Elephant Bar Restaurant

When someone recommends a place because the menu is "like Cheesecake Factory", I am hesitant. Elephant Bar does in fact have a large and diverse menu, but I found the food to be far beyond the quality of the previously mentioned. The restaurant itself is *very nice* inside, and is upscale without being too upscale.

I was their with the wife and 3 kids (we had a +1 friend for the weekend). We all tried something different and very much enjoyed ourselves.

My oldest (9yo) now thinks it is cool to order off the adult menu, and had herself the "Half Turkey And Ham Focaccia Sandwich And Soup Combo" - in her words the sandwich was awesome! She also raved about the soup (Mexican Tortilla), of which I had a bite and also loved. I had the "Pacific Cove Tropical Crab And Shrimp Louie" - and while not exceptional, it was very good. Another kid had the kids BBQ ribs, while the other had the chicken fingers and mac... I will note that the one kid said these were the best chicken fingers ever. I took her word for it... as they looked the like chicken fingers to me.

What really set this place apart  for me was the service and waiter...Shawn. He was very attentive, drinks were always full, and gave my oldest a child's desert even though is was not included in her "big girl" order. We all commented to each other on what a good server he was. My hats off the Shawn and all the staff.

Once upon a time there was a privately owned local restaurant called the Elephant Bar at Christown Mall. It was a 6 star, superb restaurant and closed maybe in the 90's. This is not that same one. Very Corporate Disneyfied jungle themed restaurant now. I am guessing since it is a chain it is not related to the original. When they sprung up a few years ago I wondered what happened to the old one and if there is any connection to these newer ones. The woman in the restaurant today could not tell me.

With that said, Wow, the reviews on here really surprised me. I ate lunch here today and have eaten at the Chandler location twice before. Today's lunch was great. Our server was a Gem (Brian maybe?) and the food was fine. I never pretend that eating out is all that healthy anyway so I assume it is not when I go out. I am not sure why a lot of Yelpers noted how bad it was for you since it did not seem any worse then any other Chain fusion chain restaurant I have ever eaten at.

I ate the Macadamia Nut chicken lunch special. It was good. Not great, but not terrible either. Instead of my three stars for good, I am giving it four stars because the service was spectacular, the company divine, and the restaurant is beautiful. Okay, maybe a tad cheesy, but I like the entire safari themed furniture and decor.

A group of seven of us came here last Saturday night for dinner. Very middle of the road. Nothing to rave about, nothing to complain about. Food was decent, service was decent, and overall everything was okay. Can't say I'm DYING to go back, but if someone else suggested it, I wouldn't protest; probably more of an afternoon lunch restaurant instead of dinner. There are better places for dinner for the same prices.