Here are some excellent options for restaurants close to the stadium. Some are just steps from the field, located throughout the Westgate Entertainment District, and a few more are just a short drive or Uber ride away within Glendale city limits. Here's where to eat and drink during Super Bowl weekend.
Just Beyond The End Zone
Carousel6770 North Sunrise Boulevard, Suite G111, Glendale
carouselarcadebar.com
Carousel's many fair-type games, pinball machines, and ping pong tables could cheer you up if your team is losing at halftime. And if you work up an appetite, the restaurant's menu is stacked with entrees, appetizers, sandwiches, salads, flatbreads, and alcoholic beverages. The burger roster is meaty, including the Westgate, Teriyaki-Hawaiian, and Prime Steakhouse. Then there's the $16 Mac Daddy Cheeseburger which comes in a brioche bun stuffed with bacon, lettuce, tomato, and oozing mac and cheese. Impossible burgers and grilled chicken are available substitutions and all the burgers and sandwiches come with a choice of fries, garlic fries, tots, or a side salad. Watch the humungous TV screen outside to keep an eye on the action.
Salt Tacos y Tequila
6751 North Sunset Boulevard, Glendale
salttacosytequila.com
Salt Tacos y Tequila is one of the first spots you see when walking into Westgate Entertainment District from State Farm Stadium. The restaurant and bar offers a large variety of Mexican cuisine, margaritas, and over 150 different kinds of tequila. Cerveza on tap runs $10.50 for a tall glass, and you can add a few bucks to make it a custom michelada with tomato juice, Tajín, lime and lemon juice, and hot sauce. Taco trios are an excellent choice if you're grubbing at the bar. The soft tacos start at $13 for a vegetarian option with grilled zucchini, squash, bell peppers, and onions, and then go up to $18 or $19 for the carne asada and Mahi Mahi variations. Entrees include enchiladas, carnitas, carne asada plates, and shrimp platters, some of which come with rice and beans.
Pokitrition
9405 West Glendale Avenue, Suite 105, Glendale
pokitrition.com
Metro Phoenix chain Pokitrition, including its location on the north end of the Westgate Entertainment District, takes the traditional poke concept to another level, introducing the customizable sushi burrito called the "Poke Wrap" to the Arizona masses. Poke Wraps start at $11.50 and use the same toppings as the poke bowls. Not to be confused with Hawaii's Aloha Bowl or Hula Bowl, where many football greats gained their notoriety, Pokitrition has its own MVPs in an endless combination of ingredients. Load up the bowls with white or brown rice, Furikake seasoning, protein of choice including ahi and other tuna options, salmon, cooked shrimp, and tofu, and a variety of fruit, vegetables, and dry toppings. If you're not into seafood, order a Crispy Spam N' Eggs Breakfast Burrito or bulgogi beef bowls.
Hot N Juicy Crawfish
6751 North Sunset Boulevard Suite E101, Glendale
hotnjuicycrawfish.com
Hot N Juicy Crawfish located in the middle of Westgate Entertainment District offers an array of Cajun and Creole seafood. If you're wearing your favorite team's football jersey, you might want to don a bib as this meal could get messy. When customers order the boiled or broiled seafood by-the-pound option, most of the items arrive at the table in a bag filled with your choice of the restaurant's five sauces: Juicy Cajun, Louisiana Style, Garlic Butter, Lemon Pepper, or Hot N Juicy. Besides crawfish, this spot offers deep-fried and breaded oysters, crab, lobster, clams, shrimp, catfish, and calamari, all prepared with Southern-style spices. If you are late for the coin toss, a Po' Boy might be a faster and cleaner option. The classic Louisiana-style sandwich stuffed with breaded and deep-fried crawfish, soft shell crab, catfish, shrimp, or chicken pairs perfectly with a side of corn, Cajun, or sweet potato fries.
A Little Further Afield
Haus Murphy's
5739 West Glendale Avenue, Glendale
hausmurphys.com
For a quarter-century, this cozy, classic restaurant has been dishing out authentic German cuisine in Glendale. Haus Murphy's is known for its Original Oktoberfest Pretzel, the sausage sampler, juicy bratwursts, house-made sauerkraut, and quite a variety of schnitzels (including a one-pounder). The German aesthetic extends, of course, to the bar, which offers giant bottled biers you can enjoy beneath string lights on the vaguely European patio — a lovely slice of Old World in the West Valley.
La Mejor Barbacoa
6522 North 59th Avenue, Glendale
directoriodigital.online/lamejorcomidamexicana
Just southwest of Old Towne Glendale, you'll find La Mejor Barbacoa sandwiched between an auto repair shop and a transmission repair shop. Blink, and you may not find it at all. Good thing there's a sign, and three flappy banners advertising barbacoa, menudo, and Micheladas. Inside this golden-yellow restaurant, you're greeted with neon beer signs, worn but elegant tables and chairs, oversized house plants, and a friendly, family-like staff. The barbacoa is worthy of its place on the sign, but so is the pozole and menudo. Most items come with house-made tortillas, a green sauce, and a slow burner of a red sauce (which a staff member will warn you about personally). In the mood for something sweeter? Flip the two-sided menu for mango con chile, ice cream, fruity shaved ice, and aguas frescas.
La Piazza Al Forno
5803 West Glendale Avenue, Glendale
lapiazzafamiglia.com
This is the classic lunch-spot pizza joint, except surprise, the pizza is incredibly upscale, well-known, and awarded. Seen on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, La Piazza Al Forno in Old Towne Glendale is a trailblazer in bringing wood-fired, artisanal pizza to the West Valley and greater Phoenix. Not to mention, it’s what’s left but also what’s best of pizzaiolo’s Justin Piazza pizza empire (thanks COVID). Plus it’s a certified Verace Pizza Napoletana restaurant, meaning your pizza will arrive with the crispy-chewy crust and expected San Marzano tomatoes. Oh, but it's absolutely a great dinner spot as well.
Little Saigon
7016 North 57th Avenue, Glendale
facebook.com/littlesaigonaz
The family-run Vietnamese restaurant relocated to downtown Glendale from Christown Mall a while back, but the bungalow looks like it set up shop decades ago. Little Saigon is spotted by the adorable courtyard and white-fenced entrance and remembered by the food. Menu highlights include the shrimp-stuffed spring rolls, the banh xeo crepe, anything served in a hot pot, and the coconut boba smoothie. However, classics like pho tai are easy orders here.
