Monday, August 31, 2026

The Top 100 Places to Drink Near Frances

  1. Rank 1. Kid Sister

    Contemporary

    Desert-toned walls and a condensed, always-shifting wine list set the mood at this neo-bistro and wine bar on Seventh Street. The team pulls from old and new world bottles for both pours and a rotating spritz selection, while small plates from the kitchen give you a reason to stay for another glass. A James Beard semifinalist for Best New Bar, it draws the kind of crowd that actually talks to the table next to them.









  2. Rank 9. Boycott Bar

    Cocktail Bar


  3. Rank 10. Little Rituals

    Cocktail Bar

    A metal beaded curtain on the fourth floor of a downtown Marriott is not where you expect to find one of the country's better cocktail bars, and yet here we are. The menu arrives illustrated like a small field guide, one drawing per drink. The cocktails run from riffed classics to things you won't find elsewhere, with bar snacks serious enough to anchor a full evening. It won the Spirited Award for Best U.S. Hotel Bar in 2025, and a James Beard semifinalist nod followed.


  4. Rank 11. Sauvage

    Natural Wine Bar

    A converted cottage on McDowell Road that smells faintly of old rugs and good intentions, Sauvage is a natural wine bar and bottle shop where the list leans toward obscure regions and the staff will talk you through all of it. Charcuterie and tinned fish are always on hand, and local chefs occasionally pop up to cook. Esquire named it one of the best bars in America, which the room, unhurried and candlelit, seems entirely unbothered by.


  5. The digital windows scroll through passing landscapes while you sit inside a wood-paneled Presidential Pullman car that never moves, which is either the concept or the joke, possibly both. Platform 18 is a reservation-only immersive cocktail bar built around Prohibition-era drinks and Roaring Twenties New York. The Pinnacle Guide awarded it 2 Pins. Book ahead; walk-ins go nowhere fast.



  6. Rank 14. Carry On

    Cocktail Bar

    The cabin is dressed in burnt orange and warm walnut, the windows show a looping blue-yonder reel, and a flight attendant is rolling the beverage cart your way. Carry On is an immersive cocktail lounge built around the first-class, Mad Men-era flight fantasy, preflight announcements and all. Reservations drop weekly and go fast, so plan accordingly. The Spirited Awards named it a Top 10 U.S. Nominee for Best New Cocktail Bar.


  7. Rank 15. Barcoa Agaveria

    Mexican Cocktail Bar

    Two bars for the price of one obsession: an energetic street-level cantina with patio and a reservation-only basement room for quieter, deeper agave rabbit-holing. A food truck parks outside when hunger arrives. The agave selection runs wide enough that the bartenders will happily guide you in, and the cocktails, like a mezcal-and-pistachio-milk situation, suggest this is not your average tequila shelf.



  8. Rank 17. UnderTow

    Tiki Cocktail Bar

    The whole room is built to look like the cargo hold of a 19th-century ship, portholes and all, which sets the stakes early at this immersive tiki bar on Indian School. The cocktail menu runs from classics to the team's own riffs on the genre, leaning into the full theatrical bit without apologizing for it. Phoenix New Times named it the city's top tiki bar, and the Spirited Awards put the bar team among the top four in the U.S.



  9. Rank 19. Rough Rider

    Cocktail Bar

    You reach it by taking the middle elevator in the Ten-0-One Building down to the basement, which sets the tone before the doors even open. Rough Rider is a cocktail bar with a full food menu, done up in dark wood and high ceilings, somewhere between a Victorian gentlemen's club and a downtown Phoenix speakeasy. The drinks lean into the era with names like Happy Birthday Mr. President, and the kitchen sends out a raw bar and a bone-in pork chop that suggest nobody phoned it in.


  10. A faded pink building off Seventh Avenue, formerly a tax office, which tracks: there's something a little bureaucratic about a jukebox this good. Inside, the bar is cheap, loose, and happy to stay that way, with Scrabble at the booths and beers that don't require a budget meeting. The patio shifts into DJ territory after dark, and the rotating calendar of themed nights keeps regulars checking Instagram like it's homework.




