Elite Event: Cuttlefest at Cuttlefish

There was something fishy about this event, and not just that my review is coming more than 2 months late. It was in fact the fresh seafood served in this cool little restaurant!
A couple friends and I threw on our sea-​colored outfits and joined the crowd of hungry Unilocalers ready for a Cuttlefest. Even now, the memory of the oysters, salmon, gnocchi and pork belly is as fresh in my mind as it was on my plate. I don’t generally eat a lot of pork, but the pork belly was so tender and full of flavor, I could’t resist a second helping. The tuna-​cream cones were a tasty little surprise, and so fun to eat!
I chose Prosecco as my beverage for the evening, and shared some Angry Orchard with a friend. We nestled in to the group to chit chat with some familiar faces and meet some new Unilocalers. The music made for a great ambiance and the entire staff was super friendly. I would love to return to try a full entrée, and hopefully I’ll make my way into that neighborhood soon!
Thank you for your hospitality, Cuttlefish! Many thanks to Lindsey and Unilocal for putting together this event.

Unilocal Elites loved the Cuttlefest at Cuttlefish for sure!
Vespa seats at the raw oyster bar? You don’t say? Well look at that? Oh they are comfortable to sit on to? How cool is that?
Cuttlefish offered us plenty of amazing eats, little tuna pops, spinach stuffed gnocchi, pork belly with fig dressing, salmon with artichoke and for my drink Prosecco, I have to say everything was delish, but my favorite was the pork belly, so dang good!
Cuttlefish knows how to throw a party that’s for sure! Great music played all night everyone was enjoying themselves!
My guest and I enjoyed the night, can’t wait to come back and try some more delightful bites! Happy hour runs till 8, and that’s something I can make :)
Thank you Cuttlefish, Unilocal & Lindsey for another fun filled night!

Unilocal + Cuttlefish + a great solo musician playing the guitar = a spectacular time with some of my favorite people!
I’m a huge fan of gnocchi and this is my go-​to pasta dish when I’m in a pasta-​kinda-​mood… so I have ate more gnocchi than my bathroom scale will ever tell you. My point is I know good gnocchi and Cuttlefish’s gnocchi was FANTASTIC!
The albacore tuna pops were also very good. A cool and novel idea. Kind of like a mix between a tiny ice cream cone and a sushi hand roll. The «cone» is wafer-​like and all of the tastes come together beautifully.
The pork belly would have been my favorite dish… if not for the scintillating oysters! I went back for seconds and despite this being a seafood restaurant, the pork belly was absolutely outstanding. Bursting with deep, rich flavor that left my palette drooling for more. Being the gentleman I am, I made sure to drool into my napkin, not on the floor or all over myself. Again.
And my favorite food was the oysters! I believe they had four varieties available for tasting and each one was better than the last! What really carved a place in my heart for these oysters was the in house prepared hot sauce!
Honorable mention to their drinks… I tried the prosecco and chardonnay and both were perfect complements to the food being served!
The ambiance of Cuttlefish is a welcoming, comfortable, and friendly… and I loved the Vespa scooters that are parked at the oyster bar and used for seats! Great center focal point of this cool new place!
Many of us finished the evening next door at Notorious… and their beverages were equally delicious! I highly recommend their margaritas!
Thank you once again Lindsey, Unilocal,Cuttlefish, and Notorious for an unforgettable experience!

Yes, there was in fact cuttling which happened ‘at least’ once during the evening. Who’s got those pictures?
I sure am glad to have joined in on this event! Cuttlefish was packed with tons of Unilocalers. I met three or four newly christened elite’s who were attending their first event, I said Hi to people I haven’t seen in a while, gave a high five to the Phoenix CM, danced the limbo, and came out a little worse for the wear, but who didn’t after a night like that?
Cuttlefish had a spread to match few others in Phoenix — a vespa oyster bar, salmon with artichoke, spinach stuffed gnocchi in a crème sauce, pork belly with fig dressing, beer, and wine; all delicious.
Just when you thought the event was over, we were all invited next door for cocktails at Notorious Burgers. They offered a full bar with tenders to match — bartenders that is. The two of them took care of the 30 or so of us that packed out the entire area; it was standing room only at one point.
Thanks for the fun evening — I’ll see you all at the next one.

