Bar North

The food quality is great. When I want a good meal I frequently order the salmon with spinach. They are always will change the veggies for me. I prefer a low carb greens. I like the consistency of the food. I know I will always get a good meal.

A friend highly recommended this place while I was visiting Scottsdale. It did not disappoint. Service was attentive, happy hour options were delicious and the wine was great! Terrific vibe and great indoor and outdoor seating options. Highly recommend!

I love the spaghetti and meatballs, the only reason I come here. Seriously, the service just sucks. I’ve been waiting for about 15 mins for someone to acknowledge that I am done eating. I don’t mind not getting any quality checks during a lunch period but I’m done eating and I want to leave.

Came to Bar North with a big group that took up the whole place for a business dinner. Bar North did a great job of providing excellent food to such a large group all at the same time. Service was very friendly and wine glasses were kept filled all night. I’m not sure of Bar North’s actual menu, since we were provided with specific menu with a few options for each course. Those dishes are listed on North Italia’s restaurant menu, which they are apart of. Perhaps they are only normally available in the North Italia’s restaurant, I have no idea.
Started off with table shared appetizers of zucchini chips, braised meatballs & garlic toast, and bruschetta. The zucchini chips were sliced razor thin and fried like a potato chip, these were a great improvement on the normal fried zucchini — 5 stars. The braised meatballs were fairly light and came with a garlic toast to mop up some of the good red sauce — 4 stars. The star of the show was the bruschetta. It was covered with prosciutto de parma, crescenza cheese, grilled asparagus, truffle oil, and grans padano. I could have eaten a whole loaf of this stuff, and it’s a reason to come back for sure — 5 stars.
Next was an interesting caesar salad, that while didn’t look like anything too different, had a slight hint of spice to it. Chili oil mixed with the dressing perhaps? Whatever it was it worked nicely. 4 stars
For my main course, I chose the Strozzapreti. This is a fresh made pasta (as is all of their pasta) chicken, roasted mushroom, spinach, toasted pine nut, in a parmesan cream sauce. I swear I tasted truffle oil again, in this dish. It was excellent, although the chicken was a little over cooked un fortunately. Perhaps that had something to do with serving so many of us at one time and keeping the food hot. But even so, I’d give this 4.5 stars.
I got to sample both desserts offered. And it was a debate around the table as to which one was best. They were both excellent and there wasn’t a clear winner. The Salted Caramel Budino was a rich and creamy pudding, topped with crème fresh and sea salt. Knowing I wouldn’t be able to get more than a bite or two away from my wife, I dug into my unusual Tiramisu. This was also served as more of a custard/​pudding in a cup. The small pieces of Kahlua soaked ladyfingers, were more of a complement to the rich mascarpone mousse, rather than over powering the whole dessert, like some versions do. The big hit however was a simple dark chocolate covered rice crispy like crunchy topping. The crunch really added something to the dessert. In fact I threw a few of those on top of the Salted Caramel Budino, and it was winner as well. 5 stars.
I had no idea that Bar North/​North Italia is a chain. Well a small chain anyway. 9 locations. But 1 of those locations is near me in Irvine, CA, so I’m definitely going to hit that place up soon.

Absolutely wonderful wine, very friendly service and cool atmosphere. They also played great music which I always enjoy. The soup was delicious and the bruschetta was fresh and very flavorful. I will definitely come back the next time I’m in town!

Not used to giving 5 stars but we are two for two in phx. Our new fav is North Bar great service, out door seating and the food fabu. Also took advantage of ½ off bottle wine prices great selection. Go for the short ribs gnocchi tasty to last lick of the bowl. Did have to ask for bread –kind of a miss

We’ve been going here since we moved into the area. Actually, we haven’t been in a while… must come here soon!
The service has always been great, even if it takes a while to come out. They are always busy, but the food is great. It tastes like it was just made as well, not premade and then reheated for service. That’s why we can justify any wait in food. I wouldn’t say it’s a long wait, but it’s not quick.
We’ve never actually been to the restaurant side. We love to sit out on the patio on Sunday, get their Happy Hour (all day Sunday) items and kick back. We bring friends and family here when they visit and they all enjoy it. Gotta be our favorite brunch place, as long as we can get the lounge seating outside!

