Vu Bistro

Efficient, friendly service. Excellent food with reasonable prices. Incredible view. Great local hang out — intimate inside but fantastic patio.
We plan on a monthly visit to watch the seasons change with wine and a delicious dinner!

Stopped in early evening while visiting fountain hills. Well the location of this place is great and offers truly fantastic southern views. If you decide to come here I would recommend sitting on the patio to take full advantage of the views.
As for the rest: the food is adequate but in a town that has some great food adequate just isn’t enough. The service is slow and not very attentive. Servers make you feel like a burden when they do show up. As for the drinks they are standard. I would prefer a more creative drink menu but if a place stays to the basics they better do them darn well and they just are not.
It seems like someone paid great attention to finding location and décor but not enough time on wait staff training or drink and food development. This place might be worth going back once it closes and someone opens a new place in the location because the view is the only thing good at the VU

The actual VIEW itself is gorgeous, unfortunately for the restaurant that’s the best part.
I was with a party of 4 on Halloween and the place was mostly empty. There was live music so that was ok too. The food was mediocre and so was the service. I feel like they care more about their boutique and salon than the restaurant portion. Service is slow and nonchalant about making a good impression, so they usually don’t.
The drink menu sucked. I just prefer to give my patronage to a place that cares whether you come back or not.

We were the only two people there, and placed our order (cheese burger & salad) at 620pm. At 7pm we asked that it be packed to go and paid the bill. At 715pm we finally walked out without our food.
Certainly don’t understand how it could possibly take that long to assemble a salad and cook a hamburger patty.
Slowest service I’ve ever scene.

A great place to hang out! A beautiful view and great food! The burger and fries is always awesome, and for dessert, the brownie and ice scream is fantastic

The views from VU were beautiful, but from there it was all downhill. Extremely poor and slow service on a Friday night. Only 2 servers and we were basically ignored all evening. I had to get up from the table and go inside twice; to ask to have our order taken, and to ask where our meals were. We also received a different table’s check. And when I complained, the waiter told me I was rude! No apologies, no comp appetizer or drink. Just a feeling of entitlement on their part. I was very disappointed. And food wasn’t even that good. Bruschetta bread wasn’t toasted and was simply doughy. Chicken on my sandwich was tough. Not a place I would visit again.

When we arrived, we were not sure that they were prepared to serve us a meal. However as our visit progressed we were pleasantly surprised by the delightful help and the delicious food. The atmosphere was wonderful.

My boyfriend and I went to Vu Bistro for lunch on a Friday. The view was great, but we were literally the only 2 people in there besides the waitress and some other lady who appeared to either work at the restaurant or be a hair stylist. Either way, we ordered our food and waited 40 minutes for it even though we were the only people there. About 30 min into our wait we saw our waitress pull up in her car and run back into the restaurant. We thought maybe she went somewhere else to get our salad and hamburger, but found out she just had to take her dog home… at least that’s what she told her mom on the phone when she called the restaurant a few minutes later. The food had obviously been sitting out while she was running errands and was lukewarm. I was a little afraid of the lukewarm chicken on my salad so I just are a few fries that were also on the cold/​undercooked side. Such a bummer because the view is gorgeous and this could be a really great place. Instead it was odd and awkward with mediocre at best service.

what is the deal with this place? went to lunch w my girlfriend. I’ve had coffee there before, and the view is amazing. We were the only people in the restaurant. The food took 40 minutes. There was no introduction. The waitress came up and said… are you ready to order. My burger, which was actually OK, meaning I ate it bc I was so hungry, had coagulated cheese draining off the burger, and the fries were limp. The food had to be sitting in the window for at least 15 minutes. My girlfriend had a chicken salad. Half the chicken was hot, the other half was cold. She didn’t touch it. We didn’t complain, just paid the bill and left. Mostly because… how weird is this place. How do you screw it up? I’ve worked in restaurants– I get it– if there is no clientele, the kitchen takes it easy, etc. But the waitress/​staff didn’t even pretend… I mean, lie to me! Pretend! This place easily has one of the best locations in the Valley. Bar none. My 3 yr old could probably run this place better. And his favorite food is apple sauce, goldfish, and strawberrys. Deliver it, don’t let it die in the window, refill my water, after ive obviously been hiking all morning, and let me enjoy the view. Way to shoot yourself in the foot.

