Upper Crust Pizza Patio & Wine Bar

Went in on Sunday 6÷26÷16 afternoon, there were 5 people sitting at the bar, no one sitting at tables, we opted for a high top table, in the middle of the room, directly in front of the bar. The bartender clearly saw us walk in, but said nothing. After waiting for @ 10 minutes, the bartender finally went and told the waitress we were there. She brought us our menus, including a happy hour menu, which clearly stated Monday-​Friday. When she came back to take our drink orders, I asked her why she brought a happy hour menu that wasn’t applicable. She stated they do happy hour on weekends now. We ordered drinks and appetizer. The meatball sliders were amazing (as always). We then ordered a pizza. While we were waiting for our pizza, a table of 4 walked in, sat down at the table next to us and eventually after 10 – 15 minutes walked up to the bar and asked for menus. Our pizza arrived and of course there were no red onions on the chicken bbq pizza as stated in the menu. The two kitchen staff blamed each other and the waitress blamed the kitchen… my pizza passed through at least 3 people and no one notices a major component of the pizza missing??? Another party of 4 walked in and after 10 minutes of waiting walked out. The waitress was dumbfounded, she came over to our table and asked where they came from. We told her they had been sitting 2 tables down from us the whole time, she said she never saw them… guess the bartender didn’t either. Wouldn’t you know it, another person walked in and sat down at a table and after a few minutes, we actually went and told the waitress she was there… seriously, do your damn job!
Well during our meal, we noticed 7 – 8 open bottles of wine sitting on the bar and two people pouring themselves glasses. So we asked the waitress what was going on there. She said they had a wine tasting for the staff at 9:00am and that’s what was left over. She then stated that’s probably why she didn’t see those people sitting at the table, she sampled too much wine too early in the am. At this point we are appalled. If only the liquor board would have walked in to see that one! We told her that was illegal to have open bottles sitting on the bar and letting people pour them, she said she didn’t know that, we assured her that her bartender probably did. Did I mention the two people sitting at the bar pouring themselves glasses were employees still sitting there drinking? I have a picture of the wine bottles sitting on the bar, if only knew how to upload them to this post. I took that picture at 1:30pm and the wine tasting was at 9:00am.
We love the food at Upper Crust (when it’s made accordingly), but every time we go back, the service gets worse and worse. The bar décor is great, we do love that, but why on earth would you have 20 television all turned to the same channel? I guess if you like soccer it’s fine, heck the bartender might even talk to you, if you talk about the game! At this point, I think it’s safe to say, we will not be giving them any more tries. Great food, worst customer service ever!
After reading several similar reviews with no response from management or owners, I think it’s safe to say from a customer standpoint, no one within Upper Crust on Cave Creek gives a shit.

I love this place. It’s not the best pizza in the world but it’s definitely on my top favorites in Phoenix. My favorite days are Wednesday’s here, half off bottles off wine. Can’t beat 14 $ for a nice Chianti. Antipasto and pizza is a great meal for us to enjoy over a bottle of wine. I’ll definitely keep coming back, especially on Wednesdays. Always good service which is very important to me along with the food. Only negative is… I wish they had cannoli’s ;)

This is my favorite pizza by far in the North Phoenix area! We take the kids here for dinner and never worry about them being too loud. Great for take out too!

Ambience is decent, staff is friendly, pizza is great! I have been an occasional visitor to this spot for years, and would suggest trying their wings or meatball sliders. Kitchen is open until 11pm, and half off bottles of wine on Wednesday. Most recently my GF and I sat in the dining room, and «built» our own pizza with Italian sausage, pepperoni and green peppers, we ordered a second to take home with us!

