5 Must-Eat Dishes When You Visit Phoenix, Arizona, According To Reviews

From famous downtown restaurants overseen by James Beard Award-winning chefs to beloved sandwich shops that have been around for decades, the Phoenix dining scene has something for every kind of diner. Arizona's capital city is a wonderful place to explore the region's food culture, which is deeply rooted in Mexican, Native American, and culinary traditions — some of which date back thousands of years.

Take frybread, a savory or sweet flatbread that's deep-fried until puffy and crispy, yet soft on the inside: This popular snack, easily found around Phoenix, is based in Navajo tradition. Then there's the Sonoran dog, a bacon-wrapped hot dog topped with guacamole and cotija cheese, a mouthwatering mash-up of Mexican and American influences. 

These are just two of the must-eat specialties you won't want to miss on a visit to Phoenix, Arizona, one of the country's best but least-appreciated foodie cities. Based on recommendations from Eater, Visit Phoenix, and thousands of reviews on Google, here's a round-up of the top five dishes to sample in between exploring the best tourist attractions around the Valley of the Sun.

Many cultures around the world have some version of fried bread: Italians make zeppole, China has youtiao, and Argentinians love to eat tortas fritas on rainy days, to name just a few examples. But it's the Native American form of the dish — called simply "fry bread" or "frybread" — that's infiltrated the Phoenix food scene. 

There's a bittersweet story behind the delicious version of fry bread that's popular in the Southwest today. The dish was invented by the Navajo people in the 1860s when the U.S. government moved tribal members into a prison camp in New Mexico, providing them with rations of flour, salt, and lard. They mixed together the ingredients, creating a dough that was stretched thin and fried over an open fire until crispy, and the dish became part of everyday life. 

The place to try this delicacy in Phoenix is Fry Bread House (open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday) on North 7th Avenue. This no-frills spot was established in 1992 by Cecelia Miller, a woman who lived on Arizona's Tohono O'odham Nation before relocating to Phoenix. In 2012, the restaurant won a prestigious America's Classics award from the James Beard Foundation (via ICT News). Today, the menu features a list of fry bread tacos (served with refried beans, beef, cheese, lettuce, and more) as well as simple savory and sweet fry breads. "Great spot with big portions and a unique Arizona take on fusion tacos," said one reviewer on Google. "I can see why James Beard recognized Fry Bread House as an American staple."

Most foodies know that the chimichanga isn't of Mexican origin. So where does the dish — a sort of deep-fried burrito — actually come from? Food historians say that it was born in Arizona, but there's not a clear consensus on exactly where. According to Eater, both El Charro, a restaurant in Tucson, and Phoenix's Macayo's Mexican Kitchen (formerly Woody's El Nido) claim to have invented the chimichanga. 

Either way, the chimichanga is a dish you can't miss in Phoenix — and if you'd like to try it where it was allegedly invented, Macayo's is still in business, with a dozen locations around the region. Try the Chimi Grande, made with shredded beef, chicken, or carnitas wrapped in a crispy flour tortilla and smothered with cheese, sour cream, pico de gallo, and the house sauce. "This place has the best chimichangas," wrote one recent diner on Google Reviews. "Flavorful, and absolutely satisfying. You won't be disappointed!"

According to Visit Phoenix, some local culinary traditions owe their origins to the Sonoran Desert. "Chefs here are inspired by what grows in this landscape," as the website says. "Cactus paddles and fruits, mesquite wood, chiltepin peppers, heirloom corn, desert legumes, and seasonal produce from Arizona farms." Some of those fresh ingredients help transform a humble hot dog into the Sonoran dog, one of the most popular dishes in the state.

Originally invented in Hermosillo, Mexico, the Sonoran dog is a hot dog wrapped in bacon, placed inside a soft roll, and loaded up with onions, tomatoes, beans, and condiments like salsa, guacamole, cotija cheese, ketchup, or mustard, depending on your taste. According to Eater, it's more than a tasty snack: The Sonoran dog has come to "symbolize the unification of Mexican and American cultural ties, blending iconic elements of both countries' cuisines in one dish." 

The food-focused publication suggests trying one at El Caprichoso Hot Dogs Estilo Sonora, which has been operating since 1989. There are four locations around Phoenix, and hours vary at each. The highest-rated outpost is on North 35th Avenue, one of Arizona's best spots to find a Sonoran hot dog. "Tourist here, just passing through," wrote one traveler on Google Reviews, "and I heard that a Sonoran hot dog was something I had to try, and man, am I glad I did. This was so good!"

Another regional staple, corn, is a key element in one of the city's more upscale signature dishes, the elote pasta at Valentine (open 8 a.m. to 10 or 11 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday). "Valentine is a leader in innovating Sonoran cuisine," per Eater, "taking inspiration from both new and traditional desert cooking methods to create exciting dishes that expertly capture the identity of the Phoenix culinary scene."

Elote, as many fans of Mexican food know, is a street food consisting of corn on the cob that's charred on a grill, then slathered with a creamy garlic-and-cheese sauce. The chef at Valentine merges the concept with a classic Italian pasta, crafting tagliarini from Sonoran wheat and tossing it with cotija cheese from a local dairy. The result is elote pasta, a dish that puts the restaurant on the must-try map in Phoenix. There may be hype around the famed dish, but according to Google reviews, the pasta lives up to it. "Even better than my expectations," wrote one visitor.

Latin and Native American food cultures have had a tremendous effect on Phoenix's food scene, but the city is also home to sizable Asian populations with their own food traditions. The city's Thai restaurants are particularly good, according to Visit Phoenix and many reviewers on Google. And like many other specialties highlighted on this list, the must-try dishes incorporate local ingredients, like the Kanom Jeeb (pork dumplings) stuffed with locally raised Arizona pork at Glai Baan (open for lunch and dinner on most weekdays, dinner on Saturdays, but closed on Sundays and Mondays). 

"Outstandingly juicy and succulent," say the food critics at Eater. "The Kanom Jeeb (pork dumplings) may have been the best dumplings I've ever had," said an enthusiastic diner on Google Reviews. Chef and co-owner Pomsupak "Cat" Bunnag takes inspiration from street food in her native Bangkok at her cozy eatery on East Osborn Road. The restaurant's name translates to "far from home," but Thai food fans in Phoenix are clearly happy that the chef is now a Phoenix resident. 

Phoenix is full of delicious delicacies to try, from Southwestern staples to more exotic and far-flung options, and it quickly became evident that the city is something of an underrated foodie destination. To put together this list, we started with some research done by the local food experts at Eater and Visit Phoenix. Then, we sifted through many (many) Google reviews, narrowing down the most-mentioned and most-loved dishes and where to find them. It wasn't easy to choose just five dishes, or to recommend just a handful of places to try them. 

Given the high number of opinions widely shared on these popular websites and platforms, you're likely to have a great experience with the dishes and establishments listed here. If you're looking for another top-notch culinary destination, consider a quick detour to Tucson, a UNESCO City of Culinary Excellence in the heart of Arizona's Sonoran Desert.