Let me start with a little tid bit about Downtown Gilbert. There is nothing really special about it…read moreoutside of the vibe is right. Always a lot of people there so it makes you want to be there. Restaurant wise they have really basic offerings. Places you can find in Mesa, and Tempe, and Scottsdale. Now.... What truly makes Downtown Gilbert special are the small shops that are hidden away from the "main strip". One of those places is Clever Koi. Hidden in the Parking lot space behind Shaq's Chicken spot is a small strip of shops. A book store, smoothie place, and my favorite Clever Koi. Our family has very different tastes when we move from one member to the next. So finding places that we all like gets tricky. Clever Koi makes that easy because we honestly have yet to run into something we don't like. Let's start with our favorite starter. The steamed buns (giggity). The pork belly is hands down phenomenal. An amazing bite that literally makes you want more and more. The lazy fries are just that, again pork belly is included, but that garlic aioli is what drives this dish. The tai salad is obviously classic. The short rib dumplings literally make you close your eyes and just say "Mmmmmm". My middle child is the hardest pallet to please at any restaurant as he only eats certain things, but the Chicken Katsu sandwich here is his second favorite chicken sandwich in all this world. The first time he ate it he spent the whole ride home raving about it. Mind you, we live in San Tan, so not a short ride. The shaking beef is always good. It has this firey kick that brings the heat upfront but does not linger. You cannot forget about the fried rice here. Rice is one of my weaknesses in life second only to pizza. Fried rice ranks right up there with my top favorite ways to eat rice and this ranks right up there with my favorite fried rice places. The main reason we come here is because of the noodles. Ramen, ramen, ramen. When you think of Ramen, I assure you this is what you are thinking of. The broth is oh so savory and reigns in the fresh veggies and proteins to meld them with the noodles for a flavor punch each time you have a mouthful. They have great drinks here as well, or so I've been told by the other adults I come here with. I always just get a sake and Sapporo so... LOL The service is always good here and we somehow always manage to miss the lunch or dinner rush which is awesome. All in all... this is by far my favorite dining spot in downtown Gilbert. Great food, great drinks, great service, great atmosphere, in the middle of a great little square. A must eat for me.

Transport yourself to a city from-scratch Asian restaurant with a plethora of handmade cocktails…read moreand an upscale warm, inviting vibe. This is Clever Koi. Our server Maya was incredible and extremely knowledgeable on all dishes, drinks, and so many details of the restaurant! I've never had this good of service anywhere! My wife and I had the Pad See Ew with the braised chicken thigh which was INCREDIBLE. Perfectly chewy noodles, great seasoning. I highly recommend adding some of the homemade Fresno chile sriracha for a kick! The pork ramen was also very delicious. Be warned it's a lot of pork! My wife preferred it with the green jalapeño sriracha. The drinks were also very unique and delicious! A sideline view for me and riding the line for my wife. Oh and the best part was the dessert Bananas foster hush puppy puffs. These were so unique, seasoned with cinnamon sugar and Chinese 5 spice. It took some getting used to but the more you ate it with the Carmel toffee sauce the more I enjoyed it. All in all I can see why people love this place! It's a 5 star restaurant for a 3 star price! If you're looking to expand your flavor palette and have a wonderful evening I can't recommend Clever Koi enough!

Great lunch today at Simi's! Ordered General Tso's and Chicken Chow Mein. No disappointments…read more Fresh, generously portioned, and a very reasonable price. Included egg drop soup had a nice spice. Egg rolls were Thai sized and style, and crab Rangoon was crisp. Service was very friendly. Restaurant was clean. Plentiful parking. We arrived at 11:40AM and several customers were already eating. Looked like regulars. Odd and fun assortment of items for sale near the entrance. I never considered buying a scuba mask at a restaurant before. Quirky and fun. I'll return in the future and already know which friend I'll invite to join me. Recommended.