I have never in my life had to reheat a pizza I just bought!
First things first, when you walk in… What a cluster fuck! People don’t know where to pick up food and where to ask to be seated.
Second why is the manager pulling water out of the togo fridge? And why didn’t he ask me how I was doing or if I needed anything?
The togo lady was busy making orders but bot actually check on my order. She told me it would take 20 mins, and I sat there for 40 mins and my fucking pizza was cold when I walked out the door! UNBELIEVABLE
In addition, even the people from the kitchen looked at me but didn’t ask me if what they where bring out was my pizza.
So my pizza was sitting back in the kitchen all ready to go while I was waiting… Great service!
In conclusion: (areas of improvement)
–front entrance major improvement
–communication between kitchen and togo desk
–stop tell customers it’s a 20 min wait over the phone when it’s 40mins
–togo host should check order for people waiting inside the store (the people calling in aren’t first priority. (Why not make the hostess also answer call? Basically stood there the whole time)
–MAKE SURE THE PIZA IS HOT WALKING OUT THE DOOR

Pizza is great and a fair price, but I always have trouble with the takeout service.
Almost every time I go to pick up a pie, I have to fight to get the attention of the bartender to get my order… even if there no one at the bar. I get weird looks when I ask for a side of ranch and the staff isn’t generally friendly.

The suicide sauce is legit. Pizza leaves a lot to be desired. I do not recommend this place for a pie. Soggy, undercooked, cheap crust, etc. Server was pleasant enough but not quick on the refills.

I went here for a first date. I’ve never been prior to the date. We shared chicken Alfredo. It was bad. It wasn’t best Alfredo that I had either. I’m impartial about this place. I would go back a second time and try something different to see if I love or hate this place.

Upper Crust is a neighborhood pizza joint that serves up a New York style pizza. They have a full bar next that serves up some nice craft brew, but also some nice tasting whiskey (Johnny Blue).
We had a large group of patrons that attended with over 20 people. Service was on the ball with as many of guest that we had.
I went for a glass of Chanti and ordered the meat trio pizza to share with my friends. The pizza we ordered was large and all 18 inches was overwhelming for just 3 of us! I went for the first bite; my take is the ingredients pepperoni, Italian sausage, and meatballs were pretty basic tasting and could probably order from another place and wouldn’t know the difference. The crust was a tad bit burnt, but that didn’t bother me too much. My friends ordered their wings and antipasto plate which they seemed to enjoy; either that or they could have been really hungry.
In the end, I didn’t really care for the pizza; too basic. The service was on top of things and the ambiance is really family friendly with a minor sports bar feel with the TV screens hanging from the walls. If I needed sustenance of pizza for a quick bite then I would shoot for this place, otherwise I’ll carry on. — Enjoy!

We did not eat but everyone around us did. It smelled and looked great. The happy hour was a great deal and the wine pour were generous for the cost

Second time here, first was when a friend had the high school graduation dinner and had multi pizzas and pasta which were excellent.
Came here in a Tuesday evening and found out the large specialty pizzas were $ 12.00. We ordered the Upper Trio and the Margarita Pizzas.
The Upper Trio was excellent! Generous amount of pepperoni, sausage and meatballs. The crust is excellent and the type of pizza you fold to eat. I like the slight burnt spots so you know it is cooked just right with not overly over cooked.
My daughter had the Margarita and she said it was very good so getting a thumbs up from her you know it was good.
Their pastas are also excellent and previous we had the Alfredo Pasta and Meatball Pasta which each were so good.
I really enjoy their food each time we dine here and beginning to slide up into a top 5 pizza place for me.
Will be back soon for more

Revising this review from 2 stars to 4… we gave this place a few more tries and have been happy all those visits. Maybe we just hit them in a busy time or someone was having a rough day. Great food, service is good (better) and it’s super close to our house so it’s convenient. Pizza is great, salads are ridiculously large. Worth the price!
PREVIOUS REVIEW: The pizza is delicious here, especially the thin crust. Only giving two stars though because the service is not great. We’ve only ordered pick up from here so I can’t comment on the wait staff but the last time we ordered, my husband drove down about 15 minutes after we placed our order. He then had to wait another 20 – 25 minutes for our food because they forgot to make it. To make matters worse, when he got home we found there was no salad dressing for the salad we ordered. Very frustrating to say the least. Again, great pizza… but we won’t be back and won’t recommend this place to our friends.

