12 best places to eat in Scottsdale: Fancy Mexican restaurants to old school Italian delis

From the Western-chic streets of Old Town that transform into a mini-Vegas at night to the sleek northern shopping outpost "The Quarter," Scottsdale just feels fancy. Most of the city's restaurants fall into one of two categories — swanky or old school — and are often both.

In a town teeming with Italian restaurants, wine tasting rooms and fine dining restaurants that even do coursed-out brunches, it can be a challenge narrowing down your options. So, we decided to pull together a list of a few tried and true favorites.

Here's a look at 12 of the best newcomers and classic restaurants in Scottsdale.

Try them all: 100 essential restaurants in metro Phoenix

Scottsdale steakhouse: The Americano

Fronted by Food Network personality and restaurateur Scott Conant, this swanky Italian steakhouse is an over-the-top oasis of smoking cocktails, caviar french fries, pasta and, of course, steak. Don't miss the focaccia ripiena (stuffed focaccia), which is served as a quartered bread dome topped with an addictive green pesto.

Details: 17797 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. 480-573-0001, theamericanorestaurant.com.

Scottsdale bakery: JL Patisserie

Let James Beard Award semi-finalist Jenna Leurquin be your go-to for French pastries. From macarons to croissants and baguettes, you really can't go wrong. The pro-move is to try each of these at least once: a baguette, an Earl Grey macaron and an almond croissant. Maybe all in one visit? For special occasions, you can order cakes topped with an elegant vanilla caramel piped to look like a flower and finished with gold leaf. Magnifique.

Details: 7342 E. Shea Blvd., #108, Scottsdale. 480-859-4459, jlpatisserie.com. Also in Phoenix.

Scottsdale Italian deli: DeFalco's Italian Grocery

The homemade sausage and marinara sauce in DeFalco’s sausage, peppers and onions sandwich, epitomize the Italian comfort dished out at this deli opened by John and Dora DeFalco in 1972. From hot and cold sandwiches to pizzas and calzones, everything is made using family recipes passed down over the last century. With a formula like that, it’s hard to go wrong.

Details: 2334 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. 480-990-8660, defalcosdeli.com.

Scottsdale brunch: Sugarjam Southern Kitchen

A party brunch with a DJ that has guests dancing between tables and drinking Champagne straight from the bottle shouldn't have food as good as this Southern spot dishes up. But they do, from the chicken and waffles to shrimp and grits. It's not hard to see why reservations are typically booked weeks in advance. Our advice? Lean into the party vibe. Kick things off with flight of multicolored vodka mimosas, wave your hands like you just don't care and, whatever you do, don't you dare skip the homemade pie.

Details: 15111 N. Hayden Road, Suite 170, Scottsdale. 480-948-6210, sjsouthernkitchen.com.

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Scottsdale Iranian restaurant: Persian Room

For excellent renditions of traditional Iranian foods, the Persian Room delivers with stews like herbaceous gormeh sabzi and gheimeh, appetizers like rich eggplant kashk bademjan and the entire canon of polo — rice dishes studded with lentils and dates, sour cherries, candied carrots and pistachios, tangy barberries or simply tinged yellow with saffron and topped with butter. If you only order one thing, get a mixed grill of skewered chicken jujeh, minced koobideh and tender steak sultani. It's an incredibly homestyle spread, served in an over-the-top, gilded dining room.

Details: 17040 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. 480-614-1414, persianroom.com.

Scottsdale ala carte fine dining: FnB

One of the Valley's elite, James Beard Award-winning chefs, Charleen Badman's hyper-seasonal, vegetable-forward fine dining restaurant remains a Scottsdale destination. From the elegant dishes to the wine list, FnB is always delicious, and always inventive. Badman's business partner Pavle Millic even opened a new southern Arizona winery, from which the restaurant sources a few bottles. Make a reservation and show up hungry and prepared to be surprised.

