Restaurants in Oro Valley

The chefs at Amarsi Ristorante handcraft every sauce on the menu, from the lemon-white-wine sauce that adds brightness to veal piccata to the classic marinara that preps meatballs to be shot through a cannon. The from-scratch condiments contribute to the traditional menu’s appeal, which was summed up in Tucson Weekly when the restaurant was described as “one of those places where I wish the company would spring for more than just two visits.” Servers–all of whom boast at least 20 years of industry experience–are happy to recommend pairings from Amarsi Ristorante’s ample wine list. As diners sup, their eyes can wander from crisp white tablecloths topped with fresh flowers and candles to views of the mountains outside.

Although botana means "snack” in Spanish, La Botana Grill specializes in full-grown Mexican meals. Starters of house-made tortilla chips come with freshly made salsas and chipotle bean dip. After this prelude come entrees of fresh shrimp and tilapia, grilled to perfection in the house-specialty dishes. Then there’s the cantina tacos, which pull together flavors from various regions throughout Mexico, and fusion plates such as the sonoran dog—a beast of a hot dog that comes wrapped in bacon and smothered with beans, chorizo, and heaping piles of condiments.

La Botana's hearty breakfast, lunch, and dinner dishes can be enjoyed al fresco on a patio lit by fiesta lights and a flat-screen TV that often broadcasts the latest Mexican soccer games. Live music sometimes rings out over the open space, a much better meal soundtrack than recordings of synchronized chewing.

Serial restaurateur Brian Metzger never lets success with his current restaurants stop him from making his next culinary dream a reality. The Abbey's intimate brick-and-stone dining room marks his second foray into comfortable fine dining. Along with executive chef Virginia “Ginny” Wooters, he drafts a menu full of contemporary comforts, such as their take on updated versions of gnocchi and pot pie. Their influence extends from the kitchen to the full bar, where mixologists whip up craft cocktails spiked with fresh, seasonal fruit juices.

Whether seated on the wrap-around patio or gazing out the windows of the dining room or bar, a rolling vista of foothills tumbles away before diners' eyes, often igniting memories of joyfully rolling down hills as a child or painfully falling down hills as an adult.

Surrounded by vistas of the rising foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains, the only view more impressive at Anthony’s in the Catalinas than the one from the window is its trophy wall. Among its accolades, Anthony’s counts the Award of Excellence from DiRoNA—the Distinguished Restaurants of North America—and the AAA Four Diamond Award. The restaurant has its chefs to thank for these awards, who tirelessly craft hand-made sausages, slice tender beef medallions, and roast duckling until its buttery and crispy. A pair of experienced sommeliers cultivate a collection of more than 1,700 wines from around the world, a feat which garnered the restaurant the Grand Award from Wine Spectator. The fine beverages reside in the restaurant's underground cellar, which customers can tour if they say one of the magic words “please” or “shazam.”

Lauded as "Tucson's most celebrated chef" by the New York Times, and the Best Chef in the Southwest by the James Beard Foundation, Chef Janos Wilder has been perfecting his craft for more than 40 years, as evidenced by the simple, elegant cuisine at his latest venture, DOWNTOWN Kitchen + Cocktails. After cooking his way through high school and college, Wilder's travels whisked him to the mountains of Colorado, where a three-year residency as a chef at a historic inn propelled him into a lifelong appreciation of locally sourced ingredients. Sojourning to Bordeaux, France in the early ’80s, Janos worked among Michelin Guide Award–winning chefs, where he learned firsthand about French cuisine and techniques.

Returning to the States on a mission to put to his French experiences to work, Janos landed in Tucson. Quickly realizing that the local gardens produced chilies, beans, and squash, he explored ingredients such as prickly-pear cacti, mesquite flour, and Wily Coyotes native to the Southwest landscape. In 1983, his first restaurant, Janos, opened its doors, and there, Wilder pioneered a menu that fused southwestern ingredients with classic French dishes. Today, DOWNTOWN Kitchen + Cocktails employs some of those same techniques, drawing from other regions such as Asia to craft fish tacos drizzled with rémoulade, dark-chocolate-and-jalapeño ice-cream sundaes, and a host of imaginative cocktails.