Renegade by MOD

This place has an identity crisis: a menu with interesting, delicious food worthy of a trendy restaurant, but bright lighting, décor, and a beer menu like a southwestern sports bar. Throw in a loud blues band on Sat night and we had no idea what to think!
Bottom line: it was empty at 8pm on a Sat night. But the food was great! Will be interesting to see if they can unravel who they want to be…

I went prior to the change then after and I don’t see much difference.
If you’re going for dinner, expect to be disappointed. Nothing is worth whatever money you spend.
The only thing I’ll give them credit for is they have a decent beer selection.
I would be shocked if this place is open in 4 – 5 months…

My wife, daughter and I had lunch on Saturday. We were seated promptly. The lunch menu is limited but we found food that worked. What surprised me was the place was empty yet our service was slow. Waitress was talking with other workers in the restaurant while we waited. Did not check in with us regularly, I went and found her to ask to add to our order. Just seemed to be lax about attending to customers.
Food was ok but nothing to go back for, and the service was underwhelming.

Wish I could have reviewed the food but last Thursday we stood at the hostess table around 5:45pm and nobody was around. We stood there for at least 5 minutes and even saw what appeared to be the manager and someone else who works there at a large table nearby just talking.
The place was empty as well, there’s no excuse for poor service let alone «no» service. So we walked out and went to stone and vine. Wow!

I live close to Renegade by MOD and being a foodie I decided to take a couple business colleagues there for dinner. I had eaten at The Kai and had an outstanding experience more than once, so when I found out it was the same chef I was very excited. I’m not one to bash anything and am only writing this review to provide some constructive feedback, as if the kinks were worked out it would be exciting to have another great restaurant in town.
When I first walked in I noticed the lighting was very bright. Bright enough that it detracted from the overall ambience of the restaurant. I even asked the hostess if the lights could be dimmed… she just blew off my request. I struggled to find the right table for our business dinner due to the lighting. My 2 colleagues and I sat on the back patio and didn’t get noticed or served for about 15 minutes. When the server finally arrived, it was obvious she had just returned from her smoke break.
We all ordered the filet. The flavor was quite good but the portion (steak, potato, and vegetable) all were very small, especially given the price.
When I have dinner with 2 other people and spend $ 250 I expect the ambience, the service, and the food all to be excellent. For a mid-​level example, I could go to a chain like Houston’s in the Hilton Village and the ambience and atmosphere is spot on, the service and team approach by the servers is always on point and the food is fantastic.
Considering Renegade has a top notch chef, with some hard work they could provide that same high-​level experience for their guests.
I’d like to be optimistic and give them another try in a few months, assuming improvements are made.

Chef Michael O’Dowd of Kai fame has revitalized this place, it’s amazing again! The food is innovative but most importantly delicious and the drinks are great. Now we are looking forward to going back again!!!
The restaurant menu items are great, but the real gems at the best prices may be on the bar menu.

Being there’s no option for zero stars, they get 1.
Came here for lunch on a Saturday with my husband as he had heard about this place in the New Times as one of Scottsdale’s top 5 new restaurants. When we first walked in we were impressed by the decore and murals on the walls but noticed that the whole place was empty except for one other table in the bar area, and it was all downhill from there.
Our waiter had just finished smoking so he was rather fragrant when he greeted us and suggested the quesadilla or the nachos. He didn’t give us much time to decide our selections, though whatever we decided would not make an appearance for another 40 minutes or more. My husband opted for the quesadilla and I had the Lobster with pasta ribbons and we split the calamari.
The calamari was decent but arrived 40 min later, and our food was another 50 minutes. The quesadilla was at least edible but the pasta was not. The lobster was old and rubbery and the pasta lacked any flavor other than a fishy aftertaste. The waiter did bring us a random dish of sliced pinapple which I opted for over my food. I left annoyed, hungry and dissappointed and will go back around the same time as I hire Casey Anthony as my babysitter.
NOTE TO CHEF:
I find it hilarious that every bad post for this restaurant is matched by a low blow to the Unilocaler for «other negative» reviews. Be a man and own up to your opportunities instead of making superficial caddy excuses to justify the terrible experiences at Renegade. If you really «appreciated» the feedback from customers you wouldn’t react by insulting them for providing their honest opinion.

