Uncle Bear’s Grill and Tap Phoenix Review
| Location | 10625 N Tatum Blvd #150, Phoenix, AZ 85028 |
| Phone Number | 602-368-1376 |
| Hours | M,T Closed, W, Th, Sun 11am-8:30pm, F, Sat 11am-10pm |
| Website | https://www.unclebearsaz.com/ |
When we first decided to attempt to visit every craft brewery in the Phoenix metro area, I had no idea there were so many with multiple locations. Uncle Bear’s Brewery has six locations spread throughout the Valley of the Sun. We visited the one in the Paradise Valley Mall area.
First opened in early 2022, Uncle Bear’s Grill and Tap Phoenix restaurant near Paradise Valley Mall is located at the northeast corner of N. Tatum Blvd. and E. Shea Blvd.. It’s across the street from Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods and O.H.S.O. Brewery. But the business has some experience under its belt since the original Uncle Bear’s location opened in 2013 in Gilbert.
The Place
The brewery restaurant is situated in an upscale strip mall with a large free parking lot out front. We had no trouble finding a spot when we visited on a weekday for a late lunch.
It was about 1000 degrees outside when we went there so we opted for indoor dining. But we noticed they offer outdoor seating on their patio with shade and a misting system. There is an outdoor bar that connects to the indoor bar when a garage-style door is opened.
The view from the patio is of the parking lot, but still, it’s probably nice out there during cooler weather. We didn’t notice any patio games like we’ve seen at some other places with huge patios.
Uncle Bear’s Brewery has a theme: man’s best friend, doggo, puppers, pooch… that All-American hero, the pet dog. The place is named after the owner’s dog, Bear, a.k.a. Uncle Bear.
The vibe is comfortable, beachy dog house modern (if that’s a thing). It’s fun without being too kitschy.
There were around 20 tables and booths and I counted TWELVE big TVs! It seems like a great place to watch sports on TV while you’re eating and sipping beer.
Music can affect the ambiance of a restaurant so we always make note of what they’re playing on the sound system. The day we ate there, the music was radio favorites from the 80s and 90s (Def Leppard, Police, Bon Jovi, Cure). Nothing too extreme and also not too loud to be distracting.
The Food
Uncle Bear’s has a pretty big menu of sports bar faves like burgers and sandwiches. The menu leans toward Tex Mex barbeque style and beer is featured as an ingredient in some selections (beer cheese soup, anyone?). Some of the most tantalizing options include a prime rib sandwich, a burger featuring chopped brisket and ground beef and brisket tacos.
Like many restaurants in the post-pandemic era, they were a bit short-handed during our visit. Fortunately, the very friendly bartender took our order for chicken fajitas and a brisket quesadilla. One of our entrees came out different than expected but they were apologetic and good-humored about it and brought out the correct dish in no time. We ended up getting 3 lunches for the price of 2!
The brisket on the quesadilla was tender, juicy and well-seasoned. Sides with this order included fresh guacamole, salsa and sour cream as a nice touch.
The chicken fajitas had good flavor but the meat was a bit dry. This dish came with beans that could’ve used more seasoning but overall, it was a decent lunch. Especially since we were able to drink fresh craft beer with it!
The Beer
The beer sold in the Paradise Valley location of Uncle Bear’s is made at the company’s microbrewery in Gilbert, AZ. The day we visited the restaurant, they had 16 of their own beers on tap. You can try several by ordering a sampler of 5 x 5 oz. servings. Our server told us the most popular beers include Fence Jumper Golden Ale, Tio Oso’s Mexican Style Lager and Mandarin Wheat.
Beer Reviews
Here’s a list of the beer we tried along with some tasting notes…
| Beer-ABV/IBU | Notes |
|---|---|
| Bird Dog Whiskey Strawberry Berliner Weisse 4.4%/13 | Clear, med. Golden-pink; aroma of Crunchberry cereal and sour strawberries; quite tart but clean flavors of strawberries. Unusual and refreshing–could become addictive. |
| Debo’s Sour DBL IPA 7.5%/30 | Clear gold, aromas of guava and papaya; sweet and quite tart fruit flavors; light body. |
| Fence Jumper Golden Ale 4.8%/10 | Clear med. gold; light sweet malt aroma and flavor; light body. Very approachable beer. |
| Foggy Doggy Coffee Milk Stout 6%/20 | Dark brown color, aromas of caramel, molasses and coffee; flavor-sweet/fruity chocolate, caramel, coffee, slightly tangy. A Favorite of the Day |
| Mandarin Wheat 5.1%/12 | Clear gold; subtle aroma of mandarin; flavor-aggressive sweet mandarin orange; light-med. body. Orange flavor overpowered any wheat characteristics |
| Ocean Beach West Coast Style IPA 6.9%/60 | Clear gold; grass and pine aromas; subtle citrus flavors over assertive bitterness; med. body. A Favorite of the Day |
| Who’s Barking Now Hazy IPA 6.3%/29 | Dark gold, hazy; herbaceous hop aroma; flavors include funky cola; smooth heavy body. Unique interpretation of NEIPA. |
Check out our beer ratings on Untappd: Uncle Bear’s Brewery
And here’s our friend Marcus at Brewery602 describing the Ocean Beach IPA…
Overall Impression
Uncle Bear’s Grill and Tap is a restaurant in a strip mall in the Paradise Valley neighborhood of Phoenix, AZ. Considering its location and target audience, it does a decent job of delivering on its promises. The staff was friendly and helpful, the dining room clean, bright and fun.
The food was what we expected from a restaurant of this type, i.e. it’s pretty good but it’s not French Laundry. Their brewery makes some great beer but a few left us scratching our heads. With 16 brews to choose from, most people should be able to find something very satisfying to accompany their meal.
It’s a convenient, fun place to grab a bite with the family while watching the game and sipping a fresh craft beer.
Additional Details
A few more nuggets of info for your visit to Uncle Bear’s Grill and Tap Phoenix location…
- 5 other Valley locations: Gilbert, 2 in Mesa, Queen Creek and North Scottsdale
- Happy hour M-F 2-6 pm; Sun-Th. 9-Close
- Full bar available
- Dog friendly patio
- Lots of great dog photos on the walls
- Within walking distance of O.H.S.O. Brewery so you can make a craft beer crawl of it!
