Best Team Dinner Restaurants in Tempe 2026
Published · Updated
The 2026 team-dinner pick in Tempe is Filthy Animal. Editorial runners-up: Ghost Ranch, Cocina Chiwas, Lucero, Skysill Rooftop, Electric Pickle.
Six rooms inside Tempe's two square miles. Every one holds a working group. A wood-fire steakhouse on Mill Avenue, two rooftops over ASU, and a James Beard kitchen on Apache. Pick by the size of the team and the size of the bill.
Six Tempe Tables for a Team Dinner
Seven-forty South Mill Avenue, at Mill and University downtown. Pretty Decent Concepts opened it in April 2025 around a central wood-fire pit. The bone-in ribeye runs $160; corner booths give a team the separation to talk. A hidden bar, Drop Dead Gorgeous, sits behind it. Dinner $80 to $200. The most dramatic room in Tempe for a celebratory team night.
Modern Southwest cooking at 1006 East Warner Road from the Backbar Hospitality group, open since 2018 and under new ownership in 2026. The larger-than-life enchilada platter and the cowboy steak feed a table; banquettes seat eight to twelve. Dinner $50 to $120. The sharing-plate room for a group that wants a predictable bill.
Chihuahuan wood-fire cooking from chef-owners Armando Hernandez and Nadia Holguin at 2001 East Apache Boulevard, in the Culdesac development since 2023. Holguin is a James Beard Best Chef Southwest semifinalist. The whole branzino asado is $65. Dinner $50 to $100. Tuesday to Saturday only. The most decorated kitchen here, best for a smaller, sharper team dinner.
Eleventh-floor rooftop at the Omni Tempe Hotel at ASU, 7 East University Drive. Chef de cuisine Cesar Ruiz runs shareable global plates; the chilled lobster and the Moroccan lamb empanadas circle the table. Open since April 2023, new menu for 2026. Dinner $60 to $110. The hotel-address room that impresses a visiting team.
Eighteenth floor of The Westin Tempe at 11 East 7th Street, the highest open-air rooftop in the Valley. Named Phoenix New Times Best Rooftop Bar in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Shareable plates, an artichoke flatbread, carne asada tacos, and a private-events team for a larger group. Dinner $30 to $55. The view-first table for a casual team night.
Eighty-six-eighty-eight South Emerald Drive, near I-10 and Warner. A two-story room opened in January 2025 with nine pickleball courts, golf sims and live music. The kitchen books separately from the courts; global comfort plates and pitchers for a crowd. Dinner $30 to $55. The team-cohesion pick when the group wants to do something, not just eat.
How to Book
Book Filthy Animal one to two weeks ahead for a downtown weekend, and reserve Cocina Chiwas early, since it opens Tuesday to Saturday only. Lucero and Skysill seat a group on the rooftops with notice. Electric Pickle books the restaurant floor apart from the courts.
7pm downtown, earlier on the rooftops to catch the sunset over the Valley. Ask Skysill about its private-events space and Electric Pickle about a court-plus-dinner block for the team. Filthy Animal's corner booths give a working group the quietest seats in the room.
Frequently Asked Questions
The 2026 editorial pick is Filthy Animal at 740 South Mill Avenue, a wood-fire steakhouse that opened in April 2025 with corner booths that give a group room to talk and a bone-in ribeye at $160. For a sharing-plate team table with a predictable bill, Ghost Ranch on Warner Road seats eight to twelve in a banquette.
Skysill Rooftop on the 18th floor of The Westin Tempe runs a dedicated private-events program for larger parties, and Electric Pickle books its restaurant floor separately from its nine pickleball courts. Lucero, the rooftop at the Omni Tempe Hotel at ASU, seats a group over shareable global plates. All three handle a team without a fixed tasting menu.
Cocina Chiwas has the most decorated kitchen in Tempe: chef-owner Nadia Holguin is a James Beard Best Chef Southwest semifinalist, cooking Chihuahuan wood-fire plates at 2001 East Apache Boulevard. The whole branzino asado is $65. Note the hours, Tuesday to Saturday only, so plan a midweek or Saturday team dinner around them.
A team dinner runs highest at Filthy Animal, $80 to $200 a head with steak, and at Lucero, $60 to $110 on the rooftop. Ghost Ranch and Cocina Chiwas sit at $50 to $120, while Skysill and Electric Pickle land at $30 to $55. Drinks push every figure higher, especially on the rooftops.