Restaurants in Scottsdale With Fire Pits
The Scottsdale restaurant that names a whole patio after its fire pit is Buck & Rider's North Scottsdale location, whose back patio is literally named The Fire Pits: Adirondack chairs around a massive stone pit, with oysters and cocktails brought out to you. Closer in, Olive & Ivy on the Old Town waterfront ($30 and under, rated 4.7) and Toca Madera near Fashion Square (fire pit tables on a 60-seat patio) put fire pits within walking distance of the bars and hotels.
The fire itself varies more than the name suggests: six have open fire pits you sit around, three have a patio fireplace you sit near, one is a rooftop, and one, ZuZu at Hotel Valley Ho, is a fire pit you book for your group. So does the drive: four are in walkable Old Town, while five are in North Scottsdale, where some patios trade the bar strip for golf course and desert views and the drive can run to half an hour.
Our picks
- Adirondack chairs around one big fire: Buck & Rider - North Scottsdale. The back patio is named The Fire Pits, with a massive stone pit, charbroiled oysters and ceviche. Reservations do not cover it, so plan to walk in.
- A fireside table for two: The House Brasserie. A brick fireplace beside a candle-lit patio at the first home built in Old Town, $31 to $50, with the highest diner rating in the table at 4.8. It is small and books up.
- A private fire for a group of eight: ZuZu at Hotel Valley Ho. Fireside Nights books the hotel's fire pit for you and up to seven friends, with food and drinks ordered from the restaurant.
- Fire pits with the kids along: True Food Kitchen - Scottsdale Quarter. Casual and $30 and under, with plush chairs at fire pit tables on a wraparound patio in the Scottsdale Quarter.
- A special-occasion sunset: Talavera at Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale. A long, narrow fireplace is lit each evening on a patio facing Pinnacle Peak and the open Sonoran Desert, about half an hour north of Old Town.
At a glance
| Option | Fire Feature | Cuisine | Price Range | Dining Style | Diner Rating | Neighborhood | Address |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patio fire pitssource | Seafoodsource | North Scottsdalesource | 7015 E Mayo Blvd, Scottsdale, AZ 85054source | ||||
| Patio fire pitssource | Mediterraneansource | $30 and undersource | Casual Diningsource | 4.7source | Old Town Scottsdalesource | 7135 E. Camelback Road, Suite 195, Scottsdale, AZ 85251source | |
| Patio fireplacesource | Americansource | $31 to $50source | Casual Elegantsource | 4.8source | Old Town Scottsdalesource | 6936 E Main St, Scottsdale, AZ 85251source | |
| Patio fireplacesource | Italiansource | $31 to $50source | Casual Diningsource | 4.7source | North Scottsdalesource | 6160 N. Scottsdale Rd, Scottsdale, AZ 85253source | |
| Patio fire pitssource | Mexicansource | $31 to $50source | Casual Elegantsource | 4.6source | Old Town Scottsdalesource | 4736 N Goldwater Blvd, Scottsdale, AZ 85251source | |
| Reservable fire pitsource | Americansource | $31 to $50source | Casual Elegantsource | 4.5source | Central Scottsdalesource | 6850 E. Main Street, Scottsdale, AZ 85251source | |
| Patio fire pitssource | Wine Barsource | $31 to $50source | Casual Elegantsource | North Scottsdalesource | 20751 N Pima Rd 120, Scottsdale, AZ 85255source | ||
| Patio fire pitssource | Americansource | $30 and undersource | Casual Diningsource | 4.5source | Scottsdale Quarter/Kierland Commonssource | 15191 N Scottsdale Rd, #101, Scottsdale, AZ 85254source | |
| Patio fireplacesource | Steakhousesource | Casual Elegantsource | 4.6source | North Scottsdalesource | 10600 E. Crescent Moon Drive, Scottsdale, AZ 85262source | ||
| Patio fire pitssource | Southwesternsource | $30 and undersource | Casual Diningsource | 4.7source | North Scottsdalesource | 8620 East Thompson Peak Parkway, Scottsdale, AZ 85255source | |
| Rooftop fire pitssource | Old Town Scottsdalesource | 7142 E 1st Street, Scottsdale, AZ 85251source |
Getting a seat by the fire
A reservation does not always put you next to the flames. Buck & Rider books only its dining room and heated patio, so the fire pits are walk-in. Olive & Ivy's patio fills fast, and it helps to call ahead and ask to sit outside. il Bracco holds back dining room and patio tables for walk-ins, so a full calendar online is not the last word. At ZuZu the fire is the booking, for up to eight people.
