Arizona Culinary Institute Scottsdale

From the time we arrived we knew the experience would be top notch. The student servers were so attentive and just made the experience what it was. The food was next level good! We hadn’t even left before talking about when we can come back lol. The prices were surprisingly low for the quality of food and service provided. Luxury dining experience from start to finish. Thank you so much for a great date night!

This review is for lunch in the dining room and not the culinary school. Our party of four arrived on-time for our 11:30 reservation today, were immediately greeted, signed in, provided a brief introduction/explanation and taken to our table in the dining room. First impressions are powerful and our first impression was that we made a smart decision to dine here. It got better from there. The student-tended dining room is run (under close supervision by senior instructors) much like a 5-star restaurant. Orders are served all at once by a group of student-servers. Presentation is impressive. Menu selections are wide and diverse. taste, quality, portion sizing are all perfect. Non-alcoholic as well as wine and spirits are available and priced well below market. The luncheon cost (very reasonable) covers an appetizer plus entree. Complimentary "add-ons" are provided including a decadent dessert. The palate-cleansing frozen "lolipop" intermezzo between courses was an unexpected treat that one finds today in few high-end restaurants (pic attached). Our student wait staff is not there to be trained as wait staff, of course, but rather culinary professionals. But they are taught the business from the ground up and do a stint for a short time serving the clientele. I estimate that the dining room has 10 tables and that at our seating there were approximately 16-20 patrons, making the experience sort of intimate and semi-private. Three in our party had the Mahi entree and one had the pork tenderloin. We each had a different appetizer. We will return and bring new friends with us to share the experience. I've attached a boat load of pics.