Mid-Range in Phoenix

Pizzeria Bianco

• ★ 4.9
• Wood-fired Pizza
• $$
• Downtown Phoenix and Roosevelt Row

Order The Wiseguy, with wood-roasted onion, smoked mozzarella and fennel sausage.

Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix is Chris Bianco's wood-fired pizzeria in Heritage Square, the James Beard kitchen long called the best pizza in America.

Pizzeria Bianco Town & Country

• ★ 4.6
• Wood-fired Pizza
• $$
• Central Phoenix and Midtown

Order A wood-fired pie plus the house meatball sandwich.

Pizzeria Bianco Town & Country is Chris Bianco's second Phoenix pizzeria at 20th and Camelback, with a wider menu of pasta and sandwiches alongside the pies.

Cartel Roasting Co.

• ★ 4.5
• Coffee roaster
• $$

Cartel Roasting Co. on 1st Street is the Tempe-born roaster's downtown Phoenix flagship, a community-owned roastery and cafe in the third-wave scene.

Wren House Brewing Company

• ★ 4.5
• Brewery
• $$

Order Whatever hop-forward release is fresh; Wren House's IPAs draw the lines.

Wren House Brewing on North 24th Street brews from a 1930s bungalow back-building, an Arizona-roots craft brewery pouring in the cottage taproom since 2015.

Nogales Hot Dogs

• ★ 4.5
• Mexican
• $$

Order The classic Sonoran dog after a night out, loaded at the cart.

Nogales Hot Dogs on Indian School runs a nights-only Sonoran-dog cart, the bacon-wrapped midnight bite that defines the Phoenix late-night street scene.

Matt's Big Breakfast

• ★ 4.5
• Brunch
• $$

Order The Hog and Chick: thick-cut bacon and eggs with a side of griddle hash.

Matt's Big Breakfast on 1st Street is a downtown Phoenix breakfast institution from Matt Pool and Erenia Lara, built on thick-cut bacon and local plates.

Worth Takeaway

• ★ 4.4
• Sandwich
• $$
• East Valley (Tempe, Mesa, Chandler)

Order Whatever sandwich is on special; the breakfast runs only 8 to 11am.

Worth Takeaway on Main Street in Mesa builds craft sandwiches from local product, nearly all made in house, in a small downtown storefront with a lunch line.

Press Coffee Roasters

• ★ 4.4
• Coffee roaster
• $$

Press Coffee Roasters runs its main roastery off North 32nd Street, supplying a string of Valley cafes from Scottsdale to Chandler with small-batch beans.

Four Peaks Brewing Company

• ★ 4.4
• Brewery
• $$

Order A pint of Kilt Lifter, the multiple-medal flagship Scottish ale.

Four Peaks Brewing in Tempe is Arizona's best-known craft brewery, pouring its flagship Kilt Lifter Scottish-style ale from a brick warehouse since 1996.

Arizona Wilderness DTPHX

• ★ 4.4
• Brewery
• $$

Order Ask what is fresh on the local-grain board; the lineup turns daily.

Arizona Wilderness DTPHX on Roosevelt Street is the downtown beer garden of a sustainability-focused brewery, rotating 15 to 30 beers built on local grain.

Cocina Madrigal

• ★ 4.3
• Mexican
• $$
• South Phoenix and South Mountain

Order The handmade enchiladas and a plate of the day's specialty tacos.

Cocina Madrigal in South Phoenix is Leo Madrigal's from-scratch Mexican room, plating handcrafted tacos and homemade enchiladas with house specialties.

Los Sombreros

• ★ 4.3
• Mexican
• $$
• South Scottsdale

Order The traditional chile relleno, then the Mexican chocolate cream pie.

Los Sombreros in south Scottsdale has served Oaxaca-inspired Mexican food since 1994, in a cantina-style house with a patio and a menu that includes moles.

Lo-Lo's Chicken & Waffles

• ★ 4.3
• Soul Food
• $$
• Downtown Phoenix and Roosevelt Row

Order The fried chicken and waffles, the plate that built the whole menu.

Lo-Lo's Chicken & Waffles on South Central is Larry White's soul-food flagship, the Phoenix room that built a small chain on fried chicken and waffles.

Provision Coffee

• ★ 4.3
• Coffee roaster
• $$

Provision Coffee on Missouri Avenue is a Phoenix roaster, cocktail bar and cafe, roasting at its Tempe facility and pouring across a three-story room.

Cortez Coffee Roasters

• ★ 4.3
• Coffee roaster
• $$

Cortez Coffee Roasters in Tempe air-roasts its beans and pours them in a cafe and live-music space, a long-running East Valley roaster near the ASU campus.

Lux Central

• ★ 4.3
• Coffee roaster
• $$

Lux Central on Central Avenue is an industrial-room roaster, cafe and cocktail bar with no sign, a Central Phoenix fixture for in-house coffee from dawn.

The Womack

• ★ 4.3
• Cocktail bar
• $$
• Central Phoenix and Midtown

Order A classic cocktail with a soul record on the turntable.

The Womack on North 7th Street is a 1960s-style cocktail-and-music lounge, a tribute to the historic Phoenix room Chez Nous with classic drinks and soul.

El Sabroso Hot Dogs

• ★ 4.3
• Mexican
• $$

Order A Sonoran dog with the full bean-and-salsa load after midnight.

El Sabroso Hot Dogs on West Indian School runs until 4am on weekends, a bacon-wrapped Sonoran-dog stand that has fed the late-night west side since 1997.

Morning Glory Cafe

• ★ 4.3
• Brunch
• $$

Order A seasonal omelet with house-baked muffins, eaten on the farm patio.

