Scottsdale's Fall Dining Lineup: Vecina, Kuza, Dash and General Admission
A James Beard semifinalist moves into McCormick Ranch, a robata grill lights up North Scottsdale, and two more openings land before the holidays.
Patio season is back, and Scottsdale’s restaurant owners timed their openings to match. Two new dining rooms opened in September, a third arrives in November, and a Los Angeles sports gastropub plans to take over one of Old Town’s best-known corners before the year ends.
Two of the four sit on Hayden Road in McCormick Ranch, a neighborhood better known for lakes and greenbelts than for chef-driven restaurants. Vecina and Dash give McCormick Ranch residents two new reasons to eat close to home.
Vecina: an Arcadia favorite finds a lake view
James and Raenee Fox opened Vecina on 56th Street in Arcadia in 2019. The husband-and-wife team earned a James Beard Award semifinalist nod for Best New Restaurant in 2020, and Phoenix New Times named it the year’s best new restaurant.
Their second location opened in September at 8300 N. Hayden Road, Suite D-101, in McCormick Ranch. The new room runs about three times the size of the original. You get two oversized community tables, a private dining room, a glass-walled wine room, a mural by artist Tato Caraveo and a patio on the lake.
The Arcadia menu travels well. Expect the Peruvian-style hamachi crudo, carnitas empanadas, elote and a 16-ounce carne asada ribeye. Beverage director Sloane Van Zanen runs the cocktail program. Vecina serves dinner for now, and chef James Fox plans to add lunch in the coming months, with brunch and happy hour on the roadmap.
“It kind of feels like Arcadia,” Fox told Phoenix New Times about the neighborhood.
Kuza: live fire and a raw bar in North Scottsdale
Clive Collective opened Kuza in mid-September in the former Chauncey Social space near Scottsdale Road and Loop 101. It is the group’s sixth restaurant.
Executive chef Erik Davila builds the menu around a robata grill and a raw bar. Order the chutoro tataki, the A5 wagyu tartare or the spicy tuna crispy rice to start. From the grill, look for chicken negima, New Caledonia prawns and Spanish octopus. Big tables can split the 40-ounce prime porterhouse. Save room for the matcha nameraka pudding or the sudachi lime tart.
The bar pours sake, Japanese beers and cocktails with names like the Lychee Collins and the Shikoku Margarita. Kuza opens for dinner Wednesday through Sunday, from 5 to 10 p.m., and stays open until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Dash: Matt Carter goes all-day
Chef Matt Carter and business partner Brian Raab run The Mission, Fat Ox and Zinc Bistro. In November they open Dash, a cafe and market at Suite 101, 9619 N. Hayden Road, near Hayden and Mountain View roads.
Dash covers the whole day. Mornings bring coffee and croissants. Lunch means sandwiches, salads and Roman-style pizza. At dinner, Carter turns to Portuguese-style chargrilled chicken with charcoal-roasted potatoes. There is soft serve, and a market case stocks prepared foods from the group’s other restaurants. Chef Lisa Graf worked with Carter on the menu. You can dine in, order online or grab it curbside.
Raab called Dash the group’s most approachable concept yet. “Dash is the ultimate neighborhood hang to grab a morning coffee, catch up over lunch or share a bottle of wine at sunset and then take one home with you,” he said in a press release.
General Admission: game day on Scottsdale Road
Brothers Kamran and Kourosh Pourkazemi plan to open General Admission this fall at 3737 N. Scottsdale Road. RnR Gastropub held the address for 15 years before it closed in June 2025. The two-story building dates to 1967 and carries a rare two-level patio facing Scottsdale Road.
General Admission already runs a Los Angeles location and a Las Vegas flagship at the UnCommons development. The Vegas room seats 180 and hangs more than 30 televisions. Its menu mixes wings, sushi, smashburgers, steak and seafood with margaritas, wine and beer. The brothers have not released a Scottsdale menu or an opening date yet.
Opening dates shift. Call ahead or check each restaurant’s website and social accounts before you go, and send us the openings we missed at our tips page.