RFK Rankings · Scottsdale
Best Wine List Restaurants in Scottsdale 2026
Restaurant cellars & sommelier programs · Scottsdale · 6 lists ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 18, 2026 · Updated June 18, 2026 · Reviewed by Fredrik Filipsson, Editor-in-Chief · How we rank · Corrections
Scottsdale's wine scene runs on a split personality. Camelback Road keeps a row of trophy steakhouse cellars deep in California cabernet, the kind of lists Wine Spectator decorates every year. A few miles away in Old Town, a small kitchen built one of the first all-Arizona wine lists in the country and made the case that the state's own high-desert vineyards belong on a serious table. The best rooms here cover both instincts. Here is who each table suits, what to expect walking in, and how to book it. Six, ranked on cellar depth, Arizona-producer breadth and value rather than labels alone.
1.FnB
Start here to drink Arizona: Pavle Milic's all-state list and Charleen Badman's vegetables make the most distinctive wine table in town.
FnB opened on a side street in Old Town Scottsdale in 2009, built on chef Charleen Badman's relationships with Arizona farmers and partner Pavle Milic's commitment to the state's winemakers. Badman, who won the James Beard Award for Best Chef Southwest in 2019, cooks a vegetable-forward menu, and the all-Arizona wine list, one of the first in the country, has been a James Beard nominee for Outstanding Beverage Program. Milic produces his own label, Los Milics, poured here in small batches. Prices sit below the steakhouse rooms. This is the table for a drinker who wants to understand Arizona wine in one sitting. Ask Milic's floor to build a flight of high-desert bottles.
Book on the FnB site; ask for an all-Arizona flight across the menu.
2.Mastro's City Hall Steakhouse
Reserve a corner booth for the Camelback steakhouse night: a Best of Award of Excellence cellar behind bone-in ribeye and butter cake.
Mastro's City Hall Steakhouse sits on Camelback Road in the middle of the Scottsdale dining strip, the see-and-be-seen room of the local steakhouse scene. Wine Spectator holds its list at the Best of Award of Excellence level, deep in California cabernet and Napa cult bottles chosen to stand up to the kitchen's prime, butter-finished steaks. The signature bone-in ribeye and the warm butter cake are the order, and the live piano keeps the room loud and celebratory. Expect a top-end spend before wine. This is the table for a big, glossy night out with a Napa red. Reserve a corner booth and name a cabernet budget for the floor.
Book on the Mastro's site; reserve a booth and let the floor pick a Napa cabernet.
3.Bourbon Steak
Go for a resort wine dinner at the Princess: Michael Mina's steakhouse pairs an awarded cellar with duck-fat fries and butter-poached beef.
Bourbon Steak occupies a polished room inside the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess in north Scottsdale, Michael Mina's take on the modern steakhouse. The kitchen butter-poaches its beef before finishing it over wood, and the meal opens with a trio of duck-fat fries. Wine Spectator recognizes the cellar, a broad California-and-France list built for a resort crowd and a celebration bottle. The setting, off the Princess's fountain courtyard, makes it the destination-dinner pick for anyone staying in the resort corridor. Expect a top-end spend. This is the table for a special-occasion night away from Old Town. Reserve ahead in season and ask the sommelier for a by-the-glass progression.
Book on the Bourbon Steak site; ask for a by-the-glass progression with the beef.
4.J&G Steakhouse
Take a terrace table at The Phoenician for Jean-Georges steak and an awarded list, with the city lights below at sunset.
J&G Steakhouse anchors The Phoenician resort on the slopes of Camelback Mountain, Jean-Georges Vongerichten's steakhouse with one of the best terraces in the valley. The kitchen runs prime steaks alongside the chef's signature lighter touches, and the wine list carries Wine Spectator recognition, broad across California and France with the depth a resort cellar demands. The terrace, looking out over the lights of Phoenix, is the reason to book in the cooler months. Expect an upper-end spend. This is the table for a sunset wine dinner with a view and a serious bottle. Reserve the terrace ahead and time it for the light over the valley.
Book on The Phoenician site; request the terrace and an earlier seating for sunset.
5.Cafe Monarch
Choose it for a romantic Old Town tasting menu, where a courtyard and an awarded list make the quiet special-occasion table.
Cafe Monarch sits on a quiet Old Town Scottsdale street behind a string-lit courtyard, a small room serving a changing four-course prix fixe. Wine Spectator recognizes its list, and the floor pairs each course, leaning on California and European bottles chosen to suit the seasonal menu. The intimate, candlelit setting makes it the city's go-to for an anniversary or a proposal rather than a loud night out. The set menu sits in the upper range with a pairing option. This is the table for a couple who want a calm, wine-paired evening. Book the courtyard in the cooler months and take the wine pairing.