Outrider Rooftop Lounge, seven floors up with views to Camelback Mountain, books two-hour slots in a rolling 30-day window, and its kitchen sends out small plates rather than full dinners.
Fire pits you gather around or a fireplace you sit near
The House Brasserie's brick fireplace sits off to one side, better for two than for a group. il Bracco's covered patio is built around a stone fireplace with umbrellas and fans, which keeps it usable in more months than most. Quill Creek at Grayhawk Golf Club has both: lounge seating around a fireplace, and fire pits ringed by Adirondack chairs at the patio's edge, looking over the Raptor course and the McDowell Mountains, all at $30 and under.
Lively Old Town patios and a north-side wine lounge
Two of the Old Town patios are about the scene. Toca Madera runs late on weekends with DJ energy, and Olive & Ivy draws a casual crowd under string lights along the canal. Up north, The Living Room in DC Ranch is set up for lingering with friends: it pours from a wall of more than 200 wines, about 30 of them self-serve, beside its fire pits and heaters.
The options in detail
Buck & Rider - North Scottsdale
A seafood house whose back patio is literally named The Fire Pits: Adirondack chairs pulled around a massive stone fire pit, with cocktails, charbroiled oysters and ceviche brought out to you. The fish is flown in fresh daily, and the main dining room and front patio are the more conventional way to eat here. The fire pits belong to this North Scottsdale location only, which sits up near Mayo Boulevard rather than in Old Town, so it is a real drive from the tourist strip. Reservations seat you in the dining room or the heated patio, not the fire pits, so plan to walk in for those.
Olive & Ivy
A Mediterranean restaurant and marketplace on the Scottsdale Waterfront with one of the biggest patios in town, strung with lights under the trees along the canal. When the evening turns cool you can move to a seat around one of the fire pits or a standing heater and keep going. It draws a social, casual crowd rather than a hushed one, and it is a short walk from most of Old Town. The patio fills up fast, so call ahead and say you want to sit outside.
The House Brasserie
Set in what was the first house built in Old Town Scottsdale, this is chef Matt Carter's most romantic room: Victorian detail inside, candle-lit tables under shade trees out front. The patio's brick fireplace off to one side is the corner people ask for once the temperature drops. The kitchen cooks contemporary American with a French accent, and diners single out the service as much as the food. It is small and books up, and the fire is a fireplace rather than a ring of pits, so it suits a two-top better than a group.
il Bracco - Scottsdale
A Dallas transplant serving upscale Italian on the corner of Scottsdale Road and Rose Lane, right on the Paradise Valley line, with pasta, bread and desserts made in house daily. The covered patio is built around a stone fireplace and fitted with umbrellas and fans, which makes it usable in more months than most patios here. Inside is intimate booths, terrazzo and a marble bar. They deliberately hold back dining room and patio tables for walk-ins, so an empty reservation calendar is not the whole story.
Toca Madera - Scottsdale
A loud, design-forward Mexican steakhouse a block off Scottsdale Fashion Square, as known for its scene as for its food. The patio is the reason to come for fire: it seats about 60 under a retractable roof, with fire pit tables and heavy desert planting. The kitchen leans on sustainable and organic sourcing and keeps options for most dietary restrictions. Weekend nights run late with DJ energy, which is either the draw or the warning depending on what you came for.
