Until a few years ago, the best thing to eat at Gilbert’s Center was the vanilla ice cream at the local Dairy Queen.
The Heritage District has come a long way since its days as a rural farming community, as described by Jessica Boehm in a piece of Arizona Republic history. And with the help of some far-sighted restaurants like Joe Johnston’s Joe Johnston and Postino’s Craig de Marco in the early 2010’s, the neighborhood has become a stir-fry. Strip with about three dozen stylish bars and restaurants.
Only a few historic farming structures remain, and now part of Gilbert Road between Elliott Road and Juniper Avenue is a magnet for popular Valley restaurants such as Clever Koi, Barrio Queen, Culinary Dropout and Postino’s satellite locations. A few miles away, Gilbert is also planning an exciting mixed-use app called Epicenter, which will soon open its doors in Egretopia, where more cowardly Phoenix restaurants and bars plan to open new outposts.
I can’t lie, I like blizzards from time to time, but if you’re in the mood for something special, my favorite local bars and restaurants are not chains and they are not other places. My top 10 are all Gilbert originals.
This is where food, like the food critic, is at the center of Gilbert.
Galapagos Coffee Shop
Just a few blocks from the main city drag, this intimate coffee shop offers a glimpse of Ecuador’s coffee culture. In addition to a small menu of coffees, owner Alexandra Moran offers traditional Ecuadorian pastries such as alfajurus cookies and pan de yuka, which is a delicious cheese made from cassava flour. So I checked it out for the first time, but I went back to Moran’s friendly service and warm welcome.
Details: 7 E. Palo Verde St., Suite 7, Gilbert. 480-560-4162, galapagoscoffeeshop.weebly.com.
Farmhouse Restaurant
It’s as close as you’ll get to a country dinner in the Phoenix area, so I can see why this homemade breakfast joint was packed during a recent visit. Originally housed inside a real farmhouse, the women-owned restaurant moved to the 1918 building in 2001 and has been serving a large menu of omelettes and homemade cinnamon rolls ever since. I found my omelette loaded with bacon, sausage, green chili and sour cream ($ 14.25). Hearty food, well prepared.
Details: 228 N. Gilbert Road, Gilbert. 480-926-0676, farmhouseofgilbert.com.
Liberty Market
Gilbert Restaurant Joe Johnston’s Contemporary Dinner in the 1935 building right next to the farmhouse. Like its neighbor, it also makes a light animal of cinnamon roll. But Liberty Market is open for breakfast and lunch. And Dinner and its other restaurants, such as Jose Farm Grill and Jose Real BBQ across the street, have something on the accessible menu for everyone.
Details: 230 N. Gilbert Road, Gilbert. 480-892-1900, libertymarket.com.
Burji’s Coffee Roast House
I visit Bargi more than any other place on this list, and it’s not just because I like locally baked coffee. When the weather cools down, I can spend hours sitting on the weird garden courtyard looking at this little cottage that doubles like a coffee shop. The building was home to the Claire family until the 1960’s and now hosts a small caf انتظام under the Bridginsons. Their cool blend is strong and always comes in handy.
Details: 309 N. Gilbert Road, Gilbert. 480-497-3913, bergiescoffee.com.
Topo
When I’m in the city center, I always try to hit the walk-up barretto stand attached to a 7-foot-tall statue of a gopher. The roadside attraction is a sister place for Joe’s Real BBQ and serves only two burritos, a cup of Elliott and a soft-served ice cream with vanilla and prickly pear. I usually go with the Topo Loco burrito (8.50), which includes Fritos Corn Chips and Lotta Sauce stuff, which includes juicy powdered pork, creamy elute corn dip and a soft dulp of refrigerated beans. ۔ It’s not classic Mexican food, but somehow, it works.
Details: 301 N. Gilbert Road, Building 2, Gilbert. topoarizona.com
Romeo Euro Cafe
This old school Mediterranean restaurant has been around the Eastern Valley for over 30 years. It moved from the Festa Mall area of Central Mesa to its decorated Gilbert location in 2004. The first thing you see when you walk in are all the gift shop dockies and pastry cases, filled with different chocolate cakes and canola. . Romeo is a Valley Mini that works hard on pita sandwiches, but there’s still room for a creamy tartelini “calypso” with shrimp, red pepper and asparagus ($ 24).
Details: 207 N. Gilbert Road, Suite 105, Gilbert. 480-962-4224, eurocafe.com.
Bangkok Cafe
Not technically in the city of Gilbert, but so good that I had to put it on the list. Cafe de Bangkok is a fabulous Thai restaurant in an old strip mall down the street. Before the new owners took over in 2019, the place was called Mint Thai Cafe and was considered one of the best Thai places in the valley (by me). The menu on a recent trip was as exciting as my childhood memories, especially when Thai Fried Rice came out on a shiny cheese bed in a cast iron skeleton ($ 14.95).
Details: 1111 N. Gilbert Road, Suite 101-103. 480-497-5366, cafedebangkokgilbert.com.
Sotol Modern Cocktail Kitchens
Named after the famous Ague Spirits of northern Mexico, Sotol is a modern Mexican restaurant with rooftop views and a very experimental cocktail menu. In a recent guide, former Nightlife reporter Tyrone Morris recommends ordering a Tequila-based Forbidden Dance with Mango ($ 17). “It’s a drink that treats mangoes like a smoothie or milk shake, highlighting the sweetness and softness of the fruit,” he wrote.
Details: 313 N. Gilbert Road, Suite 301, Gilbert. 480-550-6300, sotolmck.com.
Sotol Guide: This bar has a cowardly entrance and killer views.
Gypsy cup
New to the bar, this boho chic coffee and cocktail house has an interesting menu of bar snacks, such as devil’s eggs with feta and zatar spice mix and small ribs with espresso copper glaze. The cocktail menu is equally aesthetically pleasing with Tequila-based espresso martini and strawberry kisses ($ 15) with prosciutto and cold berry infused smoke.
Details: 50 W. Vaughn Ave., Suite 107. gypsycup.com.
White rabbit
Modern Speaks are still a thing of the past in the city center of Gilbert, where you have to enter the password at the door to enter The White Rabbit, a forbidden themed basement bar. (Don’t worry, you can sign up for a password on their website, or, as I did, badger the bouncer until they give you one.) You will find a menu of “swishers”, tiki drinks and entertainment. Numbers like Snakes in Eden ($ 15) are made from alder berry green tea with gin, green apples and butterfly peas.
Details: 207 Ann Gilbert Road, Gilbert. twr.bar
Reach out to reporter Andy Berlin at [email protected] Follow her on Facebook @andiberlin, Instagram @andiberlin or Twitter. andiberlin.
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