Here's everything you need to know about where to dine, stay and revive in Old Town Scottsdale.
The Mother of Pearl pool at The Phoenician awaits outside the spa. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE PHOENICIAN
6850 E. Main St., Scottsdale, hotelvalleyho.com
Now a modern gem in Downtown Scottsdale, Hotel Valley Ho was once a popular hideaway spot for Hollywood icons, spanning generations from Bing Crosby to Janet Jackson. It features major additions such as ZuZu, VH Spa and OH Pool. Zuzu, its gourmet eatery, is a local favorite featuring chic interiors and unparalleled service. VH Spa, a modern spa and fitness center, offers a variety of soothing treatments and workout sessions. Guests can unwind under the palms at OH Pool as they sip cocktails and enjoy tasty bites with full poolside service along with cabana and daybed rentals.
6000 E. Camelback Road, Scottsdale, thephoenician.com
At The Phoenician and The Canyon Suites at The Phoenician, its boutique hotel on property, guests can dine in style at one of the eight diverse dining venues; golf on the 18-hole course with panoramic views of Camelback Mountain; or relax at The Phoenician Spa, a three-story facility with 24 treatment rooms and an extensive collection of treatments. The pool area includes the gorgeous Mother of Pearl Pool, as well as the Kids Zone’s 197-foot twisting waterslide and treehouse. Keep the kids entertained as you laze away at the Mediterranean-inspired poolside bar, Kalio Kabobery. A guest hot spot is the Athletic Club featuring a game room; tennis, pickleball and basketball courts; and a full movement studio.
7501 E. Camelback Road Scottsdale, hilton.com/en/curio
As the first new hotel in Old Town’s Entertainment District in 13 years, Senna House Scottsdale, Curio Collection by Hilton, has quickly settled in, offering a lush desert-modern aesthetic and a serene Sonora Swim Club pool deck overlooking Camelback Road and Old Town Scottsdale, with unobstructed views of Camelback Mountain. And, don’t miss a taste of Cala, chef Beau MacMillan’s newest Mediterranean coastal concept, during your stay.
Barrio Queen
7114 E. Stetson Drive, barrioqueen.com
Mexican soul food is served in an upscale setting with Día de los Muertos decor.
Cafe Monarch
6939 E. First Ave., cafemonarch.com
The prix fixe menu changes weekly and always features New American influences and seasonal, local ingredients. All servers are certified sommeliers who participate in weekly wine tastings to ensure optimal pairing recommendations. Cafe Monarch is by reservation only and offers accommodations for patrons with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free preferences.
FnB
7125 E. Fifth Ave., fnbrestaurant.com
Connoisseurs and neighborhood drop-ins access an evolving wine list and seasonally revised small and large plates. Hunt for the boutique space in a downtown courtyard with no street frontage, and hope for roasted anything.
Franco’s Italian Caffe
4327 N. Scottsdale Road, francosscottsdale.com
Franco Fazzuoli transports guests to Italy by way of his kitchen, offering seafood risotto, ravioli and veal chops.
Fat Ox
6316 N. Scottsdale Road, ilovefatox.com
Region-hopping Italian cuisine features grilled vegetables, pastas dressed with truffle butter or bolognese, slow-roasted meats and crispy-skinned salmon. The sharp 7,000-square-foot space can seat 350 guests.
J&G Steakhouse
The Phoenician, 6000 E. Camelback Road, jgsteakhousescottsdale.com
This sleek, handsome restaurant delivers brag-worthy beef with buttoned-up service while nonchalantly perching on the south side of Camelback Mountain.
Marcellino Ristorante
7114 E. Stetson Drive, marcellinoristorante.com
It’s a good night when osso buco makes it to the menu. Then again, any of Marcellino Verzino’s handmade-daily pastas are a treat, and wife Sima’s songs and hospitality are nourishing in their own right.
Mastro’s City Hall Steakhouse
6991 E. Camelback Road, mastrosrestaurants.com
Black leather, textured glass and red accent lighting set the scene for celebrating corporate anniversaries and closing big business deals. The dress code is smart; the service is spot-on.
Mowry & Cotton
The Phoenician, 6000 E. Camelback Road, mowryandcotton.com
Vegetables get caramelized or charred, sized-to-share Pacific striped bass is served whole, and spare ribs are smoked and sided with a clever cranberry-snap pea slaw. Traditionalists can still get crab dip, mixed-greens salads and ribeye. New Mexico winery Gruet makes a sparkling blanc de noirs exclusively for the resort property.
