40 Best Restaurants in North-Central Arizona, Arizona

Helmed by James Beard Award finalist Rochelle Daniel, this sleek downtown restaurant dazzles with a seasonal menu that is as much about presentation as it is about taste. Dine on fresh-caught fish, prime cuts of meat, and handmade pastas for dinner or share hot and cold appetizers—don't miss the roasted bone marrow—over cocktails or a glass of wine at the bar. The chef also offers an eight-course tasting menu with 24-hours’ notice. 

A redbrick carriage house, built around 1910 as a garage for one of the first automobiles in Flagstaff, is home to one of the city's most sophisticated restaurants. With a seasonally updated menu, the chef pairs locally raised pork, beef, and roasted duck with wines from a list of almost 200 bottles (Brix refers to the sugar content of grapes at harvest). The cheese plate, served with poached natural apricots, is a great accompaniment to a glass of wine at the counter bar. 

Traditional Mexican recipes get a creative and tasty update at this deservedly popular restaurant. Start with the namesake elote, roasted corn on a stick; this Mexican street-food favorite is transformed into an addictive dip of grilled corn kernels, Cotija cheese, lime, and chiles. Dishes are delicious and satisfying, from small plates like chicken tacos with mole sauce to larger dishes like braised lamb shank in ancho chile sauce or chiles rellenos.

Make your reservations in advance during high season

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Located in a Craftsman-style bungalow just a few blocks from Flagstaff's historic downtown, this fine-dining establishment serves bacon-wrapped filet mignon, braised short ribs, crab cakes, and smoked pork osso buco. The menu suggests wines from its extensive list to pair with each entrée, or you can order a craft cocktail from the creative bar. Brunch is served weekends from 9 am to 2 pm and features a good mix of sweet and savory breakfast items along with salads, sandwiches, and burgers. In the summer, reserve a table on the patio; in the winter, opt for a seat near one of two fireplaces.

This dapper bistro in the heart of downtown Williams, with warm lighting and romantic booth seating, blends American, Italian, and Asian ingredients into creative and delicious fare. Specialties include a starter of crisp tempura shrimp salad with house-made cocktail sauce and mains like charbroiled salmon with basil butter over cranberry–pine nut couscous. The well-selected wine and beer list is one of the most extensive in the region.

Don't be put off by the name, a tribute to its past identity—this charming restaurant inside the Jerome Grand Hotel is the standout choice in town for fine dining, good wines, and wonderful vistas. Burgundy interior walls hung with local artists' work create a warm and romantic setting for creative Southwest fare. Signature dishes include prickly pear pork tenderloin and sea bass with a poblano chile–Chardonnay-lemon sauce. The roasted butternut squash soup, with just the right blend of sweetness and spice, is divine.

This restaurant and microbrewery is a popular, casual, and family-friendly place with a pleasant patio. Wood-fired pizzas include the Enchanted Forest—with brie, portobello mushrooms, roasted red peppers, spinach, and artichoke pesto. Expect serious amounts of garlic on whichever pie you choose. Sandwiches, such as the Margarita Chicken (marinated in tequila and lime), come with a hefty portion of tasty fries. You won't regret ordering one of the down-home desserts, like the super-gooey chocolate bread pudding. Among the excellent microbrews on tap, the Red Rock Raspberry ale is a local favorite. Beaver Street Brewery, along with its sister brewery Lumberyard Brewing Company, is a stop on the Flagstaff Brewery Trail.

This is a great place to enjoy a coffee, eggs Benedict, or a burger while people-watching on Whiskey Row. The café/bar, which serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, has been restored to its original 1901 style. The service at the counter is brisk and will leave you plenty of time for antiquing or museum-browsing for the remainder of the day.

Locals and tourists alike swarm to this spacious, old-school eatery for scrumptious breakfast (served all day) and lunch, served by a friendly waitstaff. One hundred and one omelet options are the stars of the show and include such concoctions as a basic ham and cheese and the quirky peanut butter, jelly, and banana, purportedly Elvis Presley's order back in the day. Warm homemade biscuits always hit the spot. An extensive lunch menu that includes everything from Mexican dishes to a Greek salad rounds out the offerings.

At this restaurant catering to carnivores, you can hang out in the casual Cowboy Club or dine in the more formal Silver Saddle Room, where suede booths are surrounded by cowboy art and a pair of large cattle horns. High-quality cuts of beef are the specialty, but the burgers, grilled trout, and vegetable pot pies are delicious, too.

On the L'Auberge de Sedona resort property, Sedona's most formal—and most expensive—dining room promises a quiet, civilized evening of indulgence. The menu, a fusion of American cuisine with French influences, is offered as a seven-course meal, and can be paired with selections from the resort's 1,200-bottle wine cellar. Among the house favorites are the filet mignon and the coq au vin. The lavish Sunday brunch is well worth the splurge—or have cocktails and lighter fare creekside at the bar.

