A recent visit to the new Tempe hot spot Filthy Animal started with some of the best cocktails we’ve had in a long time. It ended with an inedible dessert.
The disjointed experience goes beyond the food and drinks.
The new concept is the latest from Pretty Decent Concepts. That's the team behind the vibey downtown Phoenix restaurant Wren & Wolf and its highly praised and hidden cocktail bars, Carry On and Trophy Room, among others.
The Tempe addition fits with what we’ve come to expect from the hospitality group. It’s a beautiful space decked out with large pieces of art, luxurious fabrics, moody lighting and a taxidermied jaguar. The vibe is dark, sexy and a little dangerous, with a roaring fire crackling in the center of the open kitchen.
The restaurant is one you’d expect to find in downtown Phoenix or Scottsdale. But Filthy Animal is located on the corner of Mill Avenue and University Drive in Tempe, a stone’s throw from the Arizona State University campus.
Its neighbors are college bars. Customers heading for an upscale dinner at Filthy Animal are dressed to the nines. To get there, they wade through crowds of students wearing shorts, baseball caps and backpacks.
On Thursday through Sunday, the restaurant offers a complimentary valet service. An attendant waits at a podium set up outside the AMC Centerpoint 11 movie theater, parks your car in the Chase garage on Ash Avenue, and points you down the back walkway to the restaurant. Walking through, we stepped aside for students whirring by on electric scooters and dodged skateboarders doing tricks on the steps.
The choice of location is confusing. But thankfully, as you step inside, that all washes away.
The cocktails at Filthy Animal were outstanding. Grab a seat at the bar for a sip and a snack.
Tirion Boan
A strong start in a beautiful space
The gorgeous space envelops you. The windows are intentionally draped in curtains that blur the outside noise, and the restaurant transports you far from Tempe. Servers dressed in vintage-inspired tan dresses twirl around the room. Sparks from the central fire rise toward the tall ceiling as the flames pop and crackle. With dinner and a show, this spot would be right at home in a high-end Las Vegas resort.The decor sets the tone for an exceptional experience. The first few items we tried were outstanding, raising a high bar for the rest of the meal.
The cocktails are well-balanced, unusual and easy to drink. We adored the tropical A Shore Thing, made with gin, passion fruit, coconut Campari, Dubonnet, bitters, amaro and Tonka. Another favorite was the Passion or Cinn, which also makes use of passion fruit but creates a very different blend with Jamaican and Puerto Rican rums, grapefruit, lime, cinnamon and amaro. The Vintage Culture, described on the menu as "a pretty decent Old Fashioned," puts a unique and delicious spin on the classic with black cardamom.
The standout drinks are thanks to the company’s beverage director, Jax Donahue. He has been making waves in the local drinks scene as of late after honing his skills at top Valley bars and restaurants for close to a decade. Most recently, Donahue was the beverage director of the award-winning team at Barter & Shake’s UnderTow, Grey Hen Rx, Platform 18 and Sunny's Lounge before joining Pretty Decent Concepts to lead their beverage program.
Smoky steak, a bright citrusy marinade and sweet and salty plantain chips all work together to create a delicious bite in Filthy Animal's Wood-Fired Beef Tartare.
Tirion Boan
The Cast Iron Brie was closer to a cheese sauce than we’d anticipated, but it was tasty nonetheless, with red grapes, grilled strawberries and smoked pecans. We scooped it up happily with thick slices of toasted bread.
After such a strong start, we couldn’t wait to dig into our entrees.
Campfire Branzino was tender, but took its name to heart. Blackened fish is a treat, unless the taste of charcoal overpowers any other flavor. The accompanying chorizo sofrito, with its mix of tomatoes and potatoes, was spicy and flavorful, but felt random. The jumble might be more at home in a breakfast burrito.
The Lamb Chops came with three chops balanced above stewed garbanzo beans. The lamb was tender, but again, charred to the point that the flavor of the aromatic meat was overwhelmed.
At its best, live-fire cooking adds a kiss of char, caramelization and an infusion of aromatic smoke. Phoenix certainly has its share of expert grill masters tending fires around town. Filthy Animal flies a little too close to the flame.
Dessert woes
Until this point, the meal was going well. Amazing drinks, a delicious appetizer and some entrees that, for the most part, were enjoyable. Then a miso cheesecake let us down. A slice of baked cheesecake arrived turned on its side with a quenelle of something like ice cream. A sweet, apprehensive server performed the tableside dulce de leche service, which involved him struggling to pour a small ramekin of thick, pale caramel over the slice.
One bite raised a quiet concern. Another confirmed that the cheesecake, with the miso souring the cream flavor, was not for me. That’s okay, I thought, I’ll eat the ice cream instead. I took a big scoop only to receive a mouthful of something more similar to frosting. Over the next 15 minutes or so that the plate sat on our table, the scoop never melted.
Thankfully, we had a few sips of our drinks left. So we cleansed our palates with the truly exceptional cocktails.
Across from the booths in the dapper dining room, there’s an equally gorgeous bar. In the future, we’ll stop by to enjoy a delicious drink or two and a plate of the smoky tartare.
Left feeling confused by the wild trajectory of this meal, we headed back out to Mill Avenue, dodging the hoards of now drunk college students to rescue our car and leave campus and Filthy Animal to the chaos.
Filthy Animal
740 S. Mill Ave., #140, TempeCocktails: $14-$18 Small Plates: $14-$22 Mains: $21-$68 Sides, salads and skewers: $12-$18
