The Upton

Strolled in as it was a short jaunt from the W Hotel I was residing at. While confined to the indoors due to the heat, I was pleasantly surprised by the menu, service, staff and basically most everything. The ribs (app.) were heavily hyped, and delivered, the salad I ordered was fresh and a huge portion, the plastic surgery of the nice lady next to me was adequate, but most of all, the newbie bartender, jacqueline, (sorry for spelling J) was amazing. Sincerely the most pleasant human being to serve someone a meal and drink. Upton is on the way up

Came for brunch on Fathers Day, everything was wonderful! The staff was amazing and so friendly! My favorite the Strawberry toast! So good!

This place is so hidden I live right in old town and would’ve never knew it existed (Request to sit on the back patio it’s beautiful) I love the modern vibe. I can’t get over the atmosphere. I ordered the steak and a side of asparagus and got donuts for desert. The General Manager was so sweet and made it SO welcoming.
Definitely coming back!

Cool venue and good cocktails but like others have said, overpriced for what you get.
Bao buns should be listed as appetizers (2 small buns for about $ 13) and the Thai farro dish would make for a good snack. Food was tasty but nothing worth raving about. We ended up going straight to Wendy’s for fries and frosties afterwards because we were still so darn hungry.
Also worth noting — despite the fact that we were there at 7:30 on a Friday, the place was almost completely dead which gave it a weird vibe.
That being said, the happy hour menu looked pretty solid and the bar seemed cool so maybe it’s worth revisiting someday between 4 – 6.

Nice little place. The atmosphere is the best part of this place. The staff is friendly. The patio is nice and cool due to the portable AC units and mists. Inside is a little crowded but nice still. The portions are small. Specially the steak. I order the Hotel Nacional drink and it’s overpriced. The glass is about 8 oz? Not worth $ 12 at all. One of our parties order the pull pork and it was the best value. I recommend this place to come and enjoy the patio but not if you are looking for a full dinner experience. The menu is overall overprice for the small portions, entrees don’t come with side dishes, you’ll have to pay separately and they are about $ 6. I will return but not for dinner. I recommend this place as a social place to meet friends.

One of our favorite jump-​off points when venturing into Old Town. Quaint little place with modern décor and a private rear patio that gives a romantic and intimate feel. Food is always excellent, sad they no longer offer the Cornish Game Hen (with a beer can, yes, a beer can inside), but the Picnic Chicken never disappoints. Feeling like something lighter? Farro Salad (Farro, flame grapes, marcona almonds, goat cheese, radish and Charred lemon vinaigrette) just add chicken or salmon and you’ll have one of the best salads ever!!! Their craft cocktail menu is awesome (I have pledged to have 100 of their Apricot Negronis, though not in one sitting of course) and you MUST try the char siu ribs, crispy confit duck wings and their Seoul Satisfaction bao bun (Korean duroc pork belly, Asian pear kimchi and Tiger sauce) for an amazing dinner.

I am a little torn. The patio was super cool and I had an amazing Bloody Mary but the food was disappointing. We were there for brunch. I asked if the egg and avocado came with anything. She said on a bed of arugula. It didn’t. Either way, that was about a third of a meal. There were no sides. We all thought about ordering more but it is a pretty limited bench menu and we didn’t want to pay $ 12 for another tiny entrée. The service was ok. Nice but not super prompt. Due to the food I wouldn’t recommend this place.

The Upton has quickly become an upscale, yet casual favorite of mine. The bar area offers a minimalist yet classy setting, the cocktail list & bartender do a fine job of catering to each guest’s preference.
The menu is full of fun & creative shareable items. Each time i’ve gone it was primarily for drinks & i had eaten prior to arriving so I’ve only snacked on the pibil tacos, the foie gras/​bone marrow dish, & ramen.
Both the ramen & pibil are well constructed, but each is severely lacking in regards to heat from spice. Something that is commonplace among nearly every restaurant in scottsdale.
The foie gras bone marrow dish is a bit of an adulteration, but i still like it. The bone marrow is removed from the bone then combined with foie gras to form a pâté, then placed back into the bone & baked and served to you with toast. It’s creamy, salty, & definitely makes a statement on your palate.
The exterior of the Upton is definitely another highlight, it’s intimate, upscale, & arguably romantic as they offer beautiful patio dining or lounging, while using their garden design & location to keep out the din of the nearby old town scottsdale drunks.
I look forward to returning & i’ll make sure to bring my appetite along next time to enjoy the mussels & fried chicken.