A restaurant filled with seafood and a bunch of Unilocalers is a great combination! We were lucky enough to have this place all to ourselves for the night. We packed it in so much, there was standing room only! Complimentary prosecco, beer or wine was the perfect way to start the night.
Ahi Poke was the first round in little cones. Next was a buffet filled with salmon and artichokes, a pork belly dish and gnocchi filled with something spinach and heavenly. Lastly was the oyster bar which grabs your attention as soon as you enter the restaurant. Cute circular bar decorated with fancy moped seats. I attempted an oyster but going to steer clear for now.
Live music was awesome and a nice touch to this event. I will be back especially since we received a thank you offer from Cuttlefish! Thanks Cuttlefish, Unilocal and Lindsey!

This was such a blast! It was packed — so much fun to mingle with other Unilocalers over delicious treats in a cool atmosphere!
Food/​Drink:
The gnocchi are sublime — melts-​in-​your-​mouth amazing! I have litereally told friends about this dish. The salmon with artichoke was lovely — my husband generally avoids salmon but enjoyed this. They also had ahi tuna in little cones which was really yummy and unlimited (I took full advantage). Their house Cabernet was very nice and they have interesting beers on tap. Overall, great success!
The place has a lovely bar area, a cute turquoise and white theme, comfy chairs and an absolutely eye-​catching oyster bar surrounded by seats that are vespas! The staff was really friendly, from the servers to the management. High scores again.
Thanks so much to Lindsey and the Cuttlefish crew for putting on such a great event! Incredible food/​drink, welcoming staff, live music, raffles, closing the place down just for us — just wow! Can’t wait to see you all at the next one!

What a fun event! Everyone really got into the theme with all the greens and blues, looking sexy!
I was thrilled to see everyone, and Lindsey D. was a cheery greeter, as usual. Got a couple of free drink tickets, which I used for prosecco. I thought the scooter seats at the oyster bar were a cute/​interesting touch. I definitely parked my buns on one right in front of where they were placing the freshly shucked shellfish. So fresh and delicious! I also tried the gnocci (goat cheese with a cream sauce), the tuna cones, and the salmon with artichokes. My plus one enjoyed her pork belly, as well. I went back for seconds, thirds, fourths…
They had a great musician playing that night! Beautiful voice! The staff was super chill (thanks Seline and Matt!) and helped explain all of the ingredients to their dishes.
Some folks won some sweet prizes and at the end we were given a free drink voucher to the bar next door. But not before I grabbed my bag of Swedish fish!
We headed over and hung with Nader A., Jon H., Amy H., Amanda B., Ginger O., Mike D., and Reese J. Such a fun group of folks!
All in all, I had a great time and can’t wait to party it up with everyone again!

This is my first Unilocal event in Arizona!
I was blown away on how nice everyone is and how awesome the CM is. I’m used to Orange County events, which are equally awesome, but being this is my first event in AZ. I didn’t know what to expect.
The venue itself is beautiful… I loved the Vespa station for the oyster bar. Oysters were fantastic. I also enjoyed the gnocchi, pork belly with candies fig, and the salmon with artichoke. The entertainment was great. The singer/​guitarist was so good. Reminded me of John McLaughlin.
I also was able to try the Apple Orchard beer which tasted like spiked apple juice. I was able to meet some Unilocalers through Kurdy S. and had a great time. I’m not from around here, but everyone was very welcoming and super cool. Thanks for a memorable Unilocal event Lindsey. Cuttlefish rocks! Thanks again for an amazing event!

