Italian Grotto

We come to Scottsdale seasonally each winter but this was the first time we tried the Italian Grotto. It is located on a prime corner in Old Town Scottsdale, so it is most definitely geared for tourists although I’m certain they have a local following as well. All of the people we dealt with were very friendly and service oriented. Each one seemed to be in character matching the theme of the restaurant. Sports memorabilia adorn the walls and other photos, etc. that fit the restaurant/​sports bar theme they have chosen. My wife had the eggplant parmesan ($ 21) which was good and I had the spaghetti and meatballs. ($ 14) which was just OK. Their sauce for the spaghetti is a bit too sweet and has too much basil in it for my taste. So, you can see the prices are really too high for typical Italian dinner menu items. We also ordered garlic bread ($ 6). It was over priced for what we expected. After drinks, our bill was about $ 67 before tip. That is just too much for what we got. So, you might want to think about that before you try it. I understand it has been there for some 42 years, so they are definitely a landmark place in Old Town. We might go back for a special dinner during a night out, but not for a regular meal.

We were having lunch today and over heard the owner being extremely rude to a couple girls that need to use the bathroom. Instead of politely saying sorry the bathroom is for patrons only, he was vulgar and used the ‘F’ word and told them they can’t use the bathroom and recommended they don’t ever eat there!!! It was the oddest thing! The food was just OK. Not a place I will go back! You should value customer service!!!

My girlfriends and I were in old town Scottsdale for lunch. Came upon the Italian Grotto which smelled good, Frank Sinatra music playing and a lovely outdoor patio. We decided to stop and unfortunately met the owner Gary. We have never experienced such a rude, crass individual. The cushions on the seats needed replaced, and the table was less than steady. However, this was not an issue in the grand scheme of things, as Gary became quickly ruder as the seconds sent by. Simple questions concerning the menu were met with contempt. For example, he would not bring us glasses of water, but only bottled water that we had to pay for… interestingly there were glasses of tap water galore at other tables. It was hard to believe that 4 confident, smart and outspoken women would be left speechless by such overt disrespect for the patron. As were about to get up and leave before ordering we were rescued by a new waiter; Kris. He was polite, kind and attuned to our needs.
By the way, the food was fine-​nothing out of this world. The wine was good. The bathroom was disgustingly dirty.
As we looked back on the day and finally read the reviews about the angry, erratic, rude owner, we wondered if this was all a marketing ploy?
One might wonder if the health inspector should go in and assess not the food in this restaurant, but rather the environment.
As a local I will not be taking my out of town guests there again. In fact, I will be quite vocal with others about this disturbing restaurant encounter.

Terrible experience! Food might be ok never got that far the owner was so RUDE we walked out! Extremely Bad Karma for charming Old Town Scottsdale!

No thank you! This is much more of a bar setting than Italian. They play latin music, one of the servers is very sarcastic and the food is not worth it. Over priced, cheesy goop with paper thin strips of eggplant for my eggplant parm meal. The bread was store bought cold and tasted 3 days old. I will not go here again.

WARNING: do not eat at this Restrauant!!!
The short, greasy guy with long hair does not speak English!!! He mumbles and stumbles… We nearly got into a fist fight at the front door…
Old town needs to raze this Restrauant and start over…

This restaurant looks like it belongs on the show Bar Rescue.
We were in old town late last night and looking for a place to eat. My father-​in-​law decided we step in to try the place. First impressions: The place is extremely dated and has an odd artsy/​Italian feel. The waiting staff was nice and had good attitudes but they looked sloppy; shirts untucked, baggy clothing, etc. Our table was wobbly but our waiter got down on his hands and knees to put some towels under it to balance it out.
The menus need some refreshing and updating. We were handed paper menus with food stains and torn edges. The prices were ridiculous. Most entrees ranged from 21 – 34. We all ordered pasta, which was mediocre at best, and a whopping $ 14 per plate. I get that it’s Scottsdale but come on, I could get far better tasting food at Olive Garden.
There was a gentleman sitting at the bar who I’m guessing to be the owner? Having a little much to drink, he was talking loud and flirting with customers while ordering drinks and refilling water glasses. Several employees were babysitting him during our visit attempting to control him. We won’t be back.

Mouth watering Italian Stallion food! Like you got of the subway in nyc and stumbled into a spaghetti tower of goodness. I’m Italian. My mom claims the best. Sorry mom. This is better. Get the chicken parm. Gary, the owner, makes you feel like cousin vinny.

I have been to the restaurant before, and the food has always been delicious. The waiter on the other hand, had the personality of a teaspoon. Not once were we asked if everything’s ok… it was as if he just didn’t care. My boyfriend ordered hot tea… not an unusual request, to which he responded not tonight in a very gruff tone of voice. I heard another table order coffee, to which he said the same thing. I can’t say I understand his behavior, seeing the fact that I have spent several years in the food service industry… I guess I hold other servers to a higher expectation, but this guy was TERRIBLE!!!