Found this place just by wandering down the street. It’s kind of a hidden gem. Gorgeous outdoor seating and a small but substantial menu. All food items are delicious, the staff is friendly, and the drinks are fantastic! Can’t wait to go back

I am at The Upton restaurant in old town Scottstown while Miss Tessie is getting her hair done. Even in this 90* weather, their lovely patio is filled with customers.
The ambiance is eclectic and delightful.
The GM, (Clayton) and bartender/​server (Steven) are extremely attentive, and seem to be an excellent team.
But, most of all, the food choices are great. I had the Farro Salad and it was just fantastic!
And Steven’s martini was exactly as I ordered it: house vodka, extra dry with a bunch of olives on the side.

Super cute décor, good service, a lot of outdoor seating, but the food did not meet our expectations. The Phoenix cocktail (bloody margarita) was delicious as was the orange juice I ordered :) but the pork tostadas that the boyfriend got and the angus beef hash were just missing something. I was tempted to ask for ketchup or salt to add more flavor to my dish. If we ever do visit Scottsdale again, would love to come back and try the lunch/​dinner menu.

I’ll start by saying that I’m SOO beyond happy that I found this hidden gem! I’ve been coming here since they first opened and I’m still a huge fan!!!
The atmosphere is awesome! Even when it’s dead there’s a great vibe going on here. The outside patio is wonderful for larger groups and perfect for a nice Sunday funday gathering. Rose-​all-​day baby! The accent painted wall is a nice touch and ties in perfectly with the twisted classy feel of the inside bar.
Now to the service. The service has been absolutely outstanding every time I’m here! All the bartenders are super personable, have amazing attitudes not to mention make some incredible cocktails. I would say that the majority of them are extremely knowledgeable on all ends of the spectrum. The servers are also super friendly and know their stuff! Like I said before I have yet to have bad service here and I doubt I will! I must give a double high five to the friendly manager who is clearly doing a good job of training his staff and running this posh little place!
On to the food. All I can say is BRAVO! All the main entrées are spectacular! The southern fried chicken is mouthwatering. The Chinese char siu ribs with smoked peanuts and cilantro pesto are to die for and I could easily live off of the lemon chimichurri cauliflower and mason jar chopped salad for the rest of my life.
*** Also a little secret… You can bring your dog along if you choose to sit on the front patio!
Way to go guys! Keep up the amazing work!

After reading some great reviews, I really wanted this place to be amazing and expected it to be pretty good.
We came here on a whim late Sunday afternoon around 4 pm for a late lunch/​early dinner. As soon as we entered, we were handed menus presumably by the manager and told they were only serving half of their happy hour items — the dinner menu wouldn’t be available for another hour and the other happy hour items, they were out of.
Since my fiancé was absolutely starving, we decided that we’d stay and find something from the limited menu to order.
From my 5 or so options, I took the the pork tacos, while my fiancé took the ribs. We weren’t impressed with either one. My pulled pork was pretty dry and lacked flavor… his ribs were about the same.
Along with a SUPER limited food menu, the beer list wasn’t anything impressive. I think I counted 8 beers listed.
We left regretting going there and didn’t understand why the dinner menu wasn’t being served yet. Most of the items on the dinner menu wouldn’t seem to take a lot of prep work. I remember seeing salads, simple burgers/​sandwiches
We ended up eating somewhere else after we left for a real dinner. Won’t return, but glad we tried it out.
My advice — if you’re going to serve an already super limited menu, make sure the food tastes amazing. Otherwise, give your patrons options regardless of if they’re dining at 4pm (when you open) or 9pm.

Came here for Easter brunch and loved everything I ordered. I shared the strawberry toast, avocado tacos and egg grilled cheese with my date. Yummy.
The uptown girl is also a refreshing cocktail.

