Ten Handcrafted American Fare & Spirits

I went to TEN for the first time about a year ago. Without intent, it was during their evening Happy Hour — to which the server, Jake, was extremely explanatory, telling me and my party about all their very reasonable specials. He made me feel like I was a regular who spent big money, not a first time guest looking at the Happy Hour menu. Based on that first impression, and the fact the kitchen hit a grand slam with everything I ordered (Hush Puppies, Fried Green Tomatoes, Pulled Pork sandwich which still has my mouth water), I have been back many times. The prices are right, the atmosphere is light, comfortable, spacious, and energetic. The service is always friendly, welcoming and never robotic, and the team in the kitchen have crazy skills! TEN is a great little joint that hits the mark with everything they do, and they let you take most of your wallet home with you — which to me, is pretty great. Check it out — you’ll be happy you did, the first time and the 100^th time!

I like this place ! It’s new and it gets some good reviews. Our group of 8 tried it out, we got seats upstairs. I didn’t like it because it felt «isolated» from the bar and «compromised» the feeling of being THE ambiance. Also, Jodi was out of sight! She was the light of the party at the bar… and we got push upstairs ! At one point the waitress «forgot» about us, it was kinda understandable since it’s quite a few steps up and down stair — that’s like a lot of stairs master!
Food was very good! Chef stop by to say «hello». He’s friendly and made some tasty dishes (#hushpuppies).
The cocktails: are good and strong and tasty, but I, personally, like Lux, Okra, and Gladly better.
Overall, I would like to come back… with less then 8 peeps to have less distraction and enjoy more of the downstair fun-​group.

As a family from SC in need of a taste of home while visiting AZ, we loved all the food and hospitality of TEN. The shrimp and gritcake showed off the chef’s Lowcountry Charleston, SC roots, and our lunch of the BBQ pork and Cuban sandwiches were great. Our super friendly server even added some simple syrup so my daughter could get a jolt of sweet tea. Nice atmosphere even as it is tucked away next to the AMC theater amongst other office buildings. Y’all check out TEN when you can.

This is a hidden gem for lunch! Great food and service! Get the hush puppies, you won’t be disappointed.

Can’t think of a better lunch spot in Phoenix. I’ve had everything on the menu and often get whatever special they have for the day.
The burger is a miracle. The cordon blue is fantastic.
Honestly I can’t think of anything in the menu that isn’t a knockout — it’s all just perfectly done. Breads for sandwiches are better than Hillstone or OSHO etc.
Jody the bartender is hands down the best bartender/​server in town. Just an absolute delight. Fantastic memory — has my drink on the bar before I’m done putting my jacket on the chair. A true sweetheart. Makes you feel like Norm from Cheers every time you walk in.
This is my NUMBER ONE SPOT for lunch around the Biltmore business district.
Chef is righteous and his menu is as friendly as it gets.
I can’t say enough good about the place.
Oh FANTASTIC prices — best bang for your buck period!!!

I stopped in here with some co-​workers base on the reviews and we were not disappointed! First off the service was great. We were seated right away and our server (can’t remember her name but she had red hair) was sweet and attentive.
The cucumber gimlet is fantastic. We split the shrimp and grits and we’re pleased to see that they were not drown in sauce.
All of our entrees were cooked to order and delicious.
Will absolutely recommend this restaurant to others.

Wow, what a pleasant surprise!!! This place has a bomb happy hour!!! The braised beef tacos have a fried egg… yesss!!! Hush pupoies, fried green tomatoes… all excellent! The craft drinks/​cocktails are only $ 5 during happy hour… Clapped basil drink was yummyyy… I had four! Evan was the best server too… he was prompt, professional and always smiling! We will definitely be back!

I’m gay but totally fell for Joedee behind the bar!!! She’s off the hook! Looking for a lunch spot and saw 5 STARS on Unilocal so I had to read more The chef, who is as attractive as his food is delicious, was from Ohio (my home state) and cuisine schooled is South Carolina (bestie’s birthplace) so we had to check it out.
Great atmosphere with a great vibe and friendly patrons. Joedee was amazing! While I’m only visiting PHX from San Diego, I’ll definitely be back! Food was awesome. Couldn’t ask for more.

