Between the dreamy décor, the scene-y people-watching and the exuberant coastal Italian cuisine, you’ll never forget this pachydermic playground in Scottsdale.
by Nikki Buchanan | Photography by Nanushka Photography
Spontaneity will get you nowhere at Élephante, the white-hot coastal Italian bar-restaurant that opened in Scottsdale Fashion Square this past December. Make reservations days in advance or do some serious strategizing to snag a table (or merely a barstool) at this often crowded, seriously noisy eatery-nightclub hybrid. Whatever it takes, you’ve got to go.
Designed by founder Nick Mathers – who opened the first Élephante in Santa Monica in 2018 – the softly lit space is punctuated with dwarf palm trees and succulents to evoke Sicilian coastal towns, the Arizona desert and North Africa all at once. The name Élephante alludes to a wind-eroded, elephant-shaped rock formation in Pantelleria, an island that sits between Sicily and Tunisia.
The menu similarly embraces the near and far away. Case in point: Élephante’s signature whipped eggplant starter, accompanied by puccia, a hollow bread fashioned from fermented pizza dough, which comically puffs up in the wood-fired oven and emerges supple and stretchy with a faintly crisp, charred exterior. It’s the perfect conveyance for a dip whipped to such lightness it’s almost air.
Grilled octopus is everywhere, but seldom cooked as perfectly or staged as beautifully as it is here, matched with delicate hearts of palm, green olives, capers, tangerine and red onion. Another terrific starter: the thin, cracker-like flatbread of Sardinia, known as carta di musica (“sheet music” in Italian), which plays crackly, flour-dusted foil to big eye tuna tartare, smoky and luscious with Calabrian chile aioli.
Meanwhile, thin-crust pizzas, made from the same pliant, 48-hour fermented dough as the puccia, are fantastic, whether topped with a woodsy mix of wild mushrooms, lemon cream and Parmigiano Reggiano, or spicy shaves of soppressata, boosted with chile oil and honey. I plan to eat my way down the entire pizza list, just as I will with all the house-made pasta dishes, including a revisit of rich, nutty fusilli pesto, vibrant green in color with a crunchy pistachio breadcrumb topping.
For dessert: a decadent riff on tiramisu involving chocolate-espresso sponge cake, mascarpone mousse and chocolate crunch. Who needs ladyfingers, anyway?
Open for lunch and dinner, Élephante is delicious fun from top to bottom. With a little planning, I’ll be there often.
Élephante
Cuisine: Italian
Contact: 7014 E. Camelback Rd., Scottsdale, 480-576-8168, elephanterestaurants.com
Hours: M-Th 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; F 11 a.m.-midnight; Sa 10 a.m.-midnight; Su 10 a.m.-11 p.m.
Highlights: Big eye tuna tartare ($20); whipped eggplant with puccia ($15); grilled octopus ($23); fusilli pesto ($20); wild mushroom pizza ($23)
