Kokopelli Winery

I meet here every Thursday to network with other business owners. The room in back is perfect for meetings and the whole place has a relax feel to it. The service can be slow, but always friendly. I’m not a wine drinker so I can not review the wines but I had a couple of their dishes. The Chicken fruit salad I have hits the sport and is just enough for lunch. The other dishes I had were a little dry and can be improved. The good news is the food can be fixed, everything else about the place I like very much.

First of all, someone needs to change the name listed on Unilocal.This is more of a bistro than a winery. On to the review. We stopped at Kokopelli for lunch and had some creative food and some nice (Arizona) wine. Enjoyed a glass of their Chardonnay (stay away from the Reserve) with spicy Cuban sliders, a fresh salad and rosemary chicken panini. It’s a simple menu from a variety standpoint but I would come back to try dinner and enjoy the evening entertainment. Or, to simply sample some of their wines.

I was so surprised to read the poor reviews for Kokopelli’s. As a long-​time resident of Chandler, I’ve been to this restaurant several times. I’ve never had poor service. (My last visit was slow, but there was only one person responsible for serving the tables and manning the bar because of an ill employee, I gathered.)
I have to say that their macaroni and cheese soufflé tapas was AMAZING! My SO and I have been trying to re-​create it, but just haven’t quite gotten there. I think managing expectations is important for the experience, but I have no complaints. And their pinot grigio was excellent, if not over-​priced.
If it’s pricey, it’s because of the wine, not the food.

Five star service and friendliness rating for our server, Kiely (?). Poor wines selection to qualify this place as a wine bar. Forget about it.

When you head to the rollercoaster at an amusement park, you know for every dip down you go, there will be an offsetting climb back out of that valley. Unfortunately, for this restaurant, as far as food and service are concerned, you are heading down into the abyss — and then you pursue every possible lower level of the abyss you never imagined.
Alright. you are going to tell me they were busy b/​c of the Christmas parade — but, seriously folks, this is not their first rodeo. They had more than enough wait staff to handle the size of their dining room. So why the panic? Why the inability to get waited on?
We were seated instantly by the thoroughly delightful hostess who welcomed us graciously. At this point, we were at the top of the roller coaster with nowhere to go but down, down, down… Then we waited 17 minutes — 17 minutes — till we could even get a glass of water. We should have walked. Really. We should have just walked. But we hadn’t read the Unilocal reviews so we thought — the food sounded interesting. We can wait it out.
You know that old saying — no good deed goes unpunished?
Before ordering, I notice that the menu has entrees with either mashed potatoes or the potato of the day. When I inquired to the waitree «what is the potato of the day», she replied «mashed potatoes». So much for the potato of the day…
Were there specials of the day? Anything special with the wines? Have no idea. It was never mentioned to us. So I guess there weren’t any. So we order — my DSD orders a spinach and pasta dish, my hubs orders the Merlot pot roast and adds a side salad, and I ordered a salad with chicken added.
Given the wait, I asked the waitress for the access code for the WiFi, figuring if it took 17 minutes to get a glass of water, there was not much hope for getting our food (what a premonition that was… but I get ahead of myself here). And what does she say? «It changes every hour and I have no idea, I will see if I can find the manager and get it»…yeah, I am still waiting…
After we wait another 15 minutes, DH’s salad finally arrives. It was not a bad side salad — baby greens, bacon, tomato, and cement blocks. Oh, wait, those were croutons? It was hard to tell. I love croutons. I even make my own. But, as my hubs said — and he NEVER complains — they were so hard and crunchy, he could not hear any of our conversation while he tackled them…
Now dinner arrives before he even has time to finish the salad. DSD’s pasta is a nice sized portion and she said the garlic EVOO sauce was light and tasty and didn’t mask the spinach or tomatoes or basil. DH’s pot roast was a sizable portion and was served with mashed potatoes (as opposed to the potato of the day) and a side of veggies (squash, carrots, onions). He said that the potatoes were rather dry but the gravy on the meat was good — although it might have been nice to have some salt and pepper to go with it (we actually had to ask, as that is not standard on the tables — really??). My salad was, to say the least, pitiful. I asked for chicken to be added to the salad — which the server forgot. The salad was presented nicely — but, to be honest, $ 10 for a cup of baby greens with a few bits of goat cheese and perhaps two tablespoons of pecans and a few roasted grapes? I would have been better off with two side salads. I asked the server to be sure not to charge me for the chicken since it was not delivered — at which point, she said «did you ask for it»?
Wait, we aren’t done. Having grown up in the business, you learn early on not to reach in front of customers to fill water glasses, etc. Obviously, server slept thru that lesson. As she reaches across DSD’s pasta to refill my hubs water glass… she dribbles ice water into my DSC’s pasta and then doesn’t even notice, just spins on her heels and beats a path back somewhere…
Oh wait — there’s more… before I leave, I decide to run to the restrooms where there is a line because the women’s room only has two stalls and, of course, one is out of order… while I am waiting patiently, a server comes in to wash her hands and remarks to me something like «as a server, I like to have clean hands» which I thought — how I wish we might have had her rather that the poor excuse of a server that we had… and then it happens. Most servers would not have opened the door with their bare hands to leave, realizign that is where most of the germs are — but that was nothing compared to the fact that the server took her perfectly clean hands AND BLEW HER NOSE INTO A PAPER TOWEL. OMG. I was completely appalled. Whatever good she thought she did washing those hands was undone by the nose-​blowing.
This is prime location. I am sure that the wine is what attracts customers. The service was awful — all I kept thinking is that this place is a candidate for Mystery Diners…

