Tirion Boan
Audio By Carbonatix
A steakhouse dinner is a special occasion event in and of itself. But what about leveling up that experience into a multi-course, chef-led meal?
Uppercut, the latest high-end restaurant from Pretty Decent Concepts, made its downtown Phoenix debut on Friday.
The 16-seat dining room is hidden inside Cleaverman, the company’s large, opulent steakhouse that opened at the Arizona Center in November 2025. It joins Filthy, a martini bar also located inside. Customers enter the space through a long velvet-draped corridor before walking through the golden-hued dining room of Cleaverman. A glass-encased entryway leads into Uppercut.
“With this concept, our goal was to hide in plain sight the most exclusive steak experience in Arizona inside one of the most high-end steakhouses Downtown Phoenix has ever seen,” Teddy Myers, founder of Pretty Decent Concepts, said in a news release.
Pretty Decent Concepts
The company is behind fellow downtown spots Wren & Wolf, Carry On and Trophy Room, as well as Tempe’s Filthy Animal, the upcoming Roman God of Fire and more.
Uppercut offers a limited number of reservations, released online one month at a time. During the week, one seating will be available per night, with two on the weekends.
Once diners find their spot, they hand the reins to chefs Jared Porter, Travis Sassman and their team, who craft seasonal menus featuring fresh cuts of meat and highlighting their creativity. Throughout the year, the menu will change, focusing on different parts of the globe. Expect raw and cooked house-aged beef and internationally inspired preparations and flavors.
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A platter displays the selection of beef to be used in Uppercut’s menu of 17 courses. -
The first course starts with fluffy Japanese milk bread, which is then drizzled in roasted bone marrow butter. -
Arizona Wagyu is folded around yuzu aioli in Uppercut’s carpaccio course. -
Uppercut’s version of laab is made with Australian Wagyu tartare. -
Uppercut’s yakisoba starts with tallow foam topped with tender noodles, rich XO sauce and uni. -
Grain-fed tenderloin is made into a spicy beef handroll at Uppercut. -
Australian Wagyu striploin is paired with a bright, herbaceous papaya salad at Uppercut. -
Tri tip char siu is served with smoked pineapple and green pepper jelly. -
Chunks of papaya intersperse A5 tenderloin in a grilled kebab course at Uppercut. -
Throughout the meal, there are three intermezzi, including this burdock tea served with rock sugar. -
A Japanese sweet potato pie with kabocha custard starts the sweet courses at Uppercut. -
17 courses come to a close with a brownie topped with toasted meringue and tallow cashews at Uppercut.
Some items on the opening menu include bone marrow melted over Japanese milk bread and dry-aged beef rolled into negimaki with mirin shoyu, shaved truffles and caviar. There is also carpaccio with yuzu aioli and fresh herbs, and other small bites inspired by the cuisines of Thailand, Vietnam, Japan and beyond.
The menu is officially 14 courses, but a few palate cleansers and extra treats bring the total up to 17. The chefs encourage diners to pace themselves.
Beef is at the center of the entire meal, including dessert. The experience ends on a sweet note with a brownie topped with brown sugar meringue and tallow-roasted cashews.
“Uppercut is a temple to beef that introduces something entirely new to the Valley,” Myers says. “Smaller, rarer, and deeply intentional.”
The experience costs $225 per person, and there will be two wine pairing tiers available, for $125 or $300. Drinkers can also opt for a whiskey flight or a curated drinks pairing that rotates selections of wine, beer, sake, mead and more. An à la carte cocktail menu will also be available.
The warm, luxurious feel of Cleaverman and Filthy continues into Uppercut. The space was designed by PETERMAX Co. and features rich woods and soft lighting. Customers will sit in a row along a central kitchen bar. The bar is interspersed with inset grills, where the chefs craft each bite.
Myers describes the new concept as “a room built for guests who appreciate precision, remarkable ingredients, and dishes that stay with you long after the night is over.”
Reservations for dinner through the end of April are now available online.
Uppercut
455 N. Third St., #190