NOTE: a little hard to find, this restaurant is in the back of a mixed use business complex building, near a movie theater. Valet parking was available, but a parking garage (also tough to find) was cheaper and just as easy to use. Your phone’s map will get you to where the restaurant physically is, but you won’t be able to see it from your car; just go ahead and park, and then turn on the walking directions from there.
My guests LOVED their entrees. They both had identical fish dishes, that were beautifully prepared. It doesn’t indicate this on the menu (I don’t think), but the fish comes out on an enormous bed of sauteed kale and green beans, both of which are perfectly prepared. Just lovely.
I had an appetizer + salad for my light dinner, and both were excessively salty. But based on the success of the other entrees at my table, I am willing to chalk this up to a heavy hand on that particular night.
The desserts were tremendous successes — we didn’t stop talking about them for the entire ride home.
Our server needed a bit more confidence or experience; we had difficulty hearing her, and after she explained the specials, we debriefed because none of us had heard what the second special even was.
However, the chef came out and greeted each table. He was exceptionally personable and invested in our enjoyment of the meal.

Go here and love it. As we did.
Made a quick reservation on Unilocal.Walked in and were greeted by the chef/​owner Jeff. Not sure he planned it but it was a welcome among welcomes. He smiled, cracked a joke and set the mood for a great meal. We sat at the bar, as we do! It was awesome. We requested a change to the tv. We were greeted with smiles and jeers… both welcome and both made us feel like we were home.
The bartender recommended a couple of great beers as well as food ideas. The Fried green tomatoes are a must. Hush puppies too. The winner for us both was the pork shoulder. This dish was drop your fork and talk about it good… so so good. Falls apart and is amazing. Do it.
The vibe is cool and the staff are cooler. I don’t live in Phoenix. If I did this place would see a ton of me.

Holy foodie heaven! I came here with a good friend for Happy Hour because i’ve had it bookmarked for FAR too long! Needless to say, I was MORE than impressed. The service was absolutely phenomenal. They were so nice and excited to have us in. They are also SO proud of their food, as they should be!
For drinks, we both had Cucumber Gimlets and they were SO great, that we had to go for a second one. ;) The fresh muddled cucumber made the drink.
For food, we had the Shrimp & Gritcake… YOU GUYS, this is a MUST when you come! I can’t even describe the flavors because they were so unique but this dish is heaven. Next, we ordered the fish tacos and braised beef tacos. Both were heavenly.
The Happy Hour prices are GREAT; under $ 8 for food and drinks and everything was phenomenal. I’ll most definitely be back for dinner sometime soon!

Stopped in for happy hour recently on a Saturday afternoon. The food was every bit as good as I had been lead to believe. There is a heavy southern influence to the menu. (I am from Spartanburg and Charleston SC). We had cocktails and the Fried Green Tomatoes, the amazing hushpuppies, and the chef’s version of shrimp and grits all as appetizer portion which we shared. The Fried Green tomatoes are great. Light breading and fried to a slight brown. Not greasy at all and served with a spicy remoulade. The hushpuppies were perfect. Real southerners do NOT put sugar in their hushpuppies and these were perfect! Served hot in a paper cone and covered with blue cheese and bacon crumbles! Really Good! Shrimp and Grits and I have a deeply personal relationship. I cook shrimp and grits as did my mother father and grandparents and family before them. This version is in my opinion unique, having shrimp AND smoked sausage in a really good brown sauce served over a grits cake. Flavors were great. This was a first having sausage in Shrimp and grits and I loved it!
I would have given this place a 5 and would still like to but I have to comment upon the bar tender and wait person, a guy. We walked in around 4PM. There were a number of people there and no seats at the bar so the young man who greeted us sat us at a table. He was extremely over the top friendly, animated and in your face. Trying to be funny and not succeeding. We told him we would order our drinks and wait for a spot at the bar. Which we did. Just as our drinks arrived we moved to the bar. The waiter seemed less than pleased and the bartender pretty much ignored us. Seemed as if the waiter was displeased to loose a tip from our table. He spoke with us later and was even more in your face and abrupt. I expressed to the bartender that I was not amused. I still tipped correctly.
Management/​or Chef should blind shop this place on the weekend. The comment from my GF was that the waiter and the bartender were high. She is in the hospitality business and I am a very experienced traveller and foodie. These two were not what they should have been.
Loved your food chef, and we will be back.