We came here during Spring Training for dinner and cocktails. Clayton was so nice– he gave us a super table in a view corner. Kevin, our server, was so friendly and helped us pick great drinks and the small plates and entrees that we all shared. The drinks were sublime… and the ribs were out of this world.
We were also pleased that the bill wasn’t outrageous– it’s rare to find a restaurant that has great service, drinks and food at reasonable prices. We will definitely visit this gem again.

Cute little trendy restaurant. The inside of the restaurant itself is small, but there is plenty of outdoor seating. We ordered the pork ribs, the chopped salad and a few of the buns. Everything was pretty good. The portion of the ribs were quite large. I love that the chopped salad. It was served in a mason jar! How cool!
We ordered a few drinks as well. Not bad! I’ll be back!

If I’m going to spend $ 10 – 12 on a cocktail, this is one of 2 places I’ll do it. (The other is Second Story.) These guys know their stuff and you can tell based on their limited and selective liquor selection. Their food menu is also really interesting (and good!!) for Old Town. Oh, and they do an awesome weekday lunch special.

The atmosphere is totally cool! Love the hole in the wall vibe. The food was not my favorite. My fiancé had the Cuban sandwich and I had the spinach gnocchi, neither of which we’d probably get again. I’d come back for a drink at happy hour, but overall I was not super happy about the food.

We came here twice. The first time we sat in the back and last night since a storm was coming in we sat inside. Had the same waiter, he remembered us from the first time and he even remembered what we ordered and where we sat. We found this place one night when we were driving home from a night out. It’s a cute restaurant. Love the outdoor seating. The service is just top notch. I recommend this place to anyone who will ask me. Both times I got the fried chicken with the ssrriranch and it was amazing!

My favorite restaurant in Scottsdale for sure. Go there all the time for their $ 10 lunch and I promise you will not find better bang for your buck as the food is amazing. Awesome happy hour as well. Dinners are amazing and the vibe in the place is fresh, especially on the patio with some good weather. Still gotta hit up brunch there!

Super cute, small and trendy restaurant. It serves up unique entrees and drinks with an upscale «hole-​in-​the-​wall» vibe. The Ramen noodles are probably the best menu item by far. It may sound boring, but it is a wonderful dish. The broth is flavorful, noodles cooked just right and a good amount of veggies thrown in to make it filling (tad heavy on the mushrooms, but not a deal breaker). They have other entrees that a tasty too, just not as great as the ramen. Other notables: clean bathrooms, service is great, stiff drinks.
My only suggestion would be to improve their sweet selections. I’ve been twice and each time the dessert menu was sparse and less than appealing. I tried their chocolate tart on our last visit, just see if it tasted better than the description… sadly, it was ho-​hum. Oh well, their ambiance and entrees are enough to keep me coming back.
FYI, there is not a lot of seating inside, but plenty of patio seating.

Three stars for good service and nice ambience. Cocktails were pretty good, too. The food, however, was flavorless and forgettable. Both the appetizer and entrée were cooked well, but had zero salt or seasoning. Pouring a sauce over something should not excuse a chef from actually seasoning the food itself. No desire to return.

I came here for dinner for a friend’s birthday and was SO surprised by how creative and foodie their menu was! Not to mention, their cozy, romantic patio! It is seriously the perfect date spot.
We started with the meat and cheese board that was absolutely fantastic and perfect for sharing. Then, onto the farro salad that was so fresh and delicious. I LOVE farro and always forget that it exists. I could honestly eat it every day and be a happy camper.
Now, not that I really «needed» another course but for the main, I ordered the pork tacos. Needless to say, my plate was licked and I am SO happy that I ordered them because the flavors were unique and perfect. I will most definitely be back soon! I would love to try out their brunch as well.

Omg! I love this place. It’s one of my boyfriend and my favorite dinner date place. Food is amazing and service it great. We usually sit at the bar and the bartender is great. And I also love this one colorful lama painting they have behind the bar. It’s beautiful!

The type of place that will **sigh** under there breath if you don’t order an alcohol beverage with your meal.
Had «the Upton» for Sunday brunch and it was delicious. I will say the restaurant does care more about the plate presentation than the food; an example. I had to ask for gravy on the side since both biscuits came dry, unlike the ham that was covered.
TL;DR. Probably won’t come here again unless I’m stuck directly on Shoeman again, too much you’ll miss in Scottsdale for a ho-​hum place like this.

