I'm a fan of Hard Rock Cafes. I don't really know why. I collect guitar pins from them and have been to 30 or so in my life. I don't always eat there, but I always go in and check it out. The Phoenix one is one of the worst I've been to.
The old HRC on Camelback had a bit of personality. I hated the location, but I loved how wide open it was. Reminded me of the Honolulu one. When they moved into downtown, I was excited to see them helping move downtown into the big time. The location is great and it is a good place to grab a bite before a game. The food is standard. Never great, never bad. Just across the board decent.
My problems with this HRC start with the layout. The circular design is really bad for traffic flow, seating, wait staff movement, and sound. This HRC lacks a true performance space which is terribly lame. The bar is off to the side instead of being in the middle like almost every other HRC. The shop is way too small and the merchandise is pretty lame. This HRC is always so loud that it is impossible to have a conversation with your group.
The other problem I have with this HRC stems from an incident where my wife and I went before a game. She left her hat on the seat when we left and we remembered about 100 yards down the road. Turned around, went back in, and told the hostess. She said she would check and then she came back and said they didn't find anything. I argued with her because we had JUST LEFT and finally went back to our table where it was still sitting in the bench. Way to go idiot.