Talk about a hidden gem tucked away in Gilbert! First of all, this is located in a shopping center…read moreon the corner but you would never know about it if there wasn't word of mouth. My girlfriend suggested this place and oh my gosh, it was a great recommendation! We spoke to the server and her name was actually Simi- her parents own the cafe. She was so personable and told us this restaurant has been in her family for many years! However, the inside of the restaurant does not look like it's been in the family for years as it's very well kept. All three dishes we got here were amazing and quite huge for the price! It's worth sharing with the table to try different dishes! The house pan fried noodles were soo good but it's best you eat them at the restaurant since the crispy noodles will get soggy if you order take-out. They also have an employee who makes pies and they sell them in house. The slices were huge for $7 or so! They had peanut butter chocolate and coconut!

One of my families favorite places to go. Food is always fresh and delicious but we never seem to…read morebe given enough rice. Additional rice may be purchased but for an upgraded price. Rice is not cheap if upgraded. That is my only issue and have been going here for years. It's a must try and their house ginger chicken Is beyond amazing . Main courses always outstanding. Give them a try.

Our friends have been on a mission to find the best Asian food in the East Valley for over the last…read moreyear and discovered they were all basically the same until we found this restaurant. It is superior to the other places we have been! The 4 of us each ordered a separate dish to try and every dish was outstanding! We actually could not come up with any type of critique whatsoever. The portions were large enough for leftovers the next evening. The ambiance is nice, comfortable and appealing. Although it is a strip mall setting did not feel like one. The service was excellent. The staff was available when needed but not obtrusive. They were kind and friendly and seemed happy to be there. Without a doubt we will be returning here!

Looking for authentic hot pot? Look no further!…read more As a California native I am very very picky about my Asian food. I found this place to be a pleasant surprise! The hot pot is flavorful, delicious, and fulfilling. I went home with a second meal because the portions are so good. I also recommend the basil popcorn chicken, they do a really good job of seasoning not on the chicken but the breading as well. Do not skip over this local gem!

I've been to Top One Hot Pot & Asian Cuisine twice now and both experiences were good. I ordered…read morethe seafood hot pot both times. The first time I tried it with the miso soup base and the second time, I got the tom yum spicy soup base. The miso was very light and almost bland, to be honest. I didn't love it. The tom yum spicy, which was recommended by the staff, had more flavor. It was much better. However, I tried my husband's sichuan spicy and liked that more. If and when we return, I will definitely get the sichuan spicy base. The seafood mini hot pot for one at $25.95 has plenty of seafood in it. There's a crab leg, mussels, clams, calamari, and more. I have yet to finish an entire hot pot in one sitting. The restaurant has a large dining room and offers plenty of seating. Service was fast and friendly at both visits.

Just ate here, first time since our go to place Beijing Chinese in Chandler changed cooks and now…read moretheir food is awful. We did pickup order. My wife and I are very picky about Chinese food. This place is bomb, we had vegetable fried rice and vegetables lo mein. Minus the yellow onion, very tasty. I also decided to try the orange chicken, gotta be top 10 for orange, chicken was very tender, the sauce not too overpowering, overall this was a great meal and will return again, give it a try, I know my grandkids would love these noodles.

The food was very good! We ordered a small wonton soup to share for an appetizer which was very…read moreyummmy and we ordered a shoyu ramen and a chicken curry ramen. They were both not too rich was awesome and they are able to make substitutions or exclusions if you ask. They have chili oil and all the yummy enhancements at the tables. The service was spotty. The layout makes it unclear if you order at the front or if you wait at your table. It is also unclear where to sit and if they will come check on you besides when they bring out the food. The ambiance had nothing special. It was a comfortable restaurant but there was no special music, anything special about the menus, tables, etc. Great little place to run in for a bite.

Popped into this place for our last meal before leaving AZ and it did not disappoint! We were the…read morefirst people in. When we walked in it had a very fishy smell, so it kind of made us second guess our choice. But we went for it anyhow. The greeter/server was very pleasant and sat us. It was very clean inside with ample space between seat. We browsed through the menu and started with our usual edamame and pot stickers. The edamame was salted well throughout where a lot of places just put the salt on top only. We ordered a couple varieties of sake which were both good. Out of all of the things we ordered the karange skewer was just a little more oily than were use to, but still good. The spicy salmon roll had really great flavor and the lollipop roll was probably one of the better versions that we have had. The musubi was giant to say the least, it was good, but offered a bit too much rice. Overall the food and service was great and we were very happy that we ended up here!

