Provided by Cocina Chiwas
Audio By Carbonatix
If the idea of cooking and heating up the kitchen is unappealing this time of year, a two-week Tempe dining event aims to ease the burden with restaurants offering cool prix fixe menu deals this month.
From July 12 to 26, Taste in Tempe features 25 eateries offering three-course menus priced from $25 to $55 per person or per couple. The participating restaurants span a variety of cuisines and vibes, from laid-back and family-friendly to rooftop chic and white-tablecloth elegance.
Bar Capri, Filthy Animal, Lucero Rooftop Lounge & Terrace, Ghost Ranch and Night Owl Pizza & Drinks are among the participating restaurants. While most will offer the traditional starter, entree and dessert, some present creative takes tailored to their strengths. Snakes & Lattes’ $35 menu includes game fees for two, a cocktail, beer or mocktail and a shareable appetizer. Hundred Mile Brewing Co. has a beer slushie as one of its dessert options on its $40-per-person lineup.
“This is their time to shine,” says Cristal Rodriguez, director of marketing at Tempe Tourism, the city’s nonprofit destination marketing organization responsible for the event.
The concept began last summer as a response to local restaurant owners expressing how difficult it is to survive the slow season. July was the month that hit them the hardest, Rodriguez says. Restaurants pay nothing to participate. They design the menus and let Tempe Tourism do the rest.
“We’re making it very low lift and as easy as possible,” Rodriguez says.
Provided by Caffe Boa
Caffe Boa is one of the establishments returning this year with a $45-per-person menu that begins with a cocktail or house mocktail as its opening course. The idea is to showcase the Italian restaurant’s stellar mocktail program, says co-owner Jessalyn Italiano. They will offer a different selection for each week to encourage customers to come back and give the others a try.
Italiano is excited to try the menus at Bar Capri and Alter Ego, the signature restaurant in the Canopy Hilton Tempe Downtown. She says restaurants getting the word out to their own customers and encouraging them to try other participating eateries is key to Taste in Tempe succeeding.
“I like having a summer event or program that we can look forward to every year that’s sustainable,” Italiano says.
In 2025, Rodriguez says Tempe Tourism’s advertising and marketing efforts for the event generated 48,575 influenced visits to its restaurants.
While Cocina Chiwas manager, John Pullia, doesn’t expect a measurable economic bump from the restaurant’s first-time participation in the event, he does anticipate a long-term impact from getting first-timers in the door.
“Anytime you do a tasting menu like this, it helps in some way, shape or form,” Pullia says. “It’s an opportunity to connect with the people of Tempe, especially in the summer when it’s quieter.”
Cocina Chiwas will do just that by offering a few dishes not on its regular lineup. Examples on the $35-per-person menu include the Chile Compones Tacos filled with cheese-stuffed chiles, a vegetarian version of their tostada with mushrooms and the elote quesadilla, a fusion of their popular wood-fired quesadilla and elote appetizers.
Pullia likes Taste in Tempe’s friendly price point, which can make trying multiple restaurants possible.
“The big thing is having people fall in love with these little hidden gems that they normally wouldn’t try,” Pullia says. “The only way to find out if we’re a food destination is to go and try the food.”
Italiano didn’t feel a huge boost to Caffe Boa’s bottom line last year. But that didn’t deter her from participating again. Putting her restaurant on people’s radars year-round is a motivator.
“We hope they can see us as dependable as a place to celebrate, have a good happy hour or listen to some jazz,” Italiano says.
When customers support a local spot, the impact goes beyond that single meal.
“It’s not about just going to one restaurant. It’s about all of the ingredients and producers that the restaurant sources from,” says Italiano, who uses goods from Crow’s Dairy and Two Wash Ranch. “Where you put your money really does matter.”
