Devon McConville serves up a Ro-Ro sensation with her winsome all-day café.
by Craig Outhier | Photography by Angelina Aragon
It’s patio season again in the Valley – and thus an ideal time to visit Matilda’s in the Roosevelt Historical District.
Set on a pleasant, unhurried street shaded by elm and ash, in the same impeccably restored 112-year-old bungalow that once housed Garden Bar, this “all-day café” from coffee-cart priestess Devon McConville opened last winter and became an instant favorite of the young-mom set, known to spread picnic blankets over the front lawn and chit-chat over lattes while the kids frolick nearby. Until summer kicked in, anyway.
Well, fall is here, and the Matilda’s lawn and patio is a Monet painting once more. It’s not quite like anything else in Phoenix.
The food is almost as idyllic. Head chef Matt Celaya, known for his pop-up events with the Más Amable culinary collective, has created one of the Valley’s most engaging and versatile menus. Three menus, more accurately. The day begins in fast-casual fashion with a balanced selection of breakfast dishes (served until 11 a.m.) headlined by a princely egg-and-cheese sandwich swiped with a hot gust of preserved Calabrian chile on a poppy seed milk bun. Pair it with one of McConville’s exquisite, mixology-inspired seasonal lattes, offered in espresso or matcha form. The Baklava, sweetened with honey and aromatized with orange blossom water, is a scrumptious, pistachio-dusted eye-opener from the current fall menu.
Breakfast gives way to a sandwich-centric lunch menu (served until 4 p.m.), including a saucy, Yucatán-inspired braised pork sammy done in a chile-tamarind adobo, with charred pineapple and crisp, bitter radish for balance. I loved it with the Photo Finish from Matilda’s craft cocktail menu, combining mezcal and coconut tea with passionfruit, honey, papaya and lime for a refreshing, tiki-adjacent sip.
McConville gamely gives the kitchen a one-hour break until full-service dinner kicks in (5 p.m. to close). From the six-item appetizer menu, don’t miss the bruschetta of creamy gigante beans, sweet piquillo pepper, fennel slaw and orange zest on a toasted baguette. It’s a symphony of bright Mediterranean flavor and perhaps my favorite new dish this year. Entrées are a slightly mixed bag. Done in a mild peperonata sauce (red bell peppers, onion, olive oil) over rich mascarpone polenta, the Café Chicken was a table-pleaser, but tagliarini (ribbon egg pasta) was a one-note garlic bomb.
Celaya’s recipes shift seasonally, so keep an eye on the horizon for some fresh culinary swells. And don’t forget your picnic blanket.
Matilda’s
Cuisine: Modern-American
Contact: 822 N. Sixth Ave., Phoenix, 602-962-1956, matildasallday.com
Hours: M 8 a.m.-4 p.m., W 8 a.m.-9 p.m., F-Sa 8 a.m.-10 p.m., Su 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Highlights: Breakfast Sammy ($16); braised pork sandwich ($19); Baklava latte ($5.50-$7.50); bean toast ($17); Café Chicken ($28)
