Skunk Creek Flats

I wrote this review back in back on 1÷24÷13, but forgot to publish it until now. Looks like it’s been closed now for a while. S.C.F. was a cool idea, but I think the rural location, massive size and spread out layout hurt it in the end. Oh well, here’s the old review…
This place is far too big and out in the middle of nowhere. It’s definitely a different kind of bar. I’d say it’s more like a scene out of a 70s or 80s summer camp movie than a regular bar.
The first time I went there it was virtually empty with no band and no music on a Friday night. The second time I went there a group of senior citizens tried to pick up my buddy and I. For a moment I thought I was on that Betty White show «Off Their Rockers.» Third time I went there they had all their fire pits going and I could hardly breathe from all the smoke. Took two washes to get rid of the smell.
One thing that is a little weird about this place is how far the stage is away from the crowd. It was awkward when the band (who was actually really good) finished a song and not one person clapped. The bartender there works his butt off. He was a pouring machine that kept the line moving at a quick pace.

This place was great… Sad it closed!

Out of business, too bad, was a great location and atmosphere.

I recently received a notice that this place has closed :(

Open fires and live music! We stayed until the fire wood ran out. Just a great place to spend a cool Saturday night. Yes Amanda took care of us like it was her own place.

Fun place. Monastery meets Greasewood flats is the best description.
Service is kind of lame, so I grabbed my own drinks numerous times from the bar.
Food was typical, live band was… eh both times I went.
Still, I would go back for the ambiance.

Nice place. Service is lacking, no one smiles. Food is ok

We got chips and salsa, a bowl of chili and beers. The chips, we are pretty sure, were recycled from past orders. We found a rolled up paper straw cover in our chips and the way it was rolled up it must have been wet at one point.
The chili was not good. It came in a small styrofoam bowl and was not worth the price. Wendy’s, sadly, has better chili.
The only upside is the beautiful AZ weather.

The first time husband and I visited Skunk Creek, we were a little intimidated. It was just us two and we did’t know anyone who had ever been there. Admittedly, we left after a few minutes. We went again, with another friend to boost our confidence. We decided we really enjoyed the place and have been back a few more times. Live music, decent prices, and good food. Corn nuggets!!! Yum, delicious. We haven’t partook in any of the other activities they have (volleyball, horseshoes, cornhole), but it sounded like everyone was having a good time!

Pretty awesome outdoor bar with live music. Prices are moderate, food is alright and beer is bottle only. Try it out

We have given this place several opportunities to redeem itself but they just can’t get it together and we definitely will not go back. The service is extremely slow: 20+ minutes to get greeted or a menu, another 20 minutes to get drinks and orders taken, and 30+ minutes to get COLD food every time.
Twice when we have been there we were charged for more drinks than we purchased. When we asked the bar tender to see an itemized detail of our bill he showed us a note pad with all of his customers in it with tally marks for the number of drinks ordered. These tally marks had no descriptions of the drinks such as beer, mixed drink, or anything else let alone whether it was a bud light, miller light, martini or margarita. Just tally marks on a yellow legal pad that looked like they had been using since the day the place opened. We have been here 7 times now, and keep giving it a chance to redeem its self every few months but they don’t have what it takes.
The last time we were there we had a party of 3. It took 30 minutes to be greeted and given menus once we were at our table. Once the waitress dropped menus said she would be right back for our drink order. 20 minutes later she had not yet returned to our table so we ordered drinks from the bar. When she did return she gave us attitude because we went to the bar to order drinks rather than ordering from her. We ordered our food, Chicken Wings appetizer, BLT Dinner, Chicken Tender Dinner, and Chicken Wrap dinner all with fries. A runner delivered our food 40 minutes later cold. Keep in mind a runner brought our food not a server. The wings and fries were cold. VERY COLD. After our food arrived we never saw our server for 45 minutes. When she did finally come back she asked how everything was and I told her to be honest that all of our food was cold and we only ate what we did because we were very hungry… her response: «you should have said something to me, I would have got you hot food.» At this point my patience had evaporated and I reminded her that we had not seen her for over 45 minutes so there was no way we could say anything. She clearly knew she had dropped the ball and responded that she was sorry and would get her manager to see if he could do anything. This is where things really went down hill.
I get that the server might have been busy, had a bad night, etc. and things happen… but after speaking to the manager I realized that this is just the way things are there and things will never change!
When the manager came to the table he said that he heard we had a bad experience and asked about it. I explained to him everything that I explained in the above paragraph from being greeted, time to take order, time to get food, cold food, follow up and here is his response:
1. «Sorry it took so long to be greeted. I did see you sitting back here for a long time and didn’t greet you because you were at a table in the back and I thought maybe you wanted to be left alone.» ARE YOU KIDDING ME? First: It was the closest table to the front we could sit at, Second: we were at a restaurant with no food, no drink, and no menu? How many people go to a restaurant to be left alone? You’re the manager if your wait staff can’t say hello get off your rump and make an attempt. If we want to be left alone we will let you know.
2. He responded to all of the additional issues as being valid and said that he knows the service is terrible, and things really need to improve. He said that he had only been there a few weeks and already knows it is a huge issue and that he was hired to fix this problem. He kept restating that he knows how bad it is, and asked us to give them another chance once he gets things turned around in 6 months. «Please come back in the fall and try us again.» What a joke, if you know service is bad now, FIX IT. Don’t wait. I am sure that managing a restaurant is not easy but 6 months to improve, really? It is going to take you 6 months to get your act together and offer a table a menu in less than 20 minutes? What a poor excuse for a manager. Our entire conversation was very civil, and while he was trying to be nice, he was just saying all of the wrong things.
3. The final thing he did to try and give him another chance was offer us «A free round of drinks on the house.» We politely declined. I don’t expect things for free and this is not why I complained to the manager, but when the manager sits there and tells you that he knows things were bad and that he knows the food was probably cold since that happens a lot and then does nothing to take care of the actual issue it is insulting. Either offer something to fix the issue or offer nothing at all.!” Keep in mind; we had already purchased our own drinks at the bar so they were not on our food bill. Our food bill was only $ 21.00, not a big tab. Just take care of it and make a customer happy.