We came, we Cuttled, we laughed, we cried. We drank some, we ate some, we went next door and we drank some more. Of course, we woke up late today.
Fantastic to meet many people that I interact with on this site. While I have not been running with the Unilocal elite for a while, I have been paying attention to the wonderful group of people that continue to expand this community.
So good to see a few old friends and make a few new connections as well. Thank you Lyndsey, Unilocal and the Cuttlefish crew who put on a spectacular event. Special mention to the young lady who shucked oysters throughout the night with a smile. She was in the elite zone.

«Should I eat the Cuttlefish and Asparagus or the Vanilla Paste?» South Park fans???
I digress.
What can I say about the CuttleFestival? A lot.
Unilocal Elite’s hunkered down for some exquisite seafood treats at Cuttlefish, a very swanky PV seafood eatery. The owners were gracious enough to close the restaurant just for us, and good thing they did. The place was at standing room only! Ordering from the bar, we had our choice of draft beer (Angry Orchard was my pick), red wine or Presecco. We sampled tuna appetizers fashioned in the shape of mini ice cream cones. These were good. What was next was better. Plates and plates of oysters. Masterfully cooked salmon, along with pork bellies that were scarfed down without hesitation. Not to mention the gnocchi. So tender and delicious, I could eat those all night. So I did!
I really can’t say enough about the hospitality at Cuttlefish. We met the head waiter who thanked us and made us feel welcome. The live music was outstanding and created a lively mood. Had it been a Friday, we would have stayed even longer.
Many thanks to Lindsey, Unilocal and Cuttlefish for expanding our seafood palates and treating us to some amazing cuisine. Great to see so many awesome Unilocalers too!

Thanks Cuttlefish & Lindsay for a great Unilocal Elite event! Since we have cuttled, tasted, drank and now conquered Elite style, we will definitely be back for more. The pork belly was melt in your mouth fab; the salmon was smoky and delicious; and the coned up tuna .yum! I sipped on generous pours of prosecco all night compliments of a awesome bartender, Gino. I noticed Cuttlefish had cider on tap– winning! The raw bar has cute little Vespa seats to belly up to the bar on! The after party continued next door at Notorious Burgers … Now we have two places to come back to… And not only because the night was topped by winning the Huey Lewis tickets … Yes— Both of us! Thanks again for a great night!

Another excellent Unilocal event. Thanks so much to Cuttlefest and Lindsay for setting up this one-​of-​a-​kind experience and for including us in it! The line of Unilocalers was around the building to get in and be a part of the fun.
We arrived on time for the event and only waited a few minutes outside before being ushered in to grab up a name tag, enter the night’s raffle, and be gifted with drink tickets. From there we headed over to grab a couple of drinks before seeing what eats there were and absorb the overall atmosphere.
The oyster bar was absolutely wonderful — with fun scooter seats (see pic!) and tasty oysters of varying sizes. Next we met one of the amazingly friendly staff who offered up a tuna cone, which had raw tuna and was so delicious I had another later in the night when the lines died down.
The buffet bar offered up pork belly, gnocchi, and salmon. None of these things disappointed. The gnocchi was a definite repeat thing for a return visit!
Overall: A+
Another well coordinated event with fun, eats, live music and great people!

