This reality star’s restaurant brings the drama. But can it deliver on flavor?

When a new spot opens in town, we’re eager to check it out, let you know our initial impressions, share photos and dish about menu items. First Taste, as the name implies, is not a full-blown review but instead a peek inside restaurants that have just opened – an occasion to sample a few items and satisfy curiosities (both yours and ours).

“Throw me to the wolves, and I shall return, leading the pack,” Lisa Vanderpump says, confidently smiling into the camera during an old opening scene of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.”

The reality TV star brings that same provocative flair for drama and opulence to her new Scottsdale restaurant.

Wolf by Vanderpump landed in the heart of Old Town in December. The restaurant sits on the seventh floor of Caesars Republic Scottsdale, a modern resort tucked a block north of the Scottsdale Fashion Square mall.

After a brief ride up seven floors from the lobby, it doesn’t take long to determine we’re in the right spot. A huge framed faux oil painting of Vanderpump sitting in an alpine meadow next to a noble wolf hangs in a waiting area between the elevator and the host stand. It’s the first peek at the over-the-top decor that Vanderpump and her design partner Nick Alain bring to their projects. 

The host station is flanked by a wolf statue howling under a bespoke crystal chandelier. We arrive just ahead of the weekday dinner rush, and the restaurant is already packed with diners. Groups line up to check in or inquire about the wait time.

The arriving customers fit all the Scottsdale and tourist tropes that spring to mind: the fellas on a golf trip, still in their polos and sporting sunburns; well-heeled couples in smart suits and black dresses; ladies done to the nines for the first stop of a celebratory night out. 

To most, the new restaurant is just a doubling down of the Caesars-Vanderpump partnership. The restaurateur’s dining empire, which she helms with her husband, Ken Todd, has grown alongside her reality TV shows. Her restaurants and bars are inside Caesars Palace, Flamingo and Paris in Las Vegas and in Lake Tahoe, where the original iteration of Wolf resides.

People first met Vanderpump on Bravo’s “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” which she followed up with “Vanderpump Rules,” a show set in her West Hollywood restaurant SUR, short for Sexy Unique Restaurant.

The show follows the exploits of its SUR-vers, hosts and bartenders who initially have dreams of making it big acting, modeling, playing music or as some kind of multi-hyphenate Hollywood success. The show gained notoriety over a decade (though the jury is still out on the reboot). That’s due in no small part to iconic fights and breakups, including the viral cheating scandal involving three cast members, dubbed Scandoval for the man at the center of the drama, Tom Sandoval.

Reserving a table at SUR means the average diner can get a window into the mess.

For reality TV superfans, Wolf Scottsdale is another pin on the map of Vanderpump’s pilgrimage-worthy bars and restaurants. There’s no camera crew documenting the staff at Wolf, but it’s entertaining enough to watch them negotiate seating for one of the hottest reservations in town. But despite the drama, can Wolf serve more than eye-catching decor and pop-culture indulgence?

A Victorian-Western spectacle

Once we find our seats in the lounge area near the bar, the full spectacle of the restaurant is on display, with dozens of staff in grey slacks and matching vests streaking by with brimming plates and martini glasses wrapped in cotton candy.

Wingback chairs, partially covered with fur, encircle dark, veined stone tables. Small TVs show looped videos of wolves running in the wild. Metal and stone cow heads look down on diners from the walls, and eagle statues keep watch around the dining room. The long bar is divided by towering, steampunkian cages, with the doors swung open, unleashing more carved wolves. Amid this Victorian-Western scene are cascading florals and planters filled with olive trees. 

When taking in this menagerie, you’ll be forgiven for not initially noticing the stellar views of Camelback Mountain. Even with the windows open to let in the night’s breeze, this wolf’s den is a din — and that’s before the DJ showed up, hauling in his gear. 

Wolf’s menu is eclectic and shareable, with a wide selection of starters, salads and entrees. Vanderpump winks at her fans with a menu featuring drinks and dishes from her shows.

Steel yourself from yelling “Pumptini” with the same gusto that DJ James Kennedy did at then-bartender Jax Taylor as the two went at each other, first over cheating accusations and then over who was more successful, in front of a lounge packed with enthralled, albeit thirsty, SUR guests. Order one at Wolf for $20 and dive in.

