The Resy Guide to The Essential Spots to Dine in Phoenix

Chef Charleen Badman and her wine-wonky partner Pavle Milic opened their original postage stamp-size New American bistro in Old Town in 2009. In the years that followed, they moved to bigger (though still cozy) digs and became an institution, the place for food-lovers to go and the place to brag about having gone. But there’s never been a nanosecond of laurel-resting for these two — not when Badman won a James Beard award for Best Chef Southwest in 2019, nor when the restaurant earned Beard nominations for Milic’s wine program twice, in part for his staunch support of Arizona’s burgeoning wine industry.

Badman — who stands at the stove rather than swanning about the dining room schmoozing her customers — tweaks her globally inflected, vegetable-driven menu to follow the seasons, making fresh, vibrant dishes that somehow manage to be sexy and wholesome at once. If you’re lucky, you might find pan-fried Turkish manti drizzled with urfa butter or Peruvian chicken spring rolls set atop a creamy aji amarillo aioli that flickers with heat. The comforting constants are a handful of simple, seasonal salads, another handful of often-neglected vegetables brought to life in brilliant preparations, and a whipped cream-topped tumbler of the town’s best butterscotch pudding.

Call 480-284-4777 for reservations.

Chef Rene Andrade opened his tiny pink pie-shaped eatery, devoted to all things Sonoran, in early 2021 and became the restaurant phenomenon of the year long before the year was out. By November, Esquire had included Bacanora among the 40 best new restaurants in America — and for good reason. The minimalist menu featuring smoky carne asada-filled burritos, caramelos (the quesadilla’s cousin), and pollo asado doesn’t begin to convey the intensely satisfying experience that lies ahead.

That chicken, for starters, is completely off the chain, charred and juicy with a hint of smoke from its time over mesquite wood on a custom-built Santa Maria grill. The steak? Equally ridiculous. Daily specials are the real sweet spot, however, the place where Andrade’s high-end restaurant experience really shines. Consider citrus-licked crudo, grill-blackened elote, aquachile, fiery with the chiltepin peppers Andrade hauls up from his family’s Sonoran ranch, or smoky grilled octopus that ranks among the best in town. And you can’t leave without a shot of bacanora (Sonora’s rugged agave-based spirit), served in an eye-popping presentation involving cinnamon, piloncillo, and fire.

James Beard Award winner Chris Bianco built his reputation on supernal wood-fired pizza, deemed the best in the world by food writer Jeffrey Steingarten. But Bianco and crew — including recently installed chef de cuisine Zion Yaegashi Culley, who took the reins after Cassie Shortino’s departure last year — are capable of so much more than that. And they prove it at lovely, light-filled Tratto, Bianco’s stylish yet personal take on an Italian trattoria, housed in a renovated circa 1917 market and filled with artwork — some painted by his father.

Guided by season and region (Bianco was a locavore long before the term became a marketing cliché), the menu, which changes frequently, is rife with standouts. Look for the earthy chickpea pancake called farinata, salads brimming with local fruits and vegetables, certainly a pasta or two fashioned from locally grown grains, and a simple, sublime chicken roasted with bay laurel and served with drippings. No wonder Esquire named Tratto one of its 50 favorite restaurants in the country.

Call 602-296-7761 for reservations.

Sharing roof space with a vintage furniture store, midcentury modern Valentine is part coffee- and sweets-fueled computer lounge, part restaurant, part nerdy cocktail bar — a hip, casual hangout that seems perfectly attuned to its quirky Melrose neighborhood. It’s the brainchild of Chad Price and Blaise Faber (former mixologist at Tratto), who enlisted chef Donald Hawk (the former talent behind the raw bar at The Gladly) to create a menu that redefines Southwestern cuisine yet speaks to the terroir of Arizona. A 30-day dry-aged tomahawk, Arizona-raised, comes sided with pork belly-enriched tepary beans and huitlacoche tortillas, while the lushness of raisin-studded hiramasa crudo, bathed in brown butter, is offset by tangy tomatillo vinaigrette. Creative sweets — say, a flower-bedecked squash sticky bun with rose caramel glaze — are a morning must-do, courtesy of pastry chef Antonia Kane (Tartine, Flour + Water), while Faber’s Arizona-themed cocktails, made from his own wildly creative tinctures and syrups, are mind-bending, including a breezy green chile margarita served in a glass cowboy boot. For abstainers, there’s crazy-good cajeta latte and Hatch chile yuzu lemonade.

Visit valentinephx.com for reservations.

Christened for a French-made sparking rosé, French-themed Sottise — a new bistro and wine bar in the Roosevelt Row arts district — is as bubbly and fun as its namesake. The third venture for chef TJ Culp and Esther Noh, the pair behind Melrose’s Restaurant Progress and The Montecito Bottle Shop, this unpretentious place seems destined for greatness. Who wouldn’t want to post up on its deep front porch with a bottle of wine curated by wine director Oscar Avilla-Prado? His 150-bottle list leans French but also includes California wines, pet-nats and field blends, a little something for everyone. Meanwhile, the menu features the old-school French bistro fare we’ve all missed: plump escargots Bourgogne, swimming in butter, croque monsieur, rich pâté with coarse grain mustard and Camembert, baked just this side of oozy, then drizzled with Calvados honey and hazelnut vinaigrette. The deviled eggs may not be French, but dear God, they’re good — salty with capers, tangy with olive tapenade. Best of all, Culp’s vintage turntable spins vinyl in a range of genres.

