When a new spot opens in town, we're eager to check it out, let you know our initial impressions, share a few photos, and dish about some 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).
It’s understandable if you haven’t kept up with the changes that have happened at 504 E. Roosevelt St. Since 2022, the space has been home to Halfway Crooks, Black Magic Rum Bar and Pour Bastards Modern Cocktails – each a different display of creative mixology from Pour Bastards Hospitality, the group behind Roosevelt Row bars Killer Whale Sex Club, Disco Dragon and F.Y.P.M.
Now, the venue has entered a shiny new era thanks to some new faces. Pour Bastards owners Sam Olguin and Brenon Stuart have teamed up with chef Marcelino Ramos and hospitality pro Ivan Herrera to present the seafood-forward small plates restaurant Pretty Penny.
Olguin and Stuart have handed the reins over to Ramos and Herrera and made food the focus, even replacing the bar that once anchored the room with an open kitchen.
With this new spotlight on an internationally inspired menu, there’s an array of options, from playful vegetarian dishes such as the lentil hummus paired with roasted carrots and sangak, a Persian flatbread, to more luxe choices including caviar and a seafood tower.
Upping the feeling of extravagance, we were greeted at our seats with a complimentary pour of prosecco to sip while we browsed the menu, chatted with our server and watched the kitchen crew work from our vantage point at the chef’s table.
“I want you to be overwhelmed by the hospitality,” Herrera says of his approach at Pretty Penny.
The staff was warm, knowledgeable and, at times, omnipresent, but in a way that did feel like white glove service.
We started our meal with the Bluefin Duo, which pairs a fatty toro with leaner akami. Having the different cuts of tuna side by side showcases the nuance of the fish. And the flavors accompanying the tuna pack their own punch – the duo arrives on a bed of caramelized shallots and crisp bits of guanciale and is topped with garlic panko and microgreens. The rich flavors add depth to the meaty akami and push the rich, delicate toro into a place of outright decadence.
Some of the most memorable dishes are those that Ramos – an alum of Scottsdale's Virtù family of restaurants – has created based on his travels and as nods of gratitude to the chefs he has worked with throughout his career.
Ramos was inspired to create Pretty Penny's octopus tostada after a visit to Mexico. A blue corn tortilla is cut into strips and then fried. Those pieces are plated to resemble the formerly whole tortilla and topped with tender braised octopus, Oaxacan sour cream, silky dollops of avocado and a fiery black sesame salsa macha.
“I had the idea of this tostada but I thought about it and I’m like, I hate eating tostadas – they suck to eat,” Ramos says, noting he dislikes how they fall apart once you take a bite.
In Ramos’ journey to elevate the tostada, he’s come up with a simple solution that keeps the concept intact but presents the dish in a deconstructed, easier-to-eat fashion. In addition to being thoughtful, tostada is just plain delicious. Each tortilla strip is crisp yet sturdy. The octopus is beautifully cooked. The ebb and flow between the spicy salsa and the cooling sour cream and avocado make this dish one that is easy to keep coming back to, bite after bite until your plate is nothing but blue corn crumbs.
The Moulard Duck Carpaccio is an homage to Ramos’ mentor, chef German Sega, who in addition to working at places such as Virtù Honest Craft with Ramos, worked under James Beard Award-winning chef Nobuo Fukuda at the shuttered Scottsdale eatery Sea Saw.
Ramos learned iterations of the duck dish from Sega — who riffed on a version from Fukuda — and says it is something that he always found interesting and delicious. Of all the items on Pretty Penny’s menu, it's the dish that Ramos says he tested and refined the most, even asking Sega to try it and share his feedback.
The duck is poached using a Japanese technique, and then marinates in that poaching liquid overnight, which infuses notes of plum into the breast. Before serving, Ramos coats slices with warmed duck fat and poaching liquid. The result is fork-tender duck with notes of tea and dried fruit that gives a kick of acidity and spice from the garnishes of preserved plums and pickled ginger.
It’s understandable if you haven’t kept up with the changes that have happened at 504 E. Roosevelt St. Since 2022, the space has been home to Halfway Crooks, Black Magic Rum Bar and Pour Bastards Modern Cocktails – each a different display of creative mixology from Pour Bastards Hospitality, the group behind Roosevelt Row bars Killer Whale Sex Club, Disco Dragon and F.Y.P.M.
Now, the venue has entered a shiny new era thanks to some new faces. Pour Bastards owners Sam Olguin and Brenon Stuart have teamed up with chef Marcelino Ramos and hospitality pro Ivan Herrera to present the seafood-forward small plates restaurant Pretty Penny.
Olguin and Stuart have handed the reins over to Ramos and Herrera and made food the focus, even replacing the bar that once anchored the room with an open kitchen.
With this new spotlight on an internationally inspired menu, there’s an array of options, from playful vegetarian dishes such as the lentil hummus paired with roasted carrots and sangak, a Persian flatbread, to more luxe choices including caviar and a seafood tower.
Upping the feeling of extravagance, we were greeted at our seats with a complimentary pour of prosecco to sip while we browsed the menu, chatted with our server and watched the kitchen crew work from our vantage point at the chef’s table.
“I want you to be overwhelmed by the hospitality,” Herrera says of his approach at Pretty Penny.
The staff was warm, knowledgeable and, at times, omnipresent, but in a way that did feel like white glove service.
We started our meal with the Bluefin Duo, which pairs a fatty toro with leaner akami. Having the different cuts of tuna side by side showcases the nuance of the fish. And the flavors accompanying the tuna pack their own punch – the duo arrives on a bed of caramelized shallots and crisp bits of guanciale and is topped with garlic panko and microgreens. The rich flavors add depth to the meaty akami and push the rich, delicate toro into a place of outright decadence.
