The Australian AZ

Disappointing, very inconsistent, appears there is no or very pour management, no systems… I was hoping this place would be a place to go. Oh yeah… there is casino gaming, poker tables… anything to make money… won’t be eager to spend money here again.

A friend and I were driving by and decided to stop in and check out the place. Glad we did. We sat at the bar and ordered beer and burgers. 3.00 Fosters, a friendly bartender who had our names down in 5 minutes flat, and tasty burgers! Lots of TVs around and the Suns beat the Thunder, so it was a great time!

Horrible! Bought a Groupon to try this place and went in tonight. We sat ourselves (just like the sign said) and waited. Waited and waited and waited. 18 minutes later a very nice woman came out and noticed we were sitting at a table with no drinks, no menus, no tableware or napkins. Just sitting. She asked us if we needed anything and our reply was to ask for a menu. …
Two other couples came in and waited and subsequently left without being acknowledged at all. We ordered a dr pepper and a Fosters. We got a diet coke and the fosters. She dribbled the beer down my leg and onto the floor but didn’t notice it. I discreetly wiped it off my pant leg and smiled.. She brought menus and we never saw her again. We ended up leaving $ 4 on the table and leaving without so much as a word from anyone there. My Groupon was a waste and we will never go back. Anyone wanna buy it? ???

Love the tvs at almost every table. Wasn’t impressed with there food. The Ruben was alittle dry but all and all not a terrible place.

How can you go wrong with $ 3 dos Equis draft & $ 5 French dip sandwich on Wednesday. Yummy!
The atmosphere is lacking, not much has been changed since changing hands from
RTO’s.
The service was excellent, I will be back for sure.

The service has improved, the patio is excellent with 6 tvs and 20 oz big beers for 3.99. The nachos and burgers are huge and great. The wings were excellent. You can have regular fries or duck fat fries with homemade dipping sauces. You can sit in a booth with your own tv for sporting events or ntn trivia.

Despite poor reviews, this is still 1 of 2 bars showing WWE (the other in Mesa). I was impressed w the number of tvs bc they’re everywhere even with sound outside.
First experience: Service was a little slow. Not enough staff, but those here were working hard. I waited between beverages which is a negative. Food wasn’t good. We got traditional fries that were not all the way cooked, drenched in oil, soggy/​flimsy. They came w ketchup and 2 sauces. We picked house made garlic aioli and chipotle. Big mistake on anything made in house. See THE BEST For more on sauces.
Next several experiences: pizza-​thumbs down. Reuben (why did I order Irish fare here) had processed Swiss singles but crispy corn beef, tasty thousand island and dry sour kraut on well toasted marble rye. Pickle was the highlight but fries have seriously improved. Burger-​just okay. Cooked as ordered. Bacon was extra crispy and again the highlight.
Earlier last year and this year (2014) There was a special menu for the WWE event which did feature a cheeseburger and fries for $ 7.99. There were healthy and vegetarian options with the most expensive item being $ 13.99.
Now there’s a very reasonable regular menu and no gratuity on PPV nights.
The menu pricing seems strange. Some items are $ 2, $ 3, $ 10, while others are $ 8.98, $ 5.50, $ 7.59, or $ 0.95.
How do you get the beers so cold? I watched the bar tender pull the mugs, already full of beer from the cooler. Then she topped them off to give a head. Creepy or ingenious? UPDATE: haven’t seen that since summer. Beers are still cold and bar staff is tops. They’re on it, at least the awesome blonde behind the bar.
If I lived nearby I could see this as a more regular place. Definitely live no cover for PPV.
THE BEST: they are masters of sauce… ranch, pepper, all kinds. Give it a go.

been visiting The Australian AZ since October of 2013. Good drinks and the food is enjoyable. I am concerned that it seems very empty some nights. Even on a Saturday during NFL playoffs the bar was half full. I’d suggest bringing in a live band on the weekends to jazz it up. I’m fearful the bar wont last another few months if it doesnt pick up soon.

A few of my friends really like coming here, but I am not really that thrilled with the place. The food is OK. I consider this place a little nicer than a typical dive bar. I guess you get what you pay for.

Been here a few times. Drinks are not really good. Service is great.
Tried a few of the cocktails, they tasted good, but were lacking in EtOh. Had to get a few extra to get the job done.

I’m writing this as an update to my last review. Since my last update, they brought back karaōke and the drink specials, for which I am happy and grateful. They have also allowed smoking on the back patio again. The bar is still bland, however, and the only thing on the menu that excites me are the fish tacos. They are the bar tender’s personal recipe (kudos to the owners for putting an employee’s recipe on the menu) and fantastic. The wings are also rather good with fries but thats about it. This place still feels like its rolling further and further downhill and I can’t help but to think the owners didn’t know what they were doing when they bought it. I was there this past Sunday and spent the evening with a whole 6 people, 3 of which came with me and one I believe worked there but was off the clock. Rumor has it that this place won’t survive a few more months and that saddens me but its not the same place it was as RTOs and probably shouldn’t stick around. Hopefully whatever goes there next is more successful and better managed.
PS.: Calling Restaurant Impossible like another person said is actually a good idea. Maybe try it.

