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| - Funny to see a couple of the recent reviews be for visitors when the WWE Royal Rumble was in town, as they seemed to be on their A-game that day compared to other reviews. But perhaps not their A "talent". Think of the Tilted Kilt as a Scotish version of Hooters with girls in provocative school girl outfits. Sounded good to me ... except I'd seen better talent at the Hooters in Manassas. Downtown Phoenix, you can do better than that!
They had a great vibe going before the Royal Rumble. Looking for our second spot to drink, my friend and I decided to try the Tilted Kilt because of proximity to the arena and high probability of good beer. When we approached, we saw a line forming out front and I immediately sensed this was a hot pre-Rumble spot. We moved through the crowded restaurant to the exterior bar area and, sure enough, it was the WWE Universe, right in your face.
It was a great pre-event atmosphere. Ample space outside to handle the crowds, a great vibe of people gathering from all over the world for a common event and interest, and solid service at a crowded "college bar" type of atmosphere. And the beer selection was pretty good. I think it was about 25 brews and reminded me of a Buffalo Wild Wings type of selection - heavy on the national "microbrews" like Sam Adams and Blue Moon, and the big name InBev imports. They did feature four beers from Four Peaks, a Tempe-based brewery that I saw everywhere in Phoenix. And the Hoegaarden was a nice touch. It's the beer that Blue Moon tried to copy, but failed miserably. It reminded me how much I love Hoegaarden (and despise Blue Moon)
I have a feeling my review would be different if I ate here ... this looks like one of those chainy food factories where everything would be bland and indistinguishable. But rating solely on the beer, service, and experience - 4 stars is deserved.
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