Some have been brought to life by well-known local chefs stretching their creative wings and expanding their empires. Other eateries have opened thanks to entrepreneurs with serious kitchen skills dipping their toes into restaurant ownership for the first time. One thing is true about all of these spots: They have taken our local dining scene by storm.
Here are the 10 best new restaurants to open around metro Phoenix in 2023.
The debris and grits is a star — tender, saucy stewed beef on top of creamy, rough-hewn corn grits.
Dominic Armato
CC’s on Central
2800 North Central Ave. There are a number of restaurants around town serving Southern, Louisiana cuisine and soul food, but not all at once and never so well as at CC’s on Central. Devan Cunningham, now a nine-year veteran of the Valley’s restaurant scene, lured his mother, Sharon, away from her California restaurant to team up and open this casual spot. The duo serves their family’s personal takes on classic comfort dishes like grits and greens — creamy stone-ground grits topped with a plank of sizzled chicken sausage, perfect stewed collards and a splash of vinegary potlikker. The jambalaya, which the Cunninghams describe as “untraditional,” is a thickly spiced, ruddy stew of chicken and Cajun sausage spooned around the rice rather than cooked with it. Devan’s killer chicken wings are a hoot — flavors like dill pickle will make you pucker. And the first Sunday of every month, Sharon takes over the kitchen and serves up a classic soul food dinner of her choice, with all the trimmings and a long list of homestyle cakes for dessert.
Chilte, the modern Mexican restaurant on Grand Avenue, continues to build national recognition.
Allison Young
Chilte
765 Grand Ave. Perhaps one of the buzziest openings this year, Chilte is firing on all cylinders from its brick-and-mortar location in the recently revamped Egyptian Motor Hotel on Grand Avenue. When the owners of the beloved pop-up turned food truck decided to open a permanent location, Phoenix fans and a few national publications took note. The modern Mexican restaurant, helmed by couple Lawrence Smith and Aseret Arroyo, landed on best new restaurant lists from Esquire and Bon Appetit magazines.We’ve raved about Chilte’s birria, which is stuffed into hand-pressed squid ink tortillas or a local Benny Blanco flour tortilla and served alongside a savory miso consommé, as well as the prawns in chocolate aguachile and a seasonal quesadilla with grasshoppers. Chilte’s menu changes frequently and the owners often host collaboration events with other chefs, making it worth a visit, and a revisit, regularly.
A bit of subtle refinement and clean, bright tomato sauce make the chiles rellenos a standout dish.
Dominic Armato
Cocina Chiwas
2001 East Apache Blvd., TempeArmando Hernandez and Nadia Holguin, the couple behind Tacos Chiwas and co-owners of Bacanora and Espiritu, have taken inspiration from their experiences as chefs, along with their journey of building their lives in Phoenix, to give diners Cocina Chiwas. The Tempe restaurant shows how the duo’s cooking has evolved and takes you from their Chihuhuan roots to a seat at their family table. We've swooned over their rendition of chile rellenos, which is paired with a silky tomato sauce, crema and queso requesón. The dish was named the very best in our Best of Phoenix awards. The space inside the restaurant is comfortable and chic. You can smell the mesquite and pecan wood that fuels the grill and oven used to char meats and open-faced quesadillas. The sweet corn panna cotta is a stunner — creamy, beautifully set and full of rich, sweet flavor from the corn that plays well against seasonal fruit.
The fine dining brunch at Course Restaurant includes dishes like "Green Eggs and Ham" — quiche Florentine with ham jam.
Dominic Armato
Course Restaurant
7366 East Shea Blvd., ScottsdaleFor years, chef Cory Oppold flourished at Atlas Bistro, Todd Sawyer’s low-key fine dining BYOB tucked inside Arizona Wine Company. But after a pandemic pause, Oppold re-emerged with a decidedly more flashy space of his own. At Course Restaurant, Oppold now serves meticulously crafted high-concept fine dining menus, composed to exacting standards and stunningly presented. For a plateful of variations on manipulated corn or an artfully deconstructed Cuban sandwich, Course is the place to be. But perhaps even more compelling is Oppold’s brunch concept, Morning Would. The years have seen no shortage of spots for a refined, artful dinner. But how often do you see this kind of kitchen turn its attention to dishes like diminutive Monterey jack cheese biscuits smothered with an explosive chorizo gravy, “Milk and Cereal” pumpkin spice panna cotta topped with grains and nuts, or “Green Eggs and Ham” — a verdant slice of quiche Florentine topped with Oppold’s intense, salty ham jam?
The tapas menu at Dahlia is tight but filled with creative dishes. Make sure to order the Potato Croquettes.
Tirion Boan
Dahlia Tapas, Tequila & Wine
2221 North Seventh St.Located in an old brick house along Seventh Avenue decorated with deep turquoise and royal purple accents, Dahlia is the perfect date night destination. Fresh flowers top each table and the warm glow of soft lighting and candles floods the space. The restaurant, owned by Audrey Corley of Boycott Bar in the Melrose district, opened in September. Chef Andrew Renteria, who customers may recognize from his Chubasco Tacos food truck or the short-lived downtown restaurant Ay, Chabela, runs the kitchen. The chef and his team use fresh produce, meats and seafood to craft delicious tapas plates. Some of the most memorable morsels include the potato croquettes which are at once creamy and crunchy, savory and oh so satisfying. The Pan de Tomate is a celebration of ripe tomatoes bursting with flavor, and the medjool dates wrapped in bacon are the perfect combination of salty and sweet. A well-stocked wine list and an array of carefully crafted cocktails round out the menu, making for an evening of small bites and sips to remember. The experience is elevated further by attentive, friendly staff including Corely herself, who makes sure customers are full and happy.