ZuZu at Hotel Valley Ho
The restaurant inside a restored mid-century hotel a few blocks east of Old Town, serving brunch every day and a playful dinner menu in a bright retro room. The fire here is not open patio seating: Fireside Nights books the hotel's fire pit for you and up to seven friends, and you order food and drinks from ZuZu to go with it. That makes it the best pick on this list for a private group evening under the stars, and the wrong one if you want to walk up and grab a seat by a fire. The hotel is worth a wander either way.
The Living Room Wine Cafe & Lounge - DC Ranch
A wine bar and lounge in DC Ranch built around a wall of more than 200 wines, about 30 of which you pour yourself in tastings or full glasses. The food runs from sushi and steak to shareable plates and salads, and the patio has fire pits and heaters that keep it comfortable through the winter. It is set up for lingering with friends rather than a formal dinner. Note that its reservation listing has only a handful of diner ratings so far, so there is not yet a meaningful score to judge it by.
True Food Kitchen - Scottsdale Quarter
The health-minded restaurant developed with Dr. Andrew Weil, sitting in the Scottsdale Quarter shopping district, with a seasonal, vegetable-forward menu that still runs to grass-fed steak. Its wraparound patio has plush chairs pulled up to tables with fire pits, which is what turns it from a lunch spot into a cool-evening one. It is the most casual and least expensive option here, and the easiest to get into with kids. The view is the shopping quarter rather than the desert.
Talavera at Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale
The Four Seasons' signature steakhouse at Troon North, with a modern Spanish accent running through it: dry-aged beef, paella, jamon iberico and a wine list in the hundreds. The patio faces open Sonoran Desert and Pinnacle Peak, and a long narrow fireplace is lit each evening, so the room and the view do most of the work. This is the farthest north and the most special-occasion place on the list, roughly half an hour from Old Town. Go early enough to catch the sunset from outside.
Quill Creek - Grayhawk Golf Club
The clubhouse restaurant at Grayhawk Golf Club, open to anyone, not just golfers, with a Southwestern-leaning bistro menu. The patio looks over the Raptor course, a lake and the McDowell Mountains, and mixes regular tables with high-tops and lounge seating radiating out from a fireplace, plus fire pits ringed by Adirondack chairs at the edge. Sunset is the entire point of eating here. It carries far fewer reviews than the Old Town rooms on this list, which mostly reflects that it is a golf club first.
Outrider Rooftop Lounge
The seventh-floor rooftop of the Canopy by Hilton in Old Town, with 180-degree views across the neighborhood to Camelback Mountain. Fire pits, lounge seating and desert-inspired murals make it a sunset-and-after place; the kitchen sends out locally inspired small plates and shareable dishes rather than full entrees. Seating is booked in a rolling 30-day window for two-hour slots, and poolside cabanas can be reserved separately. Treat it as very good drinks with food attached rather than a dinner house.
How we researched this
Each restaurant is here because a page says in words what its fire is: its own site, its reservation listing, or a local guide. That kept out The Mission Old Town, which tops some fire-pit searches but whose readable listings point to an indoor fireplace, along with Dominick's Steakhouse and The Guest House Scottsdale, where no citable page mentions fire. Bars you would not go to for dinner (the Fire Garden at Talking Stick Resort, Thirsty Camel at The Phoenician, The Plaza Bar at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess) are out, as are El Chorro, LON's at the Hermosa Inn and others that sit in Paradise Valley or Fort McDowell rather than Scottsdale.
Price band, dress and diner rating come from each restaurant's reservation page. Buck & Rider and Outrider have no such listing, so those cells are empty. Talavera's price is empty because its listing says $30 and under, which is plainly wrong for the Four Seasons' signature steakhouse, and The Living Room's 4.8 rests on just two ratings, so it is withheld. The fireplaces at The House Brasserie and Talavera come from a local TV guide first published in 2016, so confirm the fire is part of the patio when you book.