Bloom

Just had a bday dinner here last night, and the food was amazing!
Cripsy Calamari — 4 stars! It’s more like a salad of Mizuna leaves with a light Yuzu dressing tossed with crispy calamaris. The golden-​colored calamaris were crispy and tasty, and with the combination of mizuna is just mouthwatering!
Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin — 5 stars! I’m just going to admit that this is very of the best pork tenderloin i’ve had for a long time! The juicy sliced meat with a bit of smoked bacon flavor on a bed of parsnip purée, hmm, heaven!
Scallops with ‘forbidden’ rice — 4 stars. I really like the ‘forbidden’ rice (aka black rice, just like brown rice, it’s very healthy!) in accompanied with the seared scallops. Somehow I felt the scallops were not cooked as evenly as I thought it should be, maybe because it was lined on chive (?) skewer?
The only reason made me take off a star was the service. Our waitress somehow didn’t show up after like 10 mins wait although the table next us who came later than us got served immediately, at least have someone to take a drink order? The place doesn’t look busy, it was disappointing to have slow service on a Wednesday night.
I’d definitely go back just for the calamaris and the pork tenderloin!

I’ve been here several times and have always enjoyed the experience. On my visit this week for lunch Bloom again came through with a great dining experience.
Like most Fox restaurants, this is a very attractive restaurant. It is contemporary with splashes of blue color. I like the booths in the center of the room so that you can see what is going on in most of the dining room. People watching is always fun in Scottsdale.
I had the shrimp tagliatelle pasta for lunch. Plenty of shrimp and a nice creamy sauce.
Of course, the service was friendly and efficient as always.

One of my favorite restaurants is now complete — they have updated their dessert menu and I am happy to recommend both the funnel cake and the banana baked alaska.
Service is friendly but understated, the wine flights are terrific, they always turn out a great steak. Also recommend starting with the artichoke hearts and moving on to any fish dish or the daily ravioli. Only disappointment has been the parmesan noodles, which were surprisingly flavorless.

Now, I am giving this place 4 stars for one reason — THE LAMB. It was simply delicious. It was half a rack and the flavor was stupendous. It came with a good portion of mashed potatoes with spinach and asparagus. Hands down a great meal.
My wife’s parmesan noodles were uninspired and mediocre. Pass.
In our general competition for who ordered the better meal, she conceded that I had won. This is a rare occurrence and it made the meal all the better.
The mixed salad was just so-​so. Stay away from the pretzel bread. I heard it used to be good, but apparently that time has passed.
Our server Roxana was 5 stars. She was so nice and very attentive.
Will definitely be back next time I am in town.

The appetizers are awesome in this place: calamari, salmon, french fries (you wouldn’t believe that a french fry could be so awsomely made with truffle oil). We were a large group and everybody really liked what they ordered. Excellent service and prices are decent for what you get.

Very cool place, like a fancy hotel room or something. Many wines by the glass. Excellent service. Delicious food. Great romantic ambience. Refreshing to see a restaurant go outside of the box for decorating. Ideal date night restaurant! Get the baked alaskan banana dessert!

Bloom is a part of the Fox restaurant concepts and located in the upscale Gainey ranch area of Scottsdale. Went with a friend for a lazy Sunday lunch and sat in the outside patio. Though the view of the patio is just the srpawling parking lot of the shopping complex, the nice weather in Phoenix made it enjoyable.
The menu looks very similar to one of its sister restaurants North (in Kierland Commons). We had a glass of sangria which was nice and refreshing. My friend had the Tuna salad and I had the salmon. The food was good. Another similarity with North is the lovely butter they give with the bread (Though the butter at North is better, also we had to ask for the bread, it didnt come automaticallyas one would expect).
A good experience.

I haven’t been here in years until a few weeks ago for a girls happy hour. I guess I always forget about this place because of the location? I always pass by it on the way to Fashion Square tho! :) I will have to put it back on our rotation because it was good! The interior is very modern, but the bar area has comfy half booths, and a large inviting, curved bar. TYhis is an older restaurant, but you could never tell. It is definitely a quieter, older crowd here (Gainey Ranch) and I like it. It’s probably the most mellow Fox Restaurant Concept.
We sat in the bar area for the HR specials.
Drinks are top notch! and strooong. I like how they offer frou frou drinks WITH top shelf alcohols on their HR menu NICE!
We ordered the Asian salad which was very tasty… so tasty we ordered a 2^nd one!
The calamari was good and it was served on top of a bitter salad
The ‘loaded’ potato skins were delicious… they used fingerling potatoes… very pretty presentation!
They also have a mac n cheese, which I’m sure we will try next time. Next time I will be back for dinner!