Visiting Phoenix AZ while doing a little site seeing in old town Scottsdale saw a sign. Fresh seafood. This Italian restaurant with a romantic cozy private atmosphere. Is out of this world!!! With four fish specials: your pick halibut, salmon, swordfish and sea bass. Then you pick from eight different Italian noodles and sauce preparations. You can’t go wrong. Your favorite fish your favorite noodles and sauce. True Italian recipes that have been handed down through the generations. Grandma would be proud. Then finish the meal with some orangecello followed up with tiramisu. Love it love it, love it and you will too!!! We will be back and highly recommend you stop in. For got to mention the Wait staff AWESOME!!!

Fantastic food and they had the Rangers on! Everything was made from scratch. You could taste the fresh herbs. Oh that is the best Italian food. Try the mussels for an appetizer. Homemade sausages.

Don’t waste your money here. There are tons of great bars and restaurants in Old Town, places where they treat customers with respect and appreciate your business. People have had good things to say about the food, but I couldn’t tell you because I was not allowed to spend my money here. I would certainly never come back to this place ever again.
We walked into the restaurant, and headed towards the bar which is in the back because I didn’t see anyone up front who looked like they worked there. I lagged a little behind my wife because I was looking for someone who worked there because there we’re a several empty tables. Next thing I know, my wife is being «escorted» out by some old guy and I hear «Restrooms are for customers only». I’m a little confused, and I say I was heading for the bar, to which he replies «Not in here you’re not. GO somewhere else.» in a loud voice. At this point I was not even sure he worked there, because he was dressed casual and not like any of the employees I saw in the 30 seconds or so we’d been in the place. So he is pushing my wife out, not physically but by crowding her towards the door ranting «It’s not right» over and over at a high volume. I’m like, What just happened. I try to have a conversation with the guy outside, but just continues screaming at us. Some guy comes up and blocks the owner and keeps telling me to «walk away man». Not once did I ever raise my voice, despite being pretty angry at the treatment. I am like, I am just trying to talk to the man to figure out what the heck just happened, and he keeps telling me to walk away. At his point I’ve realized the guy yelling at me is probably the owner.
We we walk around the block, and I go back into the restaurant because I’d like to address the disrespect my wife received. Again no one is up front so I wait. A couple of minutes the owner or whomever comes from the back and asks if he can help me. I’m thinking, you don’t recognize me? I mean if it were me, Id remember the appearance of someone I was shouting at, kicking of my restaurant, and yelling at on the sidewalk 15 minutes before, but apparently this must happen pretty often to not be memorable. So I calmly say «I’d like to have an adult conversation about what just happened.» Then the lightbulb goes on, and he mutters «I don’t want to talk to you», proceeds to brush past me and walks outside. Note he didn’t even kick me out, he just pushed passed me and left, leaving me standing in the restaurant. So I follow outside and ask very calmly «Can I just talk to you for a second.» He starting into another tantrum standing on the sidewalk, saying «I tried being nice, and it doesn’t work» over and over. At first I thought he might be drunk, based on his behavior and belligerent actions. I can’t be sure, but I honestly think this is just his personality, which in some ways is worse.
So he’s got his back to me, and so I turn to leave and say something along the lines of «Man, I’ve never been kicked out of someplace for walking up the bar.». So he yells at my back «You don’t just walk into a place!» I’m like, yeah you do, pretty much every restaurant I’ve ever been to. If there is a host or hostess you say «heading to the bar»; and if not you just take an open barstool. I’ve certainly never been removed from an establishment for simply walking in; actually this the first time I’ve ever been removed, ever.
So the sad thing is, we aren’t even tourists, were locals. I’ll be sure to let me friends know to stay clear of here.

AMAZING food. Great location with an incredibly authentic feel. My wife and I followed our waiter’s recommendation and it was well worth it. I can’t think of words to describe how great this place is for a nice quiet date.
I would recommend you ignore these bad reviews. The waiters are charismatic and I’m guessing these people have thin skin. Their charm is half the fun. Same with my barber shop: all the bad reviews are people who don’t have personality. I’ll be back many more times

Totally overrated. Totally overpriced. I ordered the chicken picatta. Got half of a sliced up chicken breast. Who got the other half? For the price I paid of $ 21.00.
Waiter was arrogant. And lastly, the minestrone soup was cold with gushy noodles. So gross. Just because they have prime property in OLD Town Scottsdale doesn’t make them a great restaurant to eat at. Will never go again.

