Noble Eatery Makes Noble Bread Shine Like No Other
In 2012, Noble Bread sprouted up in farmer’s markets, and then a bit later, Noble Eatery started putting stuff on their gorgeous slices. The first time I went, Claudio Urciuoli (now the owner of Source) gave me a free hot loaf because I said I drove all the way out from Gilbert. I ate almost all of it in my car on the way home because I’m gross.
Hai Noon Is the New Home of Famed Chef Nobuo Fukuda
If you never got a chance to eat at Nobuo at Teeter House, that’s a real shame. It was great. But now Chef Nobuo has a new place in Scottsdale, and has teemed up with the team behind Welcome Diner to create some sort or Sonoran desert meets Japan situation, and you should just go without really thinking about it. Just, just… just do it.
Vecina Will Make Your Midwest Grandma Crave Latin Flavors
There aren’t many restaurants like Vecina in the Valley. It’s “Latin inspired,” but extremely approachable, which means you can get all the flavors you’re looking for while satisfying even the most meat-and-potato diner you know. While you’re munching on their famously complex elote, someone else could be eating a hearty pork chop (which is delicious enough to expand any comfort zone).
Sweet Republic Is the Original Great Ice Cream Spot
Back in the day, FnB used to do lunch. It wasn’t your typical lunch though—the menu changed daily, and it was never more than a handful of items. For a run there, lunch at FnB was my favorite food experience in town. But then lunch ended, and while FnB is still incredible, a small piece of my heart may never recover.
Chilte Is Vying to Be the Best Mexican Spot in Arizona
Chilte is the next Bacanora (or something like that). Like Bacanora, Chilte’s getting national attention, and also like Bacanora, the owners seem extremely ambitious. But even if it goes nowhere from here, what we’ve got is pretty incredible. Bonus points if you’re staying at the Egyptian Motor Hotel and get Chilte served to your room. I’m pre-jealous.
Kabob Grill N' Go Nails Kabobs Like No Other
There’s nothing quite like a good kabob. I’m not talking about your parent’s overcooked 90’s kabobs, with dry chicken stuffed between a tasteless assortment of bell peppers and onions—I’m talking about gloriously juicy, well-seasoned meat swords that leave a lasting impression on your flavor-repressed taste buds. The ones you find on overseas vacations, but can never find here. Kabob Grill N' Go is making those kabobs.
Sottise Is Classy French for Millennials
You can still get a high-dollar, high-end French experience at Sottise, or you could get some reasonable cocktails and a few smaller plates and have a fantastic date night that comes in around the $100 mark. It’s French food for the people, and if you get a spot on the patio on a pleasant day, it’s just about perfect.
Bar 1912 Is Making Magic With Desert Ingredients
It doesn’t look like much, but just like Valentine, it’s doing nearly everything right. The space is cool, the music is always a little unexpected, and the menu is one-of-a-kind.
Highball Is a Tippy-Top-Tier, Gimmick-Free Cocktail Bar
Highball’s one of those cocktail bars that doesn’t really have a theme, doesn’t really have a gimmick, and isn’t trying to be trendy in any way. If it had a tagline, it’d be “really good and fairly fancy,” and the world seems to agree, with an active Spirited Awards regional top-10 honoree run since 2022.
UnderTow Is the Best Tiki Bar in Phoenix
It creaks like an old ship would, it looks like an old ship would (in Disneyland), and it has port holes on the sides with animated screens of the ocean. They’re not quite hyper-realistic, but they’re real enough to set the perfect mood. And once an hour, a thunderstorm rolls in that triggers some high-quality tiki pizazz. Oh, and the drinks rule.
Christopher’s Has the Fancy French Food You’ve Been Looking For
That view? Way too nice. The prix-fixe dinner menu? Way too delicious. That soufflé? I almost feel bad digging into it. I’m not jealous at all when you tell me you’re going soon. If I went, it would just ruin my appetite for all the normal foods I’d have to eat afterwards.
Tacos Chiwas Makes Simple Tacos Awesome
All over town you’ll find tacos with a pile of exotic ingredients that end up all over your face and hands, and admittedly, some of them are delicious. Tacos Chiwas isn't that kind of place. It's simple, in the best way possible.
Tratto Puts the Bianco Magic into Upscale Italian
One day, Tratto opened and it was billed as a Bianco thing, but “we’re trying for real this time” (that’s not a real quote). And we all went. And we all realized they weren’t kidding. Tratto is like Italian food if Italian food was better than Italian food. I sound drunk. With flavor!
Little Miss BBQ Is the Only BBQ in Phoenix Worth Waiting in Line For
Little Miss BBQ would be the best BBQ restaurant in most cities in Texas. I say this as an ex-Texan. What you really want though—if it’s not sold out—is the pastrami. Sure, it’s not traditional BBQ, but it’s stupid good. Or just get the brisket—either fatty or lean—and prepare to need a nap. There’s nothing quite as special as a brisket nap on a hot summer day.
Lom Wong Is Battling Glai Baan for the Thai Food Crown
Lom Wong should be on everyone’s go-to list this year (and forever) because it’s exactly what your taste buds have been missing. I mean, where else can you get a piña colada with fish sauce?
Hana Japanese Eatery Will Make You Love Japanese Cuisine
Hana Japanese Eatery is the ideal place to introduce someone to Japanese cuisine. It has the staples you generally think of—sushi, ramen, tempura-fried anything—but no specific dish dominates the menu. Instead, you get a range of dishes that will please anyone’s palette.
FnB Makes Vegetables Better Than Any Other Restaurant
Back in the day, FnB used to do lunch. It wasn’t your typical lunch though—the menu changed daily, and it was never more than a handful of items. For a run there, lunch at FnB was my favorite food experience in town. But then lunch ended, and while FnB is still incredible, a small piece of my heart may never recover.
Kai Might Still Be the Best Restaurant in Arizona
There have always been trendy new restaurants around town, but Kai has always been known as the very best. It’s also the only highest-end Native American place I’m aware of, serving a tasting menu with bison, heirloom grains, and a desert topped with Saguaro and wolfberry foam.
Andreoli Italian Grocer Makes Old-School Italian Exciting
Andreoli is the kind of place that forces you to be a little more European. I don’t know how to explain it, but whenever you’re there, you’ll just start ordering stuff and talking about it. Loudly. Sometimes with people you don’t even know. And you’ll see stuff on other tables and order more stuff.
Little Rituals Is (By Far) the World’s Best Courtyard by Marriott Bar
It’s always a struggle when you’re in downtown deciding between Little Rituals and Bitter & Twisted. Little Rituals is probably the one because it’s just a little more mysterious. Instead of being on the ground floor on the main road, it’s tucked into the 4th floor of the Residence Inn Hotel. One minute you’re in the most generic of places, and the next you’re in a cocktail wonderland.