16 Incredible Restaurants in Scottsdale, AZ You Need to Try
Eating in Scottsdale is easiest in Old Town, where many of the best restaurants sit within a short walk of each other around 5th Avenue, 1st Avenue, Main Street and Scottsdale Road. A lot of them occupy historic spaces: FnB is tucked into Craftsman Court, The House Brasserie is in a house built in 1939, and ZuZu is part of Hotel Valley Ho, which marked its 70th anniversary in 2026. The local cooking leans on Arizona wine, mesquite and pecan wood grills, and New Mexican green chile. In August 2026 the first Michelin Guide for the Southwest named FnB the only Scottsdale Bib Gourmand and listed Reserve among its Recommended restaurants.
This guide covers 16 places, from a James Beard-winning chef’s vegetable restaurant and tasting-menu rooms on 1st Avenue to a bat-themed New Mexican tavern, a Southern kitchen on Hayden Road and pancake houses for breakfast. Most are in or close to Old Town, with a few standouts a short drive away. Ratings and review counts come from each restaurant’s Google listing in October 2026.
FnB
FnB sits in Craftsman Court, a historic courtyard on 5th Avenue in Old Town. Chef Charleen Badman and her partner Pavle Milic opened it in late 2009 in a small dining room, and Badman went on to win the 2019 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest. In August 2026 it became the only Scottsdale restaurant to earn a Michelin Bib Gourmand in the guide’s first Southwest edition.
Rated 4.6 stars from more than 700 Google reviews, FnB treats vegetables as the main event, and the menu shifts with what Arizona growers deliver. Recent dinner menus have listed stuffed cabbage, shredded carrots with blue cheese and crispy quinoa, mushroom toast with burrata, and grilled Creole quail. Kuku sabzi, a Persian herb frittata, has also appeared. The wine list leans on Arizona wineries.
Reservations go through Tock, and the restaurant lists dinner service Tuesday through Saturday, so book ahead for weekends. The room is small, which makes walk-ins a gamble. Dishes are sized for sharing, so order several and build a meal around them. FnB is cashless and takes cards only. Check hours and the current menu before you go.
Address: 7125 E 5th Ave #31, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Website: fnbrestaurant.com
Café Monarch
Café Monarch is a family-owned fine dining room at 6939 E. 1st Avenue in Old Town’s Arts District. The setting is formal and old-fashioned, with ornate chandeliers, ivy-covered walls and white tablecloths, plus patio seating. The cellar holds more than 3,500 wine labels, and the servers are trained through the Court of Master Sommeliers program.
With 4.8 stars from more than 1,500 Google reviews, Monarch ranks near the top of Old Town’s fine dining. Dinner is a four-course prix fixe with several choices per course, or an eight-course tasting menu of smaller portions. Menus follow the season, and past samples have included duck breast with apricot chutney. Caviar service, tableside touches and handmade desserts are part of the evening, and there are three wine pairing options.
Reservations are made through OpenTable, and a cancellation fee applies to late cancellations and no-shows, so read the policy when you book. The restaurant enforces a dress code, so check it before you go. Plan on a long, unhurried evening rather than a quick dinner. Hours vary by day, so check them before you go.
Address: 6939 E 1st Ave, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Website: cafemonarch.com
Citizen Public House
Citizen Public House opened in January 2011 at 7111 E. 5th Avenue, in the Fifth Avenue shopping district, and marked its 15th anniversary this year. Chef and owner Bernie Kantak built it as an evening gastropub with a serious cocktail bar. It belongs to IGS Hospitality, the group that also runs Beginner’s Luck, The Gladly and Minnow.
The Original Chopped Salad, made with smoked salmon, Israeli couscous, arugula and a buttermilk herb dressing, is officially recognized as an Iconic Dish of the State of Arizona. Across more than 1,700 Google reviews the restaurant holds 4.6 stars, and the rest of the menu holds up too. Try Bernie’s Mac ’N Cheese, the amaro meatloaf, pork belly pastrami, and bar snacks such as bacon fat heirloom popcorn.
Reservations are on OpenTable, and the restaurant is open daily from 4 p.m. Social Hour runs from 4 to 6 p.m. with its own menu, a cheaper way to try the cocktail list. The room feels open and airy, and the long bar is a good fallback if tables are full. Check hours before you go.
Address: 7111 E 5th Ave, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Website: citizenpublichouse.com
Ocean 44
Ocean 44 is a polished seafood and steak house at 4748 N. Goldwater Boulevard in Old Town. The dining room has an open kitchen and an 18-foot raw bar, and the steaks are cooked in a custom wood-fired oven. It is a sister restaurant to Dominick’s Steakhouse in Scottsdale and Steak 44 in Phoenix, and OpenTable named it to its 2023 Top 100 Restaurants list.