My husband and I used to love this place! We’ve been getting their Tuesday special every week for over a year now and after recommending it to my brother-​in-​law and my parents, they all started going there every week too. Allen was a great bartender and he knew our whole family by name, making sure we were well taken care of. Unfortunately things have fallen apart at Upper Crust over the past month and we (none of us) no longer eat there. There was a complete change of staff and we no longer recognize a single person that works there. We hated to lose our favorite restaurant so we gave them multiple chances over the last month. Unfortunately the pizza is frequently cold, but not just cold, like the cheese has solidified because it’s been sitting out for a very long time in a warming area. The staff frequently accidentally hangs up on us when putting us on hold, and servers just seem to be overwhelmed or untrained. We’ll continue to check in on Upper Crust periodically and see if they figure things out and go back to the great restaurant they once were, and I will happily change my Unilocal review when/​if that happens. For now, we will find another place to get our Tuesday night pizza from.

Upper crust is the best place upper, and their service is nothing short of excellent. I went there last Sunday and their hostess Zach is one of the best hostesses I’ve ever encountered with and he’s a sexy beast for you ladies, he took me to table right away and attended to my every need and their chicken barbecue pizza is out of this world. Zach should be their main hostess and get a raise for the job that he does. I just couldn’t believe how big of a BOSS he is, you’d expect a man like him to work at Maestros or a high class place like that, so next time your in the area order the pizza and make sure that the Beast Zach is their to take care of you ladies!!!

Great food and decent prices. Would give 5 stars but my server Brandon was not helpful at all. And since this was the second time that he was my server, I figured my service would be better this time, but it was not. Ended up paying my bill and leaving after having foccia bread because the server never came back around. Service is usually great with any other hostest.

No one under 21 allowed on their patio? Never heard of that and no one under 21 allowed in their bar area. BYE to happy hour drinks or appatizers. You cannot get happy hour price in the dinning room. Happy Hour prices are the best ! So if you want to be part of the cheaper prices don’t bring anyone under 21…

We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this Upper Crust for a family meal! Thank you, Mr. Owner, for NOT allowing dogs at your RESTAURANT! My kid is highly ALLERGIC to dogs!!! Dogs do not belong at a restaurant!!! Take them to the dog park!!! How many of these dogs mark their territory with a quick whiz??? Disgusting!
Don’t get me wrong, we LOVE dogs! We can’t have one because of our son’s allergies, but we have had dogs all of our lives prior. We just strongly feel that dogs do NOT belong at a restaurant!
Also, THANK you for keeping families away from the bar!!! There have been too many times when we have witnessed drunks acting out when we have our kids and it is SCARY for them!!! Besides that, I think a lot of adults would PREFER not to have little ones around when they are having a grown up time!!! I think you, Mr. Owner, are making SMART decisions!!!
We will support you MORE OFTEN because of your decisions!!!
I do not like the fact that people are not rating your food or experience, but instead are whining about your smart choices!
People, ignore the bashers and support this local family business!!! You will enjoy the food, the service and the experience!!!

We live right around the corner from Upper Crust, and if it weren’t for the high prices, we would probably eat here once a week because of the high quality and freshness. The pizza is fantastic and the wings are the best I have had. We normally get takeout and the service is always quick and friendly.

Just another nice friendly place to meet my family at for a GREAT dinner. Food is wonderful, wait staff is outstanding. We always feel welcome. Thank You, Tony

I have edit my last review, yes was I unhappy with the owners rule to keep the patio and lounge to 21 and above, yes. But it is their choice. Please be aware that the Happy Hour only extends to that area only. I am sad that the beautiful patio area and the lower prices don’t apply & can’t be extended to families. Just be aware and not disappointed. Steve reached out and explained the rationale, understood but still sad!

Don’t visit this place; they have a nice
Outdoor patio, but don’t think it is valuable enough to get a permit for dogs! Phoenix is a fun place that is usually very dog friendly. Avoid this place. Also, the waitress doesn’t know what «customer service» means. She is put off and rude. Try Oggia pizza and brewing instead! They rock!

