The Best Places to Drink and Stay in Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix

Guinness signs and hand-drawn maps of Ireland cover the walls of this Irish pub and restaurant in the far western suburbs of Phoenix. Fish and chips, corned beef and cabbage, and a full Irish breakfast on weekends anchor the menu. Bartenders know regulars by name, and the event calendar stays busy with live music, karaoke, and trivia nights, which is a lot to offer a neighborhood that doesn't always get this kind of attention.

1. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Irish Pub · Best of Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix

The floor doesn't fill until after midnight, which tells you everything about the kind of night Karamba is built for. It's a Latino gay nightclub where dancers in little more than underwear work elevated platforms while the DJs do the heavy lifting, threading reggaeton into club classics into top 40 without a seam. The pours are generous enough that an Uber home counts as planning ahead, not an afterthought. Phoenix New Times named it the best after-hours dance spot in town.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best After-Hours Dance Spot · Best of Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best After-Hours Dance Spot · Best of Phoenix
3. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix

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.

1. Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Place to Take a Geek Who Loves Beer · Best of Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix

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.

1. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Tasting Room · Best of Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Piano Bar · Best of Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix

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.

1. Foodist Awards 2025 · Finalist · Top Mixologist/Bartender · PJ Vader Baron
2. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix
3. Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Speakeasy · Best of Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix

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.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Dive Bar · Best of Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix

A craft brewery taproom in north Scottsdale that solved the age-old standoff between beer nerds and sports fans by simply installing TVs everywhere. The brewmaster leans toward classic European styles, rotating Czech lagers, English milds, and an Oktoberfest marzen through the taps. The covered patio connects to a permanent BBQ food trailer, so there's no reason to leave at halftime. Phoenix New Times named it Best New Brewery of 2025.

1. Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best New Brewery · Best of Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix

The 12 tap handles are mounted in a repurposed fire truck behind the bar, which tells you everything you need to know about the vibe. Roosters is a country bar that's been an East Valley institution forever, with a red-and-black checkered dance floor, pool tables, live music most nights, open mics, and karaoke. A second stage and beer tubs sit out on the smoking patio. Strangers introduce you to their friends before the first round is done.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Bar for Country Music · Best of Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix

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.

1. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Irish Pub · Best of Phoenix

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.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Trendy Diner · Best of Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Trendy Diner · Best of Phoenix
3. The Infatuation The 20 Best Restaurants In Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix

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.

1. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Rooftop Bar · Best of Phoenix
3. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Rooftop Bar · Best of Phoenix

Shrek raves, all-trans oil wrestling, and Christmas burlesque in July: the weekly calendar at this LGBTQ bar on 7th Avenue reads like a dare. The dance floor splits the difference between intimate and actually dancing, surrounded by decor that suggests Dracula discovered neon. The back patio exists for the moment you want to learn someone's name. Karaoke, drag brunch, and gothed-out Wednesday nights fill in the gaps.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best ’80s Night · Best of Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix
2. Phoenix Magazine 2025 · Best Second-Hand Name · Best of the Valley

1. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix
2. AZ Central The 100 Best Metro Phoenix Restaurants
3. Phoenix Magazine 2025 · Best Off-Label Use of Pickles: Dill Pickle Pizza · Best of the Valley

A red light on a side street marks the entrance, and from there you're following the speakeasy script to the letter: website password, narrow hallway, bookcase door. What's behind it is a dark cocktail bar with leather seating, Victorian details, and locked cabinets of private-label spirits. The drinks lean technical, with bacon fat-washed bourbon and toasted tortilla bitters among the building blocks. The kind of place that makes suburbanites feel delightfully conspiratorial.

1. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Speakeasy · Best of Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix

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.

1. Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best New Sports Bar · Best of Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix

The cocktail list pulls from the shelves around you, which tells you exactly what kind of place this is: part upscale liquor store, part proper bar, and committed to being both at once. Depending on which Phoenix-area location you land in, the extras might include a golf simulator, pinball, a pizzeria, or a cigar lounge. The drinks run from spritzes to stirred classics, and the bottles for sale are genuinely worth browsing.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Liquor Store · Best of Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Liquor Store · Best of Phoenix
3. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Finalist · Most Creative Handcrafted Cocktail

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Finalist · Top Arizona Brewery, Winery, or Distillery Experience

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Finalist · Top Arizona Brewery, Winery, or Distillery Experience

1. Foodist Awards 2025 · Winner: Beef Wellington · Standout Signature Dish
2. Foodist Awards 2025 · Winner · Top Chef · Ivan Gonzalez
3. Foodist Awards 2023 · Winner · Most Creative Handcrafted Cocktail

Some Scottsdale hotels park the hot tub by the pool, which means sharing the water with strangers and their unexplained rashes. Scottsdale Parkview puts one in your room instead, spacious enough for two, in full view of the TV and the windows, the latter detail left to your judgment. It's a hotel that won a Phoenix New Times Best of Phoenix nod for exactly that setup, which tells you where the priorities are.

1. Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Hotel Rooms With Ensuite Hot Tubs · Best of Phoenix

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.

1. Foodist Awards 2024 · Winner: Vegan Bahn Mi · Best Vegan Delight
2. Foodist Awards 2023 · Finalist: Refuge IPA · Favorite Local Craft Beer
3. Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Birthday Beer Deal · Best of Phoenix

1. AZ Central Best bars in metro Phoenix
2. Phoenix Magazine 2025 · Brewery · Best of the Valley

1. AZ Central Best bars in metro Phoenix

1. Eater The Best New Restaurants in America
2. AZ Central Best bars in metro Phoenix
3. James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Emerging Chef · Roberto Centeno

A wine bar where you skip the sommelier entirely and pour your own glass from a sleek, self-serve kiosk loaded with 24 options, several of them from Arizona. You fund a chip card at the bar, pick your wine, choose one, three, or five ounces, and push the button. Former schoolteachers run the place, which might explain why the whole system is genuinely easy to figure out after one drink, or even before.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Wine on Tap · Best of Phoenix
2. AZ Central Best bars in metro Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Place to Take a Wine Geek · Best of Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Wine Bar · Best of Phoenix
3. AZ Central Best bars in metro Phoenix

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.

1. The New York Times 2024 · The Restaurant List
2. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Cook-It-Yourself Restaurant · Best of Phoenix
3. AZ Central Best bars in metro Phoenix

1. AZ Central Best bars in metro Phoenix

1. Foodist Awards 2025 · Finalist · Ultimate Patio Atmosphere
2. AZ Central Best bars in metro Phoenix

1. AZ Central Best bars in metro Phoenix

1. AZ Central Best bars in metro Phoenix

Music-themed rooms with Bluetooth speakers and smart TVs set the tone at this renovated mid-century motor hotel on Grand Avenue, brought back to life as part of Best Western's BW Signature Collection. A shallow lounging pool, foosball, an outdoor bar, and a rotating lineup of DJs, live bands, and karaoke keep things lively well past check-in. Chilte handles dining on-site, and downtown Phoenix is close enough to walk the energy off.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Trendy Staycation Spot · Best of Phoenix