Ocean 44 holds 4.7 stars across more than 2,400 Google reviews and is built for celebrations. Start at the raw bar with oysters, crab legs or salmon, or order the Oysters au Gratin. Mains lean on Chilean sea bass, wild salmon, Alaskan crab legs and a hand-cut filet mignon. For dessert, the house favorite is the vanilla caramel cake.
Reserve through the website or by phone, and expect a high-end check. The restaurant has a stated dress code that does not allow athletic wear or revealing clothing, and it welcomes collared shirts and sport coats. Dinner starts in the late afternoon, and the bar keeps its own hours, so check both before you go.
Address: 4748 N Goldwater Blvd, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Website: ocean44.com
Roaring Fork
Roaring Fork is the original Scottsdale location of a Western-style restaurant at 4800 N. Scottsdale Road, with a saloon, outdoor patios and private rooms. Many dishes are cooked with fire in some way, using a rotisserie, an open flame grill and a stone hearth oven. The restaurant is run by Guy and Larry Restaurants, which also operates two Roaring Fork locations in Austin, Texas.
With 4.5 stars from more than 2,400 Google reviews, Roaring Fork is a safe pick for a group with mixed tastes. The Big Ass Burger, topped with poblano, cheddar and bacon, is the house signature. Shrimp and grits, cedar plank salmon, a Duroc pork chop and hand-cut steaks are the dinner standbys. Start with skillet cornbread or queso con puerco, and finish with huckleberry cheesecake.
Happy hour runs daily from 4 to 6 p.m. in the bar and saloon only, with discounted wings, flatbread, the burger and the house Raging Rita margarita. It is the cheapest way to sample the kitchen. Reservations are available through OpenTable for the dining room, and dinner starts at 4 p.m. Check hours before you go.
Address: 4800 N Scottsdale Rd, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Website: roaringfork.com
The House Brasserie
The House Brasserie occupies a home built in 1939 by the Mowry family, on one of Old Town’s most historic blocks at 6936 E. Main Street. The exterior is original apart from a 2014 kitchen addition. Inside is a Victorian-inspired dining room, and a patio sits under shade trees. Staff from nearby Hotel Valley Ho even transplanted Mrs. Mowry’s favorite rose bush to the property.
The House earns 4.5 stars from more than 500 Google reviews for modern American cooking with a French accent. Starters include escargot de Bourgogne, hamachi crudo, crab cakes and Hudson Valley foie gras. For mains, look to the 28-day dry-aged steaks, such as the filet mignon or the Delmonico ribeye, or the surf and turf. Crab fried rice is a side worth ordering.
The restaurant lists dinner starting at 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and is closed Sunday and Monday. Reserve through the website. The small, old-house rooms suit a quiet date night better than a big group, though private events are offered. Table-side service is part of the experience, so allow time for dinner.
Address: 6936 E Main St, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Website: thehousebrasserie.com
The Mission Old Town
The Mission serves modern Latin food at 3815 N. Brown Avenue in Old Town, with influences from Spain, Mexico and Central and South America. Chef and co-owner Matt Carter, who also runs Fat Ox, built the menu around his travels. The dining room is dimly lit and candlelit, with artwork on the walls. Tortillas are handmade, and meats cook over pecan and mesquite wood.
The Mission has 4.4 stars from more than 3,600 Google reviews and is a good place for sharing. Start with the Mission Guacamole, then add the duck carnitas empanada, the tostadas or the grilled street corn. The roasted pork shoulder is smoked and braised for 12 hours and served with eight tortillas for two. Chorizo porchetta and the Tecate skirt steak taco are also on the fall menu.
Lunch and dinner are served daily, with a limited menu in the afternoon and brunch on Saturday and Sunday. Parking takes some planning because the Brown Avenue garage is under construction, so use the Center for the Arts garage or street parking. The restaurant has two other Valley locations, so make sure you pick Old Town. Check hours before you go.
Address: 3815 N Brown Ave, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Website: themissionaz.com/old-town
Reserve
Reserve is a small, formal tasting-menu restaurant at 6934 E. 1st Avenue, directly across the street from Café Monarch. Guests come in through a garden entrance to an intimate courtyard setting. In August 2026 it was named a Michelin Recommended restaurant in the guide’s first Southwest edition, and its sommelier, John Germain, received a Michelin sommelier award.
Its 4.8-star rating comes from more than 60 Google reviews. The meal is a multi-course chef’s tasting menu with wine pairings, and past signature courses have included a surf and turf plate and quail with foie gras. Wine is a real focus here, so let the pairings guide the evening. Mention any dietary needs when you book, since the menu is set.
Dinner is listed for Friday and Saturday evenings only, and seating is limited, so reserve well ahead. Reservations have been listed through OpenTable. Expect a formal dress code and a price per person well above a typical Old Town dinner, with pairings extra, so confirm the current price when you book. Check the hours before you go.
