The Italiano
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Crowd-sourced review site Yelp has released one of its biggest lists of the year: the Best New Restaurants of 2025. Among celebrity-chef driven eateries in Washington, D.C., swanky spots in New York City and flashy eateries in Las Vegas, two Arizona spots made the cut.
The list features 25 restaurants, spotlighting “the most exciting culinary talent and dining experiences across the country,” according to Yelp. To compile the list, which has a wide definition of what counts as “new” or “2025,” Yelp took into consideration restaurants that opened after Jan. 1, 2024 and compared Yelp data and community reviews from January 2024 to June 2025.
Here are the local spots that made the cut.
The Maggiore Group
No. 9: The Italiano
9301 E. Shea Blvd., Scottsdale
Chef Joey Maggiore is a familiar name and face in the Phoenix food scene, known for his restaurants including Hash Kitchen, The Sicilian Butcher and Baker and The Mexicano. In September 2024, his restaurant The Italiano made its debut in Scottsdale near 90th Street and Shea Boulevard.
The restaurant draws inspiration from “every corner of Italy,” the chef said prior to the restaurant’s opening. The Yelp list highlights the restaurant’s white grand piano and ceiling full of painted clouds. The reviews point would-be customers to the stuffed zucchini blossoms, short rib lasagna and lobster ravioli.
No. 19: Badger’s Den
1245 White Spar Road, Prescott
The second Arizona eatery to make the cut is Badger’s Den in Prescott. The restaurant got its start as a food truck called The Hungry Badger in 2019 before opening a brick-and-mortar location in July 2024.
The restaurant serves steak and seafood, along with barbecue staples. The Yelp list puts the spotlight on the restaurant’s smoked brisket sandwich, Boston clam chowder and pork chop with apricot glaze.
