Maple & Ash

Beautiful entrance, gorgeous hostesses, dark wood finishes and of course a hive of activity! This is Maple & Ash in Scottsdale, Arizona. My husband wanted to treat me to an upmarket establishment. He had an idea but I managed to talk him out of that and into this. He gladly made the reservation. Looking at some information on their website, I had learned that they have something called the Tower Hour, which is quite unique, as most restaurants have a cocktail hour. Although that's nice too, so is a cup of green tea. Cocktail hours, in my opinion, are outdated and if you associate yourself with that crowd of patrons, it's not a good look... for me at least. The limited menu for the Tower Hour is separate from the regular menu and the hours are 17:00 - 18:00, Monday to Fridays and served only at the bar & lounge area. That might explain the hive of activity upon entering.

Talking about uniqueness, most establishments in the U.S have cold seafood platters but Maple & Ash has warm ones. Particularly, fire-roasted. It does make a huge difference in the taste, especially the prawns. Of course, we ordered the famous Seafood Tower from the dinner menu. They had three options: A la carte, Pro and Baller. You guessed it! We had the Baller. Wow, wow and wow! The Alaskan King Crab was the absolute highlight of the evening and a close second were the scallops. The seasoning was on point. I just wish we were given something to clean our fingers with at the end. It's not a complete deal breaker but you have some expectations when you visit a fine establishment such as this one.

Service was top-notch. I cannot quite remember the waitress' name but for some reason I thought it was Ashley. The husband said it didn't ring a bell. I would love to give credit where it's due so I rummaged through some pocket treasures and found the receipt. All I got was, employee number 611. I tried. She was prompt, spoke clearly, dealt with kindness in her approach.... you just know when someone is a nice person.

Looking around the restaurant, there were ample members of staff. All the servers and server assistants were professional and polite. When items accumulated on the table, they were swiftly and efficiently removed. When the shell bowl was full, the assistant came with a replacement and removed the full one, as opposed to removing the full one and then coming with the replacement. As Ludwig said... God is in the details. This establishment is a well oiled machine. So management, you are certainly doing a good job training the staff.

The only other restaurant with amazing service as this, that I have personally encountered in America, was an Italian restaurant in Chicago. So I was very pleased to find a healthy population of cultured diners in an atmosphere where majority of the people are usually consuming junk. I've been to many fine dining establishments and although they might be on the right track, they always fall short somewhere. Who knows, maybe our second visit might not be as good as the first because your experience is only as good as the server you're allocated.

The ambience was great from the time we entered. The lights were dimmed and accentuated where it needed to be. The music was vibey and at a good volume. The kitchen was brightly lit and visible. The table settings were precise. Even a Thomas Keller restaurant couldn't get this right! And it matters greatly as it contributes to the overall experience.

It was such a wonderful experience, we will surely return many times over. The next visit will definitely be solely for the Alaskan King Crab. It's safe to say, it's in my top 5 spots. It was good enough for me to share it with you. At the time of writing, I don't benefit in any way from the establishment.