Details: 7125 E. Fifth Ave., Suite 31, Scottsdale. 480-284-4777, fnbrestaurant.com.

Scottsdale seafood: Nelson's Meat and Fish

Nelson's has long been one of the Valley's best sources for quality fish and meat. And recently they opened a second location in Scottsdale. At both the Phoenix and Scottsdale shops, they serve a mean lobster roll, but since it's not a restaurant, but a market, lunch specials like the lobster rolls, are only available once a week and only until they sell out. But they're worth the wait.

Details:14224 N. Scottsdale Road, Suite 175, Scottsdale. meat.fish. And at 2415 E. Indian School Road, Phoenix.

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Scottsdale Italian restaurant: Andreoli Italian Grocer

When you walk into this restaurant and deli, it's like stepping back in time. Family pictures share wall space with photos of celebrities who've visited over the years. James Beard Award nominee, owner and chef Giovanni Scorzo is nearly always there, either in the kitchen or at a table in the dining room having an espresso with his sons. The menu is a list of salads, cured meats and cheeses for antipasti, sandwiches served on focaccia and pasta dishes scribbled on a whiteboard. The epitome of classics, these plates rarely veer far from traditional preparations with the likes of rigatoni with homemade sausage and peas, potato gnocchi with pesto and penne in a veal red sauce. The food is as cozy as the crowded dining room.

Details: 8880 E. Vía Linda, Scottsdale. 480-614-1980, andreoli-grocer.com.

Scottsdale multi-course fine dining: Course

Celebrity chef Cory Oppold, former executive chef of Atlas Bistro and 2019 "Chopped" champion, opened Course, a stylish, aptly named fine dining restaurant offering five- and 10-course dinner menus that change seasonally along with a six-course brunch. These are the conceptual, delicate, tweezer-plated dishes you'd expect, but each course is more surprising than the last. It's a worthy date destination for food lovers.

Details: 7366 E. Shea Blvd., Suite 106, Scottsdale. 480-687-0491, courserestaurantaz.com.

Scottsdale pizza: Night Owl

Tucker Woodbury, the owner of The Vig, The Womack and The Little Woody, opened Night Owl Pizza with the intention of it being "a cool little neighborhood dive with killer pizza." The menu features pizzas, smash burgers and salads along with cocktails, beer and wine. As for the vibe, think "a throwback to your father's basement," with a wall of about 120 vintage skateboards from the late '70s to mid-'80s, black light posters and funhouse mirrors.

Details: 1645 N. Hayden Road, Scottsdale. nightowlaz.com.

Hai Noon

Inside the Sonder the Mariposa motel is a little hidden gem called Hai Noon. The restaurant was opened by Sloane McFarland and Ian Rosales, the owner and chef of Welcome Diner, alongside James Beard Award-winning chef Nobuo Fukuda, formerly of Nobuo at Teeter House. The menu encapsulates a blend of Japanese and Sonoran cuisines and drinks with bar bite offerings like shishito peppers, pork belly buns, duck salad and a softshell crab sandwich.

Details: 7017 E. McDowell Road, Scottsdale. hainoonaz.com.

Scottsdale Mexican restaurant: Call Her Martina

This is not your typical Mexican restaurant, from the cocktails designed by a lauded tattoo artist to the menu that takes a distinctly modern Sonoran approach to dishes ranging from ribeye aguachile to quesabirria tacos served with a side of bone marrow to short ribs al tinto. Wash it down with a When She Went to Tulum made with mezcal, coconut liqueur, coconut cream and lime. And don't skip the flan for dessert.

Details: 7135 E. Camelback Road, #165, Scottsdale. callhermartina.com.

Coming soon: A top Scottsdale chef is opening an Italian cocktail bar

Did we miss your favorite? Tell us about it! Reach the food, dining and nightlife editor at felicia.campbell@azcentral.com.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Best Scottsdale restaurants: Fine dining, Mexican food, Italian, steak