Holidays often mean out-of-town guests, and if you’re anything like us, you want to show off your city. This usually means a visit to a favorite restaurant or watering hole. While we have thoughts on the most exciting newcomers to the eating and drinking scene, there are a few standby spots that always make the list when playing tour guide to friends and family around the Valley.
This list is far from inclusive, but: Endia Fontanez never misses a chance to take someone to Jewel’s Bakery and Cafe, Bahar Anooshahr loves snagging brunch at pop-up Requinto when the timing works out, Reia Li loves a leisurely dim sum excursion to Great Wall, and I love a fancy, lingering meal at Santo Arcadia. The places below are the spots that are reliable and accessible enough that we take every guest, without fail.
These are our favorite metro Phoenix restaurants and cafes to take visitors.
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Café Mollie
Cafe Mollie at 6031 N. 16th St. offers lattes, boba, fruity drinks, bubble waffles and pastries.
Café Mollie’s menu is inventive, serving up a mix of classic Vietnamese coffee drinks, like egg coffee, and innovative takes featuring staple Asian flavors like pandan and black sesame. One of my favorite menu items, the salted coffee, features a bitter, dark-roasted base sweetened with condensed milk and topped with a creamy, salted cold foam. Every trip to the bustling café is an adventure in deciding which drink to try next, as they also feature a rotating seasonal menu. I’ve taken multiple Asian American friends when they’ve visited me and, without fail, they tell me how they wish their city had Café Mollie, too.
Details: 6031 N. 16th St. Suite 5, Phoenix. 602-612-2313. @cafemollie on Instagram
— Reia Li
Phoenix Coqui
Phoenix Coqui offers a comforting taste of Puerto Rico in Phoenix. The tiny restaurant, owned by Alexis Carbajal and Juan Ayala, makes a mouthwatering pernil plate. I always mean to try other dishes, but I can’t resist the pulled pork served with rice with a side salad for only $13.95.
Details: 4041 N. 15th Ave., Phoenix. 602-768-7894, phoenixcoqui.com.
— Endia Fontanez
Ta’Carbon
Ta’Carbon has three locations across metro Phoenix, but my go-to is the 43rd Avenue restaurant tucked into the shell of a defunct fast-food chain. The family-owned micro-chain specializes in Sonoran-style carne asada cooked over billowing grills. I always get the hazz, a combination of grilled steak and poblano peppers smothered in cheese. My biggest quandary is whether to order it as a plate, which comes with small flour tortillas, a plate of creamy refried beans and an all-access pass to the salsa bar, or swaddled in a giant, chewy flour tortilla as a burrito. Either way, I always leave feeling renewed pride in the culinary chops of our city.
Details: 2929 N. 43rd Ave., Phoenix. Also, 5834 W. Camelback Road, Glendale. Also, 6750 W. Peoria Ave., Peoria. tacarbon.com.
— Felicia Campbell
Valentine
The Smoked Two Wash Ranch chicken dish at Valentine restaurant in Phoenix.
Valentine is an homage to Arizona, starting with the name, a nod to Statehood Day on Feb. 14, 1912. Indigenous ingredients make ample appearances on chef Donald Hawk’s menu, from mesquite and elote pastas to tepary bean dips and huitlacoche butter. The 2024 James Beard Award Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker finalist, Chef Crystal Kass, transforms local ingredients into inventive pastries that stock the coffee counter each morning. The not-so-secret bar, located in an alley behind the restaurant, is aptly named 1912 and features a cocktail menu almost as exciting as what’s coming out of the kitchen up front. Night or day, there’s something exciting to try at this Phoenix gem.
Details: 4130 N. Seventh Ave., Phoenix. 602-612-2961, valentinephx.com.
— Bahar Anooshahr
Now open: The 7 most exciting new restaurants that opened in metro Phoenix in 2024
Felicia Campbell is dining editor at The Arizona Republic, USA TODAY Network West. Reach her at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Out-of-town visitors? Head to these crowd-pleasing Phoenix restaurants
