Arizona Culinary Institute - Scottsdale, Arizona

Beatrice

Everything was timed perfectly at Du Jour for lunch today and I was in and out in less than an hour! The student servers were attentive, efficient and kind! It was great going back to ACI after having graduated many years ago and see it still running seamlessly.

Victor Mann

My family and I went to the Arizona Culinary Institute for my birthday to enjoy lunch at the school's fine dining restaurant, "du Jour," a practice facility for the students in fine dining restaurant setting. The menu is changed daily, and lunch and dinner is available throughout the year, during their students' semesters. We started our dining with an amuse-bouche a small bite to enhance the dining experience, followed by appetizer, choice of entree, and, of course, dessert. The food was wonderful. The service was attentive, my only complaint was that they brought dessert before we had completed dinner so we felt rushed our front waiter explained that they have to clear the dining room by 2:00 pm. Next time we will come a little earlier because we like to take our time dining but everything is great and we look forward to returning. Reservations are limited, so I recommend you try to book early to avoid being disappointed. Bon appetite!

Nicole Miller

From the time we arrived we knew the experience would be top notch. The student servers were so attentive and just made the experience what it was. The food was next level good! We hadn’t even left before talking about when we can come back lol. The prices were surprisingly low for the quality of food and service provided. Luxury dining experience from start to finish. Thank you so much for a great date night!

AJ L

This review is for lunch in the dining room and not the culinary school. Our party of four arrived on-time for our 11:30 reservation today, were immediately greeted, signed in, provided a brief introduction/explanation and taken to our table in the dining room. First impressions are powerful and our first impression was that we made a smart decision to dine here. It got better from there. The student-tended dining room is run (under close supervision by senior instructors) much like a 5-star restaurant. Orders are served all at once by a group of student-servers. Presentation is impressive. Menu selections are wide and diverse. taste, quality, portion sizing are all perfect. Non-alcoholic as well as wine and spirits are available and priced well below market. The luncheon cost (very reasonable) covers an appetizer plus entree. Complimentary "add-ons" are provided including a decadent dessert. The palate-cleansing frozen "lolipop" intermezzo between courses was an unexpected treat that one finds today in few high-end restaurants (pic attached). Our student wait staff is not there to be trained as wait staff, of course, but rather culinary professionals. But they are taught the business from the ground up and do a stint for a short time serving the clientele. I estimate that the dining room has 10 tables and that at our seating there were approximately 16-20 patrons, making the experience sort of intimate and semi-private. Three in our party had the Mahi entree and one had the pork tenderloin. We each had a different appetizer. We will return and bring new friends with us to share the experience. I've attached a boat load of pics.

Paul Vo

I enjoy meals at this institute multiple times. The students are a delight to talk to. Most are polite and attentive.

The quality of the food are mostly pretty good. On rare occasions, very few dishes missed the mark.

The concept of prix-fix is well applied here. One pays a reasonable price for a choice of appetizers, one main dish (typically, a choice of chicken, fish or beef), and one dessert. Also included are an amuse-bouche before the appetizer, a serving of bread, and a palate cleanser before the main dish.

Reservation is required.

I will return to this institute whenever I can.

Andrea Handler

Incredibly impressive! Had lunch today because a friend's husband is a student. Run by the students, everything about this culinary experience is professional. The dining room is a big room with many tables. Attractively decorated with beautiful art hanging, beautiful tablescapes with the kitchen set off in the back. There were 3 app choices: I had a delicious citrus salad with greens, blu cheese and very tasty dressing. For my entree, I had a perfectly cooked salmon sitting on top of a bed of succotash. The dessert was a trio of tiny pastries - Cheesecake, lemon tart and a strawberry choc. mousse. Chocolate strawberries on the table as well. As good as any restaurant I've eaten at. Kudos to the students and school. I'll be back!

Luke Bader

Fantastic!!! The entire experience was phenomenal! I took a group of middle school students for a tour and fancy lunch. The staff at the Culinary Institute were so gracious and did such a wonderful job of showing us around and answering the students' questions. Lunch was, of course incredible!!!

Helen Lawrence

My girlfriends and I had lunch on Wednesday and loved every minute of it. Not only was the staff attentive and knowledgeable when asked questions they went over board to make our experience special. Abril our server was a peach and deserves praise. We will be back many times and will be sure to recommend you highly. Oh the food was was delicious too. Lol