My husband brought me here for my birthday. The food was okay but a little too salty for my taste. The musician they had on Friday night was great. However the service was the worst I’ve seen. When we got there the host was confused. Then someone came and started arguing with him as we waited. The serving staff seemed drunk and did not know anything about the menu. We later learned that the staff (about 8 including chefs) had quit on that day. This place is a mess. The new management needs to get a handle on things or get Restaurant Impossible to come help them!

What a disaster. Let me first start by saying, our favorite restaurant had been Kai, when MOD was the Exec. Chef. We went several times to Renegade based on our past experience. Each time, the food was innovative and tasty.
Yesterday, we invited two friends to join us for a 7:00 p.m. dinner. We arrived at 6:55 and it was evident that the hostess was a bit frazzled. The bar area seemed full but there were lots of tables in the restaurant area and only two patio tables full.
After waiting about five minutes or more, we were seated. No menus — apologies because they were out of menus. Then the next clue came — the table next to us — got up and left after we had been sitting for about 10 minutes and finally received menus. Two glasses of wine took another 10 minutes. Water came right before that. The wait person said the kitchen was understaffed. Not a good sign.
Two larger parties had been waiting with children. Their food finally came. Wait staff came to tables with food and then left because they were at the wrong table. Our order went in about 30 minutes after being seated. at 8:15, someone came by after my husband pointed out we had been sitting since 7:00 p.m. He said that they were «slammed» and our food would be out in 10 minutes. 8:30 no — food — only two glasses of wine and iced tea (had asked for hot tea) — we left.
Food had been good the previous times, but the disorganization with the wait staff and kitchen isn’t a good sign. When we left, there were very few tables full in the bar. The patio had maybe 5 tables full. This is a sorry state for what was a pretty innovative restaurant. We won’t likely be back.

My review is late but my sentiments about my visit aren’t. Easily one of my top 5 restaurants in Phoenix now. I had the pork belly and I can’t say that I have had a dish as good as this in Phoenix before. Who mixes pork belly with Peach Cobbler unless you know what you are doing??? The service was over the top with our server taking time out to explain the restaurant’s concept, the beautiful art posted all over the restaurant and even provided us with a normal menu to take home so we would know what the regular menu offered (went during restaurant week).
This is a restaurant only limited by location. If Renegade was located in Old Town on the Scottsdale Rd North Scottsdale corridor, they would be one of the most packed places in town on weekends. That being said, I like the fact that I now have a restaurant that is off the beaten path but better than most of what is on it!

As a general rule, I don’t rate restaurants during Restaurant Week (which, in this case, is September 21 – 29, 2013) because I don’t believe it is fair to judge when the kitchen and wait staff are under the pressure of a deluge of new customers ALL ordering the same 3 dishes, at the same time, and expecting 5-​star service even when the place is at capacity. However, I had such an exceptional experience (TWICE) at Renegade by MOD this week, that I must make an exception…
And, before I get to why I am rating the restaurant so highly, I invite future readers to note the date of any of the negative reviews, and if it was during Restaurant Week (or if it says it was) then consider taking the review with a grain of salt (or a whole margarita!)
As I said above, we went twice in the same week, because all four of the entrée choices sounded so delicious, we had a terrifically difficult time choosing just two. Then, after we had devoured the jerk chicken with burnt marshmallow fluff (yes, you read that right, and it is incredible — the sweet/​spicy balance is wonderful) and the pan seared salmon, and found them so fabulous, we just had to try the other two! So we went back again the next night and did just that.
Now that we have had every dish served on the special RW menu (some of which, or variations thereof, are on the regular menu — thank goodness) we still cannot decide which one was better. The filet mignon was cooked perfectly throughout, the rutabaga mash was just slightly sweet in counterpoint to the savory beef, and the pork belly with peach cobbler elicited orgasmic sounds with every bite. The duck pastrami appetizer was so good, my husband got it both nights, and is now talking about going for a trifecta.
For us, going twice in a row to one place, in itself, is a huge compliment to the chef, because to give TWO of the precious nine days of RW to the same restaurant, could have been a sacrifice, but it so, so, so, so wasn’t. …I just had to write in praise, because they earned it!

