Italian Grotto
Italian · Scottsdale, AZ
Italian
About Italian Grotto
Award-winning fried calamari, veal and fresh seafood are just a few of the items on the Italian Grotto's extensive menu. This fine restaurant features a wide array of fresh fish and shellfish, individually prepared in various sauces; seasonal specials; and their signature dish - the cioppino. Great vegetarian, chicken, and pasta dishes are also served in Grotto's small, casual room. Don't miss the small open-air cafe with the "ocean-view" in the heart of Old Town. Leave room to enjoy the delicious tiramisu.
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Diner reviews of Italian Grotto
A diner from Las Vegas nv
Dec 10, 2010
The owner was our server. The low class food was very over-rated as well as the prices. Owner was absolutely rude to our party of 4. He made snide comments regarding our questions and I believe they over-charged us. They add gratuity to the check so they don't need to provide good service. I would rather eat at mcdonalds than this place. Save your money and skip this hole in the wall. It was my worst experience at a restaurant because of the callous and rude waiter/owner. The other people in my party agree that the restaurant was terrible. I will tell everyone I know to avoid this place when they come to Scottsdale.
Mat from las Vegas.
A diner from Scottsdale AZ
Apr 10, 2009
This is one of the most authentic Italian Restaurants in Old Town Scottsdale!
I frequent the restaurant 1-2 times per month, and have never had a bad experience. The owner and staff always remember me and treat me with the most excellent service. The food is delicious and I have no complaints!
A diner from Minneapolis, MN
Feb 22, 2008
I feel it necessary to put together a review for as many sites as I can for the Italian Grotto in Scottsdale. We tried this place one time a year each time that we are in Scottsdale. Why, I do not know, since we receive the same treatment each time. This past trip was by the far the worst and even though we will never go back, it is necessary to warn people of the experience that they would have here also. Besides being insulting to my elderly parents, he lied to them about the menu, the prices and the time frame. When they requested fish to be put with their Caesar salad, he said no problem. They asked him how much extra it would be and he said "Don't worry....I won't charge you for sneaking a little fish on...". He TOLD me that rather than send the bread that goes with the meal, he would give us a half and half plate with garlic bread and tomato bread, as a special treat to the table. He told us that at 2 PM in the afternoon, he would charge us the lunch price of $8 per entree as was advertised in the window, instead of the $11 which was on the menu. He claimed that he was a new man because he was on his third wife and she had straightened him out! Even though I did not feel good about his stories, my parents, who are both 85, thought we should trust him! WRONG...WRONG...WRONG....When the bill came, he charged $15 apiece for the Caesar salad, $11 apiece for all other entrees, and $5 apiece for two kinds of bread! Exact opposite of what he had promised. The bill was hand written out in a long list of numbers, with no explanation. I asked the waiter for an explanation. Instead of doing any explaining, he crossed out a couple of numbers, wrote in a couple more numbers, turned the bill over and showed me more charges of $5 apiece for the ice tea!! We got out of there as quickly as possible, as I did not want to have a confrontation with this mad man with my parents present. It is a total shame that this person is still in business. If there are any reviews about this restaurant that are anything other than what I have just described, they are either part of the wait staff or family of the owners
A diner from Paul, MN
Jan 6, 2008
Rude service, rude owner, bland food
AVOID!!
A diner from Phoenix, AZ
Aug 26, 2007
I just got home from eating at the Italian Grotto. It put me in such a bad mood that I had to write a review to try to warn others!
Our waiter was terrible and seemed almost angry when two members of my party ordered water to drink instead of booze. Then he was even angrier when we decided to split entrees. After we ordered he tried to get us to order the garlic or tomato bread instead of the free bread. I jokingly asked which was cheaper. He put his hands up to stop me talking and continued with his sell. Seriously.
The food came and was really not that good. It was bland and boring. The waiter hardly spoke another word to us for the entire meal. He never asked if we needed refills or if we needed anything at all. It was annoying but this isn't what made me so mad.
Since we split our entrees, we were charged an extra $5 per entree! For what, I couldn't tell you. We asked the manager for a menu to see if the sharing charge was publicized. He rolled his eyes at us, grabbed a menu and asked what we were looking for. We told him and he turned super rude. We told him that we did not have a good experience there because the waiter was so rude. The manager said that he stood behind his waiter and we had to realize that our eating at the restaurant and splitting meals was costing them money. He said of course the waiter treated us that way if he knew he wasn't going to get much of a tip. We informed the manager that we had each been servers at some time and knew the proper way to tip. He said he was wasting his time talking to us.
Because we know what it's like to be servers, we typically tip 20%. Tonight we didn't tip anything. Then the incredibly rude manager followed us out of the restaurant yelling at us about the lack of tip.
We tried to shake it off because he is obviously a bad person who runs a restaurant with subpar food. But he was just so mean spirited I felt like I had to post this truthful review. AVOID!
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