Opened: July 2023
PHOENIX did not include a formal list of our favorite out-of-town “import” restaurants in this year’s Best New Restaurants feature, but if we had, this Chandler brewpub hailing from the Sonoran capital of Hermosillo surely would have claimed a spot. Reminiscent of a Mexican Four Peaks, but with better comida, the pub offers a menu of appetizingly baroque burgers ($16.50), high-piled tostadas ($13.25 for three), well-engineered tacos ($12.50-$13.50) and cakey, savory sopes ($9.50 for three, pictured), all alongside seven to eight taps dispensing craft beer brewed on-site. Fun, right? So, for that matter, is the La Valiente burger, a perfectly cooked patty of ranch-sourced beef on brioche, topped with asadero cheese, bacon and a juicy, spatchcocked quilt of charred jalapeño, its chile hotness largely neutralized, allowing that lovely green pepper flavor to shine through. Other highlights include aguachile de camarón ($13.25), a conga line of filleted shrimp cooked in citrus juice, jalapeño and cilantro; and sopes al pastor, pineapple-sweetened pork niblets piled on a masa cake with avocado mousse and sprinkles of chopped onion and cilantro. This is one of six Buqui Bichi locations, but the first in the U.S. – and don’t be surprised if you see more.
Wild Card: Did we mention they have pizza ($15.50-$17.50)? And craft cocktails?
325 S. Arizona Ave., Chandler,
480-410-4115, buquibichi.net
