City: Scottsdale, AZ

Category: Restaurants

Telephone: (480) 994-3524

Address: 3821 N. Scottsdale Rd.

Description: A short menu with some of the best rotisserie chicken in town has made this Old Town restaurant a favorite for years. The lines can be long, especially on Friday or Saturday, but the food is worth it. In addition to its famous chicken, Bandera does ribs, filet mignon, and a Caesar salad with roasted chicken, avocado, almonds, and goat cheese. The Flying Tuna Platter is wholesome tuna on mixed greens with avocado, mango, and miso vinaigrette. The restaurant is open daily for dinner only. If you’re in the mood for a take-out dinner, Bandera has a very efficient “flying chicken” drive-through service. Call ahead to order, and they’ll have it ready for you when you drive up.

City: Scottsdale, AZ

Category: Restaurants

Address: 6934 E. 1st Ave.

City: Scottsdale, AZ

Category: Restaurants

Telephone: (480) 398-4208

Address: 7155 E. 5th Ave.

Description: The downtown Scottsdale gastropub serves some pretty outstanding bar snacks like Kilt Lifter fondue with the locally brewed dark ale, hunter’s sausage, pear, and country bread. Starters include green lip mussel chowder. The entrees are similarly creative and hearty, like coffee-charred short ribs and chicken breast with sweet corn risotto. For dessert you must try the Pig in the Orchard. It’s a sweet and creamy bread pudding with Granny Smith apple, applewood smoked bacon, bourbon brown sugar, and cinnamon ice cream. Got room for a drink? Citizen serves lots of artistic signature cocktails. This is a smart menu worth experiencing.

City: Scottsdale, AZ

Category: Restaurants

Telephone: (480) 425-9463

Address: 7042 E. Indian School Rd.

Description: Chef Eddie Matney is well known around the Valley as co-host of a local TV food show, but also for the dishes at his stylish Old Town restaurant. His namesake features the popular mo’rocking shrimp appetizer with chili beer dipping sauce with dough balls. Entrees include bacon-infused meatloaf, sesame tuna, and Parmesan halibut. It’s open for dinner only. A favorite dessert is chocolate chip tiramisu.

City: Scottsdale, AZ

Category: Restaurants

Telephone: (480) 425-9463

Address: 7133 E. Stetson Dr.

Insider Pick:

Description: Scottsdale is loaded with restaurants of all types, but FnB is one that many critics and locals consider their favorite. Its marketing is also impressive. Check the website for FnB videos with chefs discussing local gastronomic trends and agriculture. The menu is filled with local ingredients. Signature dishes include the braised leek gratin with mozzarella and a fried egg in mustard breadcrumbs. Food and Wine called it one of the top dishes of 2010. Like the seasons, the restaurant’s ingredients shift. The spring menu has featured items like spaghetti squash, pecorino pasta with local greens, crispy roast jidori (farm fresh) chicken, and lamb tenderloin with a spring ragout. For dessert, try the dulce de leche cake.

City: Scottsdale, AZ

Category: Restaurants

Telephone: (480) 947-0795

Address: 4800 N. Scottsdale Rd.

Description: Named for a river in Colorado, this restaurant offers rotisserie, wood-fired cooking with a Western flair. Roaring Fork classics include green chili pork stew served with hot buttered tortillas, smoked wood-fired salmon with teriyaki barbecue sauce, braised Dr. Pepper beef short ribs, and the Big Ass Burger with poblano and smoked pepper bacon. The bar here has a strong happy hour following. It serves $3 beers and $5 cocktails and wine 4 to 7 p.m. daily; all night on Sun and Mon. The happy hour includes discounts on Roaring Fork’s top dishes like the pork stew and Big Ass Burger. Dinner is served daily.

City: Scottsdale, AZ

Category: Restaurants

Telephone: (480) 947-6042

Address: 7131 E. Main St.

Description: The restaurant is located in the Scottsdale gallery district, so there’s certainly an air of artistic flair to this place. The Thai dishes range from meats in lemongrass and mint to satays to curries. The Drunken Dragon Noodles, the “Thai wife’s revenge on drunk husbands,” are hotter than usual. Thai iced tea with or without cream makes a most soothing accompaniment if you like your dishes spicy. Other dishes include salads, rice paper rolls, and lettuce wraps with minced pork. Malee’s is open daily for lunch and dinner.

City: Scottsdale, AZ

Category: Restaurants

Telephone: (480) 970-0633

Address: 7901 E. Thomas Rd.

Description: Tottie’s doesn’t look like much, and Scottsdale residents know the space featured struggling restaurants in the past, but this place is comfortable and borderline upscale. Cuisine is inspired by Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, and Chinese food, though Chef Tottie Kaya is from Laos. The green curry, pho, and meaty noodle dishes are raved about. There’s a second location at Scottsdale Road and Lincoln Drive. Try the fried plantain and coconut ice cream.

