12/30/08

Great place to eat

by jeremyolsen

I recently took my girlfriend out to eat here for our two year anniversary, the food was perfect but the prices were outrageous, so if you plan to eat here plan on spending some money. the only thing that bothered me here were people near us flashing their damn cameras, i didn't go out to eat with my girlfriend to see flashes! yes we all know its exciting to eat at the top of a hotel while its spinning, but respect people around you!

• Pros: Great food
• Cons: high prices

09/19/08

A pleasure

by MarciaD1

My husband and I have had the privilege of dining at fine restaurants nationwide. Very few have been better than the Compass Room. We arrived on time for our Saturday night reservation and were seated immediately. Our waitress and her helpers were very attentive; we didn't have to ask for refills on beverages. The food was delicious and the chef was happy to provide my daughter with a recipe she wanted. Our check for 4 came to about $300.00, covering the normal 3 courses + dessert. This was actually less than we had expected for a four-course meal at a fine restaurant. We strongly recommend this place and suggest you schedule your reservation to allow you to enjoy the sunset.

08/02/08

The Compass Restaurant

by meemom

I recently had dinner at the Compass Restaurant and it was ok. I ordered the scallops and was told they were excellant by the waiter. I grew up in New England and I love sea food. The scallops were a disappointment. They were very gritty. I felt like I was eating sand. The desert was good but the dinner was not worth the price I paid. The others that I was with said their meal was good. The waiter was helpful and nice and the view was great as we watched the sunset. (didn't care for the veiws of the rooftops of the other buildings) The restaurant is old and showing it's age. The resturant was very dark and the candle at our table was blown out by the air conditioning so it made it hard to see each other once the sun went down. My meal could have been muchhhhh better. Been there done that won't be back.

• Pros: view
• Cons: food was just average if that

01/06/08

above average but not the end all and be all

by moxierain

Earlier this afternoon I called to make a reservation for 6pm. Once we got there, we didn't wait, they just took us to our table. The servers were nice. The food was great, but I don't think its the end all and be all of great food. I liked the small portions. My complaints are that the menu was one page, it was a little too dark though I know they did it for ambience. Its definitely a pricy restaurant so bring a credit card as a backup. I loved the view, especially in the evening. We went to celebrate my birthday, it was my second time being there, so it was fun, just not an everyday thing.

• Pros: ambience, service
• Cons: one page menu, high price

09/21/07

contrary to popular belief...

by rocker247

I have never been to the Compass room before and like everything else new to me, I researched it. I saw so many bad reviews with one and two star ratings. I spoke with my wife and she said that she has been 3 times. I was pretty discouraged from going, but she said not to worry. Overall, the food was excellent! The atmosphere was amazing! The service was GREAT! The meals were not as large as others have said in these reviews. In fact, they were the perfect size, served at the perfect temp. I was actually able to share dessert with my wife and not be so full that it made me sick. Our waiter and his assistant were great. The floor manager even came out to greet everyone and make sure they were enjoying themselves. As for the $6.00 water, you can order sparkling, flat or plain ice water (plain ice water is free people). The prices are comparable to that of Ruth's Chris and many other nice restaurants. If you were expecting to pay any less, you are foolish to think so! My wife and I are not made of money, but we do put aside some money for special occasions. You are in the middle of Phoenix, in a nice hotel, overlooking the city at night with a 360 degree view. Did you expect Black Angus prices? Give it a chance people. We paid 150.00 for both of us to each eat soup, salad, steak, potatoes, asparagus, half bottle of wine, dessert and coffee!!! I would recommend this place to everyone for any special occasion! If you think appearance matters, we are both under 30 and i am heavily covered in tattoos and they treated me the same as the elderly sharp dressed couple and the couple with a 2 year old sitting close to us. enjoy!

• Pros: view, food, service

08/26/07

overpriced, bad service and a Water surprise!

by melanieb3

My fiancee and I had been wanting to go here for a long time and we finally made it this weekend and couldnt have been more disappointed. First off, we made reservations and then waited for 20 minutes. They were not busy and once we got inside there were open table EVERYWHERE! Our waiter came and introduced himself and the assistant waiter then disappeared for over 20 minutes.

The assistant waiter asked what we would like to drink, we both got water to start. when the waiter reappeared, we ordered. He told us bread would be brought to the table soon. Our assistant brought us bread, ONE PIECE each! She took them out of a basket and set it on our plate. Next our appetizer came, it was eleven dollars and it consisted of six pieces of bread that were in 2 inch squares (very small bread) and some jam.

