La Esquina serves cuisine one might expect from a traditional south side taqueria, but in a festive environment with a full bar and fun Mexican cocktails. While the restaurant offers classics such as tripas and cabeza tacos, don’t miss out on its satisfyingly crunchy pork belly. On the veggie side, try the jamaica (hibiscus petal) tacos.

This Caribbean and soul food restaurant features classics such as jerk chicken and fried catfish. With rotating weekly specials, visit on Saturdays for unctuous oxtail stew and curry goat. Lastly, get the banana pudding for desert.

Zio Peppe offers chef Devon Sanner’s playful take on Italian cuisine with Sonoran influences in a fast-casual environment. The local mindedness comes through with mesquite flour in the pizza dough and toppings such as pickled cholla cactus buds. Start with the habit-forming elote arancini, then move onto the pizza and pasta.

With an impressively wide menu of Italian dishes, Locale stands out with its bakery and hearty Roman pizza by-the-slice. Don’t miss out on the cherry tartuffo, evocative of Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia. Furthermore, Locale features a spacious private courtyard patio.

As both a neighborhood market and restaurant, Flora’s offers a wide range of cuisine throughout the entire day. Mornings feature cafe and brunch options such as sandwiches and hearty grain and salad bowls. At night, the restaurant transforms into something classier with a full bar, charcuterie, pasta, and oysters on the rocks. Wood-fired pizza is also available throughout the day.

Previously Epic Cafe, this Fourth Avenue spot still features a welcoming neighborhood vibe with breakfast staples, sandwiches, and pastries. However, it has gained traction with vegans thanks to options such as soyrizo biscuits and gravy.

This lounge has quietly garnered a local following within the hospitality industry. The menu features tongue-in-cheek options such as the frozen date shake cocktail and wagyu franks with caramelized kimchi and rum barbecue sauce. The prominent red lighting helps accentuate the fact that this is one of Tucson’s few eateries open until 2 a.m. daily.

A collaboration between James Beard Award nominees Carlotta Flores and Don Guerra, Barrio Charro utilizes Barrio Grains’s white Sonoran wheat with a Mexican perspective. While burritos and tacos typically grab the spotlight in Tucson’s Mexican food scene, this restaurant showcases Mexican sandwiches with a wide variety of tortas and planos. Diners can also grab-and-go with the exemplary bread and Mexican pastries.

Much like the original downtown location, this new northwest location is packed to the brim on Friday nights. However, the restaurant also keeps its calm, relaxed vibes with fresh pastas and pizzas. Classics include the radiatori cacio e pepe and the Yukon gold potato pizza with mozzarella, roasted garlic, rosemary, and pecorino. The contemporary, elegant environment also make it an ideal date spot.

Another wildly successful Tucson restaurant expanding with a second location in the northwest side, Noodleholics serves fresh Chinese wheat noodles. While the original location has more of a Hong Kong chic feel, this spot exudes a little more warmth with a giant noodle mural. Make any meal superb with any of the noodle dishes, an order of chili oil-laced chaoshou dumplings, and a side of refreshing smashed garlic cucumbers.

Gabe Ceniceros’s former funky food cart recently transitioned into a brick-and-mortar restaurant. However, the spot retained its Sonoran street food feel with takes on hot dogs, quesadillas, and cheese shell tacos. The most popular item, the Elotero hot dog, is topped with fire-roasted corn, chipotle lime sauce, cotija cheese, and a dusting of garlic sriracha spice.