Visited Vu for lunch.
My first impression was a salon and restaurant? I will be open to the concept.
The place is dumpy, dirty, staff was RUDE.
Walked to kitchen because I could hear voices asked if they were open.
It was a valid question as there was cut up, squeezed grapefruit on the bar, beside the grocery store bag its friends were in.
Stuff scattered about inside, used cleaning rags etc.
Waited for 22 minutes for iced water. A hairdresser delivered water!
There were only two other folks I the whole place!
I was to meet a friend here, I called and said, there is no way I will eat here!
No umbrellas for outside, watering hoses strewn about.
The manager came out, a very disheveled woman, the one who tossed a chair pad across the table, asked what was wrong. I politely said it’s been 22 minutes for water. Her response, «I thought you were waiting for someone.» Then I said is the place usually this unkempt, hoses, used food on bar counter, no one to seat folks, etc. I said all this in a very low voice so that the 2 other guests would not hear me. «what do you want, we are this way.»
The view is nice, the «bistro» not so much? The manager was horrid.
I don’t know how a business in such a competitive market can be so casual about customer service.
Stay far far away

You are seriously missing out if you don’t stop and enjoy the amazing view, great service and consume the great product. View is a million dollars. Don’t miss out.

The location and view was awesome. I was not impressed with the service or organization. Waiter was slow, we were ready 30 mins before he was and he was not attentive. We had a reservation and they were not ready for us. The food was good but they bumped up the price for the night. Not sure I would go back with so many other restaurants in the valley.

If i could give this place a negative I would. I ordered the chicken and dumplings soup. Like a fool I ate the entire thing. I’m home in bed with vomiting, diarrhea, and fever from food poisoning. Stay clear…

I have been here a handful of times now and I like it (EXCEPT for the service). The patio is a nice spot to grab a drink and enjoy the stars and valley’s twinkling lights. I’m not sure if entertainment is weekends only, but one night when we were there it was a solo guy singing 70s/​80s/​90s tunes and playing guitar — pretty good.
They have a decent selection of wines. The kobe burger and filet quesadillas are delicious! This is seriously one of the best burgers I have ever eaten — YUM. Yes, it takes a while for the burger to cook but it is made to order. If you want a quick, pre-​made patty head down the road to one of the fast food joints.
On each visit the service has been unsatisfactory. I hope the owner does more to promote the place as it is not easy to find (typical of FH, no large street sign) and I think there is great potential to make this place a Fountain Hills hot spot with just a few improvements to to service issues.

I’ve been going the the Vu for the last year. It’s a great location with a beautiful panoramic view of the valley. The food is terrific! I love their Bruschetta! Always a nice place to drop by, relax, take in the views, live music & delicious food. If you’re in a hurry, go somewhere else, this is definitely a place to linger & re-​charge your batteries.

Hands down one of my favorite places. Arrived for a late lunch around 2:30 on a Friday afternoon. Had the day off and my friend was visiting so we ordered two plates to share and two napa Chardonnays. The antipasta plate was a amazing, quite the variety. The ceaser was perfection, lite, served with an amazing piece of toasted bread. The waitress made pleasant conversation with us and really made my friend feel welcome since it was her first time. Do I even have to mention the views??? Amazing amazing amazing!!!

I’ve never had any food here, so I can also speak for the drinks. Came here recently to enjoy the sunset and have drinks with the family. Our waiter was awesome — funny and even brought us blankets for the chilly weather. Many thanks for the excellent service and great view!

