Recently, Tucson.com had a brilliant idea — round up one-star reviews of the Grand Canyon from Yelp, Trip Advisor, and Google. Complaints ranged from the natural wonder’s lack of Wi-Fi, roller coasters, and Dippin' Dots to a simply stated, "Ehh. I've seen better."
Our brains began whirring at the thought of scouring Yelp, a collection of some of the Valley’s most outspoken restaurant critics, for low-star recaps of some of our favorite Phoenix dining destinations.
Below are low-star Yelp reviews as well as a few that stood out to us as super enthusiastic and purely comical. Just for fun, here are 10 of Phoenix’s best restaurants and their … more interesting … ratings.
Barrio Cafe
2814 North 16th Street, #1205
Owned and operated by Chef Silvana Salcido Esparza, Barrio Cafe been around since 2002 and is known for next-level Mexican fare, a tequila-based drink program, and famous guacamole.
Binkley's Restaurant
2320 East Osborn Road
Formerly in Cave Creek, Binkley’s Restaurant moved to its current location in 2016. Chef Kevin Binkley offers New American dishes with wine pairings in an upscale atmosphere.
Cartwright's Modern Cuisine
6710 East Cave Creek Road, Cave Creek
Brett Vibber is the executive chef at Cartwright’s Modern Cuisine, an upmarket restaurant in Cave Creek serving New American meals often with foraged ingredients.
Cotton & Copper
1006 East Warner Road, #113, Tempe
A south Tempe restaurant and bar overseen by chef Tamara Stanger, Cotton & Copper serves New Arizonan styles of cooking and thoughtful cocktails.
FnB Restaurant
7125 East Fifth Avenue, #31, Scottsdale
Chef-owner and James Beard Award winner Charleen Badman plates imaginative vegetable and New American dishes at FnB, while beverage director Pavle Milic oversees the wine and drink program.
Kai Restaurant
5594 West Wild Horse Pass Boulevard, Chandler
Kai at the Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass Resort is a AAA Five Diamond and Forbes Five Star restaurant serving Native American-influenced fare.
Nobuo at Teeter House
622 East Adams Street
James Beard Award winning-chef Nobuo Fukuda was raised in Tokyo and now oversees the five-star omakase-style restaurant, Nobuo at Teeter House (set in the historic Bouvier Teeter House).
Pizzeria Bianco
623 East Adams Street
The influential wood-fired pizza joint was established by famed chef Chris Bianco. The original Pizzeria Bianco location is set in downtown Phoenix's Heritage Square, and is known nationwide for its food and wait times.
Rancho Pinot
6208 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale
For more than 25 years, Chef Chrysa Robertson's restaurant, Rancho Pinot, has been dishing out high-end American food with ingredients representing with the desert seasons.
Talavera Restaurant
10600 East Crescent Moon Drive, Scottsdale
This Four Seasons restaurant serves high-end fare that almost matches the desert views. No one should visit Talavera without having an order of Chef de Cuisine Samantha Sanz's seafood paella.
- Local
- Community
- Journalism
Support the independent voice of Phoenix and help keep the future of New Times free.
Keep Phoenix New Times Free... Since we started Phoenix New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Phoenix, and we would like to keep it that way. Offering our readers free access to incisive coverage of local news, food and culture. Producing stories on everything from political scandals to the hottest new bands, with gutsy reporting, stylish writing, and staffers who've won everything from the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi feature-writing award to the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism. But with local journalism's existence under siege and advertising revenue setbacks having a larger impact, it is important now more than ever for us to rally support behind funding our local journalism. You can help by participating in our "I Support" membership program, allowing us to keep covering Phoenix with no paywalls.
