nice enough place, especially since Mesa seems to have bit a shortage update night type of restaurants. I will come back, but I will try something different - - certainly something with a salad in that fantastic dressing.

Wow! What a find. So you like Bourbon eh? This is your spot! Food, booze, activities and what…read morenot!!!

Pretty typical sports bar, except I just literally had the best barbecue pork sandwich & fries I…read morethink I've ever had. The meat was shaved, piled high, and tender, on a slightly toasted brioche bun with just the right amount of gold BBQ sauce and pickles. The fries were the kind with a bit of crispy coating and were also delicious. I couldn't decide between this and the Cubano with porcetta. I'll be back...

A friend of ours loves this place and wanted us to try it out! It certainly did not disappoint!!…read moreOur bartender/server Mark, went above and beyond to take care of us today. We sat at the bar and enjoyed a nice bottle of Chianti and had the Bread board for starters, then enjoyed the Drunken Mussels, and Cheese ravioli with Vodka sauce! The manager brought us extra bread to finish the appetizer we ordered. Mark never let our glasses sit empty and kept our water glasses full. He polished all the wine glasses out of the dishwasher and kept the back bar sparkling!! He's an asset to Sam and Luca!! My friends and I will be returning for Wine Wednesday with 25% off bottles! The ambiance is very clean and welcoming as well!! What an enjoyable experience we had!!

Have been twice now and I very much enjoy this restaurant…read more Ambiance: Great atmosphere for a date night Food: Delicious! Their specials are good and can't go wrong with their pasta or pizza. It was all very delicious Service: Shout out to Bee. She is an amazing server and you can tell she cares. Sam & Luca are lucky to have her. If she is your server, you are in good hands Would I go again? Most definitely

Had the most wonderful time at Union Grill. I had a delicious Philly sandwich with a great…read morehorseradish sauce. The bartender Shay was amazing, very friendly and made me feel right at home. I think I might become a regular.

This is our favorite go to for lunch and dinner there are plenty of options for our GF and non GF…read moreparty. The service is good and the ambience is great for watching games and it's a little less noisier than the hub so great for having a conversation on game days.