I come here for the amazing views and I like to support local businesses. I recommend dining outside on their patio with a sweeping view of the south — especially right before sunset! They have live music also at times.
Their menu options are quite broad, which is great, but their prices seem inflated for what you get. Portions are rather small, IMO.
Service is okay but nothing spectacular. I see this place having a HUGE opportunity to be spectacular if they made some changes to menu prices, replaced worn tables outside, etc.
I’d also suggest more in-​depth training for all staff. I really don’t know anything about wine. Really don’t. Except that reds go w/​beef nicely and whites go w/​poultry/​fish. I would think at this type of restaurant, a staff member can give me some good recommendations and a brief description if I have a question on a wine. Don’t you?

New staff, new menu, amazing food, amazing view and great company if you sit at the bar!
I have been there twice now since their changeover and everything was top notch both times. Great place for a girls night (pedicures next door, then head over for great food & drinks) or a romantic date night on the patio.

WORST EXPERIENCE EVER AT A RESTAURANT!
This is so disappointing to have to write about. This last summer our family and my husbands family bought vacation homes in Fountain Hills. My husbands family was visiting from England and I told them we should definitely stop by the Vu. I had been there once and the views and food were delicious.
This time we arrived at 8pm and there were just a couple tables there of people. No music this time (last time it was fabulous) but it was a Thursday. We ordered a few drinks and they came pretty quickly. We also ordered food and that was a problem all together.
We ordered a caprese salad, 3 calamari’s, seared ahi, 3 kobe burgers, 1 pasta dish, and 1 risotto. 45 minutes later we had only received the ahi. We had some starving folks so we asked if any bread would be available. The waiter was not very friendly with a response and finally said but yes I can get you some. Did not provide any update on how much longer our food would take.
Then one person asked to see a wine menu and again the waiter in an unfriendly tone said «why don’t you just ask me». My sister-​in-​law was a bit taken back by the response and quickly tried to figure out what she might want. It seemed like it was a burden to him to get a wine list. He took her order and walked off. I walked in and just picked up a menu for her to look at for her next drink choice.
Then 15 minutes later, no wine and no additional food (no appetizers or salads even). Now it’s been an hour and we’ve had not updates, no water refills, not any friendly visits from the waiter at all. Everyone was so hungry and the restaurant was pretty empty (only two other tables)!
My husband decided to get up and speak to the waiter. As he did the waiter came with a plate of bread and one caprese salad (why did it take an hour for an uncooked caprese salad?). My husband said, «Whew that was close, we were getting ready to walk out!!». The waiter quickly snapped back «but why?» and that set off a lot of angry hungry people. The waiter continued to argue with no apologies at all for the length of time it was taking or reasons. All he seemed he could add was «your kobe burgers aren’t even ready». (yes…that is our point). He didn’t even realize we hadn’t received our calamari either. He was so rude and unapologetic it was truly shocking!
My husband asked to see the manager and the waiter said «I kind of am the manager». So my husband said there’s no way we can stay here now, we want to pay our bill and leave. The waiter gave him a bill for $ 98 dollars. lol it included a bunch of the food we hadn’t even received. He fixed it for him in a major huff and saying «here’s something you won’t be having» in a way that he was trying to make us feel guilty. So awful!
We ended up leaving right after to try to find another restaurant. Which in Fountain Hills is very difficult after 9pm. The best we could find was the The All American Sports Grill. We went in sat down and instantly started to have way better service from the staff there than at the Vu. They were actually friendly, smiling and helpful. We also received food within 10 – 20 minutes (varied based on appetizers and burgers) and it was still pretty tasty.
If Vu would have been friendly, showed a bit of «care» in their attitude and communicated a bit better I’m sure we would have been patient and waited even though it was taking so long. We just had no idea if it was going to be 5 minutes more or 45 minutes more. Really ridiculous and a huge disappointment as I had high hopes for this being one of our favorites in Fountain Hills.