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Tastings Wine Bar and Bistro - CLOSED
Categories: Restaurants Nightlife Bars Wine Bars Restaurants, Wine Bars [Edit]
1809 N Dysart RdAvondale, AZ 85323
(623) 536-6600
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Dressy
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Music:
- Live
- Happy Hour:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
6 reviews for Tastings Wine Bar and Bistro
6 reviews in English
-
Review from Sean M.
Saint Louis, MO
3/3/2008
Yay, more strip mall fun finds! Welcome to the far west valley. First "Bella Luna", now "Tastings." I have to admit, this rating is based on the fact that there really isn't anything like this in this area, and, therefore, it gets rounded up from 3.5.
When we went there, there were seriously like 5 other people in this place on a Friday night. Hmm...
Anyway, $8-12 for some tasty flights, most glasses about in that range. Also, some pretty tasty appitizers. I had some boar and venison sausage. Odd, but pretty awesome. -
Review from Kym S.
Portland, OR
4/17/2008
We decided to hit up the "Wine Down Wednesday" that was happenin' at Tastings courtesy of KYOT. Here's what went wrong:
The event is from 6-8 so we arrived just a few minutes (3 maybe?) after 6 so we could get a spot just in case it was hoppin'. We walked in and the hostess (she looks like she's possibly the manager or owner) asked if we were there for the event and then pointed us towards the back room where the event was being held.
We walked in and there were about 7 tables and there were people at them all already. Talk about early bird gets the worm! We had to wait for about 3-4 minutes for the waitress to finish with a table to find out if we could sit on the patio for the event. She said yes and that she would be right out to help us. In the meantime another woman and her friend also took up at a patio table nearby.
20 minutes later the hostess/owner/manager looking woman came out and asked if we had been helped yet. We said no and she left only to return with a small happy hour flier menu which she just handed from a distance and didn't even come over to our table. I know you're wondering why I would wait the 15 minutes, but I really wanted to see just how bad the service was going to be and frankly, I just wanted some good $2 wine.
It's been about 5 minutes and the same woman comes back with full, detailed menus and I asked if the happy hour flier was the deals for the event and she said yes and then asked if we were ready to order. Um, you just gave us the menus 10 seconds ago...
By now I'm ready to just order and enjoy the meal deals from the event. I look over the happy hour flier and I see some app deals. They said there was a specialty appetizer menu. Not so much, but whatever. I can deal with that. Then I see the drink section. The claim for the event was $2 glasses of wine. I was excited to try some nice new wines on the cheap, but again... not so much. In reality it was $4 glasses of house wine which only consisted of three different wines that weren't really what I was looking for. By now, the other women that were outside decided to leave having had enough of this shenanigans. We decided (after 30 minutes since we arrived) to go next door to Sprouts, get some apps, and have our own "Wine Down Wednesday" at home.
I bet there are plenty of people that will have good experiences here and continue to visit happily, but this one experience has caused me to write them off for good (which I don't usually do after one instance). I wish that I could actually review their wine and food, but the service was so poor and substandard that it's not worth giving them my money. I understand if the food isn't good at a restaurant - some are just better or more talented than others. However, any business can and should have good customer service. I think this is where the cliched line of "if I could give them less than 1 star I would" comes in...
Oh yeah, and I slapped down a "You've been Yelped" card as I left.
Take that Tastings!! -
Review from Amber G.
9/2/2008
My husband and i went here early evening on Saturday (about 5:45pm). The place is very close to where we live and wanted to give it a shot. There was only 3 other tables that were occupied so we were seated right away. Our table had a balance issue that my husband solved by placing a napkin under one of the legs. The place was tastefully decorated, nothing too special.
We were greeted right away by our server and were informed about the happy hour specials that were still good until 6pm. I quickly ordered a wine flight for each of us ($2 off each flight) and an appetizer of chicken satay with pineapple salsa ( $8). We received our wines and they were all very delicious. I had the chardonnay flight ( $10) and the husband had the merlot flight ($12).
Then the appetizer came. It was 3 skewers of chicken planted into a thick slice of grilled pineapple and a side of the salsa. I tried to take a bite of it and it was too chewy. I used my fork to slide it off the skewer and ended up getting a work out. This was way overcooked and way overseasoned. We had to put plenty of the sweet salsa on the chicken to balance out the amount of salt that was used for the chicken. So...not impressed with the satay.
For the entree we ordered the blackened salmon with risotto and veggies. They were out of risotto so we chose the goat cheese mashed potatoes instead. The salmon had a good flavor but was overcooked and the mashed potatoes were very good, even though I would have never knew that there was goat cheese in there. The server came over and told us that since we were sharing that if we wanted more veggies to let her know, my husband said sure I will have some. She ended up bringing out some weird stir fry veggies which did not come with the original meal ( we had steamed veggies) and we were charged $4 extra for these when the bill arrived. She really misled us, I thought she was OFFERING them.
We ordered the chocolate crepe with fresh fruit and creme fresh for desert ($8).The crepe was horrible in flavor and texture. The berries and creme that were inside were delicious.
