A few weeks ago, my mom and I decided to hit a Scottsdale happy hour recommended by her boyfriend. He said he would treat us to happy hour at The Chart House in Scottsdale because in his opinion, they had the best happy hour in town. I told him that I’d have to see it and eat it for myself to appropriately asses weather his claim was on the money, so we headed down Scottsdale road and pulled up to the Chart House on a beautiful Arizona day.
Dessert palm trees surround the Chart House, and typical of all Chart Houses, it rests near a body of water …in this case, Camelback Lake. Directly behind the lake view, you can admire the rocky silhouette of Camelback Mountain (my old backyard). Let’s just say the view isn’t too shabby.
Once we arrived, we chose table in the lounge area and relaxed with some happy hour glasses of wine and a ($6) “Monarch” margarita. The happy hour wine we chose was the Lindeman’s “Bin 65” Chardonnay and cost $5 a glass. Other happy hour wine options for the same price include Beringer White Zinfandel, Chateau St. Michelle Riesling, Concannon Merlot and Snap Dragon Cabernet Sauvignon. The bartender/server was attentive and very accommodating with explaining the specialty cocktails, each listed at $7 per drink.
I was ravished after sucking in my tummy trying on wedding dresses earlier that day, so we went ahead and ordered up some fun share dishes for all of to try. One of my favorite parts of Chart House’s happy hour menu were the amount of plentiful food options that were broken up by price. The sliders were my mom’s boyfriend’s favorite, so we ordered some of those plus the Truffle Skinny Fries, ($4) Mediterranean Pita Plate ($6) and the Fish Tacos ($7).
The Prime Rib Sliders ($7) were served with 3 on a plate and seemed to be a meal all to itself. Housed between mini buns, the sliced Prime Rib meat in the slider was tender and warm and joined together with caramelized onions, Jack cheese and horseradish sauce. Thumbs up. The Truffle Skinny Fries complemented the sliders well with just the right amount of truffle flavor and seasoning and were also mixed with some fried plantains and sweet potato. The Mediteranean Pita Plate also had 3 portions and they were filled with grilled branzino herbed chicken, shaved lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and tzatziki sauce. Perhaps a little more chicken had been added inside and I would have been supremely happy.
Let’s get to my favorite happy hour dish of the night, the Fish Tacos. The Mahi Mahi tacos were grilled and blackened (I was happy they weren’t fried) and served on a warm tortilla with ranch dressing, shredded cabbage, Jack cheese avocado and pico de gallo. I still look at the picture of these tacos on the screen and my mouth starts to water. The avocado was so fresh and all of the flavors and textures in the tacos worked together beautifully. I recommend even squeezing a little bit of the fresh lemon sliced they are served with right on top.
All in all, I was very pleased with the range of drink and food options on Chart House’s happy hour menu. Each dish left us satisfied and offered fantastic value at the reduced-priced happy hour rates. The service was also fantastic, and I loved being able to watch the gorgeous Arizona sun set out of the window behind us. On our way out, the hostess said goodbye and we walked outside. Out on the lawn a family of ducks quacked goodbye too; making our Chart House happy hour an even more memorable one.
XXOO,
Maren
(310) 860-4000