Best Halal Restaurant 2024 | City of Spice | Food & Drink | Phoenix
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Best Halal Restaurant

City of Spice

Dominic Armato

It feels a little unfair, highlighting this as a halal restaurant. After all, the Hyderabadi family that runs City of Spice serves up dosa, paneer and vegetables that stand tall with the best of them. But halal Indian restaurants are a little trickier to come by, and City of Spice handles meat like no other. Looking for lamb? Try the fiery, vinegar-infused lamb vindaloo or the green chile lamb, an explosive concoction loaded with fresh herbs and garlic. Goat? Try the goat kadai, slow-cooked in a fragrant stew of ginger and tomatoes, or the Hyderabadi biryani, tender chunks of meat buried in a mound of steaming, flavorful rice with fresh lemon and raita. Chicken? Try sizzling seekh kababs in a hot iron skillet over sweet onions, or City of Spice's outstanding butter chicken, a wildly spiced and intense version the likes of which you've probably never tried. Whatever manner of critter strikes your fancy, this is a kitchen that knows what to do with it.

Best North African Restaurant

Alzohour Restaurant

Dominic Armato

Sometimes you need a reminder that one of the most delicious restaurants in town is right under your nose. Zhor Saad's restaurant slash market slash clothing shop has been around for more than a decade, but the combination of a quirky location and rarely seen cuisine mean that it's still fighting for respect after all these years. Saad's food deserves it. Her bastilla is a mind-bending sweet/savory ground chicken pie, loaded with cinnamon and ground nuts and wrapped in crisp pastry. Tagines like saffron-scented lamb and fish with tomato and olives are sultry and densely layered, while tender vegetables perch atop mounds of fluffy, steaming couscous. Saad's golden kunafa filled with sweetened cheese and paired with mint tea is an excellent reason to linger at the end of the meal. And don't be afraid to linger. Saad typically runs a one-woman show, and dinner arrives at her pace. Settle in and savor it.

Best East African Restaurant

Kare Ethiopian Restaurant

These days, our favorite Ethiopian joint in Phoenix is one of its least heralded. On a stretch of McDowell better known for commuting than cuisine, this laid-back joint with a welcoming staff serves bold and distinctive classics on excellent injera — almost chocolate-colored, made with pure teff and boasting a sharp, fermented tang. Doro wot dresses chicken and eggs with a sultry chile-heavy buzz, alecha siga wot brings sweet ginger and turmeric to flavorful chunks of beef, and the shiro wot turns chickpeas into a buttery, smooth paste that's scented with onions and berbere. If you like your beef seared, the shekela tebes is served sizzling hot with peppers, onions and fresh rosemary; if you like it raw, the Kare special kitfo is lush and rich with a mix of cheese and collard greens. And whatever you try, there's no better way to end the meal than with the traditional Ethiopian coffee service.

Best West African Restaurant

West African Cuisine

How wonderful is it that a mini-boom of West African restaurants has suddenly made this a viable category? There always have been a couple of West African restaurants around the Valley, but for the first time, researching them all requires some significant legwork. After making the rounds, West African Cuisine has emerged as our favorite. Formerly Authentic Liberian Cuisine (now under new ownership), West African Cuisine has carried over most of the Liberian menu but expanded a little further to rope in other regional dishes. Goat pepper soup brings some serious fire, packing intense habanero flavor while keeping the capsaicin just tame enough to make the dish edible. Egusi soup slings some heavy funk, mixing a medley of meats and spinach with smoked fish and shrimp powder for a heady, hearty stew. Palm butter is oily and rich, spicy and garlicky and loaded with peanuts, like a thick curry. And the jollof rice is a standout — beautifully seasoned and served with a fried turkey quarter that features sizzling crisp skin, juicy meat and a perky habanero sauce to accompany.

