More and more Arizonans are heading north to check out some of the most flavorful dining options in the state.
Flagstaff has become a dining mecca. The Northern Arizona city is home to plenty of restaurants that serve stellar fare and are worth the drive up north. As Discover Flagstaff’s Meg Roederer told local media earlier this year: “We have been quoted as being pound for pound, the best in Arizona’s dining. We are a place that has the dining you have to come experience!”
From a near-legendary burrito spot to a brand-new fine dining restaurant in downtown, put these seven Flagstaff restaurants on your list to try the next time you’re up that way.
Atria
103 N. Leroux Street
Helmed by noteworthy chef Rochelle Daniel, downtown Flagstaff’s Atria is the newest restaurant on this list.
Daniel is a celebrated Arizona chef who first made a name for herself at acclaimed restaurants like L’Auberge de Sedona’s Cress on Oak Creek and Fat Ox in metro Phoenix. She’s also appeared on the Food Network’s “Chopped.” Daniel was even nominated for an impressive 2022 James Beard Best Chef: Southwest during Atria’s first year in business.
Atria serves modern American fare made with seasonal Arizona-centric ingredients. Guests can look forward to inventive dishes like coal-roasted beets, ricotta tortellini, and baja shrimp tostadas inside an airy 1,700-square-foot restaurant.
Bonus: Atria also has a creative craft cocktail list and a wine list that features rare, hard-to-find bottles.
Shift Kitchen & Bar
107 North San Francisco Street, #2
Housed in a light-filled building with white walls and dark blue trim on the windows and doors, Shift is renowned for its dynamic American cuisine. The restaurant is perhaps best known for its ever-rotating chef’s tasting menus that include four courses and an intermezzo.
As of press time, menu highlights include housemade pasta like malloreddus served with tahini sauce, mizuna, tofu lavash and vegan pasta, and the Shift burger, topped with smoked cheddar pimento, a sunny side egg, and pickled fresno that’s accompanied by a simple pasta salad.
Dessert options include coconut rice pudding and a triple chocolate cast iron cookie. The creativity on the food menu extends to the drinks program too. Enjoy libations like matcha libre, matcha, unfiltered sake, vodka, lime, and aguafaba that’s also available in a nonalcoholic version.
Pizzicletta
203 W. Phoenix Ave.
Since 2011, Pizzicletta has served Neapolitian pizza and Italian cuisine from a white corner restaurant, with a wood-fired oven its the main attraction.
The menu features starters, pizzas, and gelato. Rosemary focaccia, burrata caprese, and mixed greens are among the options to kick off your meal, while pizzas range from marinara and margherita to more inventive pies like ss – 145—a dynamic pie topped with gorgonzola, charred kale, almonds, and lemon juice. Finish up with the restaurant’s house-made gelato that comes in flavors like chocolate sea salt, vanilla bean, strawberry, stracciatella, and a rotating vegan flavor—something for everyone!
Pro-tip: Try a tasting flight if you’d like to sample all the gelato flavors.
Tinderbox Kitchen
34 S. San Francisco Street
Tinderbox Kitchen touts itself as a fine dining destination without the attitude—or, as the restaurant says on its website, “fine dining in Armani or jeans.”
Diners can look forward to artfully plated dishes, which are sized for two people and meant to be shared (no judgment if you prefer not to!). Think salmon served on a black plate along with carefully placed greens and colorful sauces. Menu items that specifically jumped out include warm Brie, served with bleu, pear, raspberry, pistachio, and crostini, and pan seared duck breast served alongside golden beet gnocchi, wild mushrooms, and balsamic.
Bonus: Wine fans are in luck. Tinderbox has over 100 bottles for guests to pick from.
Diablo Burger
120 N. Leroux Street
After biting into a Diablo Burger, it’s easy to see why this restaurant has developed such a devoted following since its debut in 2009.
Patties are made from grass-fed, hormone and antibiotic-free, open-range raised local beef from the Diablo Trust ranches. Beef is 95 percent lean, and the burger joint recommends burgers are cooked medium rare to bring out the flavors of the meat. All burgers are topped with seasonal greens, tomato, a pickle, and come with Belgian-style DB Frites tossed in herbs de Provence.
The restaurant also makes specialty burgers like The Blake, which includes hatch chile mayo, roasted green chiles, and sharp cheddar.
Fun fact: Each English muffin bun is stamped with the restaurant’s initials “DB.”
Josephine’s Modern American Bistro
503 North Humphreys Street
Josephine’s Modern American Bistro has been serving Flagstaff diners gourmet food since it opened in 2002. Housed in a craftsman bungalow, the restaurant is named after Chef Tony Cosentino’s late mother.
While the menu is frequently updated to showcase seasonal offerings, brunch is particularly noteworthy: Find omelets, eggs benedict, pancakes, French toast, and a variety of salads and sandwiches on the menu. Two inventive offerings include the ginger beer tempura fish tacos and po-boy crab cake sandwich. Dinner features plenty of hearty entrees—like surf and turf, French onion braised short ribs, diablo shrimp macaroni and cheese and sides like smoked gouda mashed potatoes—and dessert is absolutely decadent.
Diners can indulge in limoncello cheesecake, chocolate molten cake and traditional vanilla bean crème brulee. The dessert menu also features three spiked coffee drinks, while the wine list here has received Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence.
Pro tip: Josephine’s also has a shaded outdoor patio where diners can ideal their meals during Flagstaff’s ideal summer temperatures.
MartAnne’s Burrito Palace
112 E. Route 66
The oversized burritos at MartAnne’s Burrito Palace (also known as MartAnne’s Breakfast Palace) are near legendary, but all the Mexican food at this casual restaurant on Route 66 is stellar. Burritos come in varieties ranging from bean and cheese to la chimichanga—a flour tortilla filled with the guest’s choice of meat and cheese that’s fried and served with red and green enchilada sauce, rice, beans, sour cream and guacamole. Breakfast is another highlight, and it’s served all day. Guests can order a variety of two egg breakfasts, French toast, rancheros, omelets, and the signature MartAnne’s burrito. The menu is rounded out by salads, tacos, and sandwiches.
Bonus: The vibes here are casual, colorful, and cool, with artwork featuring Santa Muerte donning the walls.
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