Book on the Cafe Monarch site; reserve the courtyard and take the pairing.
6.Maple & Ash
Pencil it in for a loud, late steakhouse night, where a deep cellar and a wood-fired tomahawk anchor the party.
Maple & Ash brought its Chicago steakhouse to Old Town Scottsdale with the same high-volume energy, a wood-fired kitchen and a serious wine program. The cellar runs deep across California cabernet and Italian reds, with a long by-the-glass list and a sommelier team that pushes bigger bottles for the table. The signature is the wood-fired tomahawk, served in a room that turns into a party as the night goes on. Expect a top-end spend. This is the table for a celebratory group that wants volume, a big steak and a bigger bottle. Reserve a late seating and let the sommelier open something Italian.
Book on the Maple and Ash site; reserve a late table and ask for an Italian red.
Avoid for a wine night
A pool party, not a cellar
The dayclub and rooftop pool scenes off Scottsdale Road and along the Entertainment District pour bottle service and frozen cocktails, not a list worth a wine dinner. Keep them for the afternoon and book FnB or Mastro's when the wine is the point.
A great margarita, not a wine list
Old Town's celebrated agave rooms and Sonoran patios are some of the best in the state, but their reach is tequila and mezcal, not wine. Drink the margarita on the patio, then move to Cafe Monarch or J and G when you want a bottle.
How to drink well in Scottsdale
Scottsdale's wine night divides by neighborhood. The Camelback Road steakhouses, Mastro's and the resort rooms at the Princess and The Phoenician, are the deep California cellars, and the move is to book ahead, name a cabernet budget and let the sommelier open something with age. The resort tables, J and G and Bourbon Steak, are best in the cooler months when the terraces open, so reserve an earlier seating for the light. Expect a top-end spend once the bottle lands.
For something only Scottsdale offers, Old Town is the answer. FnB is the all-Arizona list, the one table in town built to introduce the state's high-desert wine, and the order is to ask Pavle Milic's floor to pour a flight. Cafe Monarch is the quiet, paired tasting menu for a romantic night, and Maple and Ash is the loud, late party with a deep cellar. Across all of them, the Arizona summer means the patios close by day, so book the evening and let the floor steer toward a bottle that suits the heat.
Frequently asked
Which Scottsdale restaurant has the best wine list?
It depends on what you want to drink. For Arizona wine, FnB in Old Town keeps the most distinctive list in the state, an all-Arizona program that has been a James Beard nominee for Outstanding Beverage Program. For a deep California cellar, Mastro's City Hall Steakhouse on Camelback Road carries Wine Spectator's Best of Award of Excellence. The resort steakhouses at The Phoenician and the Fairmont Princess round out the serious cellars. Book ahead and tell the sommelier your budget.
Where can I drink Arizona wine in Scottsdale?
FnB is the answer. Pavle Milic built one of the first all-Arizona wine lists in the country there, pouring high-desert bottles from the Verde Valley, Willcox and Sonoita alongside his own Los Milics label. The floor will happily build a flight to walk you through the state's grapes, from picpoul to malvasia to bigger reds. It is the one Scottsdale table designed to introduce Arizona wine, and the food, Charleen Badman's vegetables, is built to match.
How much should I budget for wine in Scottsdale?
At the Camelback and resort steakhouses a serious California cabernet runs well into the hundreds, and Mastro's and the Princess rooms sit at the top end. The value lies at FnB, where Arizona bottles offer the best quality for the price, and in the by-the-glass and pairing programs at Cafe Monarch. Set a budget with the sommelier and let them find a bottle inside it; an Arizona list rewards curiosity more than a big spend.
Do these Scottsdale wine restaurants have patios?
Several do, and they are the reason to book in the cooler months. J and G Steakhouse at The Phoenician and Cafe Monarch's courtyard in Old Town are the standouts for outdoor wine dinners, and Bourbon Steak opens onto the Fairmont Princess's fountain courtyard. The Arizona summer closes the patios by day, so reserve an evening table from October through April and aim for an earlier seating to catch the sunset.
Do you need a reservation for Scottsdale's wine restaurants?
Yes for all of them, and well ahead in the high season from January through April when the snowbirds fill the valley. FnB, Mastro's, Bourbon Steak, J and G Steakhouse, Cafe Monarch and Maple and Ash all run on reservations, and the patio and terrace tables go first. Book a week or more out, and for Cafe Monarch's small courtyard or a special-occasion table, reserve as early as you can.
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