There are several different kinds of restaurants out there. Most go under the categories of neighborhood restaurants….and neighborhood restaurants also are very good restaurants. We LOVE neighborhood restaurants……….but…… Some restaurants out there are destination restaurants. Destination restaurants serve the FANTABULOUS dishes. These are the restaurants that you drive across town for. We lost some of our destination lunch restaurants like Tarbell’s Tavern, Christopher’s and Vincent Market Bistro possibly due to the pandemic. Some restaurants have cut back lunch service to limited days. It is important that we still have some destination lunch restaurants. These restaurants are great for a special lunch out. Some only offer lunch on the weekends. Maybe you want to impress a friend or a relative. Maybe you want a special lunch for an anniversary or a birthday. Or maybe it’s for just because…….
Here they are in no particular order.
The Craftsman (lunch Fri, Sat. Sun.) in North Scottsdale offers some expectational cuisine. When you taste just even a salad you know that it isn’t ordinary. It’s the highest freshest quality.
www.TheCraftsmanAZ.com
We have Elements at Sanctuary (lunch Mon., Tue., Wed., Thurs., Fri.) in Paradise Valley with celebrity chef Beau Macmillan. The menu is ever changing and seasonal. But you are sure to find a variety of appetizers a special of the day, bento boxes, a very good exceptional chicken dish, and pastry chef quality desserts.
www.SantuuaryCamelback.com/dining/Elements
Ocotillo (lunch Sat., Sun. subject to change) is a restaurant and more. It is technically also a coffee bar, cocktail lounge, wine bar, event space and park. They offer a mostly American menu laced with global cuisine. The menu offered is a large brunch menu of mostly sharing plates of salads, vegetable plates, sweets (breakfast), light plates, savory plates. I counted over 20 different plates to choose from. The menus are seasonal and do change. Also the hours change. Before the pandemic Ocotillo offered a great lunch everyday. Currently brunch is offered on the weekends of mostly lunch sharing plates.
It’s easy to see why Ocotillo is a destination restaurant.
www.OcotilloPHX.com
Superstition Downtown Meadery (lunch 7 days a week) in Phoenix offers chef crafted food and award winning meadery (ancient honey wine). They offer sharing boards, small sharing plates and large sharing plates and food and mead pairings.
www.SuperstitionMeadery.com
Another one of the top destinations for a special lunch would be the small restaurant in Carefree called Confluence (lunch Wed. Thurs., Fri., Sat.) They serve ever changing seasonal menus of elevated modern cuisine….You can order appetizers, lunch, and don’t miss dessert….because the desserts are equally amazing as the food.
Some of the amazing detailed and delicious lunches from Confluence that we tried were- –
www.RestaurantConfluence.com
These are some of the destination restaurants of metro Phoenix for lunch.
In no particular order-
The Craftsman Cocktails and Kitchen – (Fri-Sun.) North Scottsdale
Elements at Sanctuary – (Mon-Fri) Paradise Valley
Ocotillo – (Sat-Sun) Phoenix
Superstition Downtown Meadery – (7 Days) Downtown Phoenix
Confluence – (Wed-Sat) Carefree
Some Honorable Mentions
PA’LA – Downtown (Tue-Sat Lunch)
Twist Bistro – North Scottsdale (Tue-Sat Lunch)
Campo Italian Bistro – Scottsdale (Sat-Sun Brunch with Lunch plates)
Chula Seafood Uptown – Phoenix (7 days)
Pane Bianco – Phoenix (Mon-Sat)
Pomo Pizzeria – Scottsdale (7 days)
Everything is subject to change.