Amazing service! The staff including the owner Jeff (I believe) makes you feel at home — like you’ve known them forever! They are very attentive but not to a point where they are bothering you.
This was the first time I tried not your fathers root beer and I’ve been addicted since. I’ve only tried their drinks and appetizers — I tried the hush puppies and the shrimp and gritcakes and both were very tasty. One time we came they had a special — fries with cheese and bacon on top and we couldn’t stop eating that!
The food is tasty, I wouldn’t say the best but love the vibe!

Amazing food, fun atmosphere and we were fortunate enough to get two seats at
the bar. Breton, our bartender, was a lot of fun and spot on with service. The owner took time to come out and talk with us and the whole place was energetic. We will definitely be back and I highly recommend Ten Handcrafted to everyone.

Great food, ambience, and service sums up Ten. I have been wanting to try this restaurant for awhile and ended up going twice in a week for dinner. There is a quiet romantic upstairs and a more casual, lively downstairs dining areas, but you can’t go wrong with either.
There is a decent cocktail, wine, and beer menu. Based solely on the name I ordered the Illusive Traveler Grapefruit Shandy, instead of my usual Cucumber Gimlet. The shandy is a light, refreshing, fruity sweet drink that I enjoyed but not for those who want/​like beer.
The bacon, blue cheese, and dipping sauce were the perfect complement to the slightly sweet, crisp Hush Puppies. And for mains, the Pot Roast, Chicken Ala King and Queen, and Roasted Pork Shoulder were all flavorful, juicy proteins. I really enjoyed the chicken with its crispy skin, delicious gravy sauce on top of soft bread. I had it both times I went. The portion size is satisfying and I was too full for dessert.
Ten does validate parking for the ACE parking garage, which is a couple of minutes walk from the restaurant. Also the restaurant is a little hard to find because it’s tucked away in a corner and surrounded by tall office buildings, but it is still worth searching for. I will definitely be back for dinner again.
What I recommend:
— Hush Puppies
— Chicken Ala King and Queen

I’ve been wanting to try this place for a while and finally made it for dinner a couple of Fridays ago with one of my Unilocal friends.
The downstairs area is kind of busy with dining tables, the bar and servers coming and going from the kitchen. The upstairs area is quieter with just a handful of tables. We were upstairs but I can see coming back sometime by myself and sitting at the bar.
Service was really good and the menu was interesting. The first course of shrimp and grits may have been my favorite. The spices and seasoning were excellent and this was a fine example of Southern comfort food.
The next course was the braised beef tacos served with a fried egg. The presentation was beautiful and it was fun to eat it covered in runny egg yolk. I thought it could have had a little more spice as all the flavors kind of blended together.
We split the nice flaky white fish entrée and it was very good paired with the corn and crunchy green beans. I really appreciated that they split the entrée for us in the kitchen without being asked and plated both servings beautifully.
For dessert we had the tiramisu. It was probably the largest single serving of tiramisu that I’ve ever encountered. While it was very good I think I’d rather have a little more mascarpone and a little less cake/​lady fingers.
They also have a nice wine list and eclectic and diverse craft beer selection.
This is a fun place with good food and friendly, knowledgeable service. I’m glad Ten is part of the Phoenix dining scene.