Address: 6934 E 1st Ave #102, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Website: reservescottsdale.com
Fat Ox
Fat Ox is a chef-driven Italian restaurant at 6316 N. Scottsdale Road, north of the Old Town core. Chef Matt Carter, a Scottsdale Culinary Institute graduate who later worked in France, built the menu around modern riffs on regional Italian classics. Pasta is made in house, a pecan wood-fired grill handles the steaks, and the property has a fireplace room and a courtyard patio.
Fat Ox draws 4.4 stars from more than 1,200 Google reviews, and pasta is the star. The fall 2026 menu lists tajarin cacio e pepe (thin ribbon noodles), a 25 layer lasagna, agnolotti filled with braised wagyu cheek, and a seasonal lobster cappellacci. Starters include a tableside Caesar for two, wagyu carpaccio and veal meatballs on polenta. A 40-ounce porterhouse serves two to four.
Aperitivo Hour runs daily from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the bar and lounge. Reservations are available through the website, and the tableside Caesar is offered in the main dining room only. Seasonal pastas rotate, so confirm the menu before you go. The patio is a nice option in cooler months.
Address: 6316 N Scottsdale Rd, Scottsdale, AZ 85253
Website: ilovefatox.com
Carlsbad Tavern
Carlsbad Tavern is a New Mexican restaurant at 3313 N. Hayden Road, a short drive from Old Town. It opened in 1995 at Scottsdale Road and Earll Drive and moved to Hayden Road in 1998. The theme is Carlsbad Caverns, with a cave-like dining room and bar, bats and Roswell memorabilia, and a patio with a water feature called the Guano Canal. Early menus were printed as a newspaper called The Daily Guano.
Carlsbad Tavern’s 4.5 stars come from more than 3,400 Google reviews. The Green Chile Trail section covers New Mexican plates such as carne adovada (pork cooked in red chile), blue corn enchiladas, chile rellenos and the Enchantment Platter, along with green chile stew. Cowboy meatloaf, osso buco and crab-stuffed poblanos are the non-traditional standbys. Try the Miracle on Hayden margarita.
Reservations are recommended and can be booked online. Happy hour runs daily from 2 to 6 p.m. Portions are large, so share if you want to try more than one plate. The tavern also serves breakfast on some weekend mornings, with huevos rancheros and carne adovada and eggs on the menu. Hours vary by day, so check them before you go.
Address: 3313 Hayden Rd, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Website: carlsbadtavern.com
ZuZu
ZuZu is the restaurant at Hotel Valley Ho, the mid-century resort at 6850 E. Main Street that marked its 70th anniversary in 2026. The name honors Rosalyn “Rosie” Bennett Lyon, matriarch of the family that owns the hotel. There is a patio with a fire pit, and the restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, so it is handy for anyone staying nearby.
ZuZu’s 4.5 stars from more than 1,200 Google reviews come from a menu that mixes comfort food with chef-driven plates. Signature dishes include the ZuZu Smash burger, the VH Chopped salad, a Korean fried chicken sandwich, short rib empanadas and garlic Parmesan fries. Breakfast runs from buttermilk pancakes to huevos rancheros and a crème brûlée waffle. Save room for the Show Stopper Shake, an oversized milkshake with a new flavor each month.
Book through Tock. Happy hour runs Monday through Thursday from 4 to 6 p.m., dine-in only, and live music plays on select Friday and Saturday nights. For a splurge, Chef Roulette is a multi-course tasting menu offered in the evening for parties of two to eight. Check the hours and the current menu before you go.
Address: 6850 E Main St, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Website: hotelvalleyho.com/zuzu
AZ88
AZ88 has been an Old Town fixture since 1988, at 7353 E. Scottsdale Mall. It describes itself as a contemporary bar, but the kitchen serves a full menu, and the walls carry changing art displays. The site calls the spot a little off the beaten path.
Rated 4.6 stars from more than 2,400 Google reviews, AZ88 has long been a mainstay for martinis, crafted cocktails and steady cooking. The wings and the espresso martini draw praise, and the menu runs to burgers, club sandwiches, flatbreads, salads and a Key Lime Tart. Try the 7353 Club or one of the named chicken sandwiches, and ask about the gluten-free menu if you need it.
AZ88 is open daily from 11 a.m., with last call for food and drink at midnight, so it works for a late dinner after the galleries close. Reservations go through Yelp for parties up to eight, and larger groups are not seated. It closes on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.
Address: 7353 E Scottsdale Mall, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Website: az88.com
Grassroots Kitchen & Tap
Grassroots Kitchen & Tap is a family-owned, Southern-influenced American restaurant at 8120 N. Hayden Road, north of Old Town. It was founded in Scottsdale in 2011 and cooks from scratch in what it calls small batch style. The restaurant displays a 2025 AZ Central Best Restaurants readers’ choice badge on its website.
