Rusconi’s American Kitchen

Rusconi’s Kitchen is awesome! I have been there several times and have always enjoyed everything I have sampled. We went in tonight with a party of 4, looking forward to a great meal. Unfortunately, we had to stop at the hostess stand first. On a Tuesday night the smug hostess told us they were booked with reservations and short staffed. That, poptart, is not my problem I wanted to say. She said the wait would be 45 mins and implied she could usually do us the favor of fitting us in, but not tonight. No suggestion of grabbing a drink or sitting outside, which was completely open with heaters. Normally, we would have waited, as the food is worth it. But her attidtude sent my husband out the door. Perhaps the hostess should be as welcoming as the food and the environment.

Love our first visit to Rusconi’s. Food is awesome and the service is outstanding. Ask for Rex! Definitely coming back!!! 5 stars!!!

This place is great. So nice to have a great place to eat in the North Phoenix area that is not a chain of some sort. We have eaten there several times and always enjoyed.
High quality ingredients prepared very nicely that accentuates the ingredients and does not take way from the ingredient.
Menu has lots of options from a price point aspect which is nice.
Good wine list with many price points as well.
Good happy hour too.
Also did one of the wine dinners there and it was well done, perfectly paired wines with the courses.
We have experienced a bit of slow service a couple times, but we are not in a rush when I am having dinner. I would rather wait a few extra minutes to have a well prepared meal so we simply relax with our adult beverages. So unless your food took 2 hours to come out just relax and enjoy your dining companion (s)!

My review is directed towards the restaurant owner. I recommend that you speak with your wait staff and ESPECIALLY your general manager, Tom Brewer, in regards to what excellent customer service should look like. I guarantee you will lose customers if you can’t provide the level of service that people expect when they walk through the door. I understand people get stressed when it’s busy but that’s part of working in a restaurant. I personally felt like my server couldn’t care less about my dining experience. He also couldn’t tell me what the cheeses were on the cheese board and the kitchen board. When I asked him he simply said «I’m not sure». I had to ask him to go and check, Our food was just just ok. I think by the time we got it we were so turned off by the service that we were already wishing we had picked a different place. So many places now have this type of food on their menu and provide much much better service. I had the scallops which were great quality but unfortunately WAY over seasoned and much too salty. You should let the scallop be the star of the show, not the salt and seasoning. The goat cheese grits that the pork belly appetizer came on were some of the best I’ve had and I don’t even like goat cheese. The bread on our cheese board was meant to be toasted but was just thrown over an open flame so was burnt. The brie cheesecake was a huge disappointment. The best part about it is the crust which is absolutely amazing. However, it’s served crust side up which is pretty to look at but hard to eat. We wound up flipping ours over. I should mention this was my second time there, the night before I had come for happy hour. I received the same lackluster service and my chocolate martini was probably the worst I’ve ever had. It was WAY too strong, no chocolate flavor to speak of except the Hershey’s syrup on the inside of the glass. Now typically I’m very happy to get a drink that’s on the «stronger» side, but this was too much. After a couple of sips my tongue was numb and honestly it was just really hard to get down. If I wanted pure vodka I would have ordered a vodka on the rocks. It also had three coffee beans floating in it which again, was pretty but not well thought out since in order to drink it I had to either remove the beans or make sure I didn’t swallow them. My happy hour experience was my first time there and thought maybe the bad service was a fluke so that’s why I came back the second night for dinner. I always like to give places at least two chances. Not to mentioned I had seen the review of your place on Check Please and was so excited to try it.
As for your general manager Tom, he is the main reason why I will not be returning. He did not introduce himself as the general manager, just approached me by tapping me on the shoulder and told me that you guys could no longer hold my reservation and I would not be able to dine there that evening. (my dining partner was running 45 minutes behind which I understand can present a problem, but there are ways of dealing with things that don’t involve being rude) I didn’t even realize who he was and had to ask «who are you?» He quickly snapped back «I’m the general manager». Here’s the deal. if you’re the general manager then dress better than jeans and a sweater. Also, here’s a thought. how about you be professional and put a name tag on. Especially if you plan on walking up to people randomly and ordering them to leave. Imagine my surprise! I practically had to beg him to «let» us eat at the bar and once my date arrived there was a free table anyway so there was no need for him to even approach me in the first place. What he should have done was come up to me 15 or 20 minutes after my reservation and ask me when my party would arrive and then from there offer solutions or options for me. But instead he decided to catch me off guard and basically tell me to leave. He was very rude and treated me like I didn’t matter. As if my business was not important to him or your establishment. I honestly have never been approached like that and at first I thought he was joking, trying to give me a hard time. I even said to him «oooh you’re joking» and began laughing. He kept his stressed out and serious face and said «no, I’m not. I’m being very serious». It was literally unbelievable the way he spoke to me and how he handled the situation. The only reason why I stayed is because I was meeting someone for a first date.
I really hope you will take this review into consideration, I think this place has potential but the poor attitude of the staff is holding it back in my opinion. I won’t be dining here again and have already begun spreading the word about the less than satisfactory experience I had here.