City: Scottsdale, AZ

Category: Restaurants

Telephone: (480) 990-0900

Address: 7501 E. Camelback Rd.

Description: In an area lacking decent barbecue, Don & Charlie’s stands out, especially for its ribs. Many locals say this longtime establishment in downtown Scottsdale serves the best-tasting ribs in the Valley. The owner, Don Carson, is originally from Chicago, so he knows something about proper smoke-skills. The prime rib, New York sirloin, and lamb chops are also recommended at the supper club-like restaurant known for its ties to the baseball community. Sports memorabilia is everywhere, so it’s also a bit like a museum. It’s a great stop for a nice dinner during a Cactus League visit, and you might get a chance to meet Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig eating the steak dish named after him. Don & Charlie’s is open for dinner only, 7 days a week.

City: Scottsdale, AZ

Category: Restaurants

Telephone: (480) 951-6002

Address: 7388 E. Shea Blvd.

Description: Scottsdale has its share of solid breakfast places, but Butterfield’s is a step above. In summer 2011 the owners planned to open a new breakfast cafe in Scottsdale, but the original restaurant on Shea Boulevard serves breakfast all day and is usually packed. Weekends are especially busy for brunch. The menu from the Illinois-based owners includes Belgian waffles, crepes, omelets, and skillets. Consider it like an upscale, consistently outstanding breakfast chain. The smoothies are a nice addition. Lunch is also served daily.

City: Scottsdale, AZ

Category: Restaurants

Telephone: (480) 603-0922

Address: 15034 N. Scottsdale Rd.

Description: The name comes from the 25-foot-long zinc bar at the restaurant located right in the heart of Kierland Commons. It’s a pleasant place to sit outside, as if Paris were 25 degrees warmer. Daily specials are posted on a blackboard to add to the French bistro atmosphere, and the interior is lined with French books. The chef’s onion gratin, a traditional onion soup with bubbling gruyère, is terrific, as is the Zinc Burger, which is served open-faced with bacon and a blue-cheese melt. Scallops with chorizo and crab crepes are unique takes on the recipes. It’s also a fine place to enjoy a fruits de mer platter. Lunch and dinner are served daily.

City: Scottsdale, AZ

Category: Restaurants

Telephone: (480) 994-1100

Address: 4000 N. Scottsdale Rd.

Description: The first of several Grimaldi’s in Arizona, located in the heart of Old Town Scottsdale, serves a fine Caesar salad and fabulous thin-crust pizza. The secret to the success of this pizza lies in the coal brick oven used to bake it. The crust comes out crispy, and garden-fresh ingredients enhance the flavor. Open for lunch and dinner daily, there are three locations in Scottsdale. It’s a national chain, but it doesn’t taste like it. The downtown Scottsdale location is equally as consistent with its food as those in Peoria, Chandler, and Gilbert.

City: Scottsdale, AZ

Category: Restaurants

Telephone: (480) 998-1366

Address: 6166 N. Scottsdale Rd.

Description: ’Pomo serves classic pizza Napoletana, like its Quattro Stagioni. The four-corner pizza gives you a taste of sausage, salami (Italians don’t eat pepperoni, you American tourist), mushrooms, and olives. The sweet sauce is pretty outstanding and rivals what’s served at the top pizza places in the Valley. But the white pizza is a nice departure from the norm and worth tasting in a more upscale pizza spot. ’Pomo is located at the Borgata shopping center, so there’s plenty to do before or after a meal.

City: Scottsdale, AZ

Category: Restaurants

Telephone: (480) 970-8164

Address: 3313 N. Hayden Rd.

Description: Walking into Carlsbad Tavern feels a bit like tripping into the depths of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. It’s bat country. But never mind the spooky motif and “Daily Guano” newsletter, it’s quite clean and inviting inside. The New Mexico-style menu also features steak and pasta. The servers are friendly, in a neighborhood tavern kind of way. Top dishes include grilled chicken pasta with andouille sausage and chiles, snapper tacos, and Green Chile Trail plates of items like carne adovada and chile rellenos. The bar serves refreshing margaritas and 35 kinds of tequila. Ask for a patio table. Lunch and dinner are served daily.

City: Scottsdale, AZ

Category: Restaurants

Telephone: (480) 994-1799

Address: 2534 N. Scottsdale Rd.

Description: There’s something for everyone on the menu at Los Sombreros, so this is a nice option for families. Some of the more interesting items include the lamb adobo, a lamb shank with ancho chile sauce, and smoked chicken enchiladas with salsa verde. Los Sombreros is also known for its touches like chipotle cream, Puebla-style mole, and guajillo and pineapple pico. Ask for outdoor seating if it’s available.