The manager Alan, was amazingly helpful getting us a catering tray of pasta for our Soccer team dinner. Our other place had fell thru and Alan had it ready for pick up in 45 minutes. So glad it worked out. Will definitely come here first next time! Great place!

FYI: Their pizza «patio» is NOT dog or even kid friendly. After we sat down outside and the waitress took our drink orders, she came back out to tell us that the dogs were only allowed to be tied up on the outside of the patio. She also added that kids weren’t allowed on the patio either. There were no signs saying any of these rules posted inside or outside at the patio. If you’re looking for a nice outdoor patio to bring your kids or furry friend and enjoy a nice drink or meal… this isn’t the place.

We stopped in at Upper Crust a couple weeks ago and had an exceptional evening. The cozy restaurant was packed, but the receptionist took the time to find us a nice booth near the back. The owner stopped by and couldn’t have been nicer. The food was superb and the wine was half priced. The establishment also has a separate bar and patio… something for everyone. This gem is right off the freeway. We’ll be back.

I used to be here 1 – 2 nights a week a couple years ago then stopped going for no real reason. Went back tonight and the place has slipped for sure. Bartenders never asked if we wanted peppers/​Parmesan with our pizza then automatically gave them to the couple next to us and they had to be waved down every time the glasses were empty. Smh. Not a bad place but not great either. Costco is next door and I may just have their pizza next time.

I’m being generous and giving this 4 stars… reason being service. My bartender was NOT FRIENDLY. Smile. Interact. Speak. Anything she said she sounded annoyed and like it was forced. I felt like I was a nuisance to her. Maybe it was just her personality (or lack thereof) or maybe she was having a bad day. But it felt very tense and uncomfortable. If you don’t like your job, quit. Find one you like. Life is too short. And if you’re not a friendly person by nature, stay the hell out of the hospitality industry and certainly don’t bartend. All you’re gonna do is spread around your miserable attitude and bring down the morale/​reputation of the place.
With that said, the food was good. And everyone else was super friendly and accommodating.
Rant over :)

Enjoyed everything about the bar. But the lack off staff means service was slow.
Roomy rest rooms, spacious dining area, OK beer selection. Loved the pizza.

Honey hot bbq wings are my favorite compared to the buffalo. Overall great place with nice tvs

We had stuffed mushrooms and a large pizza. Food was good but the service was at a snail pace. We had to wait a long time for our food, drink refills came as we were finished eating and we waited for half an hour just to pay our bill.
It will be a long time before we think about eating here.

Our group loves coming here on Thursday for TNF! Miranda is awesome and we never have to wait around for any drinks. Definitely a cool little spot away from the typical sports bars!

This has the greatest pizza… And I hate thin crust pizza with a passion! But this was the closest place in a new place so we gave it a try. The pizza is so flavorful! I really can’t express the greatness of this pizza it’s easily 6 stars… Along with the host, he was so nice. The happy hour half price house wine would have been nice but she didn’t ring it up correctly.
The only reason this review is not 5 stars is the service. I mean holy shit! I have never seen a waitress so unable to make eye contact or smile, let alone even consider making any small talk. She even took my water cup and didn’t even ask if I wanted more. 1.5 slices through our pizza she asks if we want a box… 10 min after it came out. The place is. After we ordered desert she has someone else bring it out. We were the only table. Then she drops of check I say thank you. She walks away with out a word. FYI I’m a great tipper min 20% this is the only time I will be leaving a shitty tip. We will get take out if we come back!

Enjoyed gluten pizza and other gluten free selections, pleasant clean environment, happy staff!

Fantastic pizza — thin, buttery crust, not swimming in cheese or sauce! Speaking of sauce, theirs is a simple tomato sauce with seasoning added on top of the toppings. Made for some awesome bites — mild seasoning or simple sauce, or both — loved it!
Hubby and I shared their «small» Mediterranean salad. Excellent dressing, not overly seasoned, letting the olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, and red onions show thru with that yummy feta cheese! Well done!
Plus, hubby was happy, they serve Sierra Nevada!