Morning Glory Cafe at The Farm at South Mountain runs a garden-driven breakfast, plating seasonal omelets, house pastries and local sausage on a shaded patio.

POMO Pizzeria Napoletana

• ★ 4.2
• Neapolitan Pizza
• $$
• Downtown Phoenix and Roosevelt Row

Order The Margherita, judged against the AVPN's true-Neapolitan certification.

POMO Pizzeria Napoletana in downtown Phoenix is an AVPN-certified Neapolitan pizzeria, baking pies to Naples standards in a wood-fired oven.

Otro Cafe

• ★ 4.2
• Oaxacan Mexican
• $$
• Central Phoenix and Midtown

Order The Oaxacan-style plates at dinner or the breakfast tacos at the weekend.

Otro Cafe in Midtown Phoenix is Doug Robson's Oaxacan-leaning room, the breakfast-and-tacos counterpart to his Gallo Blanco, with local and organic sourcing.

Gallo Blanco

• ★ 4.2
• Mexican
• $$
• Downtown Phoenix and Roosevelt Row

Order A spread of street tacos and the savory weekend brunch.

Gallo Blanco in the historic Garfield district is Doug Robson's street-taco and brunch room, a Mexico City-born chef's casual spot with strong veggie options.

Welcome Diner

• ★ 4.2
• Southern Diner
• $$
• Downtown Phoenix and Roosevelt Row

Order The fried chicken biscuit, the plate that anchors the menu.

Welcome Diner on Pierce Street is a Southern-leaning room in a vintage diner car, anchoring the Garfield corner with biscuits and a small cocktail list.

El Chullo Peruvian Restaurant

• ★ 4.2
• Peruvian
• $$
• Central Phoenix and Midtown

Order The ceviche to start and lomo saltado for the table.

El Chullo Peruvian Restaurant on 7th Avenue is a family-run Andean and coastal room, plating ceviche, lomo saltado and anticuchos with a full bar.

Greenwood Brewing

• ★ 4.2
• Brewery
• $$

Order A flight to taste the in-house range; the patio runs the social hour.

Greenwood Brewing on Roosevelt Street is a woman-owned downtown Phoenix brewpub, pouring its own craft beer in a bright Roosevelt Row taproom.

Rosita's Place

• ★ 4.2
• Mexican
• $$

Rosita's Place (Mexican) in Phoenix: It has served Sonoran-style Mexican since 1964; the green-chile plates and the chimichanga are the long-time orders.

Chino Bandido

• ★ 4.2
• Caribbean
• $$

Chino Bandido in Phoenix: A north Phoenix mashup of Mexican, Chinese and Caribbean food that out-of-towners rarely find on the standard lists.

Los Dos Molinos

• ★ 4.2
• New Mexican
• $$

Los Dos Molinos in Phoenix: A fiery New Mexican room in a former Tom Mix homestead on South Central that regulars warn newcomers about for the heat.

The Henry

• ★ 4.2
• Brunch
• $$

Order The weekend brunch plates with a cocktail from the bar.

The Henry on Camelback Road is a Fox Restaurant Concepts all-day room with a busy weekend brunch, plating modern American food in a coffee-bar-lounge space.

WeBe Coffee Roasters

• ★ 4.1
• Coffee roaster
• $$

WeBe Coffee Roasters on Cave Creek Road is a north Phoenix small-batch roaster, building its drinks from beans roasted in-house at the cafe each week.

Huss Brewing Tempe Taproom

• ★ 4.1
• Brewery
• $$

Order The Scottsdale Blonde or a seasonal release from the taproom board.

Huss Brewing's Tempe taproom pours the family-run brewery's craft range from its production site, one of the larger Arizona-owned beer makers.

Tacos El Atoyac

• ★ 4.1
• Taqueria
• $$

Order Street tacos dressed at the salsa table near closing time.

Tacos El Atoyac on West Buckeye runs a late taco stand until midnight, carving spit meats and griddling street tacos for the after-work and after-bar crowd.

Restaurant Atoyac Estilo Oaxaca

• ★ 4.1
• Mexican
• $$

Restaurant Atoyac Estilo Oaxaca is a strip-mall oaxacan room near 19th and glendale that few visitors reach despite some of the city's best moles.

Hash Kitchen

• ★ 4.1
• Brunch
• $$

Order A build-your-own bloody mary alongside the cannoli pancakes.

Hash Kitchen in Arcadia is a high-energy brunch room home to a build-your-own bloody mary bar, plating loaded hashes and over-the-top breakfast plates.

Joyride Taco House

• ★ 4.0
• Mexican
• $$
• Central Phoenix and Midtown

Order A trio of street tacos with a frozen margarita on the patio.

Joyride Taco House on Central Avenue is a bright patio taco room from the LGO group, pouring margaritas alongside street tacos under string lights.

Micky's Hot Dogs

• ★ 4.0
• Mexican
• $$

Order A loaded Sonoran dog to end an East Valley night.

Micky's Hot Dogs on Broadway in Mesa is an East Valley Sonoran-dog stand for the late crowd, named among metro Phoenix's best bacon-wrapped dogs.

Snooze, an A.M. Eatery

• ★ 4.0
• Brunch
• $$

Order A pancake flight across the rotating sweet and savory flavors.

Snooze on Central Avenue is the downtown Phoenix branch of the breakfast chain, plating creative pancakes, benedicts and brunch cocktails until mid-afternoon.

Filiberto's Mexican Food

• ★ 3.9
• Californian
• $$

Order A carne asada burrito at 2am, the late-night standard.

Filiberto's on Indian School Road is a 24-hour Valley Mexican counter, slinging carne asada burritos, California burritos and rolled tacos all night.