First warning would be that any rest that is completely empty at 7:30pm on a Thursday means the food is not good. The service was great but the food was a miss. I paid $ 19 for the ‘short ribs’ which actually was 4 tiny slices of overcooked meat. The rest of my party’s dinner seemed average at best. The biggest problem is that my credit card was charged twice… I spoke with Eric the manager once after it happened but to date no credit back. I would have been willing to pay for the meal but I don’t want to pay for that now either. I guess they need to get $ however they can.

I think this is an awesome business model with poor management.
The location in downtown chandler is perfect for a place like this. In-​state wines and a restaurant with a relaxed atmosphere fit perfectly with the surrounding establishments. That’s probably the reason that this place survives.
Alas, everything else is dysfunctional:
The food is terrible. Kitchen nightmares terrible.
There are way too many wine choices, some which are pretty gross. A few are good, though, and those are the ones that they should promote. Also, the good wines aren’t good in the snooty, wine and food know-​it-​all sense. They are a little gimmicky and should be approached as such. But they are still tasty. I send a case of the white merlot to my family for the holidays every year and they really look forward to it. Also, this is the only place that will ship the wine for me. Not even Bevmo will.
Kokopelli has real potential. Also, it’s (apparently) the only winery in the state that has significant market penetration outside of it’s establishment i.e. you see a fair number of bottles at costco and bevmo. However, it needs a shot in the arm. Maybe Gordon Ramsey could help.

I am so disappointed.
Went there early this evening for a celebratory dinner. We walk in and it smells, well, old. The atmosphere is cold and the place is kind of in disrepair. They need to just redo the interior design.
Our server, while pleasent, did not seem to do the normal things one would expect at a wine bar… no mention of happy hour specials, no mention of wine flights, no explanations about the wines… it was weird. I had to practically interrogate him for information.
The wine itself… meh. We sampled 6 in a flight and ordered 2 additional glasses. There were a few I did enjoy like the summer peach and the chocolate divine. But I think a normal wine drinker would find their wines way (way) too sweet and overall mediocre.
The food. Now this just makes me mad. I ordered the bruschetta sampler and the only one I even half way enjoyed was the blue cheese/​grape. And while I thought the flavor was good, the execution was sloppy. I don’t like to eat a meal that is not presented nicely.
The grilled shrimp one was NOT grilled or seasoned. It was cold and rubbery. Like it had been microwaved and left to sit. And it was coupled with a bland nasty hummas. Ick. I spit it into my napkin. Awful.
The prosciutto and fig, normally one of my favorite combinations, was not good. They put a bitter lettuce on top, which I don’t understand, and an overpowering, sickly sweet sauce. It did not work well together at all.
Crabcake was ok. But $ 7 for a tiny little portion was irritating. Look, I get that it’s tapas, but come on, it was a bite and a half. My husband got the rosemary meatballs which #1, were microwaved for sure, #2 drowning in marinara sauce which hid all the flavor.
They need a new chef.