Ocean 44
4748 N. Goldwater Blvd., ocean44.com
With seafood from around the world, dining settings that range from grand tables to intimate enclaves, and an over-the-top selection of fresh seafood, this coastal eatery is the place to see and be seen.
Old Town Tortilla Factory
6910 E. Main St., oldtowntortillafactory.com
A former residence constructed of adobe now houses a high-output kitchen and cozy dining nooks, and the former carriage house is a cantina with access to more than 140 tequilas. The most desirable seats, however, are on the patio among bulb-wrapped trees and a fountain topped with a bowl of fire. Featured Southwestern fare includes stuffed chicken with chipotle mashed potatoes, sea bass with habanero-cucumber salad, and green chili chicken bathed in mole.
Roaring Fork
4800 N. Scottsdale Road, roaringfork.com
A James Beard Award-winning chef was the backbone of a haunt that didn’t skip a beat when it relocated, years ago, from Camelback Road frontage to the base of a high-rise office complex. The Big Ass Burger, dressed with smoked bacon, cheese and poblano peppers, legendarily $10 during happy hour, might be part of the magnetic mystique. Also adored: cedar-plank salmon, spit-roasted chicken and sugar-cured duck.
Sel
7044 E. Main St., selrestaurant.com
By sitting on Scottsdale’s major art gallery avenue, this classy and ever-changing restaurant plays frequent host to vacationing collectors, area gallerists and artists with representation. (And you thought big deals were negotiated on the golf course.) Yield to the featured prix fixe; it’s a veritable parade of fine art.
The Herb Box
7051 E. Fifth Ave., theherbbox.com
Here you’ll find gluten-free, vegan and organic poultry options, plus indulgences like butternut squash and corn enchiladas, serrano shrimp salad and a portobello-manchego burger.
The House Brasserie
6936 E. Main St., thehousebrasserie.com
For an eclectic experience, select from a New American menu while ensconced in Victorian-inspired decor.
The Mission
3815 N. Brown Ave., Scottsdale, 480.636.5005; Kierland Commons, 7122 E. Greenway Parkway, themissionaz.com
A wall of amber bricks of salt gives the Brown Avenue dining room a romantic glow; at Kierland, it’s a heaven-reaching centerpiece bar that beckons and beams. Latin influences (and good taste) are the reasons for ham on chicken tostadas, and raisins and cashews on barbacoa ribs. Huitlacoche is the sleeper hit: a corn fungus that becomes a luscious, earthy sauce in either capable kitchen.
ZuZu
Hotel Valley Ho, 6850 E. Main St., hotelvalleyho.com/zuzu
Intelligent, seasonal fare stars at breakfast, lunch and dinner—but things can never get too serious in the presence of a rum-based cocktail called Trash the Beach House. At dinnertime, go for lobster rolls, jidori chicken or a dry-aged pork porterhouse.
AZ/88
Scottsdale Civic Center Mall, 7353 Scottsdale Mall, az88.com
Because the kitchen keeps cookin’ until 12:30am, the bartenders slip blue-cheese-stuffed olives into the city’s iciest martinis, and art installations and floral arrangements are constantly freshened, fabulous people who do fascinating things tend to congregate here.
Maple & Ash
7135 E. Camelback Road, mapleandash.com
This highly anticipated restaurant helmed by two-Michelin-starred chef Danny Grant has opened at the new Scottsdale Waterfront. Expect a modern, wood-fired take on the classic American steakhouse.
Citizen Public House
7111 E. Fifth Ave., citizenpublichouse.com
The most important things to order here: the Original Chopped Salad, which chef Bernie Kantak invented decades ago at another restaurant; mac and cheese of Gorgonzola and Emmental; short ribs rubbed with coffee and sauced with dried cherries; and any—absolutely any—barrel-aged cocktail judged ready for tapping.
Craft 64
6922 E. Main St., craft64.com
The superb fast-cooked pizzas here should be—and are—compared with those by Grazie on the same block. Here, the beverage program is dominated by Arizona beers; at Grazie, Italian wines dominate. A pie-and-bev enthusiast simply cannot miss in this neighborhood.
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