2 Best Restaurants in North-Central Arizona, Arizona

At this popular Italian restaurant, owned by top-rated chef Lisa Dahl, expect to find delicious homemade soups and specialties like potato gnocchi with a vodka sauce and pollo piccata (chicken in a lemon, capers, and Chardonnay sauce). Any pasta dish can be made gluten-free with corn fusilli. Renaissance reproductions and café seating give the impression of a Roman piazza. Make reservations for a table, or sit at the bar—good food but far less romantic.

When you take your first bite of any one of the six expertly crafted pizzas on the menu—like the simple tomato, basil, and mozzarella, or the mascarpone, pecorino, arugula, and prosciutto—you'll understand why this small eatery has developed a fierce following. Plates of paper-thin cured meats and olives and salads with chèvre and pine nuts are equally delicious. Don't skip out on the homemade gelato. If you can't get a table at the original Phoenix Avenue location, there's a second one inside Dark Sky Brewing Company.