Phoenix
Neutral Ground Lounge
Opened: December 2025
Beverages generally play a supporting role on restaurant menus, and that’s fine. Not everybody drinks. But sometimes – like, every other day? – it’s fun hitting a place where the power dynamics are basically 50-50.
Tucked into an Arcadia-adjacent mixed-use complex, this moody, comfortable, Craftsman-toned gem from restaurateur Kevin Ehret (a former hand at Virtu Honest Craft) answers the call. As a self-identified cocktail lounge, it offers a well-authored list of inebriant goodies like Nightshade Martini ($17), a savory, clarified gin drink made with tomato consommé, presented thrillingly in a branded Neutral Ground bottle that you self-pour into a frozen coupe. It’s icy and ethereal, and a perfect doubles partner for eloté-inspired Romaine salad ($12), scrumptiously dressed with roasted corn, cotija and tajin.
So goes the dance at Neutral Ground: a rotating list of 10 signature cocktails (plus an inventively curated wine list and scads of interesting spirits) cheek-to-cheek with a seasonal menu of 14 thoughtful small plates. Between smoky sips of the mezcal-fronted Poblano Negroni ($17), a plate of coffee-glazed carrots strewn with macadamia nuts ($13) pops like nobody’s business, while a glass of Central Coast rosé ($15) falls right into the buttery embrace of succulent lobster stuffed into a squat brioche roll ($26) flecked with nori-like wakame.
It’s all beautifully phrased and paced, with palate-stirring details – rather than portions – that guide the tango. This is what it means to drink well and eat responsibly.
Wild Card: The Korean-cut short rib ($29) was the one disappointment when we ordered it; a little tendon-y, a little scant. But we’ve also seen pics where it looks amazing, so maybe roll the dice?
4602 E. Thomas Rd., 602-314-2626, nglphx.com
East Valley
Kagawa Guys
Opened: May 2026
It’s not every day – or even every year – that you can walk into a local restaurant and order a beloved global dish you’ve never tried before. That’s the hook at this spare but brilliant eatery in Mesa, where the signature offering is omurice – a staple in Japanese izakaya taverns but not something I’ve previously seen on any menu in Greater Phoenix.
Essentially a fluffy, half-cooked omelet served over a demi-glace-drenched Wagyu hamburger ($25) or short rib ($26), the omurice lobe splits apart like fascia when you cut it (a culinary ritual in Japan, evidently), spilling its rich, eggy innards over the rest of the dish. Does that sound gross? It’s not. It’s awesome. Cooked medium-rare with just a bit of pink, the ground Wagyu conspires with the gravy, egg and rice to create a flavor-packed Japanese approximation of shepherd’s pie. I’d order it again and again.
But Kagawa Guys, an offshoot of Ramen Kagawa in Downtown Phoenix, is more than the sum of its omurice. It also boasts an exceptional pasta list. Uni cream pasta ($23) is an umami bomb – fettuccini in an alfredo-like plasma of heavy cream and sea urchin roe that reminded me of the timeless Japanese-Italian seafood dishes at Phoenix legend Cherryblossom Noodle Café. Just indescribably delicious.
There’s also tonkatsu ramen ($16) and a daily blackboard menu featuring specials such as Wagyu steak nigiri (overly chewy, $15). What it doesn’t have: a liquor license, a BYOB policy, lunch hours (5-9 p.m. Tu-Su), distinguishing exterior features (look for the “Celebrate Catering” sign) or even an ice machine.
So it’s a work in progress. It’s still a blessing.
Wild Card: From the blackboard menu, finish with one of Kagawa’s next-level desserts, including sweet potato cheesecake ($6) and creamy panna cotta ($6) inflected with toasty hojira tea ($6), both absurdly good.
2121 W. Guadalupe Rd., Mesa, kagawaguysmesa.my.canva.site
West Valley
W&Z Asian Bistro and Sushi Bar
Opened: September 2025
It’s always grounds for skepticism when a given restaurant tries to cram too much onto a menu – Japanese and Chinese and Thai, for instance. “Do three things and do them averagely,” is not a common aphorism for a reason.
With its unwieldy name and 100-plus-item menu to match, this pan-Asian eatery in Verrado looked to me like a possible case study, but it’s a bit better than that.
By and large, the cooking is potent and purposeful. Consider the tom yum soup ($7), an appetizer-size bowl of plump shrimp, meaty shiitake caps, red bell pepper and bean sprouts in a spicy prik ki nu chile broth that hits you squarely on the chin. You’ll rarely find better in a dedicated Thai restaurant.
The Japanese side of the menu is dominated by sushi joint standards such as vegetable tempura ($9), pleasantly crunchy but missing the all-important yam, and maki like the Fire Island Roll ($15), topped with jalapeño, salmon and eel sauce. It’s Sushi Brokers-level stuff and that’s A-OK.
The Chinese third of the menu is probably the least inspiring, but when the low-light of your meal is a snappy and succulent firecracker shrimp dressed in spicy mayo ($11), it’s hard to complain. Formerly a dining desert, Verrado is enjoying a restaurant awakening in its third decade of existence, and this high-utility eatery is hardly a snooze.
Wild Card: Satisfy your lunchtime eel cravings with an unagi bento box ($15).
20960 W. Sentinel Dr., Buckeye, 480-275-2854, wzbuckeye.com
Scottsdale/North Valley
Kanoki
Opened: May 2026
When Pocha 54 closed in the High Street area last fall, it left a hole in our hearts. Where else should we find Korean tapas in the North Valley?
Its replacement isn’t quite as idiosyncratic, but as an elevated purveyor of sushi, pub-style Japanese small plates and craft cocktails, it arguably suits the master-planned neighborhood better – and the food is damn good.
One reliable litmus test of a superior sushi menu is the presence of ankimo, or monkfish liver, which eats like pâté and is something of a culinary obsession in Japan. Kanoki does a spot-on treatment, served in a taco-style tamaki hand roll ($9) and sprinkled with bright orange bulbs of salmon roe for a potent taste of the ocean.
A trim but inventive menu of kitchen starters includes deep-fried florets of cauliflower karaage, which are dusted with nori flakes and disappear from the table soon after arrival ($14); and chawanmushi ($8), the egg custard and mushroom classic popularized by Lori Hashimoto at Hana Japanese Cuisine. (Not quite as eerily savory here, but still delightful.) And it’s hard to find fault with Kanoki’s 11-item maki menu, which exhibits elegant nuance even in the obligatory California ($12) and Philadelphia ($9) rolls, but particularly in showstoppers like the High Street roll ($28), with icy snow crab, tuna belly and caviar piled high over a tempura-fried soft shell crab.
Our tapas hole is healing.
Wild Card: Whet your hoissuru with one of seven signature cocktails, including the Kizami ($13) martini with sushi-friendly wisps of wasabi.
5415 E. High St., 480-292-9280, kanokiphx.com