We had some delicious dishes. We had some really bad dishes! And, we had service from beginning to end that was simply terrible. Chef O’Dowd needs to fix the front end of his house before he looks on expanding!
Seems to me Chef O’Dowd needs to find himself a small, intimate spot and showcase his highly touted talents. This simply did not do it.
I felt like we were in a slightly higher end Chili’s. We waited for service. Every course was served to the wrong person. We never received bread. We had to ask for our wine flights and were served Char when we should have received a red which we just gave up and drank. Big miss! One guest never received his desert.
The salmon was special as was the pork belly.
If I lived in the neighborhood, I’d try it again. But to drive there? No thanks…

I have eaten at Renegade by MOD four times. I ordered the Twisted Ramen Noodles scented with Lobster Miso the first time. It was delivered with a raw quail egg. The waiter poured hot broth over everything and it cooked the egg to perfection. It was so tasty that I had to force myself to try something else on my next trip. I was glad I did as the Diver Scallops from the Sea of Cortez were perfectly prepared. My husband’s Filet Mignon Rolled in House Made Peppercorn Sand was outstanding.
On the third visit I couldn’t resist my urge to order the Ramen Noodles again. What a disappointment. It was delivered with the egg already cooked and after the hot broth was poured over it the egg turned into a rubbery inedible mess. The lobster meat was overdone and rubbery as well.
My fourth trip may be my last. I’m having trouble staying excited about this restaurant. It’s a shame because I was so looking forward to having Michael O’Dowd near my house instead of a day trip away. I ordered the two for $ 20 special which was a salad and pasta. The sauce was so thick it just glommed onto the pasta. My husband’s Grouper «Fish Stix» tasted remarkably like halibut. Halibut is a fine fish but is not grouper. The dish was nothing to write home about even if it had been grouper. I have the feeling that the chef is not watching the pot and that the kitchen staff is getting by with murder. I hope he wakes up soon and gets them under control because they are making a mess of his creative food. It has the potential to be a great restaurant in an area that could use one.

This was simply the most bizarre experience I’ve had in a restaurant in years. From the minute I walked in to find no one at the reception desk, always a good sign, to the fact that Renegade BY Mod has no idea what it wants to be.
We were there on a Saturday night. The bar was full. a party was going on, with biker
bar music and a crowd to match. This was seriously loud honky tonk music. We were
there, however, to eat, thinking this was a restaurant known for food, not a bar crowd.
The menu has descriptions that require descriptions-​shrooms, soil{when“s the last time you saw soil on a menu?}and sand. The cutlery is in a container in the middle of the table-​another attempt to be different.
Now the food. The mushroom starter-​shrooms — were actually the best thing we had.
I had scallops which were far too salty. My friend had the very thin and incredibly tough short ribs-​looking and tasting like no short ribs in memory. When we told the server he said many people had complained about them-​perhaps a good time to re-​think them or take them of the menu, yes? We ordered a chicken dish as a replacement for the short ribs. We waited twenty five minutes. During this period our
server totally ignored us.
I live in the neighborhood which could certainly benefit from an upscale quality restaurant but this isn’t it. I can’t imagine this restaurant surviving nor does it deserve to with management like this.