I really liked the ambiance, especially upstairs. Away from busy downstairs crowds, just hold on to hand rails when walking down.
We started with shrimp and grits cake. Slightly spicy, nicely flavored. I liked the texture of the grits, when eat with shrimp, different textures of food mixed together to create a harmony. Just be careful, red sauce from the dish could make a mess on the table. Or was it just me, messy eater? A server came to clean my side of table when he came to take the empty plate.
We ordered another appetizer after finished eating the shrimp. Beef tacos was… I think what happened was shrimp was so flavorful, beef tacos tasted so plain, also thought beef was a bit dry. A bit runny fried egg added nice flavor, although it made a mess on my hand.
After I made mess on the table, and then my hand, I stayed clean. I used my fork properly to eat main dish. After two appetizer, we decided split the main dish, they separated the plate when served, oh I know that’s why I ate food without making mess, lol. Fish was grilled perfectly, nice texture outside but juicy and soft inside. Saltiness of fish and sweetness of corn went well together. Also enjoyed fresh arugula and green beans. It just just so pleasant eating this fish dish, I would order again.
For desert, we ordered tiramisu. We were just talking how tiramisu, using the same ingredients, they all make different and taste different. My best tiramisu was at Frankfurt. followed by the one in Rome… One time I ate tiramisu every day for two weeks. Always love the texture of mascarpone cheese and cocoa flavor. Unfortunately, their tiramisu had a tad too much cinnamon too it, overwhelmed and couldn’t taste the cocoa as much as I wanted. Also tasted more sponge cake then mascarpone, cake part wasn’t as moist as I was hoping.
Service was excellent. Friendly and attentive. Overall, I enjoyed the night. Nice casual ambiance, I would come back again
If you park in the garage next to the theater, ask for validation ticket. It’s good for 2 hours.

A friend and I visited Ten for the very first time this past weekend on a whim. We needed somewhere halfway between both our locations and Ten fit the bill quite nicely. I arrived first and was immediately greeted by a very friendly host (who turned out to be the owner, Jeff).
I was asked if I had a reservation for the night, which I did not. This was «no problem», however, and Jeff was happy to seat me anyway. (NOTE: turns out, this IS the sort of place you’d want to make a reservation at.)
Jeff seated my friend and I at a table of four settings — one of those table settings made up of two smaller two-​person tables pushed together side-​by-​side. I make a point of telling you this because it wasn’t 10 minutes in before Jeff was back at our table apologizing profusely for having to make a «very odd request».
A party of 6 had just arrived and Jeff wanted to know if we would be willing to relinquish one of our two-​person tables (two unused settings) for this group. He made a point of saying that he had never been in the position of making such a request in all his 18 years of doing business!
Of course this was no problem whatsoever for us, and we were happy to give up the unused table space, but Jeff offered to buy us each a round of cocktails regardless (I think he may have forgotten to inform our server of this because we still paid for our drinks, but it really is the thought that counts and we both greatly appreciated his willingness to accommodate).
Our server, Carolyn, was very cheerful and attentive and it was very obvious that the entire staff had our utmost comfort in mind. We placed our orders for a salmon dish (my friend) and a pulled pork sandwich (me). Both dishes were BEYOND delicious. Honestly.
The salmon dish featured these roasted tomatoes which were like nothing either of us has ever experienced before. My friend is actually notorious for NOT liking tomatoes, but you should have seen her eyes when she took that first cautious bite. She let me have a bite and later regretted sharing because she was so sad it was gone! Her salmon was equally outstanding.
My pulled pork sandwich was very yummy and the fries were some of the best I’ve ever had. My friend and I were both very much in awe of how amazing the food was. (This is saying a lot, because we’re both unofficial foodies and have enjoyed a LOT of the local offerings. At the end of the day, it takes quite a lot to stand out, ESPECIALLY with American fare.)
All things considered, Ten is an EASY standout. It has everything you look for, from a diverse yet unintimidating menu to fantastic, genuinely heartfelt service to truly delicious and uniquely presented food. They say «Handcrafted American Fare», and it fits. The whole experience was very personal and professional and enjoyable.
If you’ve never been to Ten, you need to go. Make thing of it. Tell them Tim sent you. ;)
Jeff and Carolyn, thank you so much for making our night a special one. Thank you for all that goes into creating such a wonderful, welcoming atmosphere. It’s no question: I WILL be back. (This time I’ll make a reservation and maybe dress up a little.) I’ll see you both again soon!