I don’t get out to North Scottsdale often, but after visiting Bloom I may have to change that.
The place is well designed, big, open, gorgeous color scheme yet still classy and intimate.
Stopped in for lunch and had the pastrami on pretzel bread, with swiss and dijon mustard. That sandwich was divine. Pretzel bread is my new obsession and theirs was toasty and delicious.
I also tried the chopped salad, it was so incredibly fresh I didn’t need dressing.
I am a huge fan of Fox Concepts, and I am happy to add this one to the list of recommendations.

My wife and I went for Happy Hour and ending up having dinner as well. Bloom is an upscale restaurant but is very relaxed. They offer 18 different wine flights which makes sampling all the different wines lots of fun. During happy hour (4pm — 6pm) you can get nice sized flights for only five or six dollars. Our favorite combo is a wine flight for each of us (that is six wines total) and the cheese plate. When they brought the wine and cheese out they explained what each item on the plate was and they gave us a little printout of what each wine was so we could remember what we were sampling. The total price is about $ 20 depending on the wine you choose.
Bloom was participating in Phoenix restaurant week so they had a special of $ 29 for an appetizer, entrée, and desert. I had the maple Salmon which was really delicious. My wife who was kind of full from the cheese plate already just had cheeseburger sliders.
We have gone to Bloom twice and both times it was great.

We stopped in for something light before heading to the ballgame. (Gotta have room for a hot dog at the ball park).
We split the club sandwich and it was just right.
Service was attentive and the retro décor was welcoming and comfortable. Nice selection of wines.
I would definitely return if the opportunity came up.

A really great restaurant, both to impress a business associate or just to enjoy some good food!

5÷29÷10
4 stars!
Took Mom here for dinner. It was her first visit, and since I’ve never tried the calamari app here, we had to order it. (Have I mentioned that she loves calamari?) I also ordered the Day scallops and Forbidden rice. The calamari, which was served on a heaping pile of mizuna, a delightful coating of yuzu dressing, and then topped w/​a toasted mix of black AND white sesame seeds, was heavenly! Had we not ordered the scallops, we would’ve been happy w/​the calamari app and another round (or two!) of the cracked honey-​wheat bread and herbed butter! However, the day scallops DID NOT disappoint! Mom wasn’t too happy that I ordered this, due to the fact that she thought the cost was price-​y. But one look at our dishes, which our server took the liberty of splitting for us (no split plate charge, yay!), had her amazed… She’s never seen scallops this HUGE before! (The biggest she’s ever seen were an inch in diameter.) A plate of these come w/​only three pieces, but each piece is about three inches in diameter! The cross-​sections may have looked a bit raw, but these were perfectly seared, trust me! And, while I won’t ever try it again (very bad allergy reaction), the forbidden rice, which sat in such delightfully-​fragrant cream sauce, was divine! If you aren’t allergic, you must try it as a side, perhaps w/​the scallops. (I don’t see the entrée listed online, so it might have found its way to the menu graveyard– a pity, that.)
6÷2÷10
2 stars!
I’ve always wanted to take Mom to Bloom for happy hour, and after having the calamari app four nights ago, it didn’t take much prodding for her to accompany me here today :)
I like dining at Bloom during happy hour bec. more often than not, it isn’t very busy. But that just means (one hopes, anyway) that you’ll get quicker attention. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case today– it wasn’t busy at all (almost empty venue), but our server took at least ten minutes from the moment he greeted us to finally getting our orders for glasses of water. It was another 10 minutes before we were able to have a look at the drink menu! [Fortunate for Bloom, the happy hour food menu is worth coming back for– we’ll just know better to park ourselves at the bar, like I usually do when I dine solo.]
For beverages, Mom ordered the Blood orange margarita, while I had the Black and blue mojito. Mmm… the margarita was very good! [If only I wasn’t allergic to oranges. :(] My mojito was still delightful– Mom sampled and liked it, but she enjoyed her margarita better. Her drink definitely was a looker, and made my mojito looked a bit worse-​for-​wear :(I’ll have to try another drink next time…
Onto the food! Mom had to have another plate of calamari, while I had only eyes (or should I say stomach?) for dessert. Since I raved about the banana dessert plate I had months ago, I had to have it again, especially when the manager mentioned that it was going to be replaced by another in a couple of months. Sadly, my second taste of this sweet concoction couldn’t hold a candle to the first. (Like most experiences in life, eh?) The chocolate-​dipped frozen banana slices now only numbered four (first plate had five), and these tasted old and bland; the toppings weren’t even crispy! The texture of the banana muffin cupcake was crumbly, and tasted stale, almost frost-​bitten; the milkshake uninteresting, almost like the third-​of-​a-​glass that’s sometimes forgotten and then returned to, but now too far-​gone and not worth having anymore. I felt like I was handed the short-​end of the stick, which was then taken back from me and then stuck, repeatedly, into my eye. :(I should’ve taken the hint to order something else. (Guess there was a reason that this dish was heading to the graveyard.) But I suppose not all visits can end on a good note!

