Valentine Might Make the Best Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner in Phoenix
Valentine
Valentine is one of those strange unicorn restaurants that kind of nails it no matter when you show up (it’s kind of like a better version of Lux… not to be competitive about it). The breakfast/brunch is amazing, the pastries are out of this world, and the coffee is delicious. And then you show up for dinner and it’s also amazing, and there’s a whole cocktail situation that might be the best part of it all (I’m lying…the pastries are the star here). Bonus points if you have a couple drinks and walk around Modern Manor, the attached mid-century furniture store—it’s always a good time.
Midtown - 4130 N 7th Ave
Awards + Accolades
James Beard Awards
2024: Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker | Crystal Kass - Finalist
2023: Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker | Crystal Kass - Semifinalist
2022: Emerging Chef | Donald Hawk - Semifinalist
Spirited Awards
2024: Best U.S. Restaurant Bar (U.S. West) - Regional Top 10
2023: Best U.S. Restaurant Bar (U.S. West) - Regional Top 10
AZ Central
2024: 100 essential restaurants
2023: 100 essential restaurants
Eater
2024: The 38 Essential Restaurants in Phoenix
Phoenix Magazine
2024: Best Bar Snacks
2024: Most Innovative Pastry Chef
2022: Best Cosmo
2021: Best Pastry Artist | Antonia Kane
Phoenix New Times
2024: Top 100 Restaurants
2023: Best Chef
2023: Best Place to Take a Foodie
2022: Best Authentic Arizona Restaurant
2021: Best New Restaurant
Reviews
The food encouraged me to think deeper about our past and the beautiful flavors that make up the Phoenician experience. When Valentine gets it right, the results are really inspired. They're exciting dishes that I want to share with the people I love.
- Andi Berlin, AZ Central
In a matter of months, this midcentury modern bar and eatery in Melrose has become the city’s hippest hangout for its unique coffee drinks, classic but twisty cocktails and out-of-the-box Modern American cooking – namely, chef Donald Hawk’s trendy yet oddly comforting dishes, many wood-fired and made with Arizona ingredients.
- Nikki Buchanan, Phoenix Magazine
For everything we forked down, there was still much left to conquer. Valentine's pastries are made in-house. And its sleek black Marzocco machine would make any espresso fanatic eager for a shot. We're fine waiting. When it comes to Valentine, like any dizzying new love, a little mystery goes a long way.
- Natasha Yee, Phoenix New Times
What to Get
Brown-Butter Hiramasa Crudo
Conceived and delivered at The Gladly, chef Donald Hawk’s cult favorite now resides at his new Melrose all-day diner, Valentine. A uniquely harmonious mélange of ingredients – satiny slices of hiramasa (yellowtail) graced with artfully toasted butter, raisins, tomatillo-and-fish-sauce vinaigrette and Sonoran Desert I’itoi onions – create an ethereal dish light in texture but rich in flavor, and absolutely irresistible.
- Phoenix Magazine
Burnt Honey Cake
The cake is incredibly moist and the candy offers a toffee-like crunch. Kass also uses Maldon salt to cut through some of the sweetness. It makes for a final bite that, like the rest served at the lionized restaurant, delivers flawlessly while having some fun.
- Tirion Boan and Sara Crocker, Phoenix New Times
Churro Waffle
Our latest find was the Churro Waffle, a decadent dish that perfectly blends its two namesakes. Listed on the breakfast and brunch menu, this would be quite an intense way to start your day. We'd suggest sharing the sugar bomb with a friend over coffee or as a dessert.
- Tirion Boan and Sara Crocker, Phoenix New Times
Cosmo
You know how much you hated the Sex and the City reboot? That’s how much we love the Cosmo at Melrose hot spot Valentine. This is not Carrie Bradshaw’s cocktail. Instead of cranberry juice, the vodka is paired with hibiscus and pomegranate. But the thing that really kicks this one over the top is the hint of cinnamon. You’ll find none better – even in NYC.
- Phoenix Magazine
Dirty Cactus Martini
A Martini is a classicly simple cocktail, unless you're talking about the Dirty Cactus Martini at Valentine. Like much of the regional wizardry served at this Southwest-inspired restaurant and bar, the drink looks straightforward, but that couldn’t be further from reality.
- Geri Koeppel, Phoenix New Times
Eggnog
The result is a luxurious, very grown-up, ultra-smooth, and creamy interpretation of a holiday classic. Despite all the alcohol that goes into making it, the eggnog lacks the bite or sting of a too-strong cocktail. It also hits all the key elements of vanilla and warming spices with delicate execution. In other words, it's the modern upgrade classic eggnog was waiting for.
- Georgann Yara, Phoenix New Times
Elote Pasta
What’s more representative of Phoenix than a riff on a classic Italian dish combined with the flavors of Mexican street corn? The tagliarini pasta is made in-house with white Sonoran wheat and local eggs, and topped with a delicious goat cotija cheese from local Crows Dairy. The elements of the dish are familiar to any Phoenician’s palate, but the way in which Valentine brings together popular local flavors in a new way makes it worth returning to.
- Mcconnell Quinn, Eater
Grilled Chula Oysters
In a year when I had both this version and traditional Oysters Rockefeller at Antoine’s in New Orleans proper, as wonderful as both were, I prefer Hawk’s.
- Dominic Armato, Phoenix New Times
Hatch Chili Margarita
The Hatch chili margarita at Valentine is probably the most hallucinatory margarita in town. This cloudy yellow potion is a circus of citrus and peppers in a glass boot. Barman and co-owner Blaise Faber says it’s his best-selling cocktail.
- Chris Malloy, Phoenix New Times
Pine Nut Cream Croissant
The Pine Nut Cream Croissant at Valentine is infused with Southwestern character. Pastry chef Crystal Kass, a 2023 James Beard Award nominee for outstanding pastry chef, uses locally-grown Sonora wheat flour, a heritage grain from BKW Farms that infuses the finished product with a nutty, earthy flavor. It’s double-baked, filled with luscious piñon frangipane and showered with icing sugar for just the right amount of sweetness.
Allison Young, Phoenix New Times
