Taylor’s Chowder House

When we pulled into parking lot I was concerned about eating here. The food was wonderful! Best clam chowder I’ve had! Highly recommend

We love this place! My husband threw my surprise 50^th birthday party there. We went here for my husband’s birthday just the other night. First off, it’s tucked back oddly from the street in a strip mall. The décor is decidedly nautical in theme with buoys and lobster traps on the wall. The staff is always so friendly and helpful and even though we showed up a little late they were more clthan accommodating to our group that included a high chair for our granddaughter. The wait staff had fun with our granddaughter. Here is what I love most about the restaurant is that they have Ipswich clams — belly clams. My folks were from New Hampshire so this always takes me back to summers spent back East. The clams are fresh and fried to perfection. The fish is terrific. A trip to Taylor’s always makes for a really fun meal.

Arrived hungry with reuniting with chowder from my past! My father in law and hubby ate here on lunch times when their offices were near by. Fresh Asphalt met us and they were not apparently open!!! So sad! Phone # message did not indicate Taylor’s would be closed! Am here for only a few days soooo sad.

We went here this past Sunday, Nov. 1^st, 2015. 22 customers and one waitress? Then it grew to 32 customers and one waitress. We ordered chowder and fried cod, with Fries and coleslaw. The chowder wasn’t very tasteful It very bland. The fish was good & hot. The fries were luke warm. The coleslaw was ok. The place has been around since 1985. It needs a make over, more help and other tenants in this lonely empty plaza. It’s too bad, because the idea of fresh New England fish in an area of 1.5 million potential customers is a good idea. It just has to have good management.

Oh my goodness, this is the best seafood place I’ve been to in Phoenix. I went here after a food critic, that I follow, highly recommended the place. I haven’t had any great fried clams outside of a coastal-​city, until I came here. Their clam chowder is also amazing (obviously lol). Nothing against Pappadeuxs (another place that has great seafood), I would pick Chowder House over them any day.

Great seafood. I use to work there in the mid 90s. Recently went back to eat, and I was not disappointed. I got the chowder, fried cod, and bread pudding. Yum.

Phoenix has very few decent seafood restaurants and years ago, we found Taylor’s Chowder House. The place was packed with seniors and families at almost any time we landed there. The owner was from Rochester and Boston and knew seafood as well as anyone. The New England Clam Chowder was made from scratch, full of clams with potatoes in a sea of white sauce. The Best in Phoenix for years. They also had specials every day based on what came in fresh that day, whether Tilapia, Mahi-​mahi, halibut and haddock or fresh Maine lobsters all prepared well at great value. Yesterday, we went back to Taylor’s and what a difference. The old owner turned the restaurant to his cook who sold it and took it back. When the current owner was a cook, he prepared the food meticulously; nothing fancy but very good meals made from scratch. This visit that night was so different. I am on a restricted diet, so I often share a meal with my wife. We had a hankerin’ for fried haddock and recalled the long, fresh filets coated in batter and fried to a golden brown. The meal came with waffle fries and cole slaw. So, we ordered the fried haddock dinner split with a bowl of their hearty New England Clam Chowda. The waitress brought a loaf of bread that looked like it had been served over and over. Needless to say, it just sat there. Next, she brought our drinks, a glass of decent house Pinot Grigio and an Arnold Palmer. The lemonade mixed in with the ice tea had a metallic taste and was horrid. The waitress did notice it sitting there and offered to replace it but likely no different from the first, Next, she brought the bowl of the famed chowder that gave the restaurant it’s name and reputation. What I remembered was nothing like that. It was awful. The broth was too thick with a flour taste, few clams and heavily over salted; what a disappointment to start. A few minutes later the waitress brought us the two plates that she had split the meal already so each of us had a smallish piece of haddock, some steak fries and dish of cole slaw. It looked inviting, to be honest until we tasted the haddock. Replacing the large fresh piece of haddock were two smaller pieces of frozen haddock. We had hoped for a light flaky fish and what we got was clumps of fish meat in fried batter that was too long in the freezer, possibly not even haddock. I had a small portion of the haddock but it was so awful, I could not eat any more. I thought I would try the slaw instead but again, not up to standards. The dressing was very bland that no amount of salt and pepper could improve upon it, The steak fries, however, were cooked perfectly, crispy on the outside and meaty on the inside. The fries were the only thing I ate. This was such a disappointment that it is a shame of how far off our original visit it had come. The highlights were the wine and steak fries, plus the friendly sociable waitress. We noticed how small the dining crowd was on a Friday night and most were very elderly. I felt we were in God’s waiting room.
This is another case of a cook with little restaurant management experience, in my humble opinion trying to make it work. When the customers dropped off, he decided to lower his costs and cut corners. Not much changed inside in 20 years except for the food. We probably will never come back because of the disappointment of this experience.

Local Seafood house in Glendale. The Clam Chowder is very good.

Loved the chowder and the baked fish was good too — Server was a little perturbed when I asked for a take home box (right when she just gave one to another member of our party) also, my husband got several refills of his soda, but when I asked for one refill of my drink, it never came!

I would have never even thought of going to this place if my neighbor didn’t take me here. It is a hidden gem!
The clam chowder was awesome! Only disappointment was that I got the cup vs the bowl. I wanted more!
I also got the fried oyster po’boy. I’m not a fan of raw oysters, but have a «must try everything once» mentality. And I will certainly try it again!
I have already recommended this place to people.