The wine here is reasonable, and there are not many places in the westside that have this type of selection. i may go back for the wine...and that is it. The food did not impress me at all and I am so glad that the husband and I shared the plates we did get. This is usually what we do when we go for the first time to a place that is a little pricey. That way if the food is bad we do not spend so much.
This place may have some food that could be good, but I am not willing to take that chance. I would like to see a little more quality in the food here than what we received. I mean I have had better chicken satay at a backyard BBQ. -
Review from Chris W.
5/16/2009
CLOSED - shut down on April 21
Tastings has closed - poor timing in a bad economy.
http://www.azcentral.c... -
Review from Gretchen L.
El Mirage, AZ
2/13/2008
**Update** Ok, so I met a friend here for lunch this weekend. We were the only people in the place- sort of a plus in some ways, not so much in others. I am not sure if there is a different chef on during lunch than dinner, but I hope so. We ordered the crostini with hummus (eh), black olive tapenade (eh) and tomato something (this was actually really good) to start off, and bottled water. The bottle was already open before it was brought to our table. Not that a big deal, but I should have gone with no ice (duh) because the drink smelled and tasted like Phoenix area tap water. Is it copper or iron? Hard to tell around that calcium taste. I dunno, you be the judge. My friend and I wondered if it was a 'fresh' or 'refilled' bottle. Whateva on that, we ended up not being charged for the it. My friend had the sliders; I ordered pecan-crusted salmon on spinach salad with raspberry vinagrette. My friend thought there was too much sauce on the sliders; I kind of agreed but it didn't kill the taste of the fresh beef. The salmon was ABSOLUTELY PERFECT, it had just enough crust on it without overwhelming the fish, and cooked perfectly. YUM. The salad... eh. The vinagrette lacked dazzle, and this seemed to be 'compensated' by drizzling a lot over the spinach and salmon. The spinach was very fresh, but would have been better plain than with that stuff. It was disappointing enough that I said something about it to the waitperson. Oh yeah, and apparently there was a special of the day... which we found out after placing our order, when we overheard the next couple who came in ask if there was one. I dunno, maybe our fault for not asking? Well, even after a less than stellar lunch, we decided to go for that flourless chocolate cake I had so coveted. Eh. Again, the oversaucing of chocolate and caramel to cover a kind of hockey-puckish little cake that reminded me of those easy-bake oven cakes. The raspberry puree on the side was the best part.
So I am sad to say, I have to take one star away for now. I will be foolish enough to give it one more try for dinner.... maybe it was an off day. :P
My husband and I went to this place to celebrate my birthday. Despite a good review by the AZ Republic (lol), we decided to try it. Wow, are we glad we did!!
The decor adds to a lovely ambiance - low lighting, a beautiful bar, and simple yet elegant table settings. There's a player piano, and conversation tables with overstuffed chairs. Our server, Jason, could not have been more gracious or attentive, even as the restaurant began to fill up. It was nice to be offered bottled, artisan water ($6), which was crisp, clean, and kept in a wine chiller at our table. As Phoenicians know, the local tap water here... yeah, not so much. I hate even asking for a glass of water, normally.
The menu appeared to be typical bistro fare, with artisan touches throughout. Each item includes a wine pairing, for those unsure. For those who take too freakin' long to decide (like us), Si the Wine Guy pops out of nowhere to give a knowledgable hand. The wine list has a nice selection, in price range as well as regions, and we were given excellent recommendations for the flight we each chose ($8-15 apiece; ours were $10). We started with an appetizer trio ($17), selecting the ahi tuna with caviar (a nice blend of delicate taste with the bold tuna); the prosciutto-wrapped melon, very nice, and then the crab-imperial stuffed mushroom, with creme fraiche and tomato-topped bruschetta. This last one was excellent, with a rich buttery crab filling.
My husband ordered the petite sirloin ($24), and I had the lamb ($26). His was very fresh, nearly fork-tender and cooked perfectly to order, with an understated but complimentary mushroom and spinach sort of ragout, and fingerling potatoes. My dish was tender with an incredible syrah reduction, just bold enough to match the thin-cut and perfectly cooked chops. It was on a bed of delicious mashed potatoes, with sauteed baby green beans and pepper slices- a little bit of heaven from the first bite to the last.
For dessert, the flourless chocolate cake with molten raspberry sauce ($8) sounded so tempting, but that will wait for our next visit. We shared the chilled fruit compote crepe ($8) instead, with creme fraiche on top. It was a perfectly light ending.
The portions were dead on- generous without being huge, which would have made the richness feel like overkill. After such a scrumpt-diddly-uptous meal, our bill seemed like a deal.
Tastings is a well-needed touch of class for the far West Valley, and an excellent value for what it offers. Minus 1 star until same experience with several visits. Oh yeah, I put myself on their email list and they do a lot of prixe fixe/single mingle/that kinda thing events. And wow, this review is long... but it was just that good. It's been a long time since I've been this happy with a dining experience, so check it out already, dammit. -
Review from Gina H.
Avondale, AZ
3/29/2009
Close to home for me! The service is great, but a bit expensive! Very nice inside, definately a nice place for a date!