  11. Globe pendant lights, brass accents, and two misters-in-summer courtyards make this woman-owned taproom on Roosevelt Row feel like the anti-brewery brewery. The flagship pale ale is called Herstory, which tells you everything about the vibe. Rotating experimental brews sit alongside core taps, and if you get hungry, a QR code on the table summons food from nearby spots. Trivia nights and live music fill the calendar, and Phoenix New Times named it one of the city's top 100 bars.


  12. A photo wall of Diana Taurasi greets you at the door, which tells you everything about what kind of sports bar this is. Planted in Phoenix's Melrose district, Title 9 is a beer bar and grill built around women's athletics, with imagery spanning players to sports journalists across every wall. The color palette reads as a quiet nod to the lesbian pride flag, a detail that fits the neighborhood perfectly.



  13. The walls at this dim Roosevelt Row cocktail lounge are lined with polaroids of patrons who've shed a little more than their inhibitions, all tasteful enough that you'd call it art if pressed. The drinks from the veteran team change often and lean experimental, which pairs nicely with the dark, slightly conspiratorial atmosphere. Named a Regional Top 10 Honoree at the Spirited Awards, it earns the recognition without trying too hard to.



  14. Rank 28. Chilte

    Modern Mexican

    The restaurant's unofficial motto translates roughly to "I don't give a damn," which is a curious thing to post when your birria arrives in hand-pressed squid ink tortillas with miso consommé. Chilte is a modern Mexican restaurant and bar in a revamped motor hotel on Grand Avenue, and Food & Wine named the chef one of its Best New Chefs. The seasonal menu shifts often, and the team pulls in guest chefs regularly, so the room rewards repeat visits.


  15. Roosevelt Row gets a proper grown-up restaurant in Pretty Penny, where every table starts with a complimentary pour of bubbles and the kitchen sends out housemade pastas, bold proteins, and an octopus tostada that earned a spot on Phoenix Magazine's top dishes list. The forest-green room is sleek without being stiff, and the bar program holds its own, landing in the Spirited Awards' regional top ten for best new cocktail bar.


  16. Red lights, pool tables, a game room, and flatbreads until 2 a.m.: The Little Woody refuses to be just one kind of place, and Arcadia has loved it for years because of that. It's a dive bar with cocktail lounge bones, where dart nights blur into dancing and the Gun Shy Sour keeps the bourbon crowd happy. Weekend nights draw a younger crowd who treat the arcade games as warmly as the drinks.








  17. Rank 37. Bikini Lounge

    Tiki Dive Bar

    Frosted mugs pulled straight from a freezer behind a bar draped in kitschy tchotchkes: this Grand Avenue tiki dive bar has been an institution since truckers were rolling through on Route 60. Wood paneling, tiki-style tables, a pool table, and a patio where the smoking happens. On Tuesdays a DJ spins vinyl, playing what the regulars call "funky mutant dance music," and somehow the night outlasts your intentions. Cash only, so plan accordingly.


  18. Plastic dinosaurs lined up on the ledge, a letterboard menu that changes whenever it feels like it, and a taproom that still reads as someone's living room because it used to be one. This community-focused brewpub in Green Gables pours the Spellbinder hazy IPA alongside a rotating cast of fruit-forward beers, and food trucks regularly pull up out front to fill the gap. Small, friendly, and a little cluttered in the best way.


  19. You reach this cocktail bar and pinball arcade by yanking open a fake freezer door inside Ziggy's Magic Pizza Shop, which is either the best or worst way to start a night depending on how you feel about commitment. Inside: a glowing dance floor, a disco ball, pinball machines, and a full bar. Post-show crowds spill in from the Van Buren next door, so on any given night the room holds goths, burners, and Disney adults in rough harmony.