Having patronized this establishment 2 – 3 times per week over the past 6 months, I feel adequately qualified to impart my opinion on the Unilocal platform in regards to The Upton. Follow these instructions carefully and don’t screw this up. 1) Walk in for lunch. 2) Take a seat either inside, where progressive house music plays at a low volume, or outside within the confines of their courtyard. 3) Order any item off of the menu, you cannot go wrong. 4) Whip out your mobile device and redeem the check-​in offer from their Unilocal listing. 5) Your bill will be $ 10.00 flat including a drink + tax. 6) Leave a generous tip. 7) That is all, well done.

A friend and I were out checking out happy hours due to a late dinner reservation elsewhere. We decided to check out the Upton, only to find out we missed happy hour! Tragic… Anyway, the place was hopping and we were lucky to get a couple seats at the bar. We tried a couple cocktails, with mine being the best — it was a light and refreshing drink with cucumber in it… yum. We also tried the ribs — these things were so good! The portion was huge, the flavor was bold and delicious, and the meat was falling off the bone. I wanted to have more food, but couldn’t because of our dinner plans. I will definitely return, next time for happy hour!

Not very vegetarian friendly. I had the Vegan Raman which was fairly bland and minimal noodles. I wish I would have ordered the Charred Tomato Sandwich. Their cocktails are great but expensive! The ambiance was nice but I doubt I’ll return unless it’s just for drinks on the patio.

The Upton is a fantastic concept that Scottsdale needed for a long time! Small inside space, but gorgeous patio and amazing staff.
They have one of the same chefs from the previous restaurant and the attention to detail of the quality of their food and creative cuisine doesn’t go un noticed.
I know one of the owners has a vegetarian pallet so they definitely are not lacking in the fresh vegetarian approach!
Haven’t been since the beginning stages of the business since I now live in NYC, but can’t wait to return when I’m home for the holidays!
A must try!

I love the Upton because it offers something really unique in Scottsdale. Surrounding it are your typical old town bars and restaurants, but the Upton’s charm sets it apart. Every time I go here, I forget I’m in Arizona. If you work in the area, their lunch special is fantastic. I’ve also been there for happy hour.
The food and drinks are delicious, but what I really fell in love with is the hip ambiance. If possible, get a spot on the back patio.

I like this place. Small but comfortable. My colleagues and I went there for a quick lunch. They have a power lunch menu which has a balanced selection of items. Power lunch suggests quick preparation and delivery to your table. .. They did a nice job!
I ordered the bistro steak over a salad. .. Flavors were amazing and I absolutely loved the raspberry vinegarette. My colleagues ordered a kale salad with a side of salmon and seemed very happy with their choice. One of our colleagues is a «meat and potatoes» kind of guy and ordered a sandwich that he did not eat. The server quickly came over and asked him if everything was ok. He also asked if he could get him something else. The sandwich looked amazing, but our colleague is a very finicky eater. The server removed the sandwich from the bill. I loved the way the server handled it, he seemed genuinely concerned. I love great customer service!
Great service and the food had very nice flavors. It was quick and delicious.
I highly recommend Upton for a nice lunch and creative menu.

We ate dinner on the patio here. They had it nicely cooled with lots of fans and a portable AC. I thought the décor was very cute and colorful.
The food was okay. The menu had a lot of trendy stuff on it, like salads in mason jars, ramen, steamed Asian buns. I ordered the steamed pork buns sandwich. It was pretty tasty, but also quite small. My friend ordered the duck wings, which were unique, but they also didn’t look very meaty at all.
Overall, we had an enjoyable experience, but I don’t feel like I’m dying to return that quickly.

Trendy spot in Scottsdale. Had dinner here with some friends and had a lovely time. Its a small place with mostly outdoor seating. It wasn’t too bad the night we visited so it was nice to dine outdoors.
I had the duck wings. Anyone who knows anything about duck meat knows the wings done have a lot of meat so I was a bit worries it wouldn’t be enough to fill me up, surpringsly it did, I didn’t even finish it. It was really good and a must try for duck lovers! Like me!
This is a spot I would think of for a chill night out with some friends!

