Restaurants in Scottsdale with fire pits

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.