Some of the most memorable dishes are those that Ramos – an alum of Scottsdale's Virtù family of restaurants – has created based on his travels and as nods of gratitude to the chefs he has worked with throughout his career.
Ramos was inspired to create Pretty Penny's octopus tostada after a visit to Mexico. A blue corn tortilla is cut into strips and then fried. Those pieces are plated to resemble the formerly whole tortilla and topped with tender braised octopus, Oaxacan sour cream, silky dollops of avocado and a fiery black sesame salsa macha.
“I had the idea of this tostada but I thought about it and I’m like, I hate eating tostadas – they suck to eat,” Ramos says, noting he dislikes how they fall apart once you take a bite.
In Ramos’ journey to elevate the tostada, he’s come up with a simple solution that keeps the concept intact but presents the dish in a deconstructed, easier-to-eat fashion. In addition to being thoughtful, tostada is just plain delicious. Each tortilla strip is crisp yet sturdy. The octopus is beautifully cooked. The ebb and flow between the spicy salsa and the cooling sour cream and avocado make this dish one that is easy to keep coming back to, bite after bite until your plate is nothing but blue corn crumbs.
Pretty Penny's Moulard Duck Carpaccio is chef Marcelino Ramos' homage to his mentor German Sega.
Sara Crocker
Ramos learned iterations of the duck dish from Sega — who riffed on a version from Fukuda — and says it is something that he always found interesting and delicious. Of all the items on Pretty Penny’s menu, it's the dish that Ramos says he tested and refined the most, even asking Sega to try it and share his feedback.
The duck is poached using a Japanese technique, and then marinates in that poaching liquid overnight, which infuses notes of plum into the breast. Before serving, Ramos coats slices with warmed duck fat and poaching liquid. The result is fork-tender duck with notes of tea and dried fruit that gives a kick of acidity and spice from the garnishes of preserved plums and pickled ginger.
While food is now the focus of the space, drinks are far from an afterthought. Though there’s an emphasis on wine at Pretty Penny, the bar team is still turning out the original, flavor-forward drinks you’ve come to expect from Those Pour Bastards, but made with the food menu in mind.
Among the tipples we sipped were the Lambo Fizz and Passionfruit Negroni. The bright and fizzy sip pairs citrus, cantaloupe and pomegranate with Thai basil and gin. The negroni pulls in tart passion fruit to tame some of the earthiness of the Campari to create a playful, tropical twist on the classic.
For dessert, we gave in to the temptation of the Banana Cheesecake. The dish is deconstructed, with a quenelle of cheesecake sitting atop chunks of banana bread and a mound of candied walnuts, garnished with currants and a strip of dehydrated banana. The dessert is rich in banana flavor but doesn't err toward artificiality. The dish elevates the quick bread to a more formal dessert thanks to the creamy, indulgent cheesecake and bursts of dried fruit. 
When deciding to refocus their Roosevelt Row spot, Olguin and Stuart said they wanted the food and overall experience to match the level of their drinks. It appears they’ve found the right partners in Ramos and Herrera.
But, if there’s one thing we know about this team, they’re never happy sitting still. Olguin estimates the bar team crafts 100 different cocktails every year at each of their three nearby bars, and they’re not known for creating much, if any, fanfare when a menu changes. Ramos, too, has shared that he’s looking forward to evolving the food menu despite hearing praise from his guests while working in the open kitchen and dropping plates at tables.
While other restaurants are happy to play the hits, keeping winning dishes on the menu in perpetuity, the team at Pretty Penny seems to prefer the more ephemeral jazz.
In the weeks Pretty Penny has been open, the menu has slowly grown with more options and specials. The dishes we tried were delectable enough that we hope to come across them again on future visits. While that may not be in the cards, we anticipate another memorable experience will be. We’re looking forward to seeing how the quartet that founded Pretty Penny continues to evolve the menu and what’s possible for the dining scene in downtown Phoenix.
Among the tipples we sipped were the Lambo Fizz and Passionfruit Negroni. The bright and fizzy sip pairs citrus, cantaloupe and pomegranate with Thai basil and gin. The negroni pulls in tart passion fruit to tame some of the earthiness of the Campari to create a playful, tropical twist on the classic.
For dessert, we gave in to the temptation of the Banana Cheesecake. The dish is deconstructed, with a quenelle of cheesecake sitting atop chunks of banana bread and a mound of candied walnuts, garnished with currants and a strip of dehydrated banana. The dessert is rich in banana flavor but doesn't err toward artificiality. The dish elevates the quick bread to a more formal dessert thanks to the creamy, indulgent cheesecake and bursts of dried fruit.
The banana cheesecake takes the simple quick bread to new heights with rich cheesecake and bursts of dried currants.
Sara Crocker
When deciding to refocus their Roosevelt Row spot, Olguin and Stuart said they wanted the food and overall experience to match the level of their drinks. It appears they’ve found the right partners in Ramos and Herrera.
But, if there’s one thing we know about this team, they’re never happy sitting still. Olguin estimates the bar team crafts 100 different cocktails every year at each of their three nearby bars, and they’re not known for creating much, if any, fanfare when a menu changes. Ramos, too, has shared that he’s looking forward to evolving the food menu despite hearing praise from his guests while working in the open kitchen and dropping plates at tables.
While other restaurants are happy to play the hits, keeping winning dishes on the menu in perpetuity, the team at Pretty Penny seems to prefer the more ephemeral jazz.
In the weeks Pretty Penny has been open, the menu has slowly grown with more options and specials. The dishes we tried were delectable enough that we hope to come across them again on future visits. While that may not be in the cards, we anticipate another memorable experience will be. We’re looking forward to seeing how the quartet that founded Pretty Penny continues to evolve the menu and what’s possible for the dining scene in downtown Phoenix.
