Our thoughts on new spots in Fountain Hills, North Phoenix, Tempe and Central Phoenix.
by Craig Outhier & Nikki Buchanan | Photography by Angelina Aragon & Alanna Goodman
East Valley
Prince St. Pizza
Opened: August 2025
The appeal of the New York City slice has always eluded me – until I tried this friendly pizza shop (with no seating) in downtown Tempe. It’s the latest outpost for an iconic national brand, which got its start in Manhattan, natch. Famous for its thick, Sicilian-style pizza, cut in “squares,” Prince St. also turns out giant slices of thin-crust Neapolitan pizza. Both styles, sold by whole pie or slice, are wonderfully crisp on the bottom, although the Sicilian squares are naturally thicker and more bread-like. The shop’s motto (“If you can put it on pasta, you can put it on pizza”) explains the terrific Spicy Vodka (made with prosciutto, mozzarella and pecorino romano, $6.50). It’s rich yet strangely subtle, the polar opposite of the Spicy Spring, generously strewn with cup and char pepperoni (which curl up into little bowls of pepperoni fat, $7). Insanely good. The Naughty Pie (essentially the Spicy Vodka with pepperoni and honey, $7) is hot and sweet, another fave, but there’s nothing I didn’t love here, including The Green Machine (with nut-free pesto, black olives and cheeses, $6.25) and The Oakey Smokey (with smoked mozzarella, fresh basil and EVOO, $6.25). Bottom line: Prince St. slaps.
Wild Card: Try a light, creamy slice of another type – cheesecake straight from the Big Apple ($7).
680 S. Mill Ave., Tempe, 480-389-3951, princestreetpizza.com
– Nikki Buchanan
Central Phoenix
Minnow
Opened: July 2025
From the culinary minds that brought you the Valley’s first self-identified gastropub in Citizen Public House and Old Town’s first legit all-day diner in Beginner’s Luck comes this sushi-in-a-flash concept that feels custom-tailored to its Arcadia Lite-ish address.
Conceived by chef Bernie Kantak and front-of-the-house impresario Andrew Fritz, the tiny, modern fast-casual features a tight, efficient selection of specialty rolls – including a crushable salmon-and-nopales number called the Saguaro ($14), and the spicy tuna/white fish-based Drunk Fish ($18), dressed with lively slivers of bettarazuke (pickled daikon radish) – plus nigiri, traditional maki rolls and donburi (rice plates), all of which you order at automated robo-screens before grabbing a seat.
The Blanquita, with spicy yellowtail, cucumber and salsa verde ($15), is another terrific roll, but the best thing I ate at Minnow, hands down, was the saba shioyaki ($20), a donburi plate featuring a perfectly cooked morsel of baked salted mackerel with pickled cucumbers, spring onions and ponzu over a bed of greens.
It was a Blue Zone flavor bonanza, and maybe the best thing I’ve ever eaten in a restaurant that technically lacks servers.
Oh, almost forgot – there’s also a cozy little bar that doles out simple, citrus-centric cocktails ($12-$14) and a vast menu of matcha ($5.50-$7.50), that green-tea-derived favorite of the yoga-pants set. Of which the neighborhood has many.
Wild Card: Starting at 7 a.m., Minnow serves coffee and unleashes a small breakfast menu, including the Japanese egg salad sando ($5) and a sweet cream milk bun ($4).
4501 N. 32nd St., 602-932-2858, eatminnow.com
– Craig Outhier
North Phoenix
Thai’d Up Rice & Noodles
Opened: July 2025
This friendly fast-casual with the punny American name turns out boldly flavored Thai food and a handful of Chinese-American classics for tired, hungry diners in need of takeout.
Still, a small dining area, tricked out with a whimsical, Thai-food-oriented mural, makes for a perfectly pleasant dine-in experience.
The appetizer menu comprises five Asian-inspired, all-purpose starters, including chicken- and veggie-filled potstickers, faintly crisped at the edges, served with a rice vinegar-sharpened soy-based sauce ($5.50).
Many sections of the menu require customers to pick a protein and the spice level they prefer. In this case, “medium” heat really is a reasonably spicy heat level – hot but not incendiary.
Pad Thai, sprinkled with crushed peanuts, is an early favorite, offering up heat, salt and the tang of tamarind in a saucy stir-fry of plump shrimp, rice noodles, egg, green onion and bean sprouts ($13 + $4 for shrimp).
Also first-rate is the comforting pad see ew, a slightly sweeter stir-fry composed of wide rice noodles, carrots, broccoli and egg ($13 + $3 for pork).
Panang curry, creamy with red curry paste, coconut milk and peanut paste, also falls into the comfort food camp, thanks to its hearty meat, potatoes and veggies vibe ($13 + $3 for beef).
Wild Card: Curry-scented pineapple fried rice is 100 times better than it sounds – sweet, savory and cashew-crunchy ($13 + $3 for chicken).
4727 E. Bell Rd., 602-837-1014, thaidup2go.com
– Nikki Buchanan
Northeast Valley
Seoul Burgers
Opened: August 2025
We’ve always envied the views in Fountain Hills. The food scene? Not much to envy, honestly. At least, not until this raucous Korean gastropub came along.
Embedded inside a high-toned gogi-gui grill called Haan Korean BBQ (that’s a review for another time), it offers a singular menu of Asian-inflected burgers and off-the-wall fusion small plates – and everything is terrific. Served in a puddle of beef-bone broth, steamed pork dumplings ($14) are some of the best in the Valley – slippery, plump and subtly spiced with clove and pepper.
Meaty Haan house wings ($14) are offered in a variety of sauces, including a sticky, gochujang-kissed sweet-and-sour; while tempura-fried asparagus, drizzled with white truffle oil ($12), offers a tasty and vaguely healthy option on the 13-item-strong starters menu.
A baroque selection of Kobe burgers and assorted sandwiches constitute the entrées, and they’re a gas: the Gang-Nam Style smashburger ($20) includes a pinky-thick slice of glazed pork belly along with kimchi aioli, house-made pickles and two kinds of cheese, while the kimchi Reuben ($20) ingeniously substitutes orthodox sauerkraut with Korea’s foundational fermented cabbage. Enviable, all of it.
Wild Card: Try the happy-hour-only dishes (including glorious Korean fried chicken tacos, $9 for two) and $2-off specialty cocktails.
17149 E. Amhurst Dr., Fountain Hills, 480-272-7570, seoul-burgers.com/menu
– Craig Outhier
