The building itself is so cute, a little old house in the heart of Tempe with lots of charm. It being June, in Arizona, we had to eat inside and they didn't seem to have the best air conditioning, so I would not really recommend going during the summer months. Our waiter was really attentive and did a good job, but I think the food was over promised and under delivered.
We got the Watermelon, Tomato and Burrata (mozzarella) salad to start, it was a lovely presentation, but I didn't think it justified the $12 price tag. The burrata was delicious, but the watermelon was odd for us, plus it wasn't ripe and had no sweetness to it.
I was having a hard time deciding what sounded good to me on the menu, and ultimately chose the Roasted Chicken stuffed Ravioli in a corn sauce, and my Uncle Tony followed suit. The sauce was nice and light and the filling of the raviolis was good, but there was one major problem, the outer edges of the raviolis were so thick, they were tough! That's right, tough pasta, a major problem! Maybe it was just that night's batch, but they really needed to roll the dough much thinner. Uncle Tony and I both agreed that the dish needed the touch of an Italian grandmother!
My sister and my dad both got the Grilled Filet with a Mushroom Demi Glace, Potato Galette and Asparagus salad. Both of their steaks came cooked to order and they enjoyed the potato gratin. They both enjoyed their meal, but they did go pretty basic so there wasn't too much to comment about.
My mom got the Nori Wrapped Ahi Tuna Tempura, which had a beautiful presentation. It was served on a bed of brown rice with enoki mushrooms and a soy ginger vinaigrette. My mom loves seared ahi, and this was a unique take on it, by actually battering it and flash frying to give it a crunchy outside. She really liked this and said that all the flavors blended really well together.
Aunt Martha ordered the Shitake Mushroom Crusted Salmon that was served over a Scallion Risotto. The dish was topped with tempura style haricot verts (green beans), which really gave it that wow factor! The beans were crunchy and tender, and went well with the crust on the salmon. Martha loved this dish, but then again, if you know my Aunt Martha, she's never met a food she didn't like!
Since we were there to celebrate a birthday, of course we had to get dessert too! The list that the waiter rattled off had so many options that we had to get two! The first one was a chocolate peanut butter bread pudding with chocolate dipped pretzels and caramel sauce.....sounds amazing right? Well, it was actually a big let down! The bread pudding part was really mush and the flavors didn't stand out on their own....plus the pretzels were chewy...which means they were stale! This had such potential, but just didn't cut it :(
My sister's favorite dessert is Key Lime Pie, so we ordered that as well. We have had a lot of Key Lime pies in our days, but this one was probably near the bottom of the pack. It didn't have that much tartness too it, which is a key component to key lime pie. The filling was smooth and creamy, but it mostly just tasted like sugar.
We all had a nice time and my sister enjoyed her birthday meal, but I don't think I will be heading out to House of Tricks anytime soon again. I don't mind paying big price tags for a good meal, but I just wasn't impressed enough to run out and have another $25 entree. Once it cools down I may consider going for lunch on the patio with some girlfriends, but I will pass for dinner.
House of Tricks
114 E. 7th Street
Tempe, AZ 85281
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