I’m from back east and enjoy great seafood. Taylor’s Chowder House flies in their seafood, and their Oysters are from Ipswich, Massachusetts. Quite a surprise here in the valley.
I had Creamy Clam Chowder, Manhattan Clam Chowder, Baked Oysters and a piece of Cod. Everything was great, I highly recommend Taylor’s Chowder House to anyone who appreciates great seafood.
The service was excellent and knowledgeable, as I asked many questions about the menu. Our waitress Nicole, was great. We will be back.
P. S. I brought my daughter and she had homemade mozzarella sticks, which were huge and yummy.

We ate here for the first time after hearing good reviews about the New England style Clam Chowder. My husband is from RI and he ordered the Manhattan style chower, I ordered the New England style and we shared a seafood plate. The soups were only average and the seafood plate, all of which came battered and deep fried, were soggy: (We will keep looking for good seafood.

So to start. I’m really having a hard time giving this place 3 stars. The food. It was good. That’s the reason why. I’m not a seafood eater but I do like a good cup of New England clam chowder. It was pretty good! I ordered the steak. It was tough and kind of chewy. My family ordered fried cod and shrimp. They said it was really tasty! It was enough food for leftovers for everyone. The coleslaw was meh. I’ve had better. Nothing to write home about.
Now here’s the downfall. It was enough of a downfall that I am considering not coming back. The service sucked! It was so slow. Our waitress was nice but was more focused on the elderly customers then us. And there were a lot of elderly customers. Most of them were her regular customers so she was extremely focused on them. It took 15 to 20 minutes to get our check and pay. That was just unheard of.

Came in with gf and her son. Liked the set up and had a good vibe. Service was great. We ordered the shrimp cocktail appetizer and the shrimp were big and fresh. Had the calamari and salmon. Both were fresh and delicious. Would def go back again.

I’m always looking for a place to get my oyster fix. After Unilocaling seafood restaurants I picked Taylor’s for my next trip to Phoenix. I ordered a dozen oysters on the half shell to eat in. For take-​out I ordered the fried sampler platter, fried clams and poor boy. I was not impressed with the oysters, the oysters laid directly on the plate with small ice cubes on top, I’ve only been eating raw oysters for a couple years, but this is the first time I’ve seen them prepared this way, normally they set on a bed of crushed ice. They taste like buffet oysters that are shucked and frozen on the east coast and then shipped out to the wholesalers. Don’t get me wrong, they didn’t taste bad, I look for that kiss of the sea flavor. it wasn’t there. Now everything else was very tasty. The batter was seasoned very well and everything fried perfectly. I give the take-​out 4 stars.

Best fried class outside of Boston. Full clams with bellies. Cooked just right. A little on the small size but a generous portion. Nice steak fries and cole slaw come with it. The cole slaw was OK but nothing special. The waitresses were fabulous — very friendly and genuinely happy I chose this place. Made me feel right at home. The New England Chowder was better than average though again nothing special. An excellent menu of all things New England. You can’t help but find something terrific to order. It’s hidden away in an obscure strip mall so be sure you know where you’re going or you’ll have trouble finding it.

The first time that I went there, I was born and bred in Boston, the clams were bitter. When I went back, maybe a month later, I told the waitress, a brunette that’s some sort of manager or has just been there a long time, about the bitterness. she didn’t seem to care. The clams were slightly less bitter. somewhat more palatable, but, I know where they’re coming from and it has nothing to do with serving great whole fried clams.

This place is amazing! The third time that we came in the manager Gillian called my daughter and my dad by name. She remembered our orders and takes very good care of us. We feel like family when we are there. The food is amazing and the staff is so pleasant! These people go above and beyond to make you feel at home. And did I mention the food is amazing?!

I grew up on the coast in New England so I know my chowder and seafood. Taylor’s is a fun place to go for that New England seafood house experience in the Phoenix area.
I always order a bowl of chowder which is just okay. Creamy with plenty of clams and potatoes but has a strange flavor ingredient that I can’t quite place which makes it taste just a bit off. A small dollop of butter stirred in makes it taste more authentic.
This is one of very few places in the area where you can get fried scallops that come out tasting how they should and remind me of being back in Massachusetts. Very large and fresh with a light batter and fried golden brown — delicious.
I know this place has been around forever and it shows. It really reflects a bit negatively when the décor in the restaurant is fun and authentic, but covered in dust and cobwebs. The owner really just needs to shut down for a week and pull everything out and re-​do it with the same theme but updated. It would really really improve the experience!
My other reason besides the chowder and décor that garnered only 3 stars is the fact that they won’t take AMEX cards. I know many smaller places don’t but it is really a pain when you are traveling and cannot use a corporate card to pay for meals and need to use either a personal card or cash to pay.
If the owners of Taylor’s read this review and fix these things I guarantee they would begin getting 5 star ratings across the board!

If you like good/​great fish do not go here. If you want average AZ type of fish, an, «All You Can Eat» Fish Fry for 12 bucks, and you are not a picky person who knows good food than by all means go here. It is what it is. Kick it to three stars if you have a big appetite and want to eat a lot. lol—
We had dinner here tonight and it was just average. My friend suggested it since she heard raves but then could not figure out why. We had a coupon for a free Clam Chowder. I do not like that so did not get any. My friend said it was not good at all. We both got the fish fry. All we can say is, «Meh.»
If you are a big eater then it is probably a good deal. They do give you a lot of food though. The service bothered me. Our server was very nice but she got basic things wrong. I am usually very forgiving of that but it added to our non impressed status of the place. A Diet Coke turned into an Ice Tea and she figured the bill wrong. Also, the bathroom was filfthy. A big,” No, No” for me.