The Best Places to Eat and Do in Phoenix

Mirror-glazed, multilayered pastries from a chef whose résumé includes Chez Panisse, Tartine, and Noma, now available at a small South Scottsdale walk-up bakery open Wednesday through Saturday evenings. Mark Chacón's desserts were already circulating through Phoenix's better cafes before he opened this shop, so the crowd showing up already knows what it wants. Top sellers go fast, which at these hours is less a warning than a scheduling note.

1. Eater The Best Bakeries in Phoenix, Arizona

A donut shop in Old Town Scottsdale that leans into vintage furniture and bright walls, making it feel more like a coffee shop than a bakery. The donuts themselves split the difference between cake and yeast, landing somewhere denser and breadlike, which gives toppings like strawberry shortcake crumbles or Lucky Charms marshmallows something to push against. The pizza donut and mac and cheese fritter are exactly as committed to the bit as they sound.

1. Phoenix New Times A delicious dozen: The 12 best doughnut shops in the Valley

1. Eater The 38 Best Restaurants in Phoenix

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Finalist: Common Ground Culinary · Outstanding Hospitality Group

1. Eater Cheese Crisp · The Most Iconic Dishes in Phoenix

The team behind downtown's cocktail bars Wren & Wolf and Carry On pivoted to daytime, and the result is a doughnut shop tucked into the warehouse district just south of Phoenix, connected to a church in a pairing no one planned but somehow makes sense. Brioche rounds and tall, croissant-style hybrids share the menu, with creative coffee alongside. The crowd skews early and purposeful, the way people get when pastries are involved.

1. Phoenix New Times A delicious dozen: The 12 best doughnut shops in the Valley

1. Phoenix New Times The top 10 burger joints in Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times The top 10 burger joints in Phoenix

1. Eater The 38 Best Restaurants in Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times The 10 best Chinese restaurants in Phoenix

The glazed donuts here come out warm if you time the drive to east Mesa right, and that detail explains most of what you need to know about this family-owned donut shop. The menu stays classic on purpose: pillowy raised donuts, apple fritters, old-fashioned buttermilk bars. No novelty toppings, no Instagram bait. Phoenix New Times named it Best Doughnuts in 2024, and the regulars in line at opening would find that completely unsurprising.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Doughnuts · Best of Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times A delicious dozen: The 12 best doughnut shops in the Valley

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Finalist · Brunch With a Punch

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Finalist · Brunch With a Punch

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Finalist · Brunch With a Punch

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Finalist · Brunch With a Punch

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Finalist · Brunch With a Punch

The Kilt Lifter Scottish Ale has been filling pints here long enough that it's practically a local institution, and the Mission Revival warehouse it lives in only adds to the effect. Four Peaks is a full-scale brewpub with a cavernous brick interior, a sprawling patio, and a menu that covers wings and nachos but also green chile mac and cheese for anyone who needs more than bar food. Spring training crowds and ASU students pack the place, which tells you most of what you need to know about the vibe.

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Winner: The Joy Bus · Favorite Local Craft Beer
2. Eater The Best Bars in Phoenix

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Finalist: Common Ground Culinary · Outstanding Hospitality Group

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Winner: Barter & Shake · Outstanding Hospitality Group
2. Spirited Awards 2024 · Top 4 Finalist · Best U.S. Bar Team
3. Foodist Awards 2023 · Winner · Most Creative Handcrafted Cocktail

The homemade pita, puffy and fresh, is the detail that keeps ASU students coming back across generations at this no-frills Tempe restaurant and grocery. Shawarma, falafel, kebabs, and baba ghanoush fill the menu at prices that don't require a financial aid disbursement. Baklava in pistachio and Arizona pecan closes things out. The strip-mall setting is deeply unromantic, which seems to be the point.

1. Eater The 38 Best Restaurants in Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times The 10 best Chinese restaurants in Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times Our top 12 favorite sushi restaurants in Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times Our top 12 favorite sushi restaurants in Phoenix

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Winner · Brunch With a Punch

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Winner · Brunch With a Punch

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Winner · Brunch With a Punch

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Winner · Brunch With a Punch

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Winner · Brunch With a Punch

1. Eater Navajo Taco · The Most Iconic Dishes in Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times Our top 10 favorite restaurants in Tempe

The delivery vehicle is called an Emergency Donut Vehicle, which tells you everything about the vibe here. This 24-hour doughnut shop leans hard into nostalgia and spectacle, piling its yeast and cake rings with candy bar crumbles, cereal, roasted marshmallows, and glazes in colors not found in nature. The flavors skew s'mores and Little Debbie rather than artisan restraint, so come hungry for dessert energy at any hour you please.