  20. A hanging mobile about Phoenix's infamous trunk murderess sets the tone before you've even ordered a drink. Valley Bar is a basement dive, reached through an alley off Central Avenue that will make you question your life choices right up until you hit the stairs and descend into genuinely good energy. Cheap beers, cocktails named after Arizona politicians, skeeball, shuffleboard, and live DJs on weekends round out a room that has no interest in taking itself seriously.




  21. Rank 43. Bar1

    Cocktail Bar

    Pinball machines and candlelight set the tone at this casual gay cocktail bar on 16th Street, where the vibe leans more neighborhood hangout than high-drama nightclub. Lounge seating, a patio, and daily drink specials keep regulars coming back through the week. The menu covers craft cocktails, bar snacks, and specialty shots, which is all you really need when the room is this relaxed.


  22. Rank 44. Rips Bar

    Dive Bar





  23. The draw at this Thai bar and mookata spot is the tabletop grill sunk into a pot of bubbling broth, where you cook your own meal at the table. It lives on the patio behind Lom Wong, small and casual, with craft cocktails doing serious work alongside the smoke. The New York Times put it on their Restaurant List, which is a lot of attention for a patio bar where dinner is technically a DIY project.



  24. Dollar bills papering the walls floor to ceiling, Christmas lights above, and a stage that gets a rock band most nights of the week: Chopper John's is a dive bar that knows exactly what it is. The black-and-red room off Indian School Road draws regulars who look like they were designed to match the decor. Pool tables, a patio for smokers, and baseball on the TV fill in the gaps between sets.


  25. The outdoor bar lives inside a repurposed shipping container, which tells you something about this brewpub's sensibility. Arizona Wilderness pours a rotating slate of seasonal ales alongside house classics, and the kitchen keeps pace with oversized burgers, an Arizonan hot fried chicken sandwich, and duck fat fries that have developed their own following. The vegan options are less afterthought than actual draw. Bench seating, a beer garden, and desert weather do the rest.





  26. Rank 55. Sidewinder

    Diner American

    Palomas come in tajín-rimmed Jarritos bottles here, and the bartender's expression suggests you should feel lucky to have one. Sidewinder is a diner-bar in Garfield that leans hard into the dingy-vintage aesthetic, the kind of place where a $3 Bud Heavy and a sloppy joe feel like the whole point. It was opened by the team behind an upscale French bistro, which explains nothing and everything at once.


  27. Rank 56. Sazerac

    Cocktail Bar



  28. Rank 58. Cobra Arcade Bar

    Arcade Cocktail Bar

    Vintage arcade cabinets run on Cobra-stamped tokens, which tells you everything about the vibe before you've touched a joystick. This cocktail bar and arcade in downtown Phoenix covers its walls in local murals, pours signature drinks with names like Garbage Pail Kids and Punch Out, and hosts Valley DJs on weekends. When the crowd hits comic-con density, an anime-themed overflow lounge a few doors down offers Japanese import games and cocktails served in fugu-shaped mugs.


  29. A honky-tonk dive bar on the east side of Phoenix where the lineup might be line dancing one night and back-to-back rockabilly the next. The bar menu runs wings, burgers, and nachos, there's a daily food special, and happy hour runs weekday afternoons. Sports play on multiple screens for the crowd that isn't there for the boot-scootin'. An old-school institution that closed for a stretch and came back, which says something about how much the neighborhood wanted it back.



  30. Pint glasses hang from the ceiling and dollar bills plaster the columns at this Irish pub tucked into the back of a downtown Phoenix hotel. The menu runs shepherd's pie, fish and chips, and beef stew, with Guinness on draft doing most of the heavy lifting. A jug of apple pie shots on the bar suggests the night can go a few different directions. Phoenix New Times named it one of the top 100 bars in the city in 2025.



  31. Rank 63. Melindas Alley

    Cocktail Bar

    A chalkboard of rotating cocktail specials and a basement bathed so completely in red light that no other color survives the trip down. This speakeasy-style cocktail bar is tucked beneath the Renaissance Phoenix Downtown Hotel, behind a mural and open only two nights a week, which is exactly the energy. Vintage velvet chairs and low tables give it the feel of a sitting room someone forgot to leave, and the drinks arrive in coupes and crystal-cut rocks glasses.



