I have been a resident of downtown Tempe for about seven years now. As such, I've seen dozens of restaurants come and go, especially on/right off of Mill Ave. Shady Park is the third restaurant that has occupied this space in my short tenure here, but it catches the Tempe vibe SO WELL. It is a staple of our experience living here. It catches the grunge/70s vibe well without you being fearful of your life. If you love Cornish Pasty, you'll love this place.
Food: My husband and I are vegetarian/vegan and they have SO MANY options for us. And they're all incredible! The vegan ramen, vegan fish tacos, and vegan hoagie are all amazing! (We we're Carnivores a year ago and loved their meat based options too! Try the Miso Hungry ramen!)
Service: A+ bartenders who have really stuck around since the place opened. We always get what we ordered and fairly quickly. We tend to sit at the bar but it's open seating everywhere (no host/hostess) and have always had good experiences with the servers!
The atmosphere is super chill, inside and on the patio (front and back). It has an open feel to it with the raddest little retrofitted bus out back that you can reserve. Honestly if you like cool local hangout spots I highly recommend this place. We love Shady!!! (PS prices are super fair too!)