Ok, so I must first preface my review by saying that the BEST burger I ever had was at Renegade before they changed over to MOD.
It was juicy and amazingly delicious!
I ordered the burger and it was dry. I would categorize it as a «meatloaf» because it has pork in it and they can’t cook it medium. Bummer. The fries were great… but the pickles way too vinegary.
The only reason I am giving the 3 stars is because our server, Loren, was great. He made the dining experience special. He gets it. Service with a smile even when I was dissing the dry burger. LOL
I WILL be back to try some of the other unique items on the menu. I like the vibe,

I can’t even count how many times my fiancée and I said the word, «Wow» throughout our experience at Renegade by MOD. I wish I could say we were more verbose, but I just can’t think of a better word. From the décor, the music, the service, and of course the FOOD, everything was just spectacular.
To the people writing the negative reviews: I’m positively thrilled you hated the place. Clearly, you’re not the target clientele and I fervently hope you’ll stay far, far away. As for myself, I plan on becoming a regular patron and spreading the word to everyone I know will appreciate something a little unexpected.
Cheers!

Having been to Renegade many times, though the many management changes, I must say they hit it right.
One the downside, the happy-​hour menu was quite lacking, we used to bring the kids and share a bunch of small plates. I suspect they will add more to the happy hour menu.
The main dinner menu is a serious foodie menu. We started with a deconstructed panzanella salad which was incredible. My wife loved her filet rolled in peppercorn (not overly peppered), with home made gnocchi. I had the seafood in a bag, which is a strange name for an excellent dish. Finished with the crème brûlée with a peach chutney. The flavors were extremely complex and complementary, everything just worked.
This had fallen off our rotation but we decided to give them a change and were incredibly pleased.

After some of the reviews, we were expecting the food here to be bizarre or off-​the-​wall, but nothing is further from the truth… the food is contemporary and — dare I say it – whimsical, but it’s accessible for everyone. No need to fear for eensy portions that will make you wanna stop at In-​N-​Out on your way home or unrecognizable food sculpture… we went away stuffed and satisfied — no room for dessert.
As noted by many, the décor is fresh and fun and modern. The art was cool, and the artfully displayed bikes are a unique touch — basically, this is pretty forward-​thinking for Arizona, but not for most major cities. It could easily be dropped into New York (where we moved from). We went at 9pm on a Saturday, so we were able to enjoy a nice bluesy combo playing by the bar — it would be worth it to stop by just for a drink and to listen.
The service a tad slow, but thoughtful and attentive — our waiter brought a glass of hot water with lemon and mint — unprompted — when he noticed my wife had a cough. (It hit the spot.)
We enjoyed the food — for apps, we had the venison lollipops and the mushroom dish, which were both tasty (and filling), with a variety of ingredients contributing to the whole. For entrees, the scallops were a hearty plate, cooked just right, with a fun and tasty churro and yummy sauce — one of the more unique combos we’ve had in a while, definitely worth a try. The fish sticks were very tasty on their own, but I didn’t love either of the provided sauces, though the slaw and mac-​n-​cheese were both very good. And yes, you get an actual sealed tube of «toothpaste» — very clever. We didn’t leave feeling like we’d had a bargain, but we did like the food.
NOTE: a prior reviewers commented on a steak salad — there isn’t one on the menu. The dish he refers is called «Reimagined Panzenella Combination» and the first ingredient is «black and blue» steak — ie. RARE. Sounds like it was delivered as advertised… at least on the menu. Our waiter still had not tried a lot of the dishes, so it might be a case of the waitstaff needing some more education.
We’re gonna be back, if for no other reason than, as noted in the press lately, Scottsdale has a tendency to let anything other than prosaic food wither and die. We’d hate to lose another one.
Note to the Guys — This could be your date-​night spot if you want to look like a renaissance kind of guy. Good food, good tunes, fun atmosphere.