1. Phoenix New Times A delicious dozen: The 12 best doughnut shops in the Valley

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Finalist: Koffee Kolsch · Favorite Local Craft Beer

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Finalist: Koffee Kolsch · Favorite Local Craft Beer

1. Phoenix New Times Our top 12 favorite sushi restaurants in Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times Our top 12 favorite sushi restaurants in Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times Our top 12 favorite sushi restaurants in Phoenix

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Finalist · Top Mixologist/Bartender · Brenon Stuart

1. The Infatuation The Best Restaurants In Scottsdale

A strip mall Mexican restaurant where everything, walls, floors, booths, even the plates, is painted black so the food glows against it like a still life. The brothers who run Lujos took over their parents' spot and rebuilt it almost entirely. The regular menu covers tacos, burritos, and quesadillas, but there's a permanent off-menu section worth asking about, including birria enchiladas drowning in red sauce with crema and guacamole. Wash it down with the horchata.

1. Phoenix New Times The 10 best Mexican restaurants in Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times Our top 10 favorite restaurants in Tempe

1. James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best New Restaurant

The bubble-ring shape of a mochi doughnut, six or eight chewy spheres connected in a loop, is practically engineered for the "just one more piece" problem. MochiDot is a local dessert shop making them with rice flour for that signature springy chew, with flavors that rotate by season, running from Oreo to vivid purple ube to Lotus Biscoff. Bring someone to share with, or don't and pretend you did.

1. Phoenix New Times A delicious dozen: The 12 best doughnut shops in the Valley

1. Eater The Best Bakeries in Phoenix, Arizona

1. Phoenix New Times The 10 best Chinese restaurants in Phoenix

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Finalist: Lobstah Roll · Standout Signature Dish

1. Eater The Best Bakeries in Phoenix, Arizona

1. Phoenix New Times A delicious dozen: The 12 best doughnut shops in the Valley

Prep & Pastry is a sunny, white-washed brunch spot near Fashion Square, the Scottsdale outpost of a Tucson original, with a menu that runs to dossants, which are exactly what they sound like. Expect a cast iron duck confit, a chickpea scramble, and a Monte Cristo built on herb brioche French toast with pineapple and jalapeño mascarpone. It opens at 8 a.m. daily, and Eater has put it on a list of Phoenix brunches.

1. Eater The 15 Best Brunches in Phoenix

1. Eater The Best Bakeries in Phoenix, Arizona

The giant rooftop donut made Randy's a Los Angeles landmark long before the chain showed up in the Valley, and the Gilbert shop carries the same energy: a bright display case packed with vivid, glazed options and a drive-thru line that moves faster than you'd expect. It's a classic donut shop, which means cheap, cheerful, and open early. The maple cake and cinnamon crumb cake are the regulars' picks, but the matcha raised donut is hard to walk past.

1. Phoenix New Times A delicious dozen: The 12 best doughnut shops in the Valley

1. Phoenix New Times A delicious dozen: The 12 best doughnut shops in the Valley

1. Phoenix New Times A delicious dozen: The 12 best doughnut shops in the Valley

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Finalist: Common Ground Culinary · Outstanding Hospitality Group

1. Phoenix New Times Our top 10 favorite restaurants in Tempe

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Winner: Strawberry Marzipan Shortcake · Most Delectable Dessert

Sophia's Brunch Counter is a counter-service daytime spot in a curved, metal-wrapped building that looks like it was meant for something with more ceremony. Inside, a chalky green marble counter and a lot of plants set a slow, airy, vaguely coastal mood. The menu stays small, bouncing between comfort food and lighter plates, with espresso up front and a little wine and cocktails behind it. Eater put it on its list of Phoenix's best brunches.

1. Eater The 15 Best Brunches in Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times The 10 best new Phoenix restaurants of 2025

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Winner: Barter & Shake · Outstanding Hospitality Group
2. Eater The Best Bars in Phoenix
3. AZ Central Best bars in metro Phoenix

1. Eater The Best Bakeries in Phoenix, Arizona

A family-owned donut shop in the West Valley that keeps things classically in their lane: yeast, cake, apple fritters, bear claws, and a roster of filled options generous enough to cause real indecision. The vanilla cream version rolled in toasted coconut is a regular argument-settler. Smoothies and ice cream round out the menu for anyone who wandered in looking for something else and stayed for the donuts anyway.

