Feeney’s Restaurant & Bar

I always enjoy seeking out new places to eat.  Sometimes the new place to experience isn’t new at all. This week I want to tell you about a place that has been around for over 53 years.  When you walk in you can feel the ambiance and charm that has served this place well all that time.  But as nice as the décor reminds you of another time, the food is what keeps people coming back year after year.  While Steak, and their renowned Prime Rib dominate the menu, you can find a Greek influence and some lighter options as well.  You will be greeted by friendly staff every encounter you may have.  The restaurant is cozy, so be prepared to wait if you have a larger party or arrive on a busier evening.

The entry to the restaurant has an old school bar to one side and the start of the dining room on the other.  The hostess station is further down the entry hall.  You can enjoy the rustic wood décor, as you are being led to your table and then given menus.  We took our time reviewing the menu and finally were able to narrow down some options from a very tantalizing menu.  We were thrilled that we also found another restaurant in Phoenix with an operational Salad bar as an option.  A fresh basket of dinner rolls with butter is available by request, and I recommend you ask.  They are soft, warm, and delicious.

We decided to start with two appetizers to begin the meal. If we had known the size of the appetizers we would have narrowed it down to one option.  The first appetizer we sampled was the Potato Skins ($7.95). This is a mega appetizer.  When I say this is like being served four open faced baked potatoes, it would not be too much of an exaggeration.  The russet potato is cut in half, barely removing any potato and then covered with some bacon and a lot of cheese.  They finish it off with some diced scallion and a large bowl of sour cream for dipping while eating.  This is very filling and a tremendous value.  If we had been a table of four or more, it would have been more appropriate of an appetizer for us to choose.  The size of it aside, it was very tasty and if you like potato skins, I highly recommend you order them.

The next appetizer was Beef Tender Toast ($10.95).  This is a unique and very tasty appetizer.  The base is a garlic toast crostini that has a perfectly tender piece of beef tenderloin on top and then finally melted cheese over the top of the entire item to pull it all together.  The meat was cooked to a medium temperature and there are five to an order.  So a good appetizer to share, but it could also easily be a small entrée option. This is a dish that I can envision ordering time and time again upon returning to the restaurant.

Almost all the dinner options come with the choice of either soup or salad bar and one additional side item to choose from.  The side items are various different potato variations as well as steamed vegetables, rice pilaf, or even the soup of the day.  Some side items do carry a slight additional price increase, so review the menu as they do indicate quite clearly which items those are.  We decided to forego the soup and both picked the salad bar option.  The salad bar is located toward the back of the restaurant right in front of a main portion of the open kitchen.  There are a few different lettuce options as well as quite a few extra toppings that you don’t always see on a salad bar.  Options like Cole slaw and Potato Salad just to name a few. One of the other great options was the chilled pewter salad bowls.  The pewter bowls look fantastic as well as helping to keep the salad chilled.

We then moved on to the entrée section of the evening.  The first entrée was a 10-ounce piece of New York Strip steak ($30.95).  It was a very tender piece of steak that was cooked to the requested temperature.  As a finishing touch they add a little herb butter on top, which melts into the meat and adds a beautiful extra touch. As well as the salad bar we had selected the Twice Baked Potato as the side item.  There was a slight mix up in the kitchen and a Baked Potato with sour cream came with the steak instead.  When the wait staff noticed the blunder, the correct side item was quickly prepared and brought to the table as well.  The Baked potato was delicious and a good size.  But the Twice Baked potato was tremendously big.  The insides of the potato were mixed with bacon, cheese and chives and then spooned back inside the potato before baking it again.  It was a wonderful side item and if you are fan of a loaded baked potato, I would recommend ordering this Twice Baked version.

The next entrée was the Prime Rib ($25.95).  This restaurant is known for their Prime Rib and has gotten notoriety for the certified Angus beef.  We ordered a 10-ounce slice of the prime rib and the loaded Baked Potato along with the salad bar.  The Prime Rib had a good marbling and was cooked to the traditional temperature that most slices of prime rib are recommended.  If you are not a fan of the fat ribbon, you will still have plenty of steak to work with even after you maneuver around the fat.  The meat is served with horseradish and Au jus for dipping if you choose.  You also have three different cuts to pick from when ordering if you would like a bigger or smaller steak.

The charm and ambiance of this classic and historic Phoenix restaurant is worth the trip alone.  The addition of a friendly staff and well-prepared food helps take the experience over the top. While there are many steak houses to choose from in the Valley, I have never seen Beef Wellington offered other than here.  This is a classic dish that I will most definitely be returning to enjoy in the near future.  So unless you are friends with someone that has a time machine handy, I recommend you take a trip to a piece of the past and enjoy a great meal too.

Location: 6314 N 12th St, Phoenix, AZ 85014