  32. Rank 65. Six Byrd Cider

    Cider Beer Bar


  33. Rank 66. Coabana

    Cuban Cocktail Bar

    Gold palm fronds hang over the bar like a permanent vacation has been declared, and the drinks menu at this Cuban cocktail bar treats rum the way a serious wine list treats Burgundy. The daiquiri and mojito get thoughtful treatment alongside wilder tropical builds. The same team runs Pigtails and Rough Rider, so the pedigree tracks. Pink tiles, cozy booths, and food to keep things grounded.


  34. Rank 67. théa

    Mediterranean



  35. A red mirrored hallway leads you down into this speakeasy-style cocktail lounge beneath a north Scottsdale restaurant, which is exactly the kind of entrance that makes people feel they've earned their drink. Inside, gold ceilings, red velvet drapes, and live music set a mood that commits fully to the bit. The cocktails lean sweet-and-savory strange, and small bites keep the evening going. Phoenix New Times named it Best Bar in 2025.





  36. A seven-foot plaster rooster presides over the bar, and a miniature Eiffel Tower tops the roof, and somehow neither feels out of place. Nutowne Saloon is an old-school gay bar in east Phoenix that has been around forever, surviving a fire that gutted the place and still coming back kitschier than before. Pool tables, a Merlin fortune-telling machine, and a patio covered for the crowds round out a room that grandma's attic would recognize immediately.




  37. A strip-mall address in Scottsdale is doing its best to throw you off, but step inside Course and it's a full tasting-menu restaurant, white-tablecloth intentions and all. The kitchen runs a rotating seasonal menu, five courses on weeknights and eight on weekends, with a James Beard semifinalist nomination for the chef and another for pastry. The Pinnacle Guide awarded it one Pin for 2026.









  38. Rank 84. Casey Moore's Oyster House

    Seafood Cocktail Bar

    An old house in Tempe that may or may not be haunted, depending on how many drinks in you are. Casey Moore's is a seafood and oyster bar that's been around forever, and it draws the full cross-section of college town life, from freshmen to people who were freshmen here decades ago. The patio, the well-priced drinks, and the raw bar keep everyone coexisting peacefully, which is harder to pull off than it sounds.




  39. A dark, sleek wine bar in Old Town Scottsdale pouring from Arizona's Willcox region, which Wine Enthusiast has been calling the next Napa with a straight face for years. Co-owner Pavle Milic also runs the beverage program at Charleen Badman's FnB, so the pedigree is real. Bar staff are genuinely gregarious about helping you navigate a glass or flight, while regulars who never need to ask fill the other stools.







  40. The sour program leans into nostalgic flavors both real and invented, with a pastel blue Star Wars-inspired sipper sitting comfortably beside a margarita sour. This neighborhood craft brewery in northeast Phoenix rotates its taps aggressively, and the owner's laugh tends to reach you before he does. Food trucks cover the kitchen gap while a ramen bar next door remains perpetually forthcoming. A good room for people who treat tap lists the way others treat wine menus.



  41. Eighteen floors above Mill Avenue, this open-air rooftop bar and pool lounge sits atop The Westin Tempe, claiming the highest perch of any outdoor bar in the Valley. The bar itself is the only covered spot up there, so order first, then wander the full 360 degrees: A Mountain one way, the Mill Avenue Bridge glowing at night the other. Seasonal cocktails and local Arizona beers do the heavy lifting, with flatbreads and tacos for ballast.


  42. Cash only, dark inside, and on any given night you might have to squeeze past a metal band unloading gear in the parking lot just to get through the door. Palo Verde is a Tempe dive bar where construction workers in hi-vis vests share the rail with ASU newcomers and neighborhood lifers. Drinks are cheap and poured strong, and the bartender has your order memorized before you've taken your jacket off.






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