This place is an absolute hidden gem. Who could imagine such a fabulous restaurant would be tucked away in a strip mall. Went with a group of friends for my birthday and we were delightfully surprised! Love everything about it, food, atmosphere, service. Superb. I had the roasted sea scallops with butternut squash purée, brussels, fennel apple salad and warm bacon dressing. And as an extra treat (it was my birthday afterall), I splurged with an addition of foie gras. To… Die…For. Well, I wouldn’t kill myself if I couldn’t eat it, but you know what I’m saying. Cooked perfectly, exquisitely delicious. As my sister so eloquently said, thank goodness mom taught us how to eat liver and onion as kids, cause now we can really appreciate the delicacy that is foie gras. Anyways, I digress. We also shared parmesan truffle french fries and the artichoke and goat cheese fondue with artisan bread toasts. (Clearly, we girls were NOT on diets and thank goodness!) They comped me the yummilicious chocolate bread pudding for dessert for my birthday. While amazing, my only constructive feedback would be that the dessert quantity was on the small side, well tiny actually. Enough for a taste, without feeling stuffed to the gills, but would have liked more than a taste. Our server Taylor was charming and flirtatious and he made our whole table feel special. There was zero pretentiousness about the place. I can say with confidence, you would never find a jewel like this in LA! Already recommended to half a dozen people! Make reservations, cause all my friends might beat you to the best tables.

We went for dinner with a couple of friends. They had been to the restaurant before and really enjoyed the food. The restaurant was fairly busy and I’m not sure if they were under staffed but the service was very slow.
The food was good. My husband and I really enjoyed the arugula and prosciutto salad to start. We would definitely order that again. The salad was followed by the Salmon with the blackberry glaze for me — delicious but the accompanying potatoes were undercooked. My husband and one of our friends had the Grilled Beef Tenderloin Medallions. The meat was good (not great) and the truffle mac and cheese on the plate was very good. The 4^th person in our group had the Scallops and those were reportedly excellent. We also shared the Brussels Sprouts (good), and the Parmesan and white truffle scented fries (ok). For dessert I had the Budino (yum — salted caramel pudding) and our friends tried the bread pudding which they liked.

Friend brought us here and we really liked it!
Food A
Service A
Ambiance A
Quality food at reasonable prices.
Sea scallops … Awesome
Others had chicken, steak medallion,
Hubby spilled his wine and waitress was there with another glass before we could say sorry.
We will return with new friends to share our find.

The worst dinner ever
Maybe worse than the last time we were there.
Time to re evaluate the bf who keeps selecting this place.
Never again for me
Epic fail
Poor everything
I will never set foot in the door again
Embarrassing to take guests there
But he knew of the fail of last visit.‘
Wasted time and money
I never ate!

Great date place with a cozy ambiance not to mention a kind french waiter with a sexy accent. I order a nicely cut salmon cooked to a warm medium rare temperature. It was accompany with perfectly cooked fingerling potatoes and fresh Brussels Sprouts. I definitely would go back to try their other fine dishes.

Went there last night for our anniversary because it is very close to our house. All I can say is WOW! from the salad to the scallops to the dessert things were just perfect. The scallops were incredible, best I have had! Service was wonderful as well! I can’t say enough good things about this place!

We really enjoyed this restaurant and the menu was not overloaded with a bunch of crap, which made it easy to navigate and decide on what we wanted. We started with the fries, which were deliciously crisp and the brussel sprouts, which were cooked with bacon and sauteed perfectly. The Osso bucco was extremely tender and tasted great. The cabbage stood out as it was braised with prickly pear. The staff was friendly and accommodating. The wood burning cooking method really pays off at Rusconi… definitely worth a try. This was a quality and solid dining experience.

One of our favorite neighborhood spots. Cozy, well managed and most importantly, excellent food. We have tried several items and have never had a bad meal.
My favorite dish is the braised short ribs prepared in a light gravy cooked until it is so tender it pulls apart with your fork. You can tell it has been marinated for a while. No salt or pepper needed. Perfect every time.
I have to mention the wait staff who does an excellent job. From the management to the hostess, everyone does their best to make you feel appreciated.

Happy to be with
My family and friends for a post thanksgiving meal… Good bottle of Malbec some delicious apps and on to the main course. Everyone was satisfied with their meal my steak was deliciousour server was great and our table was perfect with eyes on the kitchen and the chef! Fun nite.

Made it back in for dinner. Friday night at 8pm, a couple seats open — so we were pleased to be seated without a reservation. Our server was very pleasant. I went with the «Pecan Wood Grilled Beef Tenderloin Medallions» med-​rare. It came back rare — so unfortunately I had to send it back — the server was sharp — she offered to keep my friends meal heated while they got mine right — so thumbs up on her thinking! It was very flavorful — excellent presentation — downside the other medallion was a completely different piece of meat that wasn’t very palatable (very unfortunate — though it can happen — I didn’t complain — as I didn’t have a big appetite this eve). I would recommend the dish otherwise. We were given time to have a pleasant conversation and were checked on regularly. I’ll try it again — just not at the top of my list.
See my prior review for additional information…