On a Sunday evening, after checking out the Desert Botanical Garden, I was looking for some food in…read morethe area. I came across Zu Izakaya and it's great reviews as one of the options. I love Japanese food so my decision was made. I drove over and parked in their complimentary lot. Ambiance (3.5/5): I've been to Japan and there are plenty of izakayas there. Think of them as small bars which often serve solid food. Zu fits that bit. It's a relatively small restaurant, probably seats about 30 people. and it's pretty no frills for a Japanese spot. I was seated at a booth in the corner of the restaurant. They have free WiFi which is always a good touch. Service (3/5): Service was friendly, though a bit inconsistent. My waitress wasn't as attentive as I would have liked. The type of service where you have to flag them down to get what you want and to close out. Drinks (4/5): Zu has a nice menu of Japanese and Korean beverages, including sake, soju, Japanese beer, and more. With that being said, I just had an iced green tea. Food (4/5): I got a nice variety. I went with the Japanese sausage off of the grill menu, the OBI mayo roll off of the sushi menu, and the cheese corn off of the appetizer menu. Let's start with the sausage. It's a small item, two small sausages, but absolutely delicious. The sausage was bursting with flavor and basted in a sweet sauce. Minus the portion size, perfection. The cheese corn also hit the spot, but the execution was off. The corn is served on a hot platter, and unfortunately some of the corn on the edges was badly burnt. The type of situation where they should start over. Which they didn't. Lastly, the OBI mayo roll is essentially a California roll with marinated warm shrimp on top in a mayo sauce. I didn't love the hot and cold combo (shrimp and sushi), but outside of the temperature, it was a delicious roll. All in all, a very food meal. My only gripe with Japanese food is that it can get expensive quick. Given that Zu is in Tempe, I was hoping that prices would be a little cheaper. With that being said, they do have a solid happy hour (and reverse happy hour) with both food and drink specials. Next time I stop by, I'd like to check out some of their Korean options. I focused on the Japanese stuff this time (which makes the majority of the menu). Next time around, the bulgogi is calling my name!

My first time at Zu Izakaya was a blast! I came in with a group of 5 and were seated quickly. Our…read morewaitress Tiana was very attentive and helpful as we decided our orders. Overall, the place has a fun vibe with lots of string lights and Japanese decorations. They have happy hour twice a day. We came during their 9-11PM happy hour (we love a late night happy hour!) Lots of options for sushi, drinks, and appetizers on the happy hour menu. The spicy tuna roll was a refreshing roll with just the spicy tuna, cucumber and rice. A simple roll that still has a good spicy flavor but not too overpowering that it takes over your meal. The Vegas roll is a classic if you like fried rolls! Can't go wrong with this one. The nigiri was top notch. The yellowtail nigiri quite literally melts in your mouth and the flavors are buttery and soft. It's my personal favorite whenever I want nigiri. The salmon nigiri was also very good. Slights sweet but if you add soy sauce it balances it out. The jjambong pot was so filling. We ate this after the sushi. It's enough to be shared with 2-3 people and includes a mix of some seafoods, enoki mushrooms, onions, and ramyeon with a spicy broth. The noodles were good, the broth was delicious and not too spicy if you're not a person that handles spice well. My only complaint is that we had about 6-7 mussels but only 2 pieces of shrimp. It would've been nice to have a more even distribution of the seafood but other than that the taste was amazing. With the happy hour it was incredibly affordable. Even without the happy hour I would definitely come here again. 10/10!!

