text: A few days before learning about Alchemy I called to make a reservation at Elements I wanted an outside table with a view of the sunset as we were celebrating a birthday Keep that in mind as the celebration comes back later in this review I called Elements and they said their outside seating was under construction Skip that I found Alchemy when looking for a location with a good view Plus it gave us an excuse to walk around Fountain Hills and see the fountain I called and made the reservation on Monday morning for that Saturday night I also called and left the restaurant manager a voicemail to make sure we had the best experience possible He did call back On Friday around of the clock nnThe manager assured me we would have a great experience and I informed him that regardless of the experience I would be reviewing them on Yelp TripAdvisor and on my blog He was not worried and said I would have a great experience He was wrong I called him the next Monday to discuss and have still not heard back from him nnOn Friday after speaking with the manager I get another call from Alchemy They wanted to confirm the time of the reservation They were trying to confirm PM but the reservation was at PM They also wanted to confirm that we were celebrating an anniversary Nope It is a birthday They knew that when I made the reservation and when I spoke with the restaurant manager We clear things up and I assume that Saturday will be perfect nnAlchemy has a happy hour before they start dinner service so we went a little early When we got there the hostess was standing behind the front desk I asked her about happy hour and she seemed confused and asked a gentleman dressed in jeans and tennis shoes if they had happy hour How does the hostess not know they have a happy hour The manager also seemed confused and pointed us to the bar When we got to the bar the bartender said they did not have a happy hour that was at the pool bar nnWe walk outside trying to find the pool bar and a server grabs us He seats us and takes our drink order After we get our drinks and are watching the view which is amazing by the way we notice a server cleaning the chairs outside Not cleaning them in a professional manner but smacking the chairs with a napkin This goes on for oh minutes It was so much to the point I asked her if she could stop We asked for our bill so we could make our reservation Surprisingly the bill was comped and the server apologized for the happy hour confusion Awesome Then we are sat for dinner nnThe views here are amazing Hands down the best view in Fountain Hills and past the views at Different Pointe of View maybe the best in the Valley We started looking at the menu and ordered a cheese plate for an appetizer For I expected a nice presentation and a wide range of cheeses Nope I was very disappointed in the presentation and felt the cheese was store bought Nothing fancy at all Sheryl ordered the scallops and I ordered the duck confit nnSheryl loved the scallops and was happy with her decision For she better be I took one bite of the duck and could not finish it It was crusty hard and quite frankly not very good I gave Sheryl a bite and she agreed I informed the server and she took it away I was still hungry since the cheese plate and complimentary bread did not fill me up I ordered the smoked salmon appetizer For I expected a decent piece of fish Not the slivers of fish I was served I was so hungry and the fish was good I ate it and decided to stop and grab something to eat on the way home nnDuring our meal the manager came over and apologized for the mishap earlier regarding happy hour I heard him say to another table that was also having issues I am sorry but this is my first night I am still trying to figure it all out Um You are a manager of a fine dining establishment Should not you have already had this figured out before your first shift Also why are you wearing jeans I expected him to be in a suite and tie quite frankly At first I did not believe he was the actual restaurant manager nnOur server was awesome but everything else just added up to a negative experience That and the fact that our bill was close to We did not eat worth of food and the view while it is breathtaking is not worth The whole experience feels like a restaurant that takes advantage of the good view and serves mediocre food without a care to the small stuff Oh look A gorgeous sunset Do not worry that your food sucks Look a t the pretty mountains nnAfter dinner we went to Amys Baking Company for dessert and Fate Brewing Company for drinks Both offered a better experience than we had at Alchemy It is too bad too Because I really wanted something special for Sheryls birthday celebration If you are planning to dine at Alchemy I hope you reconsider That is too bad too