Was at Scottsdale Fashion Square yesterday and my friend and I were looking for a restaurant where he could get a steak but had good veggie items for me as his final meal in Scottsdale before moving. After doing some Unilocaling and looking at menus we decided on The Upton as I had heard a lot about it on Instagram before!
We arrived at about 6:30 pm on Sunday and it was pretty empty, not a whole lot of people there which was nice. The Upton was a cute little restaurant, kind of hipster-​y looking, but I liked it! We were seated right away and asked if we wanted bottled or tap water which I thought was fancy haha. We went for tap water.
We were starving and immediately knew what we wanted to order. Unfortunately our server did not recognize us being on the verge of hangry with our culinary decisions made. She talked about like every item on the menu. Blah blah blah. Like I don’t mind if you want to tell us a little bit about the specials but she went on and on and on and we were going nuts. She was sweet though!
I got the Uptown girl to drink, and the veggie sandwich with a side of French fries to eat. Was surprised by how expensive everything was! The drink was very small and almost all ice, which sucks for a $ 12 cocktail. I did enjoy it though. Loved my food as well, but that was a tiny sandwich for $ 11 to not come with any sides. The french fries were absolutely delightful. Veggies on the sandwich were very fresh and tasty as well, loved the goat cheese on the naan bread. My friend was quite disappointed with his meal which made me sad, his last Scottsdale restaurant experience wasn’t a good one. He thought the steak was sub par, said he could have made a better one for cheaper! Also his shoestring potatoes weren’t very good. I tried them and didn’t like them either.
My experience at the Upton wasn’t the greatest, but there were some perks to it, food was good and restaurant was cute! But I could have definitely gotten an equally fresh and tasty meal for a significantly lower price somewhere else.

We had an 8:00 reservation this past Friday for our first dinner at The Upton. I always forget what a shitshow parking in Old Town can be (It’s like I’ve blacked out the memories of living near there like a PTSD victim) so word to the wise: take advantage of their valet.
First impression: This place is tiny and CUTE! As a few other reviews have mentioned, the majority of seating options are outdoors. I hope this doesn’t deter business in the blazing hot months that are just weeks away (sob), but with ample tree coverage, tons of umbrellas and hopefully a strong mister system, I think evenings out on this back patio will still be pleasant in the summer.
We started off splitting the farro salad, which was a tasty mixture of perfectly-​cooked farro, roasted cauliflower, diced tomatoes and arugula/​herbs all tossed together. It comes with a charred lemon half for squeezing over the whole thing, which is a refreshing touch. The menu doesn’t mention cauliflower and tomatoes at all, so just an FYI. (Fiancé doesn’t LOVE cauliflower, so it would have been nice to know about.)
For mains we chose the vegan ramen with tofu (for me, obviously) and the Little Havana sandwich. The ramen bowl was outstanding! Deliciously spiced tofu, a variety of mushrooms and a ton of other veggie mix-​ins all made for a tasty (and huge; I tried my hardest but I think there was still half left) bowl. The «Little» Havana was a not-​so-​little take on the Cuban that got rave reviews. We decided to split a side of fries… because who cares?! They were hand-​cut and I couldn’t stop dipping into the bowl long after I was full. Clearly, portions are great here.
(That’s code for: Maybe don’t be so fat like us and order like it’s your last meal on earth.)
All in all, a tasty-​face visit!

This is a really cute little date spot!
I came here for dinner with a one of my pretty ladies one evening. I ordered the Chinese Ribs, My friend got the southern fried chicken. We also ordered a side of fries to share. Everything was amazing! I really liked the ribs and the seasoning they had on it. The chicken was nice and crispy. I asked for a side of ranch for the fries, and they brought me this siracha ranch sauce which was really good!
I ordered the The cure cocktail, which I wasn’t too fond of. My friend ordered the refresher which she thought was a bit strong.
Everything was great, and our server was so hilarious and friendly. I’m just not too fond of their drink menu, and I think their dinner menu has a small selection. However, I would come back though. =)