Sedona

[Poppy]

Heading to Sedona and looking for suggestion for places to eat—moderately priced . Traveling with 2 grandsons (13& 15) so we do not need real high end places. We are from the northeast, so something with the southwestern flare would be perfect. All suggestion appreciated

 

[silentg]

We just came back from Sedona. We took a tour of Sedona trip because we weren’t ever there before.
It was great and they gave us coupons for 15% off at 3 restaurants nearby. There are so many places in the area . We enjoyed Nick’s, and we tried a few other places. The Coffee Pot, is good too, but always crowded. Best to get there early in the morning. I wrote a review, we stayed at Sedona Springs Resort. Also took a trip to Grand Canyon. Have a great time!

 

[SmithOp]

We like Javelina Cantina for reasonable SW Mexican food, cheaper than Elote but just as good IMO.

Canyon Breeze in old town has a great deck with views for lunch time comfort food, pizza, burgers, salads. Stroll through the shops afterwards, dont miss the trading post at the edge of town.

Wildflower is good for breakfast at Pinon Point, not as crowded as Coffee Pot. Sound Bites at PP is nice for dinner and live music for couples if you can ditch the kids. We did a wine tasting event there that was fun, filled up on the appetizer specials.

 

[Luanne]

+1 on the Coffee Pot. We've only had breakfast there.

 

[zentraveler]

+1 on Wildflower. Great soups, salads, breakfast food. I think I remember outside seating. Casual; you order at a register, take a number and go to a table and they bring your food. Casual atmosphere and prices.

 

[needvaca]

My kids love Javelina Cantina

 

[DAman]

The Hudson is a good place too. But not southwestern.

The Coffee Pot is too popular for me unless I go very early.

Wildflower is a great spot too. I don’t think they make bread at the Sedona location now. I miss buying the baguettes which were not available when I was there in early April.

I really like Elote Cafe. And the new location and reservations makes it even better.

Tortas de Fuego was good for inexpensive take out. It’s too crowed to eat inside.

Pisa Lisa was good for take out pizzas too.

 

[clifffaith]

Family pizza & spaghetti joint -- Pago's in Oak Creek (about 8 minutes outside Sedona). Same Castle Rock Plaza has Desert Flour Bakery which has excellent pastries. We hit both every year, and in fact were going to stay in the Diamond timeshare in that area for the first time (Bell Rock Inn) because it took fewer points than our usual Los Abrigados or Sedona Summit last year until covid cancelled our plans.

 

[Fried_shrimp]

Heading to Sedona and looking for suggestion for places to eat—moderately priced . Traveling with 2 grandsons (13& 15) so we do not need real high end places. We are from the northeast, so something with the southwestern flare would be perfect. All suggestion appreciated

I would suggest the Cowboy Club on the main drag. Awesome bison steaks and burgers and the wife love's their Prickly Pear Margaritas. You can also try their fried Rattlesnake!

 

[Snazzylass]

Cowboy Club for sure! It's the only place that has that local vibe, like the peach cobbler if you know Sedona history and fried cactus. And, the Coffee Pot is really good if you like breakfast food. Piccaso's Pizza is good.
Hope you have a wonderful trip!

 

[klpca]

Picazzo's was excellent when we were there and the Coffee Pot was pretty good too. We also met friends at Javelina Cantina. Any of the three were good.

 

[dougp26364]

I’ll agree with Wildflower, although it has a feeling similar to Panera Bread IMO.

I’ll agree to disagree on The Cowboy Club having a locals vibe. To me it’s a tourist trap restaurant, but it does have good food, fun atmosphere and good service. With the grand kids it’d be a good place to eat.

We enjoyed Creekside and eating outside in their deck. It might be a little on the upscale side however. I didn’t recall it being expensive, but it’s definitely not a pizza and burger joint.

Javelina Cantina is good and we’ve eaten there nearly every time we’ve been to Sedona, but there not all that and a bag of chips either. Good food, reasonable prices, good service and most importantly of all, they’ve been consistent. For us it’s more of a “safe” place for a good meal bs something that’s exceptional.

