A Valley city-by-city look at longtime favorites and new kids on the block making waves.
Old Tempe
Casey Moore’s Oyster House
You don’t have to like oysters to love Casey Moore’s. Folks generally come for the beer and the company, regulars who’ve frequented the bungalow for decades – not the food. Casey’s is more Mill Avenue than anything on Mill Avenue – it embodies downtown Tempe past and present. Watch out for the ghost. And the oysters. 850 S. Ash Ave., Tempe, 602-968-9935, caseymoores.com
New Tempe
Filthy Animal
Just when we were giving up on any hope of Tempe becoming a bona fide nightlife destination, the abandoned P.F. Chang’s at Mill and University was transformed. With a jungle cat theme, creative food and drink, and free valet parking, finally there’s a grown-up reason to head to Mill Avenue. 740 S. Mill Ave., Tempe, 480-397-1046, thisisfilthyanimal.com
Old Scottsdale
The Salt Cellar
Back in 1971, it was difficult to get people to embrace the idea of seafood in hot, landlocked Arizona. One solution: Put your seafood restaurant in a fantastically insulated underground dungeon. And we’ve been happily inhaling its tasty oysters Rockefeller ever since. 550 Hayden Rd., 480-947-1963, saltcellarrestaurant.com
New Scottsdale
Ocean 44
The Scottsdale Fashion Square seafood palace is a lot like its sister restaurant, Steak 44. Which is to say: spendy as all hell, and probably worth it. If you don’t believe us, pawn your Tesla and order the roasted shellfish tower. And the sea bass. That ethereal, plump, costs-as-much-as-LASIK sea bass. 4748 N. Goldwater Blvd, 480-867-0044, ocean44.com
Old Glendale
Haus Murphy’s
Featured on Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, HM’s is still the go-to spot in the West Valley for authentic German fare after 29 years of slinging giant pretzels, brats, schnitzel and spaetzle, all made from recipes inspired by owners Rose and Brett Hoffmann’s family cookbook. The Deutschland ambiance carries through with provincial décor and polka players all the way to impersonators of Elvis, who did a military tour in Germany in the late 1950s. Prost! 5739 W. Glendale Ave., Glendale, 623-939-2480, hausmurphys.com
New Glendale
Cubanitas Kitchen
Originating as a food truck, with a pit stop at a gas station kitchen, Cubanitas Kitchen achieved its boldest, most vibrant incarnation yet when owners Angel Renteria and Cuban-born Lennis Rivas Montero moved into a stunning brick-and-mortar location in 2024. The new space is bursting with color, charm and, now, craft cocktails to complement the rich, soul-warming Cuban fare. 5704 W. Glendale Ave., Glendale, 480-925-5840, cubanitaskitchenaz.com
Old Phoenix
Mrs. White’s Golden Rule Cafe
Celebrating its 60th year, the iconic Downtown soul food restaurant found itself in the crosshairs of a recent Gordon Ramsay’s Secret Service episode, in which the reality TV churl revealed that – gasp! – the fried chicken and collard greens weren’t state-of-the-art anymore. Pound sand, mate. 808 E. Jefferson St., 602-262-9256, mrswhitescafe.com
New Phoenix
Latha
For longer than we care to admit, African cuisine in the Valley comprised exactly two Ethiopian restaurants – one very good, the other OK. And that was about it. Then came a wave of West African eateries, and then, two years ago, this pan-African gem, which tells the story of worldwide African migration through its braised oxtails and porridge-like moqueca. And a riveting story it is. 628 E. Adams St., 480-640-6183, lathaphx.com
Old Mesa
Organ Stop Pizza
Unpretentious, parlor-style pizza, enjoyed in a dinner-theater-like food hall while talented musicians play the theme from Star Wars on the world’s largest pipe organ, elevated on a rotating hydraulic platform 10 feet in the air. It would be surreal if it wasn’t so awesomely gosh-darned wholesome. 1149 E. Southern Ave., Mesa, 480-813-5700, organstoppizza.com
New Mesa
Amici Pizza
If there was any possibility this Mesa shop was being overlooked by the VPN intelligentsia, it vanished like so many crypto dollars when Barstool Sports ding-dong Dave Portnoy visited to deliver a viral pizza review. Suddenly, Barstool bros were flying in from as far away as Boston to chew on Amici’s “undercarriage.” It is damn good. 2023 W. Guadalupe Rd., Mesa, 480-361-0006, amicipizzaaz.com
