The Best Places to Eat in Phoenix, by the Record
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Rank 351. Mandi House
Yemeni Middle Eastern
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Rank 351. MIDEAST EATS | AVA BAKERY
Persian Bakery
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Rank 351. mochidot
Dessert
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.
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Rank 351. Mr. Sweets Bakery
Middle Eastern Bakery
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Rank 351. Ocean 44
Seafood
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Rank 351. Old Heidelberg Bakery
German Bakery
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Rank 351. Outcast Doughnuts
Dessert
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Rank 351. Proof Artisan Bread
Sourdough Bakery
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Rank 351. Randy's Donuts
Dessert
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.
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- Foodist Awards 2023 · Winner: Barter & Shake · Outstanding Hospitality Group
- Eater The Best Bars in Phoenix
- AZ Central Best bars in metro Phoenix
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Rank 351. Süss Pastries
German Bakery
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Rank 351. Sweet Cream Donuts
Dessert
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.
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Rank 351. The Local Donut
Bakery
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.
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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.
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Rank 351. Weft & Warp Art Bar + Kitchen
Mediterranean
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Rank 451. 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.
- 50 Best Best Bar Design Award
- Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best New Bar · Best of Phoenix
- Imbibe Where to Drink in Phoenix
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Rank 452. All Pierogi Kitchen
Eastern European
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.
- Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Eastern European Restaurant · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Eastern European Restaurant · Best of Phoenix
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Rank 452. Boycott Bar
Cocktail Bar
- Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Lesbian Bar · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Lesbian Bar · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Lesbian Bar · Best of Phoenix
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Rank 452. Chopper John's
Dive Bar
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.
- Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Rock Bar · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Dive Bar · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix
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Rank 452. George & Dragon
British
Portraits of the late Queen and Buckingham Palace ephemera cover every surface, which tells you exactly what kind of pub this is. Footy on the TVs, jerseys and flags around the bar, bangers and mash from the kitchen, and a tap list that runs well past Guinness. The native-English owner has a story involving Bar Rescue's Jon Taffer that he'll gladly share on the patio, in language the royals would find bracing.
- Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best British Pub · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best British Pub · Best of Phoenix
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- Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Place to Take a Wine Geek · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Wine Bar · Best of Phoenix
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Rank 452. The Dirty Drummer
Dive Bar
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.
- Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Bar Food · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Country Bar · Best of Phoenix
- AZ Central Best bars in metro Phoenix
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Rank 458. 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.
- Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Bar Makeover · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix
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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.
- Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Unusual Beer: Mango Lassi · Best of Phoenix
- Imbibe Where to Drink in Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix
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Rank 458. Kitsune Brewing
Beer Bar
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.
- Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Place to Take a Geek Who Loves Beer · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix
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Rank 458. La Santisima
Regional Mexican
A taco shop with a salsa bar that Phoenix New Times named the city's best in 2025, including a cilantro crema and a strawberry salsa that have no business working as well as they do. The menu is short, tacos and quesadillas and burros, but the kitchen pulls from across Mexico: cochinita pibil, Oaxacan black mole, Mexico City chicken tinga. Order the pecan horchata with fresh fruit before you leave.
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Rank 458. 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.
- Spirited Awards 2025 · Winner · Best U.S. Hotel Bar
- The Pinnacle Guide 1 Pin
- Spirited Awards 2024 · Top 4 Finalist · Best U.S. Hotel Bar
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Rank 458. Pinnacle Brewing Company
Beer Bar
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.
- Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best New Brewery · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix
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Doug Robson built his name on Mexican food at Gallo Blanco and Otro Cafe, then opened Tesota and threw the rulebook out entirely. The menu roams from poke to pasta to Asian noodles to chicken wings without apology, and the sunny Camelback Road room, all natural light and colorful paintings, makes the whole thing feel coherent somehow. A comfortable, come-as-you-are restaurant where the logic is less "theme" and more "make it well."
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The whole room is built around the idea of Anthony Bourdain, which sounds like a gimmick until you see how it plays out. Warm lighting, close tables, and a menu that wanders from handmade pasta to egg yolk nigiri to a Japanese Wagyu sando without apologizing for any of it. The drinks menu leans into clarified and precisely mixed cocktails. A global restaurant in Old Town Scottsdale that earns its ambition more often than not.
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Rank 458. Title 9 Sports Grill
Beer Bar
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.
- Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best New Sports Bar · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix
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Rank 471. Guadalupe On Main
Jalisco Mexican
- Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Margaritas · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix Magazine Street Corn Queso · Top 100 Dishes of Arizona
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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.
- The New York Times The Restaurant List
- Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Cook-It-Yourself Restaurant · Best of Phoenix
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- Phoenix Magazine 2025 · Most Creative Use of Tallow · Best of the Valley
- Phoenix Magazine 2025 · Best Pork Jowl · Best of the Valley
- Phoenix Magazine Pork Belly · Top 100 Dishes of Arizona
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Rank 474. 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.
- Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Dive Bar · Best of Phoenix
- AZ Central Best bars in metro Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix
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Rank 474. Catalyst Crafted Ales
Beer Bar
The side-pull tap that delivers a European-style pour with an extra few inches of foam is a good signal of what kind of taproom this is. Catalyst leans into big, playful styles, including sours, imperials, and hoppy IPAs, alongside a rotating cast of more traditional options. An in-house kitchen called S.A.L.T. handles food, and there's a generous patio when the weather cooperates, which in Tempe is most of the year.
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Rank 474. The Great Gadsby
British Bakery
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Rank 477. Alebrije Neveria
Mexican
A blue-and-gold accent wall is doing a lot of work inside what looks, from the parking lot, like absolutely nothing. This Mexican neveria in a north Phoenix strip mall serves raspados in flavors that run well past the usual strawberry and tamarind, and the horchata version, cold and cinnamony, has a following. Elote bowls round out the menu. Phoenix New Times named it the city's top neveria.
- Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Aguas Frescas · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Neveria · Best of Phoenix
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Rank 477. Authentic EthioAfrican
Ethiopian
The wooden furniture and décor came over from Ethiopia, and the feel of the room followed. This kitchen and bar on McDowell Road serves Ethiopian combinations the right way, on a wide round plate loaded with stews, greens, and a scoop of homemade cheese that cools things down. The injera does its job as utensil and bread at once. Order for the table and let it fill up; solo dining works, but barely.
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Rank 477. Blue Corn Cafe & Bakery
Artisanal Bakery
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Rank 477. Cocina Madrigal
Mexican
The green chile enchiladas arrive with a tight zigzag of crema piped over the top, which tells you something about how seriously this neighborhood Mexican spot takes even the modest stuff. Chef Leo Madrigal slow-cooks the pork barbacoa-style until it's yielding enough to disappear into the green chile sauce. Corn tortillas, beans, pico-topped rice, melted cheese, the whole plate quietly assembled and not trying to impress anyone, which is exactly why it does.
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Rank 477. Dick's Hideaway
New Mexican New American
There's no sign out front, which is either a design choice or a test. Dick's Hideaway is a small New Mexican-leaning bar and grill tucked along 16th Street, where seated at the bar you can feel the heat off the open-flame grill. The bloody marys and margaritas have a following, and the green chile burger earns its real estate on the menu. Getting a table for five on a Friday requires more optimism than planning.
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Rank 477. Durant's
Steakhouse
The move at this old-school Phoenix chophouse is to come in through the kitchen, which is less a quirk than a statement of intent. Red leather banquettes, scarlet wallpaper, dim lighting, and the kind of martinis that explain why the power brokers still fill the room. The relish tray arrives gratis over ice, which somehow feels exactly right. They've been doing the 48-ounce porterhouse and prime rib forever, and they're not taking notes from anyone.
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A bacon-wrapped hot dog forced into a charred, fluffy split-top roll under a parking lot tent, open from six in the evening until two in the morning. This beloved outdoor cart has been a late-night Phoenix institution forever, and the Sonoran hot dog it serves, loaded with beans, grilled onions, guacamole, cotija, and a generous zigzag of mayonnaise, is about as close to an Arizona signature dish as anything gets.
- Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Sonoran Hot Dog · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Sonoran Hot Dog · Best of Phoenix
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Rank 477. El Tataki Sushi
Mexican Sushi
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Rank 477. Elvira’s
Innovative Mexican
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Rank 477. English Rose Tea Room
Tea Room Coffee
A three-tiered cake stand of sandwiches, scones, and petits fours, served on antique bone china, is the move at this afternoon tea room tucked into the small desert town of Carefree. Thirty-plus loose-leaf varieties anchor the menu, and the kitchen also runs a proper lunch of jacket potatoes, smoked salmon quiche, and tea sandwiches. There's even a scaled-down Nursery Tea for children who have outgrown imaginary cups but not PB&J.
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Rank 477. Feta Cowboy
Mediterranean
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