Looks like the old Renegades is gone and a new one taking over. The bar area is basically the same… although I think they changed the T.V. screen positions, for the better. I ordered the ChiliVerde dish. I thought the presentation was not good. Eating the dish out of some small tin bucket wasn’t appealing to me. The Chili Verde was just okay, certainly no WOW factor here. The corn tortillas were good. But the combination of the two just doesn’t work. My beer was served in a strange water type glass — a Blue Moon.
The music was a bit edgy, but that could be because they’re trying to attack a different younger market… c’mon guys, this is north Scottsdale! The crowd is older and there isn’t enough of them to make a market for you.
I’ll give you until November…

5÷23÷13
I bookmarked Renegade a few months ago, but didn’t have the inclination to go until I decided to try takeout from Stone & Vine and spotted Renegade next door. I already planned to try Renegade after Restaurant Week ended, so imagine my surprise to find an invitation via text last night to attend today’s Grand Opening VIP Tasting! (I’d just arrived from a terrific RW dinner at Sassi when I received the text.) I received the confirmation email this morning asking guests to arrive in casual attire.
Arrived before the place started to get crowded. Spied a couple of old acquaintances, and we decided to sit together. (Had a great time catching up with you, Chris and Heather!) Glad we moved to a table close to the musicians playing at the front– Jared Blackstone sang and played guitar, while another would join in on keyboards from time to time. He did covers ranging from Rob Thomas and Johnny Cash to Pearl Jam and The Beatles. So good was the music tonight that Heather and I went and bought CDs. I hope he’s on regular rotation at Renegade…
Before moving to the table, we sat at the bar, where Heather and I immediately were given ribbon-​tied plastic bags filled with fruit-​infused rum cocktails finished with Kool-​Aid. I couldn’t have any, so I gave mine to Chris. At the table, Heather ordered a glass of Earthquake Zin, and I a Rosemary Margarita, which had an ice cube made up of a rosebud and rosemary sprigs! So delicate and very pretty, yet packed quite a punch!
Here’s what we sampled…
Venison lollipops dusted with dry mole
Kale + chard kimchi Braunschweiger pâté
Heirloom tomato, soy beans and crab gazpacho
Mini-​waffle cone filled with mango pudding
Crab mac ‘n cheese
Black bean hummus & raw veggies
(too sour!)
MOD ‘N Sour pork wings and Slider «MODS» Kobe beef and bufalo sweet chili sloppy joes with Velveeta
Flavored goat cheese cream under smoke-​fennel pollen essence
My faves were the venison lollipops, kimchi pâté (on duck-​scented black bread!), pork wings (not too sour or sweet– perfect!), Kobe beef sloppy joe sliders, mango pudding mini-​cones, crab mac ‘n cheese, and of course, the winner of the evening– flavored goat cheese cream served on ashtrays! The first serving I had, I concentrated on the different flavors and textures of the sweet dish– smoky fennel mixing with the creamy goat cheese, and the nutty fennel pollen amidst the silky goat cheese cream– oh la la! We were practically begging for more! When we finally got seconds of it, a server actually brought out a covered smoking tray, stopped in front of our table, waited till it dawned on us what we were about to receive, and then lifted the cover, and out drifted smoke! This time, the fennel pollen tasted even smokier than the first batch, and then I finally had to stop and shake my head, because darn it, I’m eating out of an ashtray! I’m sure it painted quite a picture to see me, a non-​smoker who abhors the habit (I work in a smoke-​infested environment), eating out of an ashtray with glee!
We each took a parting gift of Mole Gold 24K gold-​infused EVOO and a set of headphones in a paint can on our way out, and I asked the artist I’d passed a couple of times on my way to the restroom, he had an unfinished canvas next to him, if he was responsible for some of the artwork adorning the walls; he said yes. He is Lalo Cota, and he’s painted some of the murals here, as well as the ceiling of one of the dining rooms, and has done artwork at PHX’s District American Kitchen and Wine Bar.
I shall return!
p. s. Also tried a tough pork belly and two Big Azz burger lollipops (one good, the second not so).