Such a great place to have happy hour with friends. I love when you can have happy hour anywhere in the restaurant; you aren’t limited to the bar area. I ordered the Hef to drink. Not a good one. I ordered the sangria for the next round. I enjoyed that far more. To eat I had the kale salad. It was quite interesting. It was both savory and sweet. I didn’t eat all of the little cubes of cheese because it would have been a tad bit too salty and heavy. I had a slice of my friends pizza and it was delicious.

Stopped by for lunch after a movie on Memorial Day — the place was buzzing with excitement and people. We had a great appetizer, bruschetta and a nice glass of wine however when our entrée arrived the music stopped. We both ordered «Spicy Shrimp Pasta» and it took quite a while to arrive but we were not in a hurry at all. The meal itself was not pleasing to the eye — The first bite was the last bite. The flavor was along the lines of canned spaghetti — aka no flavor. I thought I ordered «SPICY» — and to top it all off the shrimp were overcooked & tough. The staff was very nice, offered to replace our meals, removed the entrees from our tab but at that time we were pretty much done. If you are dropping by for an appetizer I would recommend this place.

Solid/​Excellent food. Amazing all day Sunday Happy Hour. A little less stuffy feel compared to the ‘Kitchen’ side of North.

Love this neat little place! I ordered the zucchini chips and a margherita pizza off the happy hour menu. YUM! Also ordered the sangria with was delicious! I sat on the patio and the atmosphere is nice. It was like I was in a «mini» Central Park. I will definitely be back!

In terms of food, the place was fabulous! Unfortunately, it took years of uncomfortable frustration to receive any food.
I came to Bar North during lunch hour on a weekday with a reservation. The reservation was made for North, but I guess it was too crowded so we were seated in the bar. It a really nice day out and the set up was wonderful! We told our server and hostess from the start we were on a time crunch and needed to get our food as soon as possible and ordered the moment we sat down.
We got the fried calamari to share, I got the Seasonal Vegetable Salad, my sister got an Heirloom Beet Salad, and my friend got the Caprese Sandwhich.
The fried calamari was delicious, but an awkward appetizer. It was sort of a salad? Its a good thing the three of us are close friends/​sisters or else it could have been awkward.
We were so hungry waiting for our food we asked for bread. The floor was not busy and there were several waiters walking around. We stopped two of them and asked for bread, but it took at least 10 minutes to come out AFTER watching the same two people we asked bring bread out to at least 4 other parties before us. It felt rude.
Finally, after waiting for our food for forever, my friend had to leave because her lunch break was ending. We asked for her sandwich to be packed to go since it had still not come out yet. My sister and I received our salads, and it was really awkward because she had still not gotten her food despite making it a point she was in a rush and asking for it to be boxed up because of the slow service. Finally, it arrive.
One of the waitresses was super clueless and came by after knowing my friend had left and refilled her water glass… what? So weird.
We finally got our check and left. The food was good, I hope I can go back and have a better experience, but the service was just odd.

I am in town from LA and wanted to grab a quick bite near my hotel. Found this spot on Unilocal,must say I had a fabulous experience. The bartender Brian was friendly, genuine and knowledgeable. Being Italian and from RI where we have great Italian food, I was skeptical ordering the meatballs and the bruschetta. But, I was blown away by both. Def check out this spot if you are in the area.

Bomb dot com. Everything we ate was delicious! This was our first stop after checking in at the hotel and it was a GREAT choice! Meatball appetizers… delicious. Calamari… delicious. Chicken parm and roasted chicken… delicious. Brussels Sprouts were to die for and I don’t even eat them. Gluten free options for my girl too. Happy hour cocktails $ 4 and worth it. And for dessert the chocolate tart… friggin delicious again. Our waiter Frank was the bomb dot com too. A great welcome for this Los Angelino to Scottsdale!

