The Scottsdale dining and entertainment scene will be hotter than usual this summer, with the opening of BLK Live, the area’s newest restaurant and music venue. Opening Friday, May 27, BLK Live is a 20,000 square-foot casual restaurant with a fine dining feel.
BLK offers a dining room, bar and patio dining, as well as a pool with custom cabanas, a palapa-covered bar, and an adjacent concert hall that accommodates 1,000 guests for live entertainment, wedding receptions or other private events.
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Photos courtesy of BLK Live
BLK takes its name from the black Wagyu cattle considered to be the highest quality beef in the U.S., and which is featured prominently on the menu. The restaurant’s name is also a nod to the live music it will offer in the dining room, concert hall, and poolside on weekends.
The contemporary American menu emphasizes grilled hand-cut Wagyu (American Kobe) steaks from Snake River Farms, a family-owned business founded in Idaho in 1968. BLK also serves Akaushi Wagyu beef from Heart Brand, fourth generation cattle ranchers in Texas who work diligently to maintain and protect the Akaushi breed, while ensuring their beef meets rigorous quality guidelines and certified product testing. Both companies supply high quality beef to some of the best restaurants in the world.
The BLK menu includes an array of appetizers including Tuna Poke (Ahi Tuna, wonton chips, wasabi mayo, Sriracha mayo), Crispy Pork Belly (braised pork belly, smoked peaches, brown sugar bourbon), Frog Legs (fried, served with a creole aioli), and more.
BLK also serves soup made from scratch daily, and a variety of salads made fresh with chicken, ahi and Kobe steak options. Nearly a dozen burgers and sandwiches are featured, including a BBQ Stuffed Burger (Sailor Jerry spiced rum barbeque sauce, cheddar cheese and fried onions), Blackened Chicken sandwich (blackened Redbird chicken, pepper jack cheese, avocado, red onions, tomatoes, Salanova lettuce and roasted garlic aioli), El Jimador Burger (El Jimador-marinated patty, tequila guacamole, bacon, pickled jalapenos, carrots, onions, pepper jack cheese), and a Coppola Cabernet Burger (Coppola-marinated patty and grilled tomato), as well as Turkey and Veggie burgers, among others.
Other entrees at BLK include Roasted Pork Tenderloin (served on cheddar bacon polenta with a red wine cherry reduction); Rack of Ribs (Sailor Jerry spiced rum barbeque sauce, served with jalapeno mac & cheese, French fries); Coppola Filet (8 oz. Snake River Farms filet, purple mashed potatoes, asparagus and fried onions);BLK Meatloaf (brown sugar glaze, garlic mashed potatoes, collard greens); Redbird Brick Chicken (roasted veggies and a rosemary demi glaze); and Chicken & Waffles (Redbird chicken, Frosted Flakes, Red Hot Waffles, Crown Royal maple syrup, jalapeno honey butter); to name a few.
Seafood dishes include Salmon (sautéed and served with couscous in a dashi broth); Scallops (butternut squash puree, smoked apple, fennel salad), Fish & Chips (Uncle Bear’s Mandarin Wheat beer battered cod, garlic fries, smashed peas, tartar), and Steam Bag Trout (quinoa, herb butter, white wine, lemon.) A variety of side dishes are available for sharing.
BLK has an extensive wine list from every major winemaking region, as well as select boutique wineries, sparkling wine, Champagne, an array of craft cocktails, and 12 beer taps featuring rotating craft, domestic and imported beers. Patrons who enjoy premium spirits will appreciate BLK’s selection of nearly two dozen labels of fine scotch, whiskey, cognac, tequila and more.
Executive Chef Daniel Hackett and Sous Chef Michael Casanova created the menu for BLK Live, which is managed by Robert “Cookie” Oliver. BLK Live, which has sister concepts in Orange County, California, is owned by Skydoor Restaurants · Entertainment.
“Our goal is to serve delicious and approachable food with the highest quality ingredients,” said Kevin Johnson, a Skydoor principal. “We are providing Scottsdale residents and visitors the unique combination of a fine dining destination in a relaxed atmosphere with great entertainment. This will be the first venue of its kind in the area.”
Featuring sophisticated yet casual décor, BLK has a modern flair with wood plank walls, wood tables, bright orange upholstered booths, galvanized metal accents and custom lighting with an industrial feel. Tributes to music legends can be found throughout the dining room and poolside cabanas in the form of custom artwork.
Los Angeles-based artist Roman Pastucha was commissioned to create life-like paintings, which are airbrushed acrylics reproduced onto Plexiglass. Known as hyperrealism, the paintings have the look of a photo, and are backlit at night for a dramatic effect. Iconic artists David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, AC/DC and Led Zepplin are depicted. Pastucha is working on a painting of Prince, which will be lit in purple, to add to BLK Live’s collection.
Adding to the ambiance are 34 TVs and multiple fire features throughout the restaurant and patios. Upon completion of BLK’s patio – which will be the largest patio for dining in Scottsdale – the restaurant will accommodate more than 200 people for dining, and approximately 1,000 for private parties.
BLK will offer specially priced drinks and small plates for Happy Hour Monday through Friday from 3 to 6 pm, and a Late Night Happy Hour from 10 pm until 2 am. A weekend brunch will be available soon, along with Sunday Funday, with a DJ by the pool, entertaining diners throughout the day with classic rock, Top 40 and other popular music.
BLK Live will be open daily from 11 am to 2 am. The restaurant is located at 7301 E. Butherus Drive, just east of North Scottsdale Road, in Scottsdale. To make reservations or for more information, call 480.494.5069 or visit blklivescottsdale.com.
BLK Live is owned by Costa Mesa, California-based Skydoor Restaurants • Entertainment which also owns and operates BLK Earth Sea Spirits, Thunder Burgrz & Pizza, 2nd Floor, and Gallagher’s Pub & Grill, all located in what is known as Surf City, USA — downtown Huntington Beach. The company also owns BLK Burgrz and Casa Ranchero in Ladera Ranch, California.