Best Eastern European Restaurant

All Pierogi Kitchen

Dominic Armato

All Pierogi Kitchen has long been one of the Valley's top destinations for Eastern European cuisine, but its very best feature might be that it seems to get better and better with each passing year. Owner Nataliya Koshalko serves the foods of her native Ukraine, along with regional specialties from neighboring Slavic countries, and her extensive menu is a celebration of hearty meat-and-potatoes fare. The namesake pierogi are here in abundance, served up hot in the restaurant or frozen to take home from the market next door. Boiled or pan-fried, they're hefty little lumps of tender dough stuffed with the likes of ground meat, sauerkraut, pork and cheese. Soups are a standout, including a hot beet borscht, a green borscht packed with herbs and a dynamite dill pickle soup, creamy and rich and loaded with potatoes and chunks of kielbasa. Smoked sausages snap, potato pancakes crunch and an exceptional chicken Kiev oozes a lake of butter when you tap into its piping-hot molten core. It's a no-misses kind of menu, and few Valley restaurants of any persuasion are so consistently delicious.

Best Jewish Deli

Goldman's Deli

There are some delicious new happenings around town with pastrami, bagels and other traditional trappings of Jewish delis, but if you're looking for the total package, Goldman's Deli remains our pick. This is a Chicago-style Jewish deli, not New York-style, which means you can get a Chicago dog to go with your gefilte fish (anybody ever try dragging the latter through the garden?), and during spring training, there's a good chance you'll run into White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf smoking a cigar with a crowd of baseball scouts on the sidewalk outside. But the classics are all here and all well-represented, from a crisp and greasy pastrami Reuben to an icy clear bowl of cold beet borscht to an absolutely stellar chopped liver plate that's so smooth and sweet it's the perfect gateway dish for the hepato-curious.

Best Vegan Restaurant

Uniq Burger

We challenge you to try a little experiment. Hand anyone a burger from this Scottsdale restaurant, and watch as they take a bite. After they're delighted by how delicious the burger is, tell them it's entirely vegan. Cue the shock and awe. The burgers at Uniq taste just like the ones from your favorite drive-thru takeout combined with a hint of smash burger nostalgia. The menu also includes vegan chicken sandwiches and nuggets, salads and delicious loaded fries. Get messy with the Southwest Fully Loaded Fries, which come topped with melted vegan cheese, jalapeños, chipotle aioli and crispy onions. This unique spot feels so indulgent and satisfying, you won't miss the meat one bit.

Best Farmers' Market

Uptown Farmers Market

Uptown Farmers Market is an experience that you won't soon forget. Over 100 vendors showcase coffees, fresh produce, pancakes, desserts, burritos and waffles. There are options for those who want gluten-free or vegetarian options, as well as foods from around the world. Supporting local is key at this farmers' market, and in addition to food items, Valley makers sell soap scrubs, wooden cutting boards, jewelry and much more. There are bounce houses for the kids, and of course, you can bring your well-behaved dog. Take a leisurely stroll and make it your personal goal to sample something from every single vendor. The market is usually open on Saturdays and Wednesdays, and if you go once, you'll put it on your to-do list for future visits.

Best Asian Grocery Store

H Mart

This massive grocery chain has everything you need, and plenty of items you didn't know you needed but will bring home with you anyway. Buy and try Hello Kitty sake, yellow dragon fruit, decorative chopsticks, Korean skincare, shrimp-flavored chips and oh-so-much more. You'll want to pick up fresh kimchi from the ready-to-eat food station in the back corner or check out the fish options at the extensive seafood section. Before or after your shopping trip, stop at the food court which boasts a number of restaurants cooking up fried pork belly, spicy noodle soups, fried chicken, bulgogi risotto and French-inspired desserts, just to name a few choices.

Best Japanese Market

New Tokyo Food Market

The Asian megamarket boom is both delicious and exciting, but sometimes there's no substitute for a well-stocked neighborhood market. Forget its diminutive footprint. There's no better place in town to stock up on everything you need for Japanese cooking. New Tokyo is free of fluff and a boon to the indecisive, loaded with a thoughtful selection of ingredients that feature one or two quality options rather than a mountain of junk. Shelves of pantry staples are joined by fridge and freezer cases filled with fresh ingredients, from miso to mackerel to myoga. The sweets and snacks aisle is no slouch, brimming with deeper cuts than the same old, same old you'll find everywhere else. And a small selection of kitchenwares is joined by an extensive collection of Japanese DVDs for those looking to catch up on their dramas or learn the language while watching some anime.

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