The only reason you need to dine here: Bars of Sin.
Enough said.
Oh, and don’t miss the asparagus bruschetta w/​goat cheese. SOOO delish!

Good service, wasn’t crowded for a Tuesday night, bonus for the outdoor seating in this strip mall.
Crisp calamari was very good. Miso cod was ok, was a little rich.
The apple pop tart was different, but no fireworks. I’d come back again for the calamari or if I want a change in scene from Old Town.

I was not impressed at all with Bloom’s food. I did enjoy their décor and service, but I came here for the food. I had the shrimp with risotto and thought the risotto was very average. Risotto is one thing I can not make, so when I order it at a restaurant I want to be great… it wasn’t.
My date ordered the center cut sirloin and that was rather unimpressive too. I did like the wine I had and their drink menu, but I definitely would not give this restaurant 3 stars. And compared to the other Fox concepts spots, this was not on the high end.

Had a delightful lunch here today with my husband.
For starters I can recommend the Tasting of Cheese which is Cherry Confiture (wonderfully sweet and perfect with the cheese), roasted garlic (a nice contrast) and Marcona Almond (great for texture).
The special today of rainbow trout was very tasty and the side of «Forbidden Rice» was a great accompaniment.
They also have a nice wine list and tasty home made lemonade. The staff are also very friendly and fast! :)

Bar review.
Amazingly attentive bartenders with great personalities that can really satisfy your palate. Great atmosphere, and I had the asparagus bruschetta, and loved it. I’m a huge asparagus fan… but this was really good.
Great looking crowd, and very easy to get to off the 101.

My review is based on both times I had the pleasure of experiencing Bloom.
The first was for Happy Hour… the service and the atmosphere were divine. The wine list is phenomenal and well as the prices. The bartender was very thorough with the descriptions of all the wine until I picked a very sweet white wine that I probably would never had tried any other time. (Very sweet, but good!) I loved it that there was a group of probably 20 – 30 of us and the bartender had no problem giving up individual checks. (I also had the tomato and mozzarella salad, which was good… but I saw the lobster salad… and well…)
The second time was last night… and I had the lobster salad. This was probably the most amazing salad I ever had! Warm Alaskan Lobster with asparagus and a white vinaigrette dressing. I even asked for tomatoes and the server was very accommodating (and didn’t even charge me extra.) My sweet dear friend Lisa was going to get the Ahi Tuna, but changed her mind to the lobster salad as well when she was able to substitute the asparagus for broccoli. She also agreed that the salad was amazing and even put her in an amazing mood! What good food can do to us :)
I would so love to go there again and try more of their menu…(even though it will be so hard to stay away from the salad) But I will definitely be back.

Being partial to Olive&Ivy and Blanco, Sauce and True Foods we decided to embark on a culinary journey to reach the other restaurants within the Fox empire. Our next port of call was Bloom.
We went on a fairly quiet Saturday evening and were greeted with good service, enjoyed good drinks, had a good salad, and made our way through good entrees. Do you see a trend forming?
Everything about the restaurant was good. Within the very competitive Scottsdale corridor «good» gets you lost in the shuffle. There really wasn’t anything that really stood out. Even within the Fox family this gets lost in the mix. Therefore we will probably pass on a return visit in favor of something new.