I didn't even know this place existed. I got a gift card from my boss for my Birthday. It was good for several places including this one. Since I didn't really like the other places and I had never heard of this one I decided to go with Maggiano's. I was under the impression that this place was super fancy and you could only get in with reservations. It is pretty fancy but reservations are not needed. In fact they seemed to slow us down. That got them minus one star right off the bat. I will say that I did make the right choice and I thank my boss for introducing me to a new place that will go on my list of favorites.
My girlfriend had been here a few times before and also reassured me that I made the right choice. They were pretty busy and it was a Saturday night in Scottsdale so you had to expect some wait time. I also felt like the table they put us at was an after thought spare table that they threw out really quick so they could squeeze in two more. It seemed out of place and up against a column. It was a little cramped but it was fine. I liked the décor of the restaurant. Very nice and upscale. This is no garden of olives that is for sure. I found it funny that as nice as this place was people were still in jeans and t-shirts and gym clothes. Really? You are going out to dinner. At least put on some kind of nice clothes. Funny.
The bread they had was very good. The service was great. Our waitress was very nice and got us everything we needed. My girlfriend already knew what she wanted the same thing she gets every time she comes here the Rigatoni D. I on the other hand being a newbie had trouble deciding. Some many things sounded good. I finally picked the Linguine with white clam sauce. Now I am not a fan of wine sauces, I much prefer cream sauces, but this was good. Clams in the shell which is nice. A little work but still nice. A lot of them too. Great flavor. You do have to pay extra to get a salad. I am a complete meal kind of person salad and an entrée maybe a dessert if there is room. So to have to pay extra just to get a dinner salad is a little off putting but just a little.
We both really liked our meal. I tried a little of what my girlfriend got and I think I will order that next time. It had a white Marsala sauce with mushrooms. That blew my mind a little. I have never seen a Marsala sauce that wasn't brown.
I will definitely be back. Great food. Great service. Really nice restaurant. I can't wait to have an entire plate of their Rigatoni D. The prices weren't that bad either. Even without out the gift card is was no more expensive than any other place and it had much better food.
A better table, less of a wait and my own plate of Rigatoni D might boost this place up to 5 stars.