Perfect for work meetings and after-​work company hangouts. #Beers&Wings #ArniesAllDay.

I LOVED this place but i just came here for lunch and i just literally had the WORST experience ever with an unfamiliar waiter, he had absolutely no motivation while taking our order and he was slow and seemed to be out of it. He took an unnecessarily long time with every interaction with us and we were finally able to place our order nearly 30 minutes after arriving. My friend ordered a salad and when it arrived it took over 10 minutes to get a fork — I believe they wanted him ti eat it with his fingers.
Unless management finds some new non-​drug addict employees I do not think I will be returning.

Excellent pizza… Margarita is my favorite! ! Low key, neighborhood type bar/​restaurant. Good for anyone… family, couples, etc.
Casual attire, friendly eatery… would recommend without reservations.

Saw this place from the freeway and stopped in after work because I wasn’t ready to fight traffic during the afternoon rush hour. Great little place with a nice comfortable bar/​lounge area, a friendly bartender, and some fantastic happy-​hour deals. $ 3 wines? At least I’ll know where to send the search party if my wife ever disappears. The generic «red» wasn’t bad, either, although I’m relatively sure it comes in boxes, not bottles.
The caesar salad was huge, as were the spinach dip and meatball appetizers. There was some sort of pizza special, but the wife and I were already way too full to eat anything else. I guess we’ll have to go back. Definitely during happy hour.

I love this place! Great thin crust pizza!
Amazing Happy Hour with many selections!
I had my Significant other 50^th birthday party on the patio! Our Server Heather was
A Rock Star!
Sorry I didn’t take pics of our food but
Everything was delicious

Order To Go…12 mild wings, 12 bbq wings, great tasting. However, i will go with medium, needs more fire.
The only thing i want to mention is, their are the drumettes and wing parts, right?
out of the 24 wings, there was 5 drummettes and the rest was wings. I eat the wing parts and my Alex like the dummettes. We perfer it to be more equal since we are sharing.
We have never eating here but the ambience on the patio looks very comfortable.
Maybe next time we will have to try that before it gets to warm out.

I’m very disappointed. I’ve been sitting at the bar for 10 minutes and I’ve yet to be greeted. They have a high top with 6 guests and another with 8. They have 9 other total guests managed by a wait staff of 3. The food here is actually pretty good but I’m completely underwhelmed by the service
Ok, my pizza arrived and I’ve done my best. Way way under cooked. Yuk. Raw pizza is a bad thing. Stand by for a cost/​price evaluation

We normally love this place.
We saw a roach in the bathroom and when we asked to speak to the manager the waitress said: «we don’t really have a manager»
This is my last time coming here.
— former regulars.

Went here for the first time and it’s decent.
Unfortunately we started with the Focaccia Bread… It was bland at best. When I asked if we could get a side of marinara our server told us it would be $ 1.25 extra… I told her to go ahead and charge us. Otherwise there was no way I’d have eaten it. My advice would be to try something else as an appetizer unless they start serving it with the marinara or seasoned olive oil… something with more flavor.
We ordered the BBQ Chicken Pizza and it was pretty good. The pizza crust is thin and crispy. The BBQ sauce had good flavor. There could have been a little more chicken on the pizza.
For dessert I tried the Tiramisu. It was very good. One of the better I’ve had in a while.
Overall, they’re a solid 3 to 3.5 stars, but our server Miranda pushes it up to 4 stars. She was friendly and attentive all evening. There were 8 of us and no one ever had to wait long for anything. A big thanks to her.

Tucked into the shopping complex this location can be easy to miss if you aren’t looking for it. We ventured over here since it was close to our place at the time and we were hoping for good eats close by. The inside has a definite New York style feel to it when you go it. We were seated right away and had our drinks quickly.
The menu is a variety of what you’d expect from any Italian eatery — pizza, pasta, calzones, etc. The food was tasty and the ambiance is nice if you are looking for a good date night spot. They offer a variety of weekly specials, so check it out to see what may be happening when you go.
Overall: A
Good eats, easy going vibe and nice staff.