1. Phoenix New Times A delicious dozen: The 12 best doughnut shops in the Valley

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Finalist: Common Ground Culinary · Outstanding Hospitality Group

1. Eater The Best Bakeries in Phoenix, Arizona

1. Phoenix New Times The 10 best Indian restaurants in Phoenix

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Finalist: Potato Pureé · Best Dish in a Supporting Role

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Finalist: Common Ground Culinary · Outstanding Hospitality Group

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Finalist: Maggiore Group · Outstanding Hospitality Group

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Finalist: Maggiore Group · Outstanding Hospitality Group

A tiny donut shop tucked into a shopping center off Hayden, where the menu categories are literally named Classy, Fancy, and Schmancy, so expectations are appropriately calibrated. Yeast donuts, cake donuts, mochi donuts, fritters, and seasonal pastries all share the case, and the creme brulee donut gets a kitchen torch before it reaches you. Phoenix New Times put it on their list of the Valley's top dozen donut shops.

1. Phoenix New Times A delicious dozen: The 12 best doughnut shops in the Valley

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Finalist: Common Ground Culinary · Outstanding Hospitality Group

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Finalist: Maggiore Group · Outstanding Hospitality Group

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Finalist: Maggiore Group · Outstanding Hospitality Group

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Finalist: Common Ground Culinary · Outstanding Hospitality Group

The box says "We are not affiliated with other Rainbow Donuts" before you've even opened it, which tells you something about the regulars here. This North Phoenix donut shop runs a classic menu of yeast and cake donuts, maple bars, fritters, crullers, and cinnamon rolls, all leaning fluffy and fresh without the cloying sweetness that plagues lesser cases. The Tiger Tail, chocolate and vanilla dough twisted together and glazed, is the one to start with.

1. Phoenix New Times A delicious dozen: The 12 best doughnut shops in the Valley

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Finalist: Maggiore Group · Outstanding Hospitality Group

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Finalist: Maggiore Group · Outstanding Hospitality Group

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Finalist: Maggiore Group · Outstanding Hospitality Group

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Finalist: Maggiore Group · Outstanding Hospitality Group

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Finalist: Maggiore Group · Outstanding Hospitality Group

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Food Pioneer · Mark Tarbell

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Winner · Top Mixologist/Bartender · Kyla Hein

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Winner · Top Mixologist/Bartender · Kyla Hein

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Winner · Top Mixologist/Bartender · Kyla Hein

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Winner · Top Mixologist/Bartender · Kyla Hein

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Winner: Barter & Shake · Outstanding Hospitality Group

A fully plant-based burger shop where the patties, cheese, and buns are all vegan, yet every meat-eating friend you drag here tends to go quiet mid-bite. Counter service, casual prices, shopping plaza setting. The menu runs from a straightforward classic to pineapple or jalapeño-topped builds, with loaded fries worth the mess. Phoenix New Times has named it among the top burger joints in the metro two years running, vegan or otherwise.

1. Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Vegan Burger · Best of Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Vegan Restaurant · Best of Phoenix
3. Phoenix New Times The top 10 burger joints in Phoenix

Life-sized Spider-Man watches you eat your burger, which feels about right for a counter-service spot where the menu hangs on the wall and you can hear the flat-top sizzling from the register. The patties come on sweet King's Hawaiian rolls, loaded with things like mac and cheese or pastrami, while Marvel films loop on the TVs and kids work free arcade games. Gyros and other diner bites round out the menu for anyone not in a superhero mood.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Restaurant to Take a Geek · Best of Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times The top 10 burger joints in Phoenix

1. Foodist Awards 2023 · Finalist: Common Ground Culinary · Outstanding Hospitality Group

1. The Infatuation The Best Restaurants In Scottsdale

Karaoke spills out of this LGBTQ+ bar at Park Central before you even reach the door. Inside, Kobalt runs on the pleasant fiction that everyone already knows each other, with drag shows, RuPaul's watch parties, and trivia filling the calendar alongside the sing-alongs. Show tunes, '80s ballads, and early-aughts pop keep the room generous and loud. Cocktails hover around eleven dollars, which makes it easy to stay for one more song, then another.

1. Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Gay Bar · Best of Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Drag Shows · Best of Phoenix
3. AZ Central Best bars in metro Phoenix

Dungeon masters run scheduled D&D nights here, but the tabletop games, rotating support groups, and writers' meetups make this cozy Tempe coffee shop feel more like a community center that happens to pull excellent espresso. The decor leans Oz, the music leans groovy, and the crowd leans toward people who are relieved to have found it. Phoenix New Times named it the best LGBTQ game night in the valley.

1. Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best LGBTQ Game Night · Best of Phoenix
2. Phoenix Magazine 2025 · Best Coffee Shop for the LGBTQ+ Community · Best of the Valley

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.