Oh my gosh! Just Oh. My. Gosh! Thank you Lindsey, Cuttlefish, Unilocal (& Notorious Burgers for the after party)! This was an unbelievable over the top event. The neighbors will be jealous.
Holy Smokes. If you missed it call me. We can meet for HH at Cuttlefish. (Remember, it’s the longest happy hour *ever*. 2−8pm Every *day* of the week. Crazy, right?)
Going in I was already super excited for this event. I’d been to Cuttlefish before and knew of the wonderful food, style, vibe and awesome staff. That being said I had no idea the bountiful treats Cuttlefish would put out.
Having plate after plate of oysters turn from the kitchen… Did things to me. I dreamt about them last night. There were so many varieties we tried I lost track. I simply cannot wait to have more. (Perhaps on Wednesdays at the bar. They’re ½ priced!)
No, it wasn’t the wine :) Although, I did sample both house reds available with our drink tickets. Big fan of the merlot and cabernet! So smooth and delightful.
Sampling a number of entrees I’m hard pressed to pick one. So I’ll pick two! The salmon and gnocchi. Sweet heaven, cross your fingers and not count time on that gym, get the gnocchi. I wasn’t the only person making not so private exclamations at the table while savoring this dish. It’s not a heavy, overly filling feeling of pasta. It’s an experience that left me licking my lips for more. Winter truffles, light cream and parmigiano danced in my mouth slowly. (So I went for seconds. Shh. There wasn’t a line then!)
The food, the bar, the entertainment, the fact that the entire venue was closed! Just for us! Was amazing! Hands downs a night to remember. I was already a fan now I {heart] them MORE. And quite frankly (if you read my existing review) I didn’t think that was possible. This place is the place to be. The employees and management really do treat you like family. It’s quite a wonderful thing.
So nice to see so many existing Unilocal friends and to meet new ones! Thanks again Lindsey for an unbelievable event!
* Review pre-​event:

Can I give this event a 10 star???
Ohhhh my goodnessss what an amazing event! First of all, any Unilocal event is going to be a great event but Unilocal really outdid themselves on this one.
The first thing you notice when you walk in are the Vespa Scooters for seats! What a great concept! Ok so the food. We had oysters, pork bellies, salmon, albacore tuna bites. My favorites were the tuna albacore little cones and the Salmon. I’m not sure what was in the tuna bites but I loved it. The Salmon was spectacular. Now if you’re into oysters (which I’m not a big fan) then you would’ve been in heaven! They were bringing out different oysters every 10 minutes or so! Whitney was telling us that if you come on Wednesdays they have specials on their oysters and champagne. I got to wash everything down with their Cabernet. Yummy!
Not only was the food amazing but it was so great getting to see my fellow Unilocalers. Especially the ones that I haven’t seen in so long. Combining a great event with some amazing Unilocalers is always a plus in my book.
Thank you so much for having us Cuttlefish and Thank you Lindsey for such a great event! You did such a great job! Til next time Unilocalers! =)

What a fun event, but then again, we always have a way to have fun at all the events. This one was no exception. The place is beautiful. I love the oyster/​vespa station, so cute. My favorite tastes were the pork belly and the gnocchi. The gnocchi were soft and creamy, yum. The pork belly had a little fig reduction, so good. The salmis was also very good.
Thank you Lindsay and Cuttlefish for putting this together, it was such a fun event, we ended up having an after party at their restaurant next door. What a fun night.

Beautiful ambiance, spacious and comfortable. A perfect evening of wonderful seafood: most salmon with crisp salmon doin and artichokes, an abundance of oysters in a half shell. Cuttlefish was delightful with their staff personnel, AJ/​Bartender and the live performance from musician: Kip Fox, he was wonderful!!! The gnochi was devine perhaps my favorite item and they also serve Angry Orchard on tap. Thank you Lindsey for the event and congratulations to the raffle winners! We enjoyed another fantastic event with Unilocal friends and new ones. :)

Seafood is the food of the Gods. .. .oh, didn’t you know that??? And Scottsdale has a new hangout for the Gods! Melt-​in-​your-​mouth great seafood.
Phoenix Elite deck hands got to try what this new place — Cuttlefish — has to offer. We were not disappointed. We rolled with the waves of elegant offerings and consumed every last morsel offered us. Sweet dreams of the high seas will be our fare for tonight. Wonderful!
Thank you Cuttlefish staff for introducing us to your new restaurant. Those of us with the ocean in our souls will return for more…here in the desert.
Thank you Lindsey. .. once again you picked the perfect cruise for a Monday night.