Call 602-254-6378 for reservations.

Four Peaks may not be the granddaddy of Arizona breweries (although it comes close), but it’s certainly the best known, launched in 1996 in an old Mission Revival building that was, by turns, an icehouse, a Borden’s dairy creamery, and a recording studio for the likes of Stevie Nicks and the Gin Blossoms. It’s the hangout of choice for ASU students and spring training fans alike, who come for the patio, huge bar, laid-back atmosphere, elevated (but not too elevated) pub grub, and, of course, the beer, including a flagship Scottish ale called Kilt Lifter. Wings, nachos, burgers, pizza — they’re all here, including signature green chile mac ‘n’ cheese, a Cuban sandwich made with peach ale-braised pork belly, and beer can chicken, which puts golden lager to excellent use. Finish up with a boozy milkshake and walk away with a growler. Good place for Saturday or Sunday brunch too.

Chef-owner Doug Robson opened the original Gallo Blanco, an upscale cantina in the Clarendon Hotel in 2009, lost his lease, and eventually found the perfect new spot — a former ’20s-era neighborhood grocery in the Garfield neighborhood, which sits on the cusp of gentrification. He’s renovated the old brick building, creating a multi-windowed space with a turquoise bar and two patios, all tailor-made for chilling, drinking a Mexican-inflected cocktail, and grazing on Robson’s signature guacamole, chunky with orange segments. His imaginative antojitos, salads, and mains move beyond the borders of Mexican food, which is not surprising when you know that Robson is himself a “gallo blanco” (“white guy” in Mexican slang), who grew up in Mexico City and spent his early career cooking modern American at Chelsea’s Kitchen and La Grande Orange. Now, he’s justifiably famous for his roasted chicken, taco dorado (a long masa-based taco stuffed with red chile pork), carne asada-filled Naco torta, and, counterintuitively, outrageously rich flapjacks.

As the host of the award-winning Arizona-based PBS show called “Plate & Pour,” Mark Tarbell is a local celebrity, but you’d never know it from his modest demeanor and self-deprecating sense of humor. Most nights, you’ll still find him in his welcoming, art-filled restaurant, recommending wines (his expertise is legendary) and chatting with customers, many of them local movers and shakers who’ve been coming since the restaurant opened in 1994. After 25 years and counting, the place has achieved “classic” status without the usual calcification that accompanies such a label.

Sure, the menu contains old standbys such as “The Meatball” with spaghetti and The Beloved chocolate mousse (don’t miss either), but it also reads on-trend considering housemade burrata with Meyer lemon jam, Aleppo pepper-dusted scallop crudo with coconut lime crema, and vegan cauliflower fried rice. In the mood for something a tad more casual? Try Tarbell’s Tavern next door, where you’ll find charcuterie boards, flatbreads, tacos, and great by-the-glass wines, then browse the adjacent wine shop, one of the best in the city.

Chef Claudio Urciuoli and his partner Omar Alvarez own two modern Italian restaurants now: the charming — and considerably quieter — original Pa’La on 24th Street, and the sexy two-story Pa’La Downtown, which features an industrial-meets-retro vibe, cocktails, full service, and edgy art installations, amenities that play well with the younger crowd who keep PD noisy and bustling. Jason Alford, a 10-year veteran of Japanese-inspired Roka Akor (an upscale chain famous for sushi and robata cooking), has been made executive chef and new partner, and it seems like a good fit, given his passion for seafood and his predilection for simplicity.

The menu is broader and more modern here, filled with dishes given Japanese and Middle Eastern inflection. It also changes frequently, so be sure to read the hanging chalkboard, where you’ll likely find a rotating selection of oysters on the half shell and a few pastas, as well as an entrée special and wood-fired pizza of the day. Keep an eye out for za’atar-sparked scallops, bathed in luxurious green apple-miso sauce, and shrimp nestled in peperonata, a tomato-sweet stew, spiced with togarashi. Then again, don’t overlook soul-satisfying classics such as Salt Spring mussels and Italian sausage, afloat in a garlicky broth so good you’ll swear there’s a grandma in the kitchen. Aim for prime seating at the upstairs bar or the balcony overlooking the street.

Call 602-368-3052 for more information.

With help from her partner Dan Robinson, chef-owner Pornsupak “Cat” Bunnag turns out the boldly flavored snacks and street foods of her native Thailand in a cozy space that brings words like “home” and “mama” to mind. From the instant its doors opened in 2018, the place was a hit for a slew of reasons. For one, the Asian-inflected cocktail program is sensational. Two, the narrow, plant-filled patio, dappled with shade and sunlight, is charming. And three, Bunnag’s accomplished home cooking finds just the right balance of sweetness, tang, and spice.

When everything is this fresh and prettily plated, it’s hard to go wrong, but here are a few recs to get you started: kanom jeeb (juicy dumplings stuffed with local pork, scallions, and ginger), Silom Road moo ping (charred garlicky pork shoulder skewers bathed in soy and coconut milk, and sided with dipping sauce), mackerel fried rice, crispy chicken wings, and a sublimely simple chive rice cake, crunchy at its edges. Note: it gets crowded, and patio seating is first come, first served.

Call 602-595-5881 for reservations.