I have never had a worse restaurant experience than at this place. It was absolutely terrible. DO NOT GO HERE.
1) I VOMITED AS SOON AS I GOT HOME. I am being completely honest. This had never happened to me. There is something very wrong with the food this place serves.
2) The owner and the servers are jerks. They maybe checked up on us twice the whole time we were there
3) We didnt even get our salads or soups. After finishing all of our food we asked the server what happened and all he said was «Im sorry»
I am warning you please do not go to Italien Grotto in Scottsdale.

I wish it was possible to give this place negative stars. Please avoid it at all costs and save your hard earned money and go to a decent restaurant. This place was filthy, food was below mediocre and overpriced, and worst of all, disrespectful owner with too much of an attitude. How can you get away with charging 21 dollars for a chicken caesar salad that seemed to be made with leftover chicken scraps, bagged lettuce, no croutons, and of the size of a side salad? I am a seasoned cook and foodie and eat out often, and by no means this is acceptable anywhere. Even when I used to live in NYC they would never get away with charging that, and if so, it would be in a top notch restaurant in the city.
The worst part was when my boyfriend’s mom nicely requested a tad more cheese for her pasta and the owner almost dumped the whole cheese bowl in her plate! By no means should customers by treated in this manner. He was even eavesdropping our conversation and gave his input in regards to the subject. What kind of person in his/​her right mind does this? In all, you are warned! Please don’t come to this establishment.

I wish I could give the Italian Grotto in Scottsdale less than one star. They really deserve a negative 10 star review. I just had the worst meal without apology. It was so bad (and cost $ 30 — for one meal — without drink or appetizer) that one bite was enough. Really, looking at it was enough. The waiter didn’t check on us and the managers answer to the problem was to say sorry. Not I’ll get you another meal or take it off the bill or anything. Seriously it was horrendous. The service terrible and the attitude was even worse.
I feel completely violated by this place. They took a lot of money and left me hungry and feeling ripped off, completely.

I stopped in here on a Saturday afternoon. There was no wait. Easy to get seated.
The service was good. I was served a starter of bread with butter that I swear had bacon blended in.
The fried artichokes were simply delicious. And very hearty. I could have eaten this alone and been happy.
There is a small outdoor area. Which gives you a good view to be able to people watch or to have people watch you eat. And indoors the décor was filled with sports memorabilia. The bar area had TV’s for your viewing pleasure.
All in all, not a bad little place.
*note the woman’s restroom was pretty clean too*

Definition of SUCKS in the dictionary is The Italian Grotto. Now I’ve come for years, but food quantity has diminished of late and they have earned the coveted FRANK B middle finger award.
I’ve dined on any items throughout the years and my father keeps insisting on eating at this rat hole.
(Oh Cheers to the person who posted cockroach photo, you rule!)
Today is the last time I set foot in this dump. My meal today was Sausage Parmigiana with spaghetti. So I get tiny slivers of uncocked sausage with a dab of marinara and some cheese (and not even a full link if that). For $ 21 I should have gotten two links and cooked with cheese baked on. The spaghetti was cold and I’m basically put my napkin on it and didn’t eat it.
So FRANK is pissed off and hungry.
In the past the food was OK but this owner claiming to be from NYC should really go back to LITTLE ITALY and learn how to cook Italian food. John’s on 12^th is a good place for him to be a busboy to the Restraunt business.

Italian Grotto is a cute little Italian American restaurant. The patio is killer, and although it was a quiet night I can see that it would be an amazing people watching spot in tourist season. The service was attentive, friendly, and helpful with suggestions when my dining companions and I needed them (which we definitely did as there were so many tasty looking options!)
We ordered the Fried Zucchini Del Grotto to share, and I ordered a glass of Sauvignon Blanc. The zucchini wasn’t bad, it was crispy and quite flavourful, and the dipping sauce was good but tasted like a re-​purposed garlicky pasta sauce; once I adjusted to that I enjoyed the combination of flavours. The wine was ok — I wanted something American at least (I always try to have the most local wine I can get!), and was recommended the sauv; it was fine, easy drinking but not quite such depth of flavour as I was hoping for.
For my main I had the baked ravioli with pomodoro sauce; I was expecting something in a bowl, oozing tomato, covered in cheese and bubbled up in ooey-​gooey happiness. My ravioli was on a large plate, which made it seem kind of small initially — but don’t worry, it was incredibly filling! The ravioli was filled with a ricotta which contrasted really nicely with the melted cheese on top. The tomato sauce, however was way too rich for the dish — I was hoping for something fresh to stand out beside the greasy, delicious cheese, and instead it was too intense and I left half of it on my plate.
Having an Italian stepdad has made me fussier about Italian food than I’d like, but I’m trying! I liked Italian Grotto, but I’d still take a plate of homemade pasta over restaurant Italian food any day!