Grassroots has 4.6 stars from more than 2,000 Google reviews and is best known for its Southern shrimp and grits, made with jalapeño-cheddar grits and tasso ham relish. Other favorites include Roots’ BBQ brisket, the Almost Famous pork chop, Carolina baby back ribs and the Spit Fire half rotisserie chicken. Start with the pork belly or Louisiana red beans and rice, and finish with key lime pie.
Social Hour runs daily from 3 to 6 p.m., dine-in only, with its own menu. Weekly features include cowboy beef ribs on Monday and Tuesday nights, the Omega burger at Friday lunch, and andouille sausage with grits and a sunny egg at weekend lunch. The website links to reservations.
Address: 8120 Hayden Rd E-100, Scottsdale, AZ 85258
Website: grassrootsaz.com
Arcadia Farms Cafe
Arcadia Farms Cafe has served breakfast and lunch in Old Town since 1990, in a former home on 1st Avenue with front, side and rear patios. Its Marketplace, a grab-and-go shop and bakery case, sits across the street. The kitchen focuses on fresh, seasonal food and baked goods.
Its 4.4-star rating comes from more than 1,000 Google reviews, and the cooking is fresh and seasonal. Breakfast leans on a wild mushroom omelet with herbs and goat cheese and a quiche of mushroom, spinach and leek, and complimentary strawberry scones come to the table. At lunch, order the strawberry chicken salad or the wild mushroom, spinach and goat cheese tart.
Breakfast and lunch are served daily, so check the hours before you go. On a pleasant morning, the front porch is the best seat. If you are short on time, the Marketplace across the street sells baked goods, sandwiches and salads to go. The café has also listed reservations on OpenTable.
Address: 7025 E 1st Ave, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Website: arcadiafarmscafe.com
Alo Cafe
Alo Cafe is a Euro-style breakfast and lunch spot at 6960 E. 1st Street in Old Town. The scratch-cooked menu draws on the owner’s travels, with dishes inspired by Argentina, South Africa, Namibia, Spain, France and Estonia alongside American and Canadian classics. A dog-friendly patio adds outdoor seating, and the mood is relaxed and homey.
Alo holds 4.6 stars across more than 800 Google reviews and is known for its corn flake crusted French toast. Other good bets include the Tortilla Espanola, a wedge of Spanish potato and onion omelet, Huevos de Madrid with soft scrambled eggs, shrimp and smoked salmon, and a Hatch chile omelet. Add a slice of kringel, an Estonian cardamom bread with saffron and raisins.
Alo is open daily from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., with breakfast served all day on Friday and Saturday. Weekday lunch brings pastrami, Cuban and smoked pork sandwiches from 11 a.m. The site does not mention reservations, so call ahead if you have a large group.
Address: 6960 E 1st St, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Website: alocafeaz.com
Butters Pancakes & Café
Butters Pancakes & Café is a breakfast and lunch spot at Mercado on Hayden, 8300 N. Hayden Road. It calls itself Arizona’s best breakfast and lunch café and points to hand-cracked eggs, batters made from scratch every day and a custom orange juice machine. Butters has two other locations in the Scottsdale area, so check the address before you head out.
Rated 4.7 stars from more than 4,600 Google reviews, Butters is built around sweet breakfast. Specialty pancakes include apple cinnamon pecan caramel, banana cream and berry bliss, and the Swedish pancakes come with lingonberry sauce. Brioche French toast, crêpes, Benedicts and huevos rancheros with New Mexico green chile round out the menu.
Butters is open from early morning to mid-afternoon every day, so it is strictly a breakfast and lunch stop. Weekend mornings are the busiest, so arrive early or go on a weekday. Pancake orders come as stacks of three or four cakes, so sharing one and ordering something savory works well. Check hours before you go.
Address: 8300 Hayden Rd f104, Scottsdale, AZ 85258
Website: butterscafe.com
Final Thoughts
Book ahead for the dinner destinations, especially on weekends, since FnB and The House Brasserie are closed Sunday and Monday and Reserve lists dinner service on Friday and Saturday evenings only. Happy hours at places like Citizen Public House, Roaring Fork, ZuZu and Fat Ox start between 3:30 and 4 p.m. and are an easy way to try a kitchen without a full reservation. Breakfast spots close by mid-afternoon, so go early. Summer afternoons can top 115 degrees, so patios are most pleasant from fall through spring. Parking in Old Town can take planning, so allow extra time and check hours before you go.
Planning the rest of your trip? See our guide to the best things to do in Scottsdale, AZ.
Main photo, from left: We The Creators, Tai’s Captures and meat Adil / Unsplash
