Came to La Hacienda for Arizona Restaurant Week 2010 and loved every part of my experience. From driving up to the friendly complimentary valet, to walking the grounds, being greeted by the friendly hostess, to making friends with one of the waitresses, to the food...everything was nice.
First of all, The Princess hotel is gorgeous. What an amazing venue. It's a little private getaway from the hectic city of Scottsdale. I would love to spend more time at the hotel trying out all of the restaurants and enjoying a spa day. What a great location this would be for a wedding!
I agree about the tortilla chips and salsa being mediocre. I've had better elsewhere. But the appetizer of Ahi Tuna Tostadas made up for it. It was the perfect size of 3 little tostadas with tons of onions and tempura avocado.
Based on the waiters recommendation, I chose the scallops over the vegetarian option and I'm glad I did! The scallops were moist and delicate. Just the way scallops are supposed to be. They were cooked to perfection. My friend ordered the quail and couldn't stop raving about how good it was.
For dessert, we shared the churros and chocolate tort. The churros were fantastic! The chocolate tort was good too, but not compared to the churros. O my gosh. They were warm inside and came with 3 dipping sauces...yummy!
I would recommend La Hacienda for any special occasion. This would also be a great restaurant to take out-of-towners to. I believe they have happy hour, as well.