Fate
Profile
$$ - average
Chinese
The perfect name and the perfect place on Valentine's Day
I first came here on Valentine's Day, to this renovated house-turned-restaurant, largely because I liked the name. I knew very little about the venue. So much has changed since then.
Because Fate is truly a special place. It's the perfect setting to begin a truly memorable evening. And the food is nothing short of spectacular as well.
Fate is considered by many vegetarians to be the best place for Asian cuisine in the Phoenix metro area. Yes, there's lot of vegetables, but it's the sauces that make the food here soooooooo goood! (As many dishes have the same veggies, but they come with different sauces.)
Plus, it doubles as an art gallery and music house!
The only complaints is 1)the tofu is fried in the same oil as the chicken so Vegans beware and 2)the severely limited parking. (This place makes the lot at Oregano's seem like a parking paradise.) There's only 3 spaces for vehicles, as the pic below demonstrates. (Though ample parking is available just south of there on Garfield St.)
Otherwise, everything about Fate is first-rate, top-notch. If you want to impress another, then Fate is a great place to start.
Open until 3a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. Closed Sunday.
Two blocks south of I-10, where 4th St. branches south to Fillmore and 5th St. Restaurant is on the east side of the street. (Note: 4th St. is a one-way St. heading north.) The best way to get there (from I-10 and 7th St) is to turn right at Garfield St (one block south of Roosevelt) and park on Garfield St., between 4th and 5th St.
Added by Steve Carlson on Oct 10 04 (updated Jul 11)
Reviews
The food at Fate is fantastic! It has been one of my favorite places for a long time. However; Usually I like to change up my order a little bit and switch out some veggies, no biggy, right? WRONG! Chef/Owner Johnny Chu is very adamant about keeping the things on his menu the way they are. Don't try to get the flat rice noodles in another dish, because he won't even do it. It makes me sad, because the food is so great, but twice now I have ordered something that I always order, and it had a weird, almost gasoline-like taste to it. Then I was told it tasted funny because I switched mushrooms for broccoli. Yeah RIGHT!
Food: Excellent! Spectacular! Chef Johnny Chu is a master of Asian cuisine. His sauces seem to always have a perfect balance of ingredients. Rather than being a mix of flavors that communicate a single taste, his sauces have a complexity that deliver layers of flavors from the moment it hits your tongue, through the full melding of flavors as you chew, to the finishing sensations once you swallow. I know this description must sound like overkill, but I don't know if just gushing about how good the food is would do it justice. Eating at Fate is a taste extravaganza!
Price: Unbelievably low! For the amount and quality of food, I felt guilty for paying so little.
Atmosphere: Great! Fate is in a used-to-be house in an older neighborhood in Central Phoenix. The small space is intimate and cozy. Art house do-it-yourself decorating gives the place a personal feel, like you have been invited to dinner a a really cool friend's house. Modern alternative music mixed by a live DJ compliments the artsy feel of the place.
Service: Great! The staff was quite attentive despite the fact that they were very busy. Our waitress was impressive as she described the special for the evening and answered all of our questions about items on the menu. You could tell that she loves not only working there, but eating there too.
Overall: The location isn't the greatest and there isn't much parking other than on the street about a block away. Otherwise I would give Fate a "10". Food, atmosphere, service--they have it all dialed in. I have eaten there many times and often take friends visiting from out of town there. Despite the location, Fate is a not-to-be-missed destination.
FATE has HORRIBLE FOOD. If you see any post saying the food is great they must work for the restaurant or have been paid to post. One post prior to me said positive remarks on the food but then continues to state the food tastes like "gasoline"....how can toxic substances tastes good in your food?
As a Vegan, I ordered the Fried Tofu appetizer and the Coconut Curry with Tofu. The tofu was too mushy and was coated in a tasteless breading. The Coconut Curry came close to tasting like a "fried dirty sock" (or at least how I would imagine a dirty sock in grease tasting???). It had one mushroom and one carrot chunk, filled mainly oversized triangles of tofu in a sauce looking close to vomit but less acidic. Overall FATE gets my approval for worst tasting food in the USA. And please know I am pretty forgiving and have ate at an extensive amount of restaurants since I was 5 years old from the East to West Coast and overseas! If you MUST go there or are ever forced, don't eat.... enjoy the location and interior which is the only good thing FATE has got going (a historic home turned into a restaurant).