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Sweet O Wine & Chocolate Lounge

9380 W. Westgate Blvd., Ste. D101

(At Westgate City Center)

Glendale, AZ 85305

623-877-3898
Website

It's hard to say what's the bigger attraction at this casual, independent eatery, tucked in the middle of the new Westgate City Center, the jaw-dropping selection of exotic chocolates or desserts, or the stellar panini, made with fresh loaves from the award-winning Simply Bread Company. Whichever you choose, there's an eclectic menu of wines and cordials to add a buzz to your sugar high.

Full Review: Sweet O Wine & Chocolate Lounge (01-25-07)
Best Of 2007: BEST PLACE TO SPOIL YOUR DINNER

Cuisine(s): Dessert, Wine Bar
Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 11 a.m.-midnight Friday-Saturday; 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday.
Price: $$, $$$
Serving: Lunch, Dinner
Alchohol: Beer/Wine
Reservations: Accepted
Parking: Garage, Lot Available, Street
Attire: Casual
Features: Wheelchair Access

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Overall:

I must say that I had very high hopes for Sweet O but they were immediately shattered after my second visit. I went in with a friend and stood by the hostess stand, which had a computer printed paper taped to it reading, "please wait to be seated." We stood there, watching the owner set up chocolates in the display, a bartender talk to guests seated at the bar, and two young girls scuffle around the dining area. After 10 minutes of being ignored, my friend and I decided to walk out. Upon stepping out of the restaurant, we were then asked if we would like to be seated. Being that we were tired and a bit hungry, we returned to the restaurant and were seated by the west facing window. It was within an hour of sundown so our entire dining experience was blinded by the setting sun. It was so hot, I couldn't even bother to buy a glass of wine or even enjoy my friend's company. There were plenty of other tables open but when I asked, we were told that because we were a party of two, we had to remain where we were. There was little to no music playing so we could overhear everyone's conversations and at some points, between the loud talking and the lack of lighting (other than the blinding Arizona sun) there really was no atmosphere to speak of. It took another 15 minutes to be acknowledged so my friend and I quickly gave our entire order. After being ignored for another 10 minutes, I flagged down someone who hadn't waited on us (yet!) and asked for two waters. Our server finally brought our waters and our iced teas at the same time and then quickly disappeared. My friend's water was garnished with someone's black hair so she couldn't drink it, and because our server never returned, I never had the chance to ask for sugar for our teas. So here we were, sharing a water and drinking some kind of pre-made unsweetened tea. A busboy brought our food and failed to ask us if we needed anything before running to the back in hiding. My panini tasted like it had been sitting in the kitchen waiting for my friend's sandwich to be prepared (mine was vegetables, hers was meat) so my bread was soggy from the tomatoes. Now, I'm not one to complain, but the experience was horrible. When we finally got the check, the bartender brought it to our table - not our server. Actually, I never saw her again! I explained to him what happened and he offered to bring us new water, but we were already ready to leave and it didn't matter at that point. When we asked, the bartender confirmed that our absent server would be the one who would receive the tip (I was curious since we had hardly seen her!). We paid, left no tip and have never returned. I feel the concept was a great idea but it seems like someone who has no experience running a business at all is in charge of these kids who have no clue what they're doing. On top of that, these kids don't even know the difference between a Chardonnay and Muscato is - and that's pretty sad. I just hope someone else can open up a wine and chocolate bar in this valley and actually know how to run it and keep their customers happy.
Review by LJ
Overall:

My wife and I went to SweetO for our 11th Wedding Anniversary and we had pretty high expectations. We both love wine and she loves chocolate. We are relatively new to appreciating wine, but we both know just enough to be dangerous around the wine list. Atmoshpere: There isn't any. The floors are tile and the walls are pretty much bare. With a large ceiling, this makes for a lor of reverb and echoing. Combine that with the metal chairs and the herd/bachelorette party next to us and it was pretty noisy. You can forget intimate conversation here. It's like talking to your friend at a football game. Our table was very unsteady and the one we moved to was just as rickety. It's difficult to appreciate your wine while trying to balanve precariously on your seat. Service: The service was fair. We were seated in no time and given menus/wine lists immediately. Don't ask your waitress any questions though. They know absolutely nothing and I'm pretty sure they know it. After our menus were given to us, our waitress made a hasty retreat before we could even ask a single question. We waited a reasonable amount of time before she returned and asked if we were ready. I said "We've never been here before and had a few questions about the menu." To wiich we were answered "Here's the wine, the food and the deserts." Oh well, ask a stupid question. . . . Most places automatically ask if you've ever been there before and then procede to explain how the menu works, what the special is and so on. Not here folks, your on your own. The WIne: They have a huge selection here and the wine list is broken up pretty well for the beginner so if you like say, medium intensity reds, it's in the Medium Intensity Reds section. Pretty simple. I think this is the best feature of SweetO, you don't have to know what country, grape or region, just a general description of what type of wine you like or want to try. I had the "Spanish Aramada" flight(sans chocolate) and my wife had the "South American Red" flight, paired with chocolate. We each received 3, 3oz pours of our respective wines. I won't go into detail as I'm no wine expert, but suffice to say we both like one of our wines, hated one and absolutely loved one respectively. Sommelier; We had an opportunity to talk with Joshoua (actually I flagged him down), the sommelier that was there the night we went. I found him to be knowledgeable and friendly and more than willing to talk with us. He was very familiar with some rather obsure wines my wife and I enjoy which lent to his credibility. He even retreived the bottles of the two wines we liked and brought them to us (which as an afterthought, I'm not sure is a "normal" request?) to examine. He talked at length with us about each wine. I have been reading alot lately about Sommeliers and how they are trying to overcome the "Snob" image and at that, Joshua did just fine. Wine Club: With our bill cane a registration card to join the SweetO wine club and we did. Membership includes a 25% discount on menu prices. The wine my wife likes was $46 per bottle and mine was $23. So the wine my wife like would be $34 per bottle. We found it the next day at BevMo for $20. I could not find my wine anywhere else so I guess I'm paying $17.25 at SweetO for it. Still, the mark-up isn't too bad considering, and I'm not above paying $20-$30 for a bottle of wine if I really like it. Overall: I was really disappointed, the atmosphere and lack of even basic waitressing skills by the staff was a real turn-off and the chocolate wasn't even worth mentioning. I may go there again, but only to buy that Spanish white I liked and can't find elswhere or just to go try some new wines, but not expecting much in the line of atmosphere or service.
Review by The Dinglepuss

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