Q: negative

A: On our first trip to Tempe Marketplace we decided to dine at King's Fish House as me and my wife rarely get to eat fish with an 8 year old in tow, but their kids menu seemed adequate, so we decided to say. We started with the Clam Chowder which was flavorful, but the portion was small, which turned out to be a theme throughout the night. My wife and I split the Blackened Mahi Mahi with Mango salsa along with Jasmine rice and Glazed carrots. I won't argue with the price of a good meal, but our portions were really small for the price. The rice had only a hit of Jasmine, and the carrots were underdone. The fish was very good, but again I was put off by the portion size. For dessert we had Strawberry Shortcake, and while the "cake" was good, size was again a problem as the shortcake wasn't much larger than a half-dollar. Our waiter was inattentive as we had to ask for drinks and bread several times, and he didn't seem very knowledgeable about the menu. Overall the food was good, but there was nothing special about the experience at all, and there is not much value based on the portion size. I would not recommend this restaurant.

Q: positive

A: 4 stars, because I'm a little picky with my 5 stars for when places make me want to hustle rides and instigate with people to get back somewhere. The pesto chicken was decent like others said (I prefer D'Lish's more), and the tuna melt makes me want to rethink my strategy on healthy food and add more gooey, melty cheese to things... but what stood out to me as more "craving worthy" was the avocado turkey. The croissant was buttery and flaky and had really nice flavors with the aioli and avocado. So good. I did try the California toast and wasn't the biggest fan of the sundried tomatoes on top... just something about them. But I like that any menu item with avocado usually has a generous helping of it. I really like the hummus too (and the pita bread pieces that come with it, though don't let them get cold or else they'll be hard as rocks)- it's plain hummus with the sauce of your choice drizzled at the bottom of the cup and on top. I tried the garlic and the prickly heat (though it's a lot more sweet than spicy) and both were tasty. The garlic wasn't "my coworkers are going to hate me in our afternoon meeting" strong, so luckily they can just hate me for calling afternoon meetings. For $2.50 it was a nice side to my sandwich to make my meal of sandwich+hummus more filling. You'll probably find that it's "just enough" food - you won't get stuffed or squelch a ravenous appetite. I've tried a sample of their Java Mocha Blast and it was pretty good. There are similar drinks at Coffee Plantation and D'Lish, so much so that it gets hard to rank them but this one has a stronger coffee flavor and adds Nutella for their own unique twist to the peanut butter+banana+mocha. Oh and it might be good to note that they serve the full menu the whole time they're open, so maybe next time I'll grab breakfast at lunchtime. One downside is that they seem to run out of the hummus often by lunchtime :(

Q: negative

A: Pros: "All Day" Mimosa deal, perfect for us functioning alcoholics. I went on a Sunday so I'm not sure if this deal exists every day of the week. Awesome servers; friendly and on top of their game. Cons: 45 minute wait for a table. It was like waiting to get into a nightclub. The general vibe of this place is trendy and pretentious. I felt like I showed up to an American Apparel party uninvited. If you do not want to get the "All Day' mimosa deal (around $20something bucks), one mimosa is $13.00 and it's tiny. I totally expect those prices on the strip, but a local's place? Come on. (The bartender did not tell me about the "All Day" deal until I was charged for one mimosa. They should be in the habit of letting people know about the deal once a mimosa is ordered, if you ask me. But nobody has) The food is alright (not amazing), but again, the prices are totally outrageous. Definitely not worth it. Next time, imma point my Ugg knock offs in a different direction.

Q: negative

A:
Seriously? As a typically huge fan of Hillstone across the US, this location jumps the shark more often than it should. Cold night in Phoenix. Hour wait for a table. No problem. Party of 5 sit at the patio for drinks and relax before dinner. Patio heaters make it nice but the patio is maybe 20% full since it's cold. Manager says we can't have 5 chairs at our table. Huh? Has us move our chair back to the neighboring table - which remains unused, along with 20 others, the rest of the night (it's after 8pm). What idiot thought up this policy? It's not a fire or safety risk. It's a patio with tons of room. Believe it or not, we'll still come here often as we have faith that they'll pull their head out and get back to a high standard of hospitality. But be warned, this location can require some patience if you expect the Hillstone standard.