1. The 50 Best Bar Design Award
2. Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best New Bar · Best of Phoenix
3. Imbibe Where to Drink in Phoenix

Fifty acres of Sonoran desert planted with thousands of cacti, succulents, and wildflowers in the middle of Phoenix. On summer Saturday nights the garden runs Flashlight Nights, a self-guided after-dark walk where night-blooming plants open and the wildlife, scorpions included, wanders freely. During the day the trails draw everyone from serious botanists to families who've already said "wow" forty times. The gift shop, no small afterthought, stocks prickly pear everything and locally made goods worth the detour.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Attraction Gift Shop · Best of Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Nighttime Encounters With Wildlife · Best of Phoenix
3. Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Attraction Gift Shop · Best of Phoenix

The attached market selling frozen pierogi and chilled soups to go tells you everything about the vibe here. This casual Ukrainian family restaurant in Mesa treats borders as a loose suggestion, pulling in beef goulash, plov over cumin-scented rice, pork schnitzel, and thick, buttery pierogi that pair well with griddled sausage. The chicken Kiev arrives loaded with dill and herb butter. Unpretentious, generous portions, and priced like someone actually wants you to come back.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Eastern European Restaurant · Best of Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Eastern European Restaurant · Best of Phoenix

The two-level track is lit in multicolored neon, which makes the electric Superkarts feel less like a family outing and more like a fever dream you're steering. This massive indoor entertainment complex near the highway packs in go-karts, arcade games, laser tag, duckpin bowling, VR stations, and a full bar, so pacing yourself is an actual consideration. Tall guests may find the karts a snug fit, but that's part of the negotiation.

1. Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Go-Karts · Best of Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Go-Karts · Best of Phoenix

Set a budget before you walk into this curated vintage clothing shop in the Roosevelt Arts District, because the racks run from 1920s eveningwear to a 1980s purple fringe jacket and your willpower will not survive unassisted. Prices aren't thrift-store prices, but the inventory is the kind that makes you want to become a slightly more interesting version of yourself. A clearance rack in the back starts at $5, for those who want the daydream on a discount.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Vintage Clothing · Best of Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Vintage Clothing · Best of Phoenix

A sneaker resale shop on Central Avenue that also stocks Labubus, those unsettling little monster toys currently colonizing every shelf on social media. Archive AZ is a buy-sell-trade hub for high-end kicks, mostly Nike-heavy, with rare past releases alongside current drops. The storefront is easy to walk past, which somehow feels right for a place that lets the inventory do the talking.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best High-End Sneaker Shop · Best of Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best High-End Sneakers · Best of Phoenix

A mid-size indoor concert hall seating around 5,500, sitting in that useful gap between arena and nightclub. Downtown Phoenix's go-to for touring musical acts, stand-up comics, Broadway productions, and the occasional boxing card. George Lopez filmed a live HBO special here, which tells you something about the room's range. It handles Doc Severinson and Nickelback with equal indifference, which is either a compliment or a programming philosophy.

1. Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Large Music Venue · Best of Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Large Music Venue · Best of Phoenix

Somewhere past the hiking packs and climbing gear, there's a homebuilt tunnel maze where search-and-rescue crews wriggle through pipes hauling a 200-pound dummy. That's not the main event for most visitors, but it tells you something about this old-school Phoenix outdoor shop. Gear, rentals, high-res topo maps, a vintage climbing collection organized by era and country, and classes on backpacking and wilderness survival round out a place that takes the outdoors more seriously than its drop ceilings suggest.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Outdoors Store · Best of Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Outdoors Store · Best of Phoenix

Frank Lloyd Wright designed this 3,000-seat performing arts auditorium for Baghdad before it ended up on a college campus in Tempe, which tells you something about its scale and ambition. The circular hall sits on the ASU campus flanked by pedestrian bridges and hosts touring Broadway shows, opera, symphony, and lectures. It's a proper night-out venue, the kind where you dress up a little and feel like the evening has stakes.

1. Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Place to See a Musical · Best of Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Place to See a Broadway Show · Best of Phoenix
3. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Large Playhouse · Best of Phoenix

A tiny paperback copy of "Fifty Shades of Grey" sitting next to a miniature bag of Lay's barbecue chips pretty much sets the tone. Auntie Em's is a dollhouse supply and curiosity shop in Historic Downtown Glendale with thousands of small-scale items, from hand-painted furniture to tiger-skin rugs. The other half of the store belongs to retro toys: pedal cars, vintage Barbies, model trains. No website, so you just have to show up.

1. Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Place to Buy Something Small · Best of Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Tiny Things · Best of Phoenix