Wow… I’m surprised that this place exists with the great wine bar next door.
I don’t know what they are currently doing with their interior but there is NOTHING on the walls and there are white patch marks everywhere. I assume they are going to repaint/​redecorate but in the mean time it’s awful looking and echos. Not as warm and friendly as I remember from 6 months ago. Also their outside specials board states they have live music from Thurs– Sat however the waitress informed us it was Fri-​Sat… want to change that sign maybe?
The appetizer board we had compromised of 3 meats and one cheese which were all very tasty however there were only 4 very small pieces of cheese vs. the 8 slices of each of the other meats. We waited approximately 30 minutes for our diners which was on the lingering side since there were very few people inside that night. (2 – 3 other couples total)
The diner was two stars at best. My lavosh was very soggy with no crisp to it. I had to use a fork since the pieces (long rectangular shaped) would not hold any shape. The chef overlapped all of the pieces atop each other and put a very odd/​gross tasting garnish in the center. If they had not laid the pieces atop each other (who does that anyway?), the pieces wouldn’t have come out soggy. And the garnish — just get rid of it — don’t know why it’s there and why it had such an awful taste. I would make the pieces smaller (more manageable) and display them on a plate long-​ways laid out completely.
The pasta, no better than that of an olive garden with flakes of red pepper on top. Chicken was dry and it could have used flavor. It was better than the lavosh though.
And the wine… now I did like some of their wines, but they always push the Kokopelli ones and I understand that. It’s like going to a micro brewery and asking for a Miller lite. HOWEVER, they serve some great wines that are not made by Kokopelli which I enjoy more. If the waitress was more open to the other non-​kokopelli wines I would have probably enjoyed more wine and stayed longer.
All in all for the price we paid, it will be a stroke of drunken luck if we ended up here again.

If this review was strictly based on food, I unfortunately would have only given 2 stars. However, the yummy wine balances it out to a solid 3 stars. I came here for a wine tasting. Service was good and wine was better — especially the Chocolate D’Vine, which is absolutely delish, even though I’m not a chocolate eater. The food was just so-​so. I ordered a grilled shrimp bruschetta and a prosciutto bruschetta. The bread used is not the best type of bread for bruschetta. Instead if being light and flaky, it was dense and heavy. The prosciutto topping (with arugula and some other toppings) was pretty good, although a bit on the sweet side. The grilled shrimp themselves were decent, but there was a hummus-​type spread all over the bread, which was kind of chalky and not very tasty. And the shrimp were swimming in olive oil on top of the spread. Not a good look (or taste).

So we ended up here in an effort to try something different in the area. Once we sat down I decided to look up on Unilocal to see the reviews. Probably should have done that first.
After reading several terrible reviews I thought, well it’s too late, let’s hope they were wrong. Not a chance!
My 6 yr old daughter ordered a PB&J early hoping she could eat while we waited for our food. It didn’t come out until the rest of our food. It was so bad, it didn’t even look like a sandwich. My daughter said after 2 bites «I don’t want to eat here again». That’s a 6 yr old!
Our food came out Luke warm and looking like a science project. We really couldn’t eat much of it at all. The waiter, who was nice, asked if we were all good. I said «no, this is horrible» and asked for our check. He was nice enough to take the PB&J off since my daughter really didn’t eat any of it.
In addition to the awful food, there were flys all over the place which was a complete bother during what seemed like a longer than necessary wait given how busy the place was and how little we ordered.
I will never be coming back!

Stopped in for a glass of wine with a g/​f and sat at the bar. Feels very tired and old. Also, a glass of mediocre wine and an ice tea being almost $ 15 is crazy?! Definitely much better places in the area that I would go to instead.