Patterned after a '50s-style high-school hangout (but with cocktail service), this diner pleases kids and adults with a large menu of family-priced American classics—good burgers and fries, barbecue pork sandwiches, salads, and mesquite-smoked ribs. A large mural of the town's heyday along the "Mother Road" and a historic car on the roof make this a Route 66 favorite. Kids enjoy the relaxed atmosphere and jukebox tunes.

At this popular Italian restaurant, owned by top-rated chef Lisa Dahl, expect to find delicious homemade soups and specialties like potato gnocchi with a vodka sauce and pollo piccata (chicken in a lemon, capers, and Chardonnay sauce). Any pasta dish can be made gluten-free with corn fusilli. Renaissance reproductions and café seating give the impression of a Roman piazza. Make reservations for a table, or sit at the bar—good food but far less romantic.

Formerly a popular diner and soda fountain known as Twisters, this Thai restaurant serves curries, noodle dishes, and tom yum soup. Sip beer or tiger milk tea, a form of boba, and finish with a scoop of ice cream surrounded by Route 66 nostalgia. The menu has kept a few Twisters' favorites on the menu, including burgers and milkshakes, for those feeling nostalgic. 

With juicy burgers made from locally sourced, antibiotic- and hormone-free beef, this is arguably the best burger joint in the Southwest. Freshly cut fries lightly dusted with herbs, veggie burgers, grilled cheese sandwiches, and organic salads round out the menu. In summer, try to arrive on the early or late side of lunch and dinner to avoid the lines.

Breakfast, lunch, and coffee on the run has risen to new heights with the presence of this friendly café on Route 66, a few miles east of downtown Flagstaff. Exceptional smoothies, breakfast burritos, and two avocado toast options, plus generous salads and sandwiches with house-made dressings and sauces accompany the coffee bar.

Upscale breakfast dishes like the croque madame—a grilled ham and fried egg sandwich drenched in cheesy mornay sauce—and Instagrammable coffee drinks and cocktails make this Southside coffee shop a good choice for a casual morning meal or brunch. On sunny days, sit on the patio and people-watch.

After the climb up the stairs from Main Street to this former boardinghouse, you'll be ready for the hearty burgers, chili, cheese steaks, and ribs that dominate the menu. Lighter fare, including salads and veggie wraps, are also available. Eat on the outside deck overlooking Verde Valley or in the upstairs dining room, where "Claire," the resident ghost, purportedly hangs out.

Fresh flowers and innovative cuisine that even the staff struggle to characterize are this attractive café's hallmarks. Local ingredients pepper the menu, giving a Sedona twist to Continental fare; favorites include pecan-crusted, Sedona-raised trout with Dijon sauce and mesquite-crusted rack of lamb. Appealing vegetarian plates are also available, and scrumptious desserts include a phenomenal crème brûlée and a marzipan-filled poached pear with caramel sauce.

You might not expect to find sophisticated cooking in Cornville, 6 miles east of Cottonwood, but the German fare here, made using organic produce whenever possible, proves it can be done. Game like elk and bison, plus recipes such as Trout Almondine and lamb chops with demi-glace are all beautifully presented, and the sauerbraten and Wiener schnitzel don't disappoint. A lighter lunch menu includes salads, burgers, and crepes.

Don't let the name mislead you: this South-of-the-border Route 66 diner serves breakfast (all day), lunch, and dinner in a bright space decorated with Día de Los Muertos–inspired paintings. House specialties include a green chile pork enchilada topped with two eggs and J.B.'s Volcano: a mound of chilaquiles drenched in that same green chile pork, loaded with chorizo and crowned by an over-medium egg. Order a breakfast cocktail or coffee to complement your morning meal. Burritos and street tacos dominate the lunch and dinner menu.

You can create your own salads, or enjoy breakfast (try the carrot-cake pancakes), homemade soups (gluten-free), and sandwiches through dinnertime at Mix.

Mesquite-grilled meats and beer brewed exclusively for the restaurant are the specialties at this classy bar and grill, a sort of local institution set in a restored, polished-up 1890 mercantile building. The baby back ribs, prime rib, and fresh fried catfish are standouts. Businessfolk do their moving and shaking at lunchtime here, and the spirited bar stays open until 10 pm.

The healthful fare at this mostly organic grocery and deli runs the gamut from grab-and-go sandwiches and the well-stocked salad bar to hot items like honey-glazed salmon, cheese or chicken enchiladas, and turkey meat loaf. Get supplies for your red-rock picnic or relax at the indoor-outdoor dining area.

Tasty standards complement some of the best Uptown canyon vistas at this modern Mexican restaurant with a lovely balcony. The smoky kick of the salsa, along with the sun-kissed scenery, may transport you south of the border, but dishes are prepared under the auspices of owner Carla Butler, a dietitian who shuns the traditional use of lard and cholesterol-containing oils in favor of healthier options—with delicious results. A south-of-the-border breakfast is served on weekends.

Faux pine boughs, pine dining booths, and curtains that only a grandma would hang lend a country charm to this diner known for its extra-large pies and downhome country cooking. Breakfast lovers dig into homemade cinnamon rolls, huevos rancheros with pork green chile, and omelets, while later in the day sandwiches, steaks, ribs, salads, and pastas dominate the menu.