Our meal was ok, we both ordered the filet and the size of the steak bordered on absurd and somewhere on the plate was four or five mushrooms and a potatoe or two. Anyway we finished the meal, ordered an overpriced dessert and wanted to be on our way. We had seen our waiter three times. We had to find someone to fill up my fiancee soda! So now we get the bill and find that we were charged 6.00 for the WATER!!!!! The view is ok, was probably better before all the tall buildings were there. I would recommend A Different Pointe of View over the Compass Room. It offers an unobstructed view and the service cant be beat.

The compass room was most certainly not worth the money or the time.

• Cons: Price, service, quality

05/17/07

On a good night, the place is mediocre

by bkingfield

I've eaten here several times and go for the view only. The best thing to do is to go during the non-busy afternoon times and get appetizers or drinks after the dinner hour and enjoy the view.

If you go for dinner, the view is excellent. Most of the good reviews here say the view is great, but.... But...the awful service always starts when you get off the elevator. The last time I went, I made reservations, which were correctly taken, but as always, we had to wait between 15 and 20 minutes to be seated. Why? We showed up at the time we said we would, the place was not busy...they clearly were not waiting for tables to be cleared.

We had a waiter and a waiter assistant. The assistant worked much harder than the waiter (she had brought us water, bread and chatted with us a bit long before we had any idea who our server was). The service is always, always, without fail always s l o w. If you walk in thinking that because you are spendng $50 or more per person that you are entitled to service better than Denny's, be prepared to be sorely mistaken. Servers were pretty nice this last visit. More often, they range between unfriendly and surly.

The menu is one page and gives you about 6 things to choose from. Be sure and ask what those items are before you go, because odds are you won't see something you can't wait to have.

The food tasted okay, but was overpriced for what it was. I am not a fan of huge portions, but again, when you are paying fairly good money for a meal, you shouldn't leave hungry. Our first question after our food was served was.."where's the rest of it?" Literally, we thought more accompaniments would come, but the side dishes hide under the small portions of meat. The meals can be eaten efficiently...they are over in a few tasty bites.

The view again is great, but you can't help but feel you've been cheated after you pay the bill and leave.

• Pros: The view and ONLY the view
• Cons: Service, food, portion size

Arizona's only revolving restaurant offers remarkable sunsets and twinkling city lights for a night-on-the-town dining experience.

by Contributor

In Short
On the 24th floor of the Hyatt Regency, patrons find themselves in the middle of a 360-degree view of the city and surrounding desert. Richly colored decor and dim lighting add to the sense of floating above the city. American cuisine gets some desert flair from native ingredients like prickly pear and sun chokes--there's even a tumbleweed salad. Sunday mornings offer champagne brunch.

01/02/07

This place is definitely not good for every time you want to out to eat

by cfaegurl

I think everyone should go at least once. I took my boyfriend because we wanted a special evening somewhere we don't go very often. The ambiance was relaxed and romantic. We had two different waitresses who waited on us all evening, so we got confused about who to leave the tip to. The service wasn't awful, but it definitely wasn't the greatest either. The food was tasty but way overpriced and the menu wasn't too extensive because they ran out of all their specials. This is definitely not the place to go if you're short on cash: for two people it cost me over a hundred dollars with the tip. All in all, it is a good place to go. The view is excellent and it's within walking distance of a lot of places and events. Just be prepared to pay too much and not get as much as you paid for in return.

• Pros: The view, good romantic date
• Cons: Price, meal size

12/15/06

Fabulous Views if you don't mind Poor Service

by almitra

We had lived in Phoenix and dined at the Compass Room for many years especially when the Nutcracker was being performed. But the past few years we have opted to alter our Christmas tradition a bit to NOT include them. The service has become a joke, it is horrid! As others observed, we had to ask to be served additional water, even when water was my daughters only beverage. One waiter barely could communicate with us in English and his accent was so thick that what English he did speak, was difficult to understand. My food was delivered cold, the list went on and on. The service was so bad that when my husband wrote to the General Mgr about it, we were not only refunded the price of our meal, but our drinks as well, they felt so badly about it. Sadly this repeated itself the next time we attempted to go to the Compass Room :( So sad to see such a beautiful view wasted by a staff who could care less if you are served in an efficient manner, let alone one that will WOW you! Don't go. Or just go have drinks and watch the view.

• Pros: View, View, Parking, View, View
• Cons: Food, Service, Attitude of Staff,