Best Contemporary American Restaurants in Phoenix

Always a great experience at Arcadia Farms. Food and our service from Peggy is always fabulous, it’s our favorite place for a girls luncheon.

Cafe Monarch was a outstanding experience. Starting with free valet parking, the restaurant has a peaceful fountain by a French door entrance. The hostess greeted us kindly and showed us to our seats at the bar. We prefer bar seating as we can sit side-by-side and have a more personal experience with the staff. The bar has an amazing assortment of liquor including full ranges of gin, vodka, whiskies and scotches and accompaniments. Our two bar tenders were very friendly without being intrusive. They let us get settled in with complementary bubbles and explained the dinner menu. The menu is a Prix Fix offering with a choice of either four or eight courses. The quantity of food on the two menus is nearly the same, so we chose the eight course dinner with more small bite choices on offer. As we needed to make modifications due to gluten and caviar allergies, the kitchen did an excellent job of adjusting the courses. We had chefs treat oyster, the autumn soup; sesame tuna; shrimp with grilled pineapple, avocado and radish; diver scallop with squash and pine nuts; a pleasant palate cleanser with lemon sorbet, berries and hibiscus; pork belly with apple, current, peppers and goat cheese; lamb chops with carrot, spinach and brioche; and A5 Wagyu filet mignon and short rib, bell pepper, and broccolini. Desert was a Chocolate cream with cookie. We had the Petite Fours with coffee and tea. At $290 it was a worthwhile and outstanding feast. We are planning to return to Cafe Monarch when next in Phoenix.

Paul Martin’s never disappoints. Great menu with something to please everyone, including the resident vegan. Service perfect and a friendly vibe.

Always a great experience at Grass Roots. The food and service can’t be beat. Steve, our server was very attentive and pleasant. We were celebrating a birthday and received a delicious pumpkin pie with whipped cream and a birthday candle. The pie was made in house and are available for purchase along with many other varieties. A great idea to keep in mind for Thanksgiving.

From the moment we were greeted to the time we got our check this was a top-notch experience. We got the perfect table in the corner which allowed us to converse with family we hadn’t seen in two years. Our waiter Reese was very professional and attentive without being too attentive. It was very noisy at first but then it emptied out. Our food was superb. At our table of four, two of us had the salmon, one had the meatloaf, and one had the ribeye. For dessert we shared the salted caramel and chocolate chip cookies which were all very good. They certainly stick to their high standards and live up to their reputation. I highly recommend this restaurant.