Dining Guide: All-Day Eating and Drinking in Sunnyslope

Welcome to Dining Guides, an intermittent series on what the many dining hubs around the greater Phoenix area have to offer. From breakfast to happy hour drinks, quick coffee to sit-down dining, we break down some of our favorite places in each neighborhood. Today: zeroing in on Sunnyslope in north-central Phoenix.

There’s a special part of Phoenix, just north of uptown and just shy of North Mountain: Sunnyslope. It’s part old Phoenix, part developing Phoenix, and as with similar neighborhoods in the Valley, there's a whole host of great dining options. Here are some of our favorite eateries in this north Phoenix neighborhood. We hope we got all of your choice spots, too.

Coffee

Find coffee drinks to shakes, smoothies, boba teas, a few breakfast items, and even CBD coffee at this well-kept little coffee shop. In addition, veterans and/or first responders at Hero Blend Coffeehouse get 22 percent off at all times.

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Hi Hi Donuts in Sunnyslope.

Lauren Cusimano

Breakfast

Formally Rainbow Donuts, this Sunnyslope bakery offers more than 60 varieties of doughnuts, plus kolaches, breakfast sandwiches, and breakfast burritos. Hi Hi Donuts also offers juice, coffee, and colorful boba tea options.

The north Phoenix location of Scramble is the closest thing you'll get to a farm-fresh breakfast in this neighborhood. Scramble uses local purveyors to create dishes like the Phoenix omelet, chile verde burrito, and the vegan veggie scramble.

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Spoke & Wheel is your bike-friendly lunch destination.

Lauren Cusimano

Lunch

Attention cyclists, we have your bike-friendly lunch spot right here. At the Spoke & Wheel Tavern, find hefty burgers, regional dishes like the Sonoran hot dog, and a shareable pretzel plate in addition to a solid indoor bike rack. You’ll also find handcrafted cocktails and cold beers to get you set for the ride home.

Around since 1982, the original location of the family-owned El Bravo Mexican Food is easily found off Seventh Street thanks to its bright red sign. Head in for enchiladas, chimichangas, flautas, burros, tamales, tacos, and fried popovers to boot. Modelo Especial and Tecate Light are $4 a pop, and salsa and hot sauce is sold by the pint.

This family-owned Polish Goodies Bistro started in November 2011 and got so popular they needed to open a brick-and-mortar kitchen in Sunnyslope. Walk in to this small eatery for pierogis, homemade sauerkraut, stuffed cabbage rolls, potato pancakes, and so much more.

Greektown has been around for about five decades, and you can easily spot the small restaurant by its big fat Greek sign. This is the place for dolmades (seasoned beef and rice rolled up in grape leaves) but you can still get gyros, kabobs, and salads.

Dine-in or take-out are your options at Reign of Thai (and most places). But we suggest you dine in, as this Sunnyslope Thai joint offers a wild lunch buffet. Pile on the pad Thai, go nuts on the yellow curry, and be sure to get your fill of Thai egg rolls. And sure, you can take stuff to-go at $4.99 per pound.

Happy hour can last all night at North Mountain Brewing Company.

Rob Berkner

Happy Hour

If you enjoy a craft beer with coworkers, North Mountain Brewing Company should be your first stop after clocking out. This Sunnyslope microbrewery offers Phoenix-brewed suds like the C.R.E.E.M. Golden Ale and the CardinAle Red. Or better yet, just opt for the sampler flight. There’s also food, like gourmet burgers, pizza, and pub-style appetizers, as well as wine, mead, and cider.

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Don't pass on the jalapeno cheddar grits at Little Miss BBQ.

Lauren Cusimano

Dinner

The second location of Little Miss BBQ appears to be as popular as the first, or so the lengthy dinner line would have us assume. Find a table in the spacious Midcentury Modern dining room or the lively back patio to take your tray of chopped brisket or pulled pork with jalapeno cheddar grits. Just don’t forget one of Bekke's Smoked Pecan Pies.

This petite wine bar and restaurant is known for wood-oven fare, meaning all the breads, pizzas, and entrees like the wood-fired lamb chops were prepared using rustic cooking techniques. Around since 2011, Timo Wine Bar is an intimate dinner spot also offering wine, tapas, and a romantic-leaning dining room and back patio.

This hip Mexican restaurant and bar offers a menu described as “an authentic take on modern Mexican cuisine.” Tacos are an easy choice, while other house specialties range from mole to cochinita pibil and pescado a la veracruzan. But the cocktails at Ladera are a real treat here. The Pinche Paloma is a favorite, as is the Sancho Sour and Mezcalada. Pair any one of those with the queso fundido appetizer and you’ll be set.

Every neighborhood has an old-school Italian restaurant, and Ziggy’s II Posto is Sunnyslope’s. Head to this strip-mall eatery for eggplant rollatini and mussels marinara appetizers, or start with a glass or two of wine in the lounge. Be sure to leave room for the baked tortellini, linguine and clams, or maybe a 16-inch New York white pie for two.

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Be sure to order the Truffle Shuffle at Famous Churros.

Lauren Cusimano

Dessert

A standalone eatery dedicated entirely to churros? Sunnyslope has recently welcomed such an endeavor. Famous Churros offers sweet and savory baked churros, plus coffee, ice cream, and even tater tots. Try the Astroworld inspired by rapper Travis Scott, the Truffle Shuffle (yep, inspired by The Goonies), and the Ring of Fire inspired by … well … you can guess.

In 2014, Karl's Quality Bakery moved to its current location at The Marketplace on Central in Sunnyslope. The bakeshop is overseen by Christine Boerner, a Swiss-trained chocolatier, baker, and Karl’s daughter. Once inside, load up on sugar cookies, strudel, Bavarian tarts, Florentine biscuits, French macaroons, and yes, the famous kronuts.

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There's no better place that the Do Drop In.

Lauren Cusimano

Drinks

How to describe a lovely place like the Do Drop In? First of all, yes, people do play that Charlie Daniels song often on the jukebox. Second, there’s beer, mixed drinks, a smoking patio, couple of TVs, a popcorn machine (not self-serve, thank you), and a great mix of regulars. It’s the ideal bar.

A small, rowdy, pirate-themed bar to watch the game or get weird with friends? That’s Rum Runners. This nautical neighborhood joint is a little more polished than some of its surrounding taverns, but it may have what you’re looking for — drink specials, flat-screens, and a snack counter (minimum $5 spent at the bar).

Right off the winding Cave Creek Road, Big Daddy's Sports Lounge has a nine-foot projector screen, plus various other TVs, a baseball-themed menu of bar food, and all the ice-cold domestic beers you can guzzle.

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