While visiting the Valley for the day, my wife and I decided to try Ten based on other Unilocal recommendations and it’s close proximity to where we were in the Biltmore district. It was just a tad challenging to locate but once we did, it was all good and better from there! Ten is a welcome change from the nearby franchise joints like The Cheesecake Factory or California Pizza Kitchen (which are both very good).
For starters, this is a rather small but cozy little spot tucked away in a corner surrounded by high rise office buildings and a welcoming open plaza. It’s actually two levels with additional tables upstairs. We sat downstairs near the bar.
The inside has a warm feeling which was quickly apparent from the smiling face that greeted us at the entrance. We were immediately seated and presented with drink and food menus which is always important to me. Our server was quick, friendly, and very attentive. We enjoyed a brief chat with her after eating.
We decided to order up a couple of cocktails followed by three different appetizers to share. Our cocktails were done very well. I almost always order a Maker’s Mark Manhattan straight up so I can easily compare and notice any differences. This one was very good, light on the sweet vermouth as requested and smooth as silk. It was served in a rocks glass which is unusual but acceptable. My wife had a an American Mule which was made from Basil Hayden bourbon, ginger been and lime. It was served in a steel mug over ice to stay cold. Excellent.
We shared the Shrimp and Grit cake, Green Fried Tomatoes and Fish Tacos. The presentation was very appealing and each selection was very tasty and balanced. The fried green tomatoes were not soggy or greasy but crispy and light. The sauce which accompanied the shrimp dish was superb, slightly spicy but not overpowering. The fish tacos (2) were equally delectable which a touch a mango for sweetness and balance.
Just before leaving, owner-​chef Jeff Hostenske stopped by our table to ask how everything was. He is a very cordial and friendly chap and we enjoyed hearing a bit about his background and his restaurant which has been opened for about a year now.
If you’re looking for something original and stylish (but NOT pretentious) along with a friendly warm ambiance and excellent food when in the Biltmore area, look no more because this is the place.
P. S. They validate parking although on a Sunday, parking is free in the nearby garage.

(Lyrics — Disclosure — Latch ft. Sam Smith)
You lift my heart up when the rest of me is down
You, you make me hungry even when you’re not around
If there are Pot Roasts, I will try to knock them down
I’m going to Ten, bites, not I know what I have found
I feel we’re close enough
I wanna try out your lunch
I think we’re close enough
Could I order at the bar, drinks!
Now you’ve got me in you place
I order just a few (Bo Bites!)
Got me singing with embrace
I’m attending TEN with you (Bo Bites!)
Came here with a foodie mate on a Tuesday night to checkout what all the rave was about this place was getting. Place definitely reminded of a 20’s/30’s era type place. Could almost imagine Al Capone walking in here having a steak!
Jumping into the food we started with some Fried Green Tomatoes and Shrimp & Gritcakes. I liked the breading and the texture of the tomatoes in the red pepper aioli giving it a slight kick. The shrimp and grit cakes was okay since I thought it was mushy overall, but sauce made this dish pop! Moving to the entrees we ordered the Pot Roast and the Pork Shoulders. The pot roast was cooked to perfection, crusty outside coating with a soft and tender meat within. Overall, a good’o classic American meal! The Pork Shoulders which my mate ordered was what I thought I should have ordered. I’m not a BBQ fan, but I really enjoyed the sweetness of the glaze on the pork shoulders. The meat was very tender and laid on a bed of mashed potatoes.
In the end, the service was top notch thanks to our server and bartender Briton! The food was good and overall cooked the way it should be, but nothing too unique. In the end, great place to hang for small bites and drinks! — Enjoy!