The Mission – Old Town Scottsdale

In their defense, it was a particularly busy Saturday in old town Scottsdale. Spring training, farmers market, high tourist season etc
But it is landmark to take out of town visitors. Thanks to Open Table we did not have to wait like most people did.
The food is fine, the atmosphere is great but as busy as they were we could not hear each other and the wait for food and drink was longer than usual. Lesson learned!

Shortrib tacos tender but bland.
Kobe hotdog excellent.
Clam broth soup wonderful.
Churros, one order enough for 4 and delicious.

Amazing food, best margaritas and great customer service.

Best meal of the trip!

Great atmosphere and food. Our server was so very nice and very knowledgeable. They seemed a bit short staffed. A great place that I look forward to going to again.

The variety of food surprised me. Very gracious staff.

We had heard such excellent reviews of The Mission and were so looking forward to our evening there. The food was good BUT when you can’t SEE the food or the menu it makes for a very unpleasant experience. The three couples around us all had to use their iPhones to read the menu and see our dishes. We all mentioned it to the waitress and she just joked” I have really good night vision.” Ridiculous that this type of restaurant with interesting food is just plain dark and for what reason??????? Our worst dinner evening in Scottsdale!!!!

Food and drinks both excellent!

Every time we visit the Phoenix area we make a point of going to the Mission. We have been coming there for many years and have never been disappointed. I would certainly recommend the Mission to anyone who considers themselves a foodie and to those celebrating a special occasion, or just celebrating life itself. This place is a keeper.

Was a perfect evening on the patio. Not busy so could take our time to chat and eat. Great wait staff and a perfect meal as always.

We loved The Mission! I would have eaten there every day we were visiting Scottsdale!

Vacation travel

Parents were in town visiting me and meeting my boyfriend. We had just finished dessert and our wine. About to leave and the manager came up and said we need to leave because another reservation was early and they needed our table. Never experienced this at another restaurant where I’ve made a reservation - a month in advance by the way. Big turn off and won’t be returning again.

Outstanding lunch on the back patio: Our server: Angel added to the great experience!

Amazing food and amazing service

Inside dining is too dark. Many tables have to use cell phones to see the menus.
Dinner was pretty expensive for the volume of food you received.

Excellent guacamole fixed table side.
Also excellent corn side. Delicious.

Everything is perfect

Please explain to the management of this restaurant that an extremely dark dining room does not make for an enjoyable dining experience. It would have been much more enjoyable to be able to actually read the menu and see what my food looked like on the plate. I am sure that the kitchen staff spent alot of time on presentations and it was lost in the dark. Please remember that we eat with our eyes as much as our taste and smell.

Always great food and drink. It’s our go to when traveling from the airport to Scottsdale. Be sure to make a reservation even for lunch. We saw a ton of people walking in then out obviously disappointed.

Awesome atmosphere and great food
We couldn’t get reservations for the evening but were
able to have lunch!! Same great food and atmosphere.
Absolutely would recommend Lunch-time, if you cannot
get reservations for the evening. This restaurant is a MUST!

This is qualified recommendation. We have eaten at the Mission Kierland and enjoyed it a lot. We came to the Old Town location for a different atmosphere. While the food was very good (not quite excellent), the place was ridiculously dark. Every table around us was using smartphones to read the menu. We actually rested a smartphone on top of a glass of water in order to partially illuminate the table. We found the service to be somewhat dismissive and less solicitous than in Kierland. In addition, this location felt more tourist-y than Kierland. All that said, I imagine we will come back though it might not be our first choice for all occasions.

Family vacation

The food was good. I went there because they advertised arepas online. I asked both the waiter, who had been there 7 years, if they had arepas and he looked at me like I was nuts. An hour later, the GM stopped by and I asked him if they ever had arepas and he looked at me like I was nuts. He said, we have empanadas ... different country. Sorry. We complained about it being so dark we couldn’t even read the menu. They said that’s how the owner likes it. So here is the kicker. We are, paid and left. Luckily, I made my reservation in Open Table, because as we were driving home, I got a call from the restaurant. They said that I left my purse there. I was shocked. Well, it turns out that it was soooo dark that I couldn’t even remember to grab my purse off the back of my chair. Ugh. Never going back.

This place is amazing! Such a creative way to serve Latin American food. Great use of ingredients to add flare to otherwise ordinary dishes. Had the Grille Street Corn for a starter, the Tecate Skirt Steak tacos and the Mahi-Mahi tacos (grilled, not battered). Great flavor and portion size. For dessert, we shared the Pumpkin Bread Pudding- out of this world!! And the coffee- French Press- nice surprise!! The service was also very attentive. My new favorite in Old Town Scottsdale!!

Excellent food and service, great restaurant that I would highly recommend.

Service was fast and courteous. Food was delicious. Love the low light decor.

Dinner at The Mission was lit 🔥
More so because I was nearly set on fire. But before I get into that, let me give you some background.
My boyfriend and I move from Chicago recently. We heard rave reviews about the Fat Ox, and specifically chef Matt Carter. So we go to the Fat Ox on V-day. We were seated for our 8:30 reservation at 9:30 because they forgot about us. It happens. I get it. We were told “definitely get the tableside Caesar” so we did. And they came out already plated and dropped off like it was a free basket of peanuts at Lonestar. Bizarre. The rest of the meal was amazing.
Weeks later, we had family in town and thought “Matt Carter also has The Mission in old town. Let’s get Matt Baker some well deserved redemption and get the tableside guac”. No joke, the tableside guac never came out. I was instantly convinced I was cursed. We joked around with the waitress and she offered to bring it out, even though we already had our entrees at this point. Amazing gesture, so thank you. But they made the guac behind a wall and dropped a cup of it on our table. Definitely cursed.
A week later my brother gets into town. We said “let’s bring him to the Mission.” So we went and...despite the curse...ordered the tableside guac. It came out, was prepared tableside and it was beautiful. The curse was broken! Oh wait...remember that part about getting started on fire? We finished dinner, and we were sitting enjoying when the table across the half wall gets up. They put their jackets on and their elbow hits a lit candle into my hair. It was like getting karate chopped in the back of the head with a hot curling iron. So then I had hot wax all down my back and in my hair. I was shocked and didn’t know what to do. The table had no idea that happened and had left. So I let the hostess know and she told no one. The manager ended up coming by on his usual rounds and I let him know. His response was “wow yea some people don’t pay attention to their surroundings”. 🤯

The best restaurant I have been to. We are visiting and have been 3 times in the last 3 days! It’s THAT good.

Great food and service but please turn up the lights so people can see the menu and their food!!!!

Best restaurant we ate at in Scottsdale! We will definitely be back!

This was our first visit. Everything was excellent. We were in Scottsdale for 5 days and this was the best restaurant of the various ones we tried. We would highly recommend it.

Excellent table side guacamole. Good sized entree portions that were very tasty.

It was awesome. Anthony Rizzo was at the table next to me.

Way over rated. Used to be better. The salmon was awful

Great waitress-great food-a little noisy due to large girl group next to us but overall great

A special restaurant indeed!! From the large staff that executed an evening of choreographed excellence to the numerous delicately and multilayered dish’s, it was a 5 star experience at every level!

We used to love The Mission. I guess they have gotten too popular to pay attention to open table special requests. We asked to sit outside, they put us in a dark corner inside. We asked for a 7:00 reservation, we were seated at 7:20. We notified them we were celebrating a birthday - nothing! Not even a Happy Birthday wish 🙁

Took friends from out of town and dined on the patio for lunch! It was terrific !!

Great food however quite dark inside