What I got: Bulgogi with side rice…read more Seaweed salad Miso soup Wasn't a lot of meat on my Bulgogi dish was a small square skillet and I was mostly of onions and some zucchini pieces. I decided to try their miso soup which was not bad tasted like the packets you get from the grocery store, but at least they had seaweed and tofu in it compared to other places, the seaweed salad tasted pretty fresh they don't give you too much of it they put a bunch of lettuce underneath it so it makes it seem like there's more at first my friend got the plate and some parts kinda tasted raw, but he didn't care much since he likes it either way but then again I was supposed to be a cooked dish so. I had gotten a draft beer to start with and for some reason it was warm so that was very un appetizing but then I got a bottled beer and it was cold. I don't recommend draft. This place has gone through a name change in the last few months and have removed a lot of of the stuff from the old menu went to see the difference was told that they kept the same quality as it is the same owner as before, but honestly to me the only thing that seems like the quality stayed the same was the oysters. Everything else seems that gone down a bit and the portion seems really small now some things are priced decently and some things are overpriced and we can't forget to mention how bad it smells in here like sewage. There's so many restaurants like this which is the problem like I don't need to come here and there was nothing memorable about it and it's a pretty far drive from me so I probably won't be coming back

After a really poor experience at an Italian restaurant down the block, we came here to have…read moredessert and cocktails. Loved the atmosphere. Sat at the bar where service was good, drinks were expertly prepared and really enjoyed the dessert! Food looked great as well, I really wish we had eaten here instead of wasting money at the other place.

This review is long overdue…read more After drinks and bites at The Living Room on Saturday, May 6, 2017, Rachel took Allen, David and me to THE BRICKYARD DOWNTOWN for more alcoholic beverages. Nestled in historic downtown Chandler, in the narrow sliver of Boston Street, the speak-easy themed cocktail bar and restaurant is located inside the former home of the Chandler Arizonan, the city's original hometown newspaper since 1912. With exposed brick walls and rich wood finishes, the historic site provides an upscale, contemporary urban and industrial-chic setting. After easily finding parking in walking distance from the entrance, we arrived shortly before midnight of the 7th. They were closing soon, but we had enough time to order a round of craftly-made cocktails and beers to down quickly. It helps when your friend knows the bartender. Enter smiley face emoji here. THE BRICKYARD DOWNTOWN is credited for the first place that I ever tried a CLOVER CLUB, a pink, frothy cocktail with fruity, citrusy, velvety qualities. I was instantly tickled pink, literally, by the nostalgic feel of the elegant concoction, topped with artfully designed egg white foam and served in a vintage-style champagne glass. What a beauty of a drink with a touch of class and sophistication! Almost made me want to throw on a flapper dress and dance the Charleston...until I realized the need to balance from the powerful punch in the serious drink. Fancy, stiff cocktails served at THE BRICKYARD DOWNTWON fo shizz. No complaints about that here! It's been a while since I visited Arizona. Maybe it's time to return. If/when I do, I will mos def drop by THE BRICKYARD DOWNTOWN again!

JJ was a stellar server and extremely welcoming. The service during sunday brunch is consistently…read moregood enough to warrant a visit on its own, but the bottomless food is amazing as well.

Stopped in for brunch with the fam and thought the atmosphere is solid. The nice thing is you get…read moreto sample multiple dishes before ordering the main course. I had the VEGAN CEVICHE- asparagus, broccolini, cucumber, bean sprouts, quinoa & yuzu mango sauce....solid dish. Drinks were good, food , service. Be sure to make a reservation

Food was amazing! Best Bahn mi i had in a while. The sandwich was loaded with veggies and meat…read more Meat is flavorful and pickled veggies are crunchy. They dont skimp on portion, bread was soft and fresh. Staff was friendly and very welcoming. They helped/guided us while ordering. The restaurant is clean and well lit. Thank you! Will definitely come back.

Back In the area for a bite to eat. They have various Vietnamese style dishes. Fairly casual…read moreseating. We ordered wonton noodle soup, Vietnamese sandwiches and also garlic butter beef egg noodle. The server was fairly attentive to what we needed, and the food portions were good. They also offer various teas and boba's as well as other soft drinks. Ambience they have a couple split bench end table sitting a long with stand alone tables.