I am pretty sure I realy like this place, but for some darn reason I can never remember leaving ??? geat outdoor bar with tons of room, sand v-​ball, horse shoes and live music! one of my new fav places.

I really like this place, it has a very cool vibe. It is mostly all outdoors, and there are two full bars. There is a stage and they often have live music, and there is a dance floor lit by Christmas lights (there is also two poles on the dance floor). When I have been, they usually have a band and when they are finished, a DJ comes in (around midnight). Last time we were there, there was a band playing and two different brides showed up in their gowns dancing with their bridesmaids. There are fire pits all around, which makes it a great place for cold nights, and there are tables everywhere so it isn’t hard to find a seat. You can play bean bags, and there are also some volleyball courts, but no one seemed to be using them when I have been there (maybe it is more of a daytime thing). The bartenders are friendly, and everyone seemed to be having a pretty good time. There have never been any kids at night any of the times I have been, everyone is 21 and over. The place is huge so it is never crowded. There aren’t many bars in the Happy Valley area, so it is nice to have such a cool place close to us.
How to get there:
If you are coming from Phoenix and going North, get off on the Jomax exit and pass the light. It will be the first right after Jomax road, and there is a sign. If you are coming from north of Jomax, you will need to get off on Jomax, take a left, then another left as if you are going back on the 17, and it will be a right turn.

As many of the other reviews talk about, this place is GIGANTIC. The property extends way beyond even the usual outdoor area. There are tons of tables, firepits and a huge dance floor. So you won’t have to worry about bumping into people. The one time I have been here it was not as crowded as I would have expected for a Friday night however. This is a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, you can easily grab a spot and don’t have to fight for a table and bump into people. However, it felt a little empty with only a handful of people on the dance floor. I think this is a very cool venue. The people who worked here were very friendly and effiicent, and that’s always a good sign as well. I love the set up. The fact that’s it’s all outdoors allows it to encompass a much larger area than a place like this usually would. I think people just need to spread the word about this place so that it doesn’t seem so empty.

Kind of reminds me of camping. Cold beer, music, firepits and good food from the grill.

I have been here a few times. The first couple of times they were getting the bugs out of the system since they were brand new and had some problems with getting their kitchen ovens to work so the menu was limited to items off the grill (which were still tasty).
The last time I was there they nailed it. Everything was working correctly and the food, service, and atmosphere were nice. It isn’t a fancy place, it’s a kick back and relax place that is kid friendly until 10PM. If the sight of seeing children running around having fun will send you into a tizzy, this is not the place for you.
It’s just a fun place where you can listen to music, have some drinks, and eat some nice bbq.

I like the idea of having an outdoor bar. I have yet to experience this place at night, but from what I’ve seen when driving by, it’s HOPPIN’.
I’m sure that they suffer in the summer time because it’s so warm and they don’t really have an inside area to sit, but otherwise, it’s a gorgeous desert bar.
The service was great… the food was good… the chili… yum. Get the chili. :) Oh and the fried corn. OMG.

A big group of us came here on a Friday night for happy hour after work. It was great! I loved the openness and we could sit without bumping into other people. There was an area for kids to run around with a playground for them. It was perfect outside! (Although I don’t think I’d come here during the summer… it must get awfully hot out there. There’s not really anywhere to sit inside)
You have to go inside to order food and I also ordered all my drinks inside. The bartender was very nice and helped me decide what to drink since I am picky.
I didn’t love the food selection because it was mostly greasy bar food and I was in the mood for something lighter.
It kind of had a Monastery/​Greasewood Flats vibe to it.

I was excited to check this place out, because it is so close to where I live. The setting is nice, but the service is terrible! I can deal with going to get my own beer, but the bartenders behind the counter are not friendly or at least the ones I encountered. The stench/​smell near the restrooms is overwhelming and makes you wonder what might be in the water and several of my friends who did eat the food got sick. I would say try at your own risk!
A week or so later we discovered that this place got hit with a food code violation from the City of Phoenix for their deep fryer grease being old and rancid. I am sure they cleaned it up, but I would never eat there. I might venture to go there again, but only if I am drinking bottled beverages!

I was so excited to right this review for a new place up north on the east side of i-​17 just north of Jomax. It just opened and it didn’t seem like they could handle all of the business on a Saturday night but north Phoenix has needed a place like this so bad that I would be lying if I didn’t tell you I love it. The food is nothing special really but it served its purpose, we ordered chili which was pretty good, chicken fingers the kids loved, quesadilla, chicken wings, and 2 beef tacos all decent. The fact that I can go there and have a beer with my family while my kids play on a playground and my friends play horseshoes all while a live band is playing and a big grass area for kids to play also makes this place awesome. There is no waitress service so you have to get in line to order food, and it kind of reminds me of Salty Senoritas over in Arrowhead but without the servers. The whole place must be on over 5 acres or so, it looks so big and they also do weddings and stuff like that. I am sure there is much more to tell but I only came here once after our soccer game Friday night and I think it will be a regular stop for us now.