I love this joint, and I wish I went more often. Unfortunately, there are more places to eat in this town than I have meals in my budget, so sometimes I opt for a new place, rather than a good standby. The chefs make great food, the decor is comfortable, and I don't mind that it is in a strip mall. Welcome to the United States of Generica. In Phoenix, there are great restaurants in strip malls. The fish, meats, and pastas are great. My wife still raves about the deconstructed passion fruit cheesecake she had there a couple of years ago. When a restaurant "deconstructs" something, it usually can only be great, or awful. These guys seem to get it right when they are making those "updates" on old classics.
Since it is fancy, people should know their patio isn't. It isn't a bad patio, but it is facing the parking lot of a Safeway. While I don't care about it, I have friends that do, and they complained about it to me in the past. They made reservations for the patio (knowing full well that the patio is facing the parking lot), then complain because they don't want to watch people loading groceries into their minivans. Then, they have the audacity to say they didn't get good service because they asked for a table inside (at 7 pm on a Friday night) after reserving an outside table! Well, at 7 pm on Friday, this place is packed (for good reason). Don't blame the restaurant...blame your terrible choices.