Thank you so much to Lindsey, Unilocal and Cuttlefish for putting this fantastic event together! It was amazing — as usual!
I have been dying to try Cuttlefish since it opened and this was a great intro to the place. I can’t wait to come back and try even more items off their menu! (Crab mac n cheese anyone?)
When we first arrived, there was an oyster bar dead center. The seats were motorcycle seats and super cool. My husband loves oysters so he was in heaven. I headed over to the bar where they were offering wine and drafts on tap. I choose the Angry Orchard — which was delicious. While I waited for my beer, I noticed a musician was playing live music in the corner. Further in the restaurant was a food station with some of the most delicious small bites.
First, I tried the pork belly with fig. The pork belly was extremely tender and delicious! Some of the best pork belly I have had in a while. Next was salmon with artichokes. Oh, the artichokes. So tender and flavorful. I loved it! Finally, the gnocchi. It melted in my mouth! Filled with spinach and goat cheese, it was amazing. I would definitely order the pork belly and gnocchi again!
To end the evening, there was a raffle and I happened to be the lucky recipient of $ 350 in restaurant giftcards. What an amazing end to the evening! Thank you so much! I had a great time and can’t wait to come back!

(Lyrics — Sebastian — Kiss The Girl)
First we gotta create the mood!
Cuttlefest!
Wine!
Oysters!
Unilocal!
There let’s Unilocal her
Sitting there at the Ranch (Gainey)
It don’t gotta lot to say
But there’s something about it
And you don’t know why
But you’re dying to taste it
You wanna Cuttlefest!
Yes, you want it
Look at it, you know you do
It’s possible it wants you too
There’s one way to Unilocal it
It does take a star, just a penta-​star
Go on and Unilocal the Fish (Cuttlefish)
Shalalalala
My oh my
Look at the Elite Event
Oh gonna Cuttlefest
Shalalalala
Ain’t that rad!
it’s such a Bam!
Bo Bites, you’re gonna try a bite
go on and Cuttlefest
Cuttlefest is definitely one to remember for 2014! Fresh oysters, pork bellys, gnocchi and salmon — Oh go on and kiss my palate; sorry Sebastian I’ll take over from here — Les Poison les poison, how I love les poison! Unilocalers elate, that’s okay into sauce!
Totally appreciate Cuttlefish to close down the entire restaurant for us Unilocalers. It’s definitely a place I can return to and expect a nice seafood dinner. By the way, what’s up with the motorbicycle seats?! I was totally confused, but it worked cause it made me feel like a bad-​ass!
Overall, thanks again Lindsey for a wonderful Presidents Day evening. It’s alway fun to party with the Unilocal gang when we have the chance and to experience new restaurants that is a must! Under the desert sun, under the desert sun, down here at the Cuttlefish, down here it’s better take it from me! — Enjoy!

Vespa scooters for seats. I’m sold. They were extremely comfortable.
And how come Bao gets to rap his reviews? Oh well, I’ll think of a rap next time.
Anyway, the event was awesome. Cuttlefish was so so so and I mean so so so generous with their food and drinks. I haven’t seen this many Unilocalers at an event in a while so that was always good. And after the event, there was an after party at Notorious Burger for another free drink. It was JUST a GOOD NIGHT. :D
The best thing was the raw oyster plates that were there for us to eat. There were so many. 5 kinds of oysters from Kumamoto, Fannie Mae to Azul to another few oysters of different families. Extremely delicious. I think I like the Kumamoto which had a sweet flavor. And the Azul for the briny taste. Sorry… I’m kind of a nut for raw oysters. Seems every time I eat oysters in AZ, it tastes like water. BUT NOT AT CUTTLEFISH! The raw oysters have distinct taste.
And they told me that on Wednesdays from 3pm to close, half price on dozen oyster and wine. $ 15 for dozen raw oysters!
And they of course, the free drinks. Mucho gracias. And the salmon, the pork belly, the tuna on a cone, and gnocchi was highly delicous. I like the pork belly the best throughout the evening. NOT THE HEALTHIEST, by the way. But still the best. It just melted in your mouth.
One of the great events of 2014 so far. Gino, the headwaiter… got to talk to him. Very nice man. Him and his staff was great the enter night. Especially the ones preparing the fresh oysters the entire night! And of course Lindsay! What can I say? You go girl! :) Thank you.