Every school has their local bar or pub that everyone goes to to binge drink after exams, regardless of how good or bad they are… This is Midwestern’s! Haha. Even though they are now known as the Australian, we still call it by their original name RTO’s. The beer and mixed drinks are cheap (compared to like 15 bucks a drink where I’m from!) and they have nightly drink specials. I can see how people are disappointed by their «Australian» menu… truth is the menu did not change much from their original menu except for the addition of a few items. Love their nachos, duck fat fries, sliders, and asian/​orange sauce wings. Don’t order the onion rings, you will be disappointed! I will continue going here until 2016… when I graduate and move back to California!

Food is good but the service needs work. The one manager with the beard deserves a raise or promotion because he literally was doing everything from taking orders to bussing and cleaning tables and making drinks and he seemed to be the only manager there. Kudos to him!

You know how Outback Steakhouse has boomerangs, didgeridoos and Foster’s posters on the wall and NOTHING the least bit Australian on the menu? I’ve got news for you folks, if you ever go to Australia and ask for a Bloomin’ Onion they’ll look at you like you’re crazy.
The Australian is the exact opposite. There’s nothing anywhere in the place that would make me think they had anything to do with Australia. And the place is DEFINITELY a sports bar because there are TVs everywhere. So if you’re looking for a place to catch a game I don’t think you’ll go wrong here.
I hear that they’re trying to get Boag’s in here which would be awesome… even better if they can get something from Cascade. On my first visit I settled for a Boomer Lager…$ 4 for a big one… can’t beat that.
Their menu has a picture of Wagga Wagga on the front. My former boss was from Wagga and having been to Australia several times, I started to feel a bit nostalgic. In addition to your typical pub fare, the menu has some actual Aussie pub grub: meat pies, sausage rolls and ‘roo sliders. I had a sampler which consisted of two sausage rolls and a meat pie. I enjoyed it thoroughly. Served with duck fat french fries it was too much food really. They also have lamingtons on the menu and Tim Tams for your sweet tooth.
If nothing else, I consider their menu a welcome departure from most other sports bars whose menus have little to distinguish themselves from one another.
The patrons are all a fun, lively crowd so I enjoyed my first visit here. I agree with some of the reviews that the service is pretty lacking. The very nice man who appeared to be the bar manager did his best to fill in the gaps so hats off to him. But the rest of the staff seems to need more training.
It seems like a lot of people are still smarting and lamenting the demise of RTO’s. This new venue is definitely very much a work in progress and they have a long way to go. They need to do something about the décor and really add some down under atmosphere and they need to train up their staff to be more attentive.
That being said, I hope that The Australian picks up and becomes something. It deserves a chance just for offering something different. The place has a lot of potential and I think smoothing over a lot of rough edges just might do the trick.
I look forward to coming back in the future to a packed house to watch some Aussie Rules football or Rugby while downing something from Cascade (PLEASE???)

A little slice of Australia in Arizona. Had an awesome time watching the All-​Star game there. Great food at a great price! Can’t wait for my next sausage roll and meat pie fix (and the duck fat fries weren’t too bad either).
I don’t understand how this place gets a bad wrap on Unilocal.If you’re looking for a quick drink out in Glendale, this is a great place with an awesome selection of Aussie wines!

I came in becaue I work around the corner and I always used to come in for lunch. Had the French dip or should i say a bread sanwhich. It would have been nice if the food came to me atleast warm. And if they are going to serve full size sandwiches probably is a good idea to put enough meat in there so you don feel like your just eating bread. I’m going to have to pick a news lunch place.

Don’t waste your time… this place wreaks of failure and dirty mop water. Seriously, it smells bad.
I went here once when it was RTO’s and realized then that it wasn’t worth it, but saw that the name had changed, so we decided to try it again.
Now how does that old saying go? Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice… you get the idea.
Happy hour specials were a joke. $ 1 off overpriced well, wine and draft. Umm, no thanks. Food specials were about the same $ 1 – 2 off a couple of crap-​petizers. We tried the potato skins which were — Ehh. Pretty thin slices of potato, but there were about 10 of them for the HH price of $ 6.
The place was dead and I only saw two people working (both bartenders), so I cant say much about the service. The nearest bartender had to cover our table, so she didn’t make it by that often, but the extra star is for her valiant attempt to provide adequate service.
I know two things are certain; it wont be there long and, I wont be back.

This place is an absolute joke… Went here with 6 friends, sat at the table, 25 minutes later: no waitress. I ask to speak to the manager who is dressed in jeans and a T-​Shirt with a hat on, who says «ok»… Just «ok». No apology, no «what can I get for you», nothing. Get a waitress, 10 minutes later two of us have water, no one else has anything. 15 minutes later she walks up and says «sorry we are out of cups»… So we leave.
Worst service in a really long time. Will NEVER go back.

Daytime drinking, and I was one of five people in the bar and I felt like I was an inconvenience to the bartender. The bathroom smelled weird, like a mix of sewage and cheap men’s cologne. I don’t know what has changed since it was rto’s, but it is a downgrade.

I am also sad about the passing of RTO’s. This is not an improvement. I personally have no interest in duck fat fries. VERY limited menu. The rueben was tough. The hamburger had no flavor and the potato chips would be improved by using Lay’s.It is now just a ghost. Save your money — buy a 6 pack and a McDonald’s burger. I recommend the owner call Robert Irvine!!!
Many bar patrons do smoke. Get a little realistic about jamming them on the front patio. No management to be seen on the premises. First and last visit.