Fabio on Fire Panini & Gelateria
24775 North Lake Pleasant Pkwy., Peoria At the wildly successful Fabio on Fire, chef Fabio Ceschetti proved that there’s a home and a hunger for excellent independent restaurants in the West Valley. You’d think more restaurateurs would follow suit, but absent the competition, Ceschetti seems content to continue adding to his mini-empire in Peoria. The latest is Fabio on Fire Panini & Gelateria, a top-notch sandwich and ice cream shop, just a few miles down the road from his original restaurant. The secret weapon here is puccia — an Apulian bread that Ceschetti ferments for 72 hours and works into an oblong, pita-like shape before baking fresh. It’s thin, robust and crackling — perfect for building sandwiches with imported Italian ingredients. Options include the Delicata, filled with wood-roasted peppers and artichoke cream, or the Donna di Cuori, laden with mortadella, mozzarella and a bright pistachio pesto. And on the way out, grab a cup of fresh gelato, which Ceschetti prepares in-house.
Hai Noon, Nobuo Fukuda's new restaurant, offers outstanding cocktails including the Iburi — a whiskey and yuzu drink served alongside a single charred shishito pepper.
Dominic Armato
Hai Noon
7017 East McDowell Road, Scottsdale It feels good to have Nobuo Fukuda back. One of the city’s most beloved chefs quietly dropped off the face of the planet when his acclaimed East-West izakaya at Teeter House in Heritage Square shut down for the pandemic and never reopened. But Fukuda resurfaced this year at Sonder The Mariposa, a hotel on the fringes of downtown Scottsdale, with Hai Noon — a restaurant and lounge with dusty, throwback charm and a menu that will make Fukuda fans swoon. Hai Noon skews seafood-heavy with dishes like plump oysters swimming in delicate tomato water with a dab of mascarpone and a drop of wasabi oil, or Fukuda’s signature tuna tataki, arrayed atop a pinot noir-bolstered beetroot puree. But his lamb chops — just barely cooked and boasting a bold coconut curry marinade — are not to be missed. The lounge’s Japanese-themed cocktails sing, like the Iburi, a whiskey and yuzu concoction served alongside a single charred shishito pepper, slowly roasting over a tiny charcoal grill.
Kare Ethiopian Restaurant makes excellent versions of Ethiopian classics like this kik alicha, served with injera made exclusively from teff.
Dominic Armato
Kare Ethiopian Restaurant
4729 East McDowell Road Mom-and-pop Ethiopian joints abound around Phoenix, but one of the best is also one of the newest. Now just shy of its first birthday, Kare Ethiopian Restaurant opened on a hectic, commuter-heavy stretch of McDowell Road and has largely flown under the radar since. But step inside and the traffic’s noise is washed away by the thick scent of African spices, generously applied to an exceptional collection of dishes. Both meaty and vegetarian standards sing, from thick, buttery, turmeric-heavy kik alicha or split pea stew, to the fiery, berbere-laden doro wot, the latter of which pulls no punches with its intense chile heat. Kare serves the lot with unusually good injera, a traditional flatbread prepared purely of teff, with no wheat mixed in. And the menu boasts a number of Ethiopian breakfast specialties as well.
Smoking Tiger
1919 South Gilbert Road, Mesa It took a little convincing, but Smoking Tiger persuaded us that yes, indeed, there is room for more Korean BBQ in Phoenix. Sean Soohun Kim’s second restaurant — he also owns Hodori, Mesa’s beloved homestyle Korean stalwart — is a play for the upscale KBBQ market previously locked up by Sizzle. And while Smoking Tiger doesn’t have Sizzle’s polish, it does offer platefuls of premium meats, carefully prepped and supported by a menu of non-BBQ dishes that includes some flat-out bangers. Cuts like bulgogi, marinated beef belly and pork belly are lush and fatty and cook up juicy and sweet on the grill. The seafood pancake is thick and crisp, while the bibimbap is one of the few in town that gets hot enough to develop a nice, browned crunch underneath. And if you have a love for raw beef, the tartare — served aside batons of Asian pear and dressed with sesame oil and honey — is a must.
Source
3150 East Ray Road, #104, GilbertClaudio Urciuoli’s ethos is simple. “I don’t believe in expensive food,” he told our dining critic. But as the name of the Epicenter at Agritopia restaurant implies, Urciuoli and business partner Akshat Sethi are focused on sourcing the best ingredients while still offering a reasonably-priced evening out. The kitchen lets those ingredients shine and makes plates that are stunningly simple and satisfying.Take the grilled dates starter. The dates are butterflied and glazed with a Carbernet agrodolce — a sticky, sweet-sour condiment — paired with cubes of parmesan cheese and house-made bread, lightly drizzled with olive oil. The menu is rounded out with salads, sandwiches and pizzas, which like their breads, steal the show. Favorites include the tender beef and pork meatball sub topped with tomato sauce, burrata and pistachio pesto and the pesto pistachio pizza, which is both rich and bright thanks to lemon zest. Source is worthy of a casual weeknight dinner or a date night — and, with a well-edited selection of bottles, pantry items and fresh bakes, you can take a bit of Source home with you.
