The 37 Best Places to Eat and Do in Glendale

Mesquite charcoal does the heavy lifting here, giving the carne asada a smokiness that flour tortillas, silky and lightly crisped, are well suited to carry. This is a no-frills Sonoran taco shop in Glendale with a salsa bar and a menu that runs from al pastor to tripa to cabeza, none of it timid. Phoenix New Times gave it Best Tacos and Best Carne Asada in back-to-back years, and USA Today named it a Restaurant of the Year.

1. USA Today Restaurants of the Year
2. AZ Central The 100 Best Metro Phoenix Restaurants
3. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Carne Asada · Best of Phoenix

1. Foodist Awards 2025 · Finalist · Emerging Restaurant of the Year

1. Phoenix New Times The 10 best Indian restaurants in Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times Tellicherry Lamb Fry · The 10 best bites we tasted at Phoenix restaurants
3. Phoenix Magazine 2025 · Best Indian Cuisine: West Valley · Best of the Valley

1. Phoenix New Times Our top 12 favorite sushi restaurants in Phoenix
2. Phoenix Magazine 2025 · Best West Valley Sushi · Best of the Valley

The line at this cash-only Mexican bakery in Glendale moves slowly because everyone freezes in front of the cases. Giant pink pig-shaped cochinitos glazed with molasses, chamoy-dipped apples, tamales, fresh tortillas, and trays of pan dulce all compete for your attention at once. Phoenix New Times named it the best Mexican bakery in the city, and the regulars waiting ahead of you look like they already knew that.

1. Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Mexican Bakery · Best of Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Mexican Bakery · Best of Phoenix
3. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Mexican Bakery · Best of Phoenix

Frida Kahlo shares wall space with a pink-legged chameleon and a saguaro the size of a doorway, which tells you a lot about this cheerful Mexican brunch spot in downtown Glendale. Weekend mornings fill with families and kids while the drinks arrive dressed up: horchata in a jar with a peanut dulce de leche rim, cafe de olla in mismatched earthenware. The pambazo, a football-sized sandwich dunked in guajillo chile, is not a thing you order by accident.

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

1. Phoenix New Times Our top 12 favorite sushi restaurants 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

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

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

A mom-and-pop pet grooming shop in a west-side strip mall, Bark & Purr handles cats and dogs of any age, including the anxious, reactive, and difficult cases that other groomers quietly turn away. The staff take time before your appointment to understand your pet's particular quirks, so call ahead rather than walking in. Wear something dark-colored, or don't, and just lean into it.

1. Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Pet Grooming · Best of Phoenix

A comic shop in Glendale sitting on tens of thousands of titles across every genre, plus a deep back-issue inventory for the hunters. The staff will hold you hostage in conversation about the latest manga wave or the return of Marvel's Ultimate line, and they seem genuinely pleased to do it. Toys, T-shirts, and over 150 posters round out the shelves, and the occasional game night or artist signing gives regulars a reason to show up even after they've bought everything they wanted.

1. Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Comic Book Store · Best of Phoenix

Thirty-five dollars gets you a thirty-minute deep-tissue massage at this no-appointment-needed foot spa and massage shop tucked into a Glendale strip mall. Chairs up front handle the foot work; beds in the back are for serious back sessions. The therapists are thorough enough that regulars have a standing order to ask for the "magic potion," a salve that targets whatever's been bothering you. Open every day from morning to evening, it runs on walk-ins.

1. Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Cheap Massages · Best of Phoenix

A wicker basket a few hundred feet over the Sonoran Desert has a way of reordering your priorities. Rainbow Ryders runs hot air balloon flights over Phoenix, and the combination of cityscape and open desert below does something to your sense of scale that ground level simply cannot. They carry a serious safety record, which matters more than usual when the floor is a woven basket. Go at dawn; the math on summer afternoon heat in a balloon is not in your favor.

1. Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Way to See Phoenix From the Air · Best of Phoenix

Floor-to-ceiling shelves packed with over 50,000 DVDs, Blu-rays, and games make this a video rental shop that has, against all odds, continued to exist. Superstar Video carries the latest releases alongside out-of-print rarities you won't find on any streaming service, and if they don't have it, the owner will track it down. New releases rent for a couple of dollars, which says everything about why people keep coming back.

1. Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Video Store · Best of Phoenix

A vast stage and a sound system loud enough to rattle the fillings out of your skull make The 44 in Glendale the go-to metal venue in the Valley, which feels cosmically correct given that Alice Cooper grew up nearby. National touring acts share the bill with tribute bands and local talent, and the bar food is cheap enough that you can eat and still afford a band tee. Bring earplugs unless you enjoy tinnitus as a souvenir.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Place to See a Metal Show · Best of Phoenix
2. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Place to See a Metal Show · Best of Phoenix

1. Phoenix Magazine 2025 · Best Place to Have Quiche for Breakfast · Best of the Valley

The shelves here hold Virgin of Guadalupe candles alongside powders for luck or love, Florida water, and statues of the Seven African Powers, which gives you a sense of the range. This is a Mexican botanica and natural remedies shop serving practitioners of Catholicism, Santería, and a few other traditions, as well as anyone whose lung tea is running low. The staff fields questions without making you feel like an outsider, which helps when you're not sure what you need.

1. Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Yerberia · Best of Phoenix

A counter-service wing spot on the west side where the fryer does most of the talking. Wings come out plump and crisp, then get sauced or dry-rubbed, and the curry dry rub has a way of turning fingers an incriminating shade of yellow. The rest of the menu leans into the fryer too, with onion rings, egg rolls, and beignets to round things out. Phoenix New Times named it the best chicken wings in Phoenix in 2025.

1. Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Chicken Wings · Best of Phoenix

A one-pound schnitzel is quietly doing a lot of the marketing here. Haus Murphy's is an old-school German restaurant in Glendale that has been around forever, serving bratwurst, sausage samplers, and house-made sauerkraut to a crowd that has clearly memorized the menu. The patio strings up lights and leans into a vaguely Bavarian mood, and the bar stocks the oversized bottled biers to match. Call ahead for a table.

1. Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best German Restaurant · Best of Phoenix

1. Phoenix Magazine 2025 · Best Japanese Curry · Best of the Valley

The tortilleria runs all day, turning out fresh corn and flour tortillas while the panaderia stocks pan dulce, bolillos, and pasteles. Los Altos Ranch Market is a full Mexican grocery and mercado, with a butcher counter, seafood section, house-made tamales, and a lunch counter called La Cocina serving cheap tacos and tortas. The stores are massive, the prices are not, and the Phoenix New Times has named it the area's top Mexican grocery store five of the last six years.

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

Nearly 180 cars fill a converted big-box store in Glendale, ranging from a 1909 REO touring car to muscle cars that look like they're still angry about the gas crisis. The collection rotates regularly, since the owner keeps classics stashed all over the Valley, so repeat visits turn up something new. A vintage carousel and a 1929 Chevrolet popcorn truck keep younger visitors occupied while the gearheads linger over the Hot Rod back issues.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Place to See Classic Cars · Best of Phoenix

A Chicago-style speakeasy in suburban Glendale that survived a close call when its founders stepped away, saved by a general manager who bought the place outright and kept the plush seating and famously good acoustics intact. Local blues and R&B acts play the stage most nights, and a recently upgraded patio now lets you take your drink outside. Phoenix's blues scene is thin, so this one carries some weight.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Blues Bar · Best of Phoenix

1. Phoenix Magazine Falafel · Top 100 Dishes of Arizona

1. Phoenix Magazine Ropa Vieja · Top 100 Dishes of Arizona

1. Phoenix Magazine Salt & Pepper Pork Chop · Top 100 Dishes of Arizona

1. Phoenix Magazine Italian Beef · Top 100 Dishes of Arizona

Bellair Golf Park is a driving range that stays open until 10 p.m., which tells you most of what you need to know about the vibe. TopTracer technology tracks every shot for those who like data, while everyone else just enjoys hitting things outside of the summer heat. It lands somewhere between serious practice facility and a genuinely good time, without the bill that comes with the fancier simulators around town. The west side's answer to a night out that doesn't require a dress code.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Place to Trace Your Balls · Best of Phoenix

Blue Dragon Vapor is a vape shop chain with several Valley locations, and the main thing separating it from the average smoke shop is that you don't feel vaguely ashamed walking in. The spaces are bright, clean, and well-stocked, with glass cases of hardware, a solid wall of e-juice, and staff who actually know what they're selling. Phoenix New Times named it Best Vape Shop in 2023.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Vape Shop · Best of Phoenix

Neon lights, a DJ booth, and rental skates that have seen things: Great Skate is a classic indoor roller rink doing what roller rinks do, and doing it on a packed schedule. Public sessions run most nights alongside kids' and adult lessons, themed skate events, and the occasional adults-only evening when the parents reclaim the floor. The food and drinks are rink-standard, which is exactly what the mood calls for.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Roller Skating · Best of Phoenix

Six Flags Hurricane Harbor is a full-scale waterpark on the northwest edge of Phoenix, and the Anaconda is its calling card, a multi-person raft slide that corkscrews and spins before depositing everyone into a pool in a satisfying heap. Younger kids have their own splash zones to tear through. When summer in the Valley runs past 110 degrees, "waterpark" stops being a leisure category and starts being a survival strategy.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Waterpark · Best of Phoenix

A historic park in Glendale where peacocks graze under fruit trees while doves call from tall palms overhead. The grounds are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the old ranch buildings make a handsome backdrop for a walk through the gardens. There are playgrounds and sports fields on the other side if you need a reason to bring kids. The peacocks, though, do most of the convincing on their own.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Park · Best of Phoenix

The Arizona Cardinals call it home, but State Farm Stadium earns its keep on the concert calendar. The retractable-roof arena seats 64,000, which means when a stadium tour rolls into the Phoenix metro, the spectacle scales accordingly. The Rolling Stones, Metallica, and U2 have each played it twice, and Taylor Swift launched the Eras tour here. Big room, big sound, big crowds dressed accordingly.

1. Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Stadium Venue · Best of Phoenix

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Barbacoa · Best of Phoenix

A Sonoran seafood chainlet wedged into the strip-mall sprawl near Westgate, Los Arbolitos de Cajeme handles ceviche tostadas, fishbowl cocktails, and stone molcajetes with more care than the surroundings would suggest. The grilled octopus arrives sizzling with a smoky morita chile sauce that makes a convincing case for the detour. Go before a game when you want real mariscos and the other options are the usual suspects.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Place to Eat Before a Glendale Event · Best of Phoenix

Order-at-the-counter fish and chips in a strip mall, priced mostly in the teens, with your choice of fish battered and fried to order. The clam chowder is the thick, goopy kind you feel slightly embarrassed to enjoy, and the fried shrimp are plump enough to make you forget you're in Glendale. Tartar sauce is creamy, cocktail sauce has actual kick. Phoenix New Times named it Best Fast Food in 2024, which is either a surprise or exactly right depending on how you feel about Long John Silver's.

1. Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Fast Food · Best of Phoenix