Where to Eat in Tempe, AZ

Go to Mill street and you will find a slew of restaurants to pick from and the street is only growing. This is where all the college kids hang out for food and for bars at night. The best part is most of the restaurants are not chains, rather they are unique places to eat and vibes that you could only get in Tempe. I’ve been all around the world and yet to find so many spectacular options and atmosphere as I have on Mill.

Pedalhaus

I think this is my all time favorite place to go. It helped I used to live a 30 second walk from here. The restaurant has German roots with both normal seating and open seating. There is a large game area with corn hole, ping pong, and beer pong. I love this place because it is open air and you can hang out for a few hours drinking a beer, eating some food, and playing games. Some of the seating is around fire pits in a circular shape for big groups. The ambiance of this place is amazing! It is so unique and I am waiting for places to pop up like this in California! The menu is constantly changing, but you can never go wrong with the food especially the pretzels. They brew their own beer so try out one! They have a happy hour of $3 beers and $5 margaritas. Need I say more?

RA

Okay I love sushi. And this place has good sushi! There is nice outdoor seating on warm nights to enjoy sushi and saki. This place was a staple when I was in college.

Zipps

Zipps is a cheap sports bar with bar food. Don’t expect anything less or more. If you want cheap beer and appetizers on game day this is the place to come. The pitchers are the best deal. There are TV’s everywhere with a bunch of different games always on. The place gets pretty packed on game days! If your not into beer, try the zipparitas!

Culinary Dropout

This is up there on the ambiance. It is cute and trendy. There are games here as well with strung up lights on the patio area. As with ‘trendy’ places, the food and drinks are always unique. Every dish is delicious, even if you don’t know quite to expect of what you are getting! This is a great spot for lunch and dinner. It’s a little pricier than the other places on the list, but doesn’t break the bank.

Oregano’s

PIZOOKIES!! Need I say more? Pizza meet cookie and you have a pizookie! They don’t quite cook it all the way so it is warm and mushy with vanilla ice cream on top. Okay I’m drooling. Besides the amazing dessert, they have bomb Italian food. The portions are big and the food is delicious. Plan to bring home half your meal for lunch the next day. The only downside is that Oregano’s is so popular it can be hard to find a parking spot and there can be a long wait on weekends.

Gordon Biersh

This is a little fancier of a spot that you go to when you want to eat at a nice, solid place. They have a variety of food that ranges from salads to steaks. It has something on the menu for everything along with a full bar. It is a chain in Arizona so perhaps you have heard of them already.

Spinellis

Cheap pizza at all hours of the nights? That is spinellis. It is yummy food that you can get whether pre-drinking or at 4am coming home from a night out. The later tends to be a popular time.

Blasted Barley

This is the prime brunch spot on Mill with an excellent bottomless mimosa deal. The food is good and the drinks are better. There is both indoor and outdoor seating as with most of Arizona’s wonderful outdoor seating. You can catch blasted pretty packed on Sundays!

Chopshop

This has healthier food such as wraps, protein bowls, and smoothies. This was another staple throughout college, although because it’s all higher quality ingredients that does come at a little higher of a price. It’s more of a fast casual spot as it’s not quite fast food but you don’t have a server or any of that as a normal restaurant.

The Chuck Box

Warm, juicy burgers made right in front of you is what you will find here! It’s taste like it’s homemade right in your backyard barbecue! Great lunch spot, but it is cash only.

Postino

Postino is known for their bruschetta and wine. They have other food items on the menu, but the menu is rather small. This is another trendy spot that is rather popular.

Snooze

Snooze has the best breakfast/brunch in Tempe I think! All of the food is so delicious such as their eggs benedict which is my go to! They have delicious mimosas for when you want to enjoy a nice long brunch on a Sunday morning. Snooze also has an outdoor patio and indoor seating that as many others are in Tempe, is also a trendy spot to go. They have ping pong and cornhole set up sometimes outside. It does get packed on weekends which is my one complaint because it can be over an hour wait. I would suggest coming early and if there’s a wait put in your name and go shop while you wait.

Ncounter

Ncounter is another breakfast spot in Tempe. It is pretty popular but I did not go that often. It is a fast casual of sorts spot because you have to wait in line to order then find a table. What I don’t like about this is it’s too popular so you have to stand in line for forever and then scrounge for a table. I prefer just to get seated and not be standing in line for breakfast when I’m tired and cranky already as I’m not a morning person! The food is good otherwise though.

La Bocca

La Bocca has amazing calzones and pizza!! I always get the calzone and it’s about the size of my face so I always have leftovers for the next day. They have a good wine selection. To me, it feels like an almost little fancier postinos. I’ve always had a solid experience here when dining out for dinner.

Fuzzy’s

Fuzzy’s is essentially fast Mexican food. They have great taco Tuesday deals. The main reason I’d go was for the giant margaritas and beergaritas though and not the food.

Local Patron

For higher quality Mexican food, I’d go to local patron. They have cheap taco Tuesday deals but you actually get to sit down and have a waiter and get better food. It can get crowded here so make sure you come early on Tuesdays for dinner to get a seat. It does get progressively louder the longer you stay as a fair warning if you are trying to hang out and chat.

Baked Bear

If you like dessert this is the place to come! Get the cookie ice cream sandwich, it will not disappoint.

Bars with food: Wiskey, Hefe, CASA

Finally, there are a couple bars that have food. Whiskey Row is just standard bar food but they can have some good deals. El Hefe has Mexican food but fair warning if you go anytime after say 7pm, your yelling at each other because they turn the music up WAY to loud to the point your table is vibrating from the base. I’d avoid here for dinner. CASA has solid food. They used to have the best burritos, but they re did their menu and now have tacos. If you are trying to day drink and get food, CASA is a good option.