Ripoff Report — Proceed with caution!
A group of us came here for happy hour last night to celebrate a coworker’s departure. Our office is located in Kierland, so we chose Bar North as it’s within walking distance, they have a nice patio, and have provided great service in the past. The service was friendly and very accommodating to our large group, but we left feeling bamboozled!
Four of us in the group ordered a pitcher of Sangria. We were about ¾ths of the way through the first pitcher, when another pitcher had been served to our table. None of us had wanted another pitcher, but started to drink it anyway as we all thought that someone else at the table had ordered a second one. There were about 12 people at our table so, it was hard to know who ordered what. We all asked each other «who ordered the second pitcher?» The answer was no one ordered the second pitcher, the server just served us a second one without asking, and added it to our tab. We felt that we couldn’t dispute the check since we started to drink out of the second pitcher, even though we barely touched it as we all had to drive ourselves home that night.
To make matters worse, one of the woman in our group had ordered a glass of Chardonnay not knowing that there were several options on the menu. Instead of asking her which one she would like, they served her the most expensive one at $ 14 for one glass. If you have several different kinds of Chardonnay, why wouldn’t they ask the patron which one they wanted? Instead they just took this as an opportunity to up-​sell.
There are several options in Kierland for Happy Hour without shady service, that is where we’ll be going next time as Bar North left us all with a feeling of being taken advantage of.

The atmosphere is better than the food so I guess it’s a typical Scottsdale spot. It’s cute for a few drinks but North is certainly not a place I frequent. If you go for dinner don’t get their steamed pei mussels they were so salty we sent then back but they redeemed themselves when I ordered the Strozzapreti-​chicken, mushrooms, spinach, pine nuts, and Parmesan, super tasty. I guess it’s worth a shot, a cute date spot but forgettable.

Charming place to have happy hour. We went on a weeknight– the outdoor seating was completely full so we sat at the bar inside.
Food:
We had the cheese and meat board with some surprises, including nuts, pickled sweet peppers and apricot preserves.
We also got mussels– $ 12 for the serving size is a pretty good deal. The toasted bread it came with is good for dipping into the sauce.
By the time we got to the bruschetta we were so full (you read that correctly, we didn’t order any entrees)! The generous amount of prosciutto on it was delicious and it went well with the melted cheese.
Service:
Our server working the bar looked like Michael Fassbender and was as proper as I think Mr. Fassbender would be as a bartender. Prompt and proper but approachable.
Will definitely be back!

Excusing the pretentious capitalization of this restaurant, I must say my meal was perfect. Went with family, had the salmon. Cooked to perfection and was accompanied by some sort of risotto like pasta with crack cocaine butter on it. I plowed the whole thing down like there was no tomorrow. And that was after their delicious house bread and special butter. Good stuff, this place.

When the weather is nice, I love the patio a Bar North. But it’s Summer in Phoenix so that means A/​C is a must.
Same great menu as North just more casual dining focused around the indoor bar and outdoor patio space.

Looking for a casual spot to have a great glass of wine and a terrific meal? Then look no further than Bar North.
Oh sure– you can go to the fancier North restaurant next door, but why? The menus are the same, you have the same great choices of wine and the stellar service abounds. So with our group the other night– we took over the bar side of this restaurant in Kierland Commons and they took great care of us!
Chris, our server, was outstanding! My glass was never empty– he took the time to make us feel so welcome and he was quick with a quip (which I love!) And imagine my surprise when I found out he had only been with Bar North for about two months…I would have thought, given his comfort with his role, that he had been there much longer! But who cares?: He really took our night from just another night out to a great night out and for that he deserves a shout out!
We started with some chacuterie and bread along with some type of stacked sandwiches. For our entrees we had a couple of their thin crust pizzas as well as two of their signature pasta dishes. All were quite good. And for dessert? Tiramasu which almost had us licking the jar it came in.
Bar North is located in the Kierland Commons mall so parking is plentiful. I also liked that it opens onto to a common patio which would be great for people watching on a warmer day (it was cold when we were there). And the décor is contemporary and understated with candles twinkling in the windows only to be matched by the crystals dangling from the exposed bulbs in the center of the room.
All in all a really great choice for a fun dinner out!