Now that it has been a few days and i have cooled down i can write an honest opinion about this place. It is not a good one i am sorry to say. First of all, when you have to lie and false advertise to get people to come to your shop, then something is wrong. However, apparently this is their M O. Last week The Kokpelli Winery advertised that they were having an Italian Festival. They never stated in the ad that it was just them serving Italian food in their restaurant. They calmed to have live music and entertainment, along with everything that was Italian. People came from all over the Valley for their lie. Disappointment was their closet friend!!! Apparently they are well known for advertising that they are putting on festivals to lure customers all the way out to downtown Chandler. This is not the way to run a business. I say, do not ever darken their door step or give them a penny of your money. You could of had more of an Italian Festival at Olive Garden. There is a lot wrong with this place… Lying is the first thing.

I am sorry, but what can you say about this place other than it sucks! it is the absolute worse place in the Valley. 20 of went to this dump under the lie they had advertised that they were having an Italian festival. The 7^th Annual!!! Lies. false advertising… what did they really have??? A crap place passing off the Italian food that they serve under normal days. No live music as promised, what was the live music that they would have from 1 to 3 ?? A single accorian player. Nothing else, is that really anyone’s idea of an italian festival? I never really get this angry about something. But, Lying and leading people in the wrong direction does not sit well with me. It was hard to find parking in downtown Chandler as it was… Nothing even italian about this place. Don’t ever waste your time or hard earned money here!

Kokopelli Winery is in a great location but the food and wine are wanting.
The white wines were very strange and the reds didn’t make me want to buy a case. I did purchase three wines– one white and two reds, hoping that at a later time I might grow to love them.
The whites are too sweet for me and the flavors are weird. Yes weird.
The food wasn’t bad, but we did really enjoy the music. It is fun just to check out. I will go back and try different vintages from Kokopelli in the future. It may end up developing some unique vintages and is different enough to make it worth my time.

One of my girlfriends picked Kokopelli Winery in downtown Chandler for our monthy get together. When I walked in on a Wednesday night, there was a very small crowd, so I was a little concerned. I’ve always been told that the AZ wines are just ok, but I decided to give them a try. Our waitress brought me a sample of their reserve Chianti. I’m not usually a fan, but this one has a pretty smooth finish.
I was looking over the menu, and having a hard time deciding. A friend of mine had HIGHLY recommended the garlic chicken. When I saw the menu said 40 cloves of garlic, I has some serious 2^nd thoughts. I decided to give it a try. WOOOO was it ever good. The chicken was litterally fall off the bone and super juicy!
I finished things off with their EXCELLENT bread pudding. Wow. Was it ever good. Their brandy sauce totally makes it. I’d actually love to go back and have this again.

Stopped in here while out on Saturday enjoying the sunshine and perusing the shops in downtown Chandler. Had a great tasting experience but didn’t sample any of the food since we had just eaten a large breakfast. Staff was extremely friendly and accommodating even though they were pretty busy and down one server who had called in sick.
I did take a look at the menu and everything sounded great. I plan to come back for dinner real soon. I loved the ambiance and décor, it looks like the perfect place for date-​night.

Cool treasure, kind of hidden in downtown chandler. Obviously a great and local wine selection. But the impressively tasty Italian food made the night a good one.
Service staff is very knowledgeable as well.

I am writing this review primarily because the bar staff there this week was AWESOME! And DAMMIT I do not remember their names! Shame on me because these two girls were really engaging, personable people.
The food? Well, I wouldn’t recommend the crab cakes…
Anyway, I was glad to hear that they had live music (LOVE live music), steel drums actually (LOVE steel drums), so I might be back sooner than I thought.
Seriously, awesome bar staff!

My date and I stopped by for dinner before our evening at the Herberger. We’ve heard friends compliment this establishment, so we were curious to try it.
I had the blackened salmon, and my date went with the prime rib. The fish was a tad overcooked. However, the prime rib was the largest cut I can recall seeing. And it wasn’t mostly fat. It was a thing of beauty.
Every bite of the salmon mocked me. Oh why didn’t I get the prime rib? Because, the doctor recommended I restrict my intake of red meat. But I did manage to sneak a bite, and it was so juicy and flavorful.
There was also live music on the patio. About twelve feet behind me. And had it not been for the Pino, the high-​decibel dis-​harmonies of ‘Lay Down Sally’ would have surely escorted me to the theater with a migraine. And yes, I paired red with fish.
Go there tonight, and order the prime rib.