Much has changed since March 2020, when
Phoenix New Times published its inaugural list of the Top 100 Restaurants in Phoenix. Nearly all the restaurants on the list — James Beard Award winners, strip-mall taquerias, white-tablecloth classics — have struggled simply to stay open amid a pandemic that ripped through the hospitality industry like a hurricane. Dining out has become an entirely different type of activity. In some ways, going to a restaurant may never be the same again.
Our 2021 list of the Top 100 Restaurants in Phoenix reflects this new era of dining. It includes pandemic-related safety policies regarding things like social distancing, carryout and curbside, expanded outdoor seating, and more. It swaps out dearly departed gems for innovative up-and-comers. But mostly it continues to celebrate the culinary multitudes this city contains. The world has changed, but the reasons we go out to eat — to celebrate, to commune, to be excited by some strange new combination of flavors — have not.
5700 East McDonald Drive, Paradise Valley
Elements at Sanctuary is no secret. Executive chef Beau MacMillan, who’s thrown down with Bobby Flay and cooked for Jay Z and Beyonce, helped put Scottsdale on the food map with his seasonal menu focusing on local ingredients infused with Asian flavors. (Chef de cuisine Samantha Sanz is no slouch, either.) Not only will you have an unforgettable meal — think braised volcano lamb shank with smoked eggplant, or black truffle lobster risotto with chanterelle mushrooms — but the mountain views are also so swoon-worthy that you’ll at least
feel like you’re on vacation.