I was sadly disappointed with our brunch this morning. First of all our server was very nice as were the rest of the support staff but service was SO SLOW. We were ready to order food when she asked what we wanted to drink but instead of getting our food order too she went inside to get the drinks… Which was fine except we were all super hungry and put our menus aside so she knew we were ready.
The coffee was good and $ 4 mimosas/​bloodys. So we were content. But then we waited… And waited and waited some more. It was 40 minutes from when we ordered until we got our food. And then, it wasn’t hot. It wasn’t cold either but breakfast should be hot, not Luke warm and not when it took 40 minutes to prepare. I think what bothered me the most is that it was not busy what so ever and after 30 minutes of waiting and explanation or apology would really have been nice. We were starving by that point so we all devoured the food, which was actually delicious. But again, not hot. If it was hot I would be on here giving this place 5 stars instead of 3. Pretty underwhelming experience over all.

We went here for NYE dinner and I will be back very soon! I had the T bone… well seasoned, perfectly cooked, it was heaven. I also got mac and cheese as a side, yum! My starter was a warm goat cheese salad and can I just tell you how happy I was with those little goat cheese balls? So happy!
Yes, it’s in a strip mall next to Panda. Such a random place for this little gem, but don’t let that deter you. I can’t wait to go back! Also, the service was excellent!

First time trying this little place down the street from pv mall. It’s a little hidden but that’s what I love about it. Giant open doors connect to the bar gives it an open feel but the bar still has a great cozy feel. They have a great little happy hour in the bar that filled me and my boyfriend up. The sliders are on pretzel buns and they are to die for. Our burger came with great different sauces as well. Our bartender, Colin was great too and put the baseball game on for us. Super nice and knew the menu and also the area very well. Also have oak creek beer on tap, love to see places have local beers. Had the Brie cheesecake for dessert which was outstanding as well.
Over all a great 5 star restaurant on Tatum and a monthly date spot!

Will agree with most everyone else, Food was exceptional! Had some interesting combinations and it was hard to choose.
Service was impeccable and a great balance from being attentive and being TOO attentive.
To be fair, we (a group of 6) got there at 8:30 on a Saturday night, so the dinner rush was passed. But I cannot imagine it making much of a difference if it was crowded!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: I’ve been wanting to go to Rusconi’s American Kitchen for a long time! The restaurant is simply amazing. From the moment you step inside until you walk out the door, it is an experience that rocks!
My buddy and I arrived early and made our way to the end of the bar. The bartender was friendly and not the least bit overbearing. Wanting to just talk for a few before the remainder of our party arrived, this was the ideal spot, especially with the Monday Night Football game playing silently in the background above the back wall of the bar.
Once the rest our party of 10 arrived, we were quickly seated to our table towards the back of the establishment. Our waiter was right on time, super friendly and very attentive. Handling a party of 10 can be daunting but not for our guy. He shared so much useful information from appetizer selection, to specials and what the chef is known for. Speaking of… Chef Rusconi came out of the kitchen to say hello and he too was a joy to speak with! It is not a big question as to why this place is so good and why it can be a little tough getting in sometimes! Pro Tip: Make reservations! THE JUICE IS WORTH THE SQUEEZE!!!
The wine special was any «wine by the glass» was ½ price by the bottle! Which was good, as our party of 10 put a little dent in their wine stock! They carry a good selection of wines.
We ordered a couple orders of the short ribs, a meat and cheese plate and the tomato bruschetta as appetizers to start with based on our waiter’s recommendation. If it would have been polite, I’m guessing someone would have licked the plates clean… They were that good!
I ordered the seasonal green chili stew which is a small kettle pot of green chili pork and some fresh tortillas to be made into small tacos. There was just enough for about 4 tacos, if my memory serves me correctly. This made for a delicious starter.
I was informed by my buddy who frequents Rusconi’s that the best 3 dishes on the menu are: scallops, lamb and salmon. He ordered the salmon and was delighted with his meal.
Even though we were offered to add the scallops to any dish for a nominal price, I elected to go with the scallops as my entrée. To say I was pleased with my selection is an understatement. The scallops rock and I look forward to returning again sooner than later to explore more of the menu items.
Not a single member of our party was less than delighter with their meal. Everyone ranted and raved about how good and delicious the food was.
I cannot wait to come back! This is a must try dining experience!!!

What you’ve read in other reviews is true. Rusconi’s American Kitchen is a gem. You don’t expect much from the parking lot, with the restaurant lodged in between a Panda Express and an modest Italian joint, but it’s delightful once you’re inside. One in our party, an individual still depressed by having to return to Arizona after living in Manhattan, stated, «It reminds me of a restaurant I would have gone to in New York City, but with cheaper prices.»
Our favorite dish, odd given all the wonderful entrees we were served, was the White Truffle scented Mac N Cheese. Who knew? Searching to find something to critique, I might say it was a little loud inside, but the we were there on a Saturday night. Further, the front wall of the restaurant was open for patio seating, causing a bit of a draft on this cold night. Solved by a sweater. But those are small things. Rusconi’s excelled in the big things: food and service.
Definitely make a reservation if you are planning on dining here during a busy time. With 300 Unilocal reviews averaging four and a half stars, this gem is no longer hidden.