What to order at Wolf

A running bit on Vanderpump’s titular show has her quizzing her staff about the restaurant’s menu. When our server painstakingly walked us through the entire, very straightforward menu, it felt as if the same practice is in play here. It’s largely unnecessary but earnest nonetheless.

That’s in part because we are pilgrims on this journey, already deadset on starting with Vanderpump’s SUR-canonized sacrament: a Pumptini and Famous Goat Cheese Balls.

“I got you,” our server knowingly smiled and nodded.

The Pumptini is a pale pink-hued riff on the cosmopolitan made with Vanderpump Vodka, St. Germain, grapefruit, raspberry, lime and simple syrup. The fruity, tart tipple arrives in a stiletto-stemmed coupe glass, garnished with a flower. We also opt for Wolf’s smoked maple Manhattan, which comes in a tall, smoke-filled glass cloche. The rye-and-pineapple-rum cocktail is likewise boozy, with a hint of warm sweetness. (These sips are $20-23.) 

Soon, five crispy, fried orbs of chevre arrive on a rimmed plate, accompanied by a napa cabbage-and-pear slaw and Hatch chile hot honey ($17). There’s a simple reason this starter is so popular that Vanderpump adds it to all her restaurant menus: fried cheese is a satisfying, savory treat. The honey and slaw both lean on the sweeter side, providing a welcome balance to the tang and richness of the croquettes. 

A rush of customers pours into the restaurant, and people begin to crowd the bar to order espresso martinis while they wait for tables. Soon, our salad course arrives.

Wolf’s heirloom beets are served with baby arugula, pistachios, a lemon-and-herb pesto and a petit bulb of burrata ($16). It’s a cheery plate that turns out uneven. First sampling a golden beet, there’s nary a hint of seasoning. The greens are the polar opposite, dressed in a bright pesto that adds life to the salad, along with the crunch of a generous scattering of pistachios. The burrata, once cracked open to reveal its creamy center, seems to only dilute and detract from that herbaceous, citrusy burst of flavor. 

A pair of entrees and cocktails closes the meal. We opt for a 14-ounce Duroc Pork Tomahawk and Brisket & Tri-Tip Bolognese ($30-$49). 

The pasta, our server’s recommendation, is serviceable but also in need of a punch-up. There can be so much depth to a slow-simmered bolognese. While Wolf’s version delivers on meaty richness, it lacks flavor, particularly in contrast to the zingy lemon-tinged mascarpone dolloped on top.

The pork chop arrives sliced on a wooden cutting board, accompanied by smashed and fried fingerling potatoes and a small skillet of mixed steamed vegetables. This entree, like the salad, proves to be maddeningly uneven.

The kitchen has cooked the pork to juicy, blushing perfection. A horseshoe of garlic-forward chimichurri garnishes the chop’s golden-seared exterior. The veg, while a welcome addition in this age of à la carte meats, adds little more than visual heft. Though both the potatoes and the colorful medley of squash and cauliflower are said to be tossed in butter, they each lack any hint of richness or seasoning. After so much care with the pork, these vegetables feel like an afterthought.

The second round of drinks includes an intriguing Lambrusco spritz and a blood orange old fashioned ($20-23). The spritz is made not only with sparkling red wine, but also Vanderpump’s WORKDOG vodka, rose, St. Germain, wolfberry liqueur, blackberry, lemon and aquafaba — or chickpea water. It’s a thought-provoking twist on the popular drink, leaning into a darker, more tart take. But the fruit and aquafaba give the cocktail the consistency somewhere between a pulpy juice and a thin smoothie, which may not appeal to all.

The blood orange old fashioned comes to the table in a glass bottle filled with cherry smoke, nestled into a metal holder with a wolf’s head. It’s visually fun, but otherwise a standard, albeit orange-forward, version of the classic.

Wolf is undoubtedly over-the-top. It is one of the best places in Scottsdale to see and be seen right now, positively dripping in ornate details and boisterous, upbeat vibes.

If money’s no object, it’s a fine spot to knock back a few cocktails and people-watch. Most fans could get their Vanderpump fix with goat cheese balls and Pumptinis, then continue on with the rest of the evening elsewhere.

Those visiting Wolf for a flavorful, and not just flashy, dining experience are barking up the wrong tree.

Wolf by Vanderpump

4747 N. Goldwater Blvd., Scottsdale