 

[dmbrand]

We spent a week in Sedona this past February. I will also recommend Javelina Cantina. If you are staying in the western side of Sedona, give Fiesta Mexicana a look. We could walk to it from Villas of Sedona, the meals were delicious, and they were reasonably priced.

 

[PrairieGirl]

+1 for Pisa Lisa, and not just for Pizzas! Fun atmosphere (but not SW) and you get D&D quality food without the price.

 

[PamMo]

Pisa Lisa in West Sedona and Rotten Johnny's in Oak Creek for local pizzas
Creekside for a great lunch
Mesa Grill at the airport for a wonderfully scenic Happy Hour with kids
Oak Creek Brewery & Grill in Tlaquepaque for good burgers and sandwiches, plus interesting shops to wander through
Cream and Cake Couture across the street from Tlaquepaque for some sweet treats - our kids love the cupcakes that look like cactus!

 

[easyrider]

Sound Bites is a pretty nice restaurant with great views and live music.

Bill

 

[nightnurse613]

For cheap, strip mall food we go to Cafe Jose. Javelina Cantina can be fun. The Cowboy Club is always crowded (consider reservations in advance) and may be a little too exotic for 13/15 year olds. In my opinion, the Coffee Pot is a must do. Yes, it's crowded and the parking is terrible-we park across the street-but it's the only breakfast place for us (unless we're into McDonald's or Jack In the Box). Depending on where we are staying, the huevos rancheros at Cafe Jose are edible, too. There used to be a great little sandwich shop just up the street from the Cowboy Club but I don't remember the name and haven't been there since the pandemic began...

 

[Deb from NC]

We like the Coffee Pot for breakfast too. Also Mesa Grill at the airport...good food and great views!

 

[jerseyfinn]

Pisa Lisa in West Sedona and Rotten Johnny's in Oak Creek for local pizzas
Creekside for a great lunch
Mesa Grill at the airport for a wonderfully scenic Happy Hour with kids
Oak Creek Brewery & Grill in Tlaquepaque for good burgers and sandwiches, plus interesting shops to wander through
Cream and Cake Couture across the street from Tlaquepaque for some sweet treats - our kids love the cupcakes that look like cactus!

We live in Sedona. PamMo's list hits some of the nice food venues to consider. Things will be a bit pricy at times but Sedona indeed back in business.

Cafe Jose (in Safeway pkg lot ) has simple BF and food fare. I'd also suggest Mileys down the 179 in Village of Oak Creek (VOC) where we live. BF/lunch.; Mileys a nice Mexican BF/lunch menu with other usual things. Pisa Lisa and Rotten Johnnys both offer elevated pizza choices and other good food fare. Seating at both is limited whilst Johnnys has more outside tables. Mileys has lots of outdoor seating. You don't need to spend big $$ for a nice meal, but lots of $$$ places exist.

The BIG caveat is to realize that lots of folks are busting loose from lockdowns & anxious to visit, so things here will be crowded and hectic at times. Uptown Sedona will have parking issues and trail head parking fills up fast. Folks have been abusing some trails with trash as well as dog/human feces. Weekends will be especially frenetic. Tourist trolley can take you to some of the trails if trailheads parking are full.

If you're arriving from PHX and the south via I-17 to the 179, be sure to stop at the ranger station just outside of VOC to get maps and information about trails and lots of other Sedona things.

Folks wanting to go to Slide Rock State Park need to get there early as crowds flock quickly.

Here in Northern AZ, masks are coming off as we've skirted past the bad times. Some shops/venues are maskless so realize that folks here don't want to engage in mask arguments. Feel free to mask up sans being judged. But realize that AZ is moving on from Covid.

Things have been packed all week here as Memorial Day builds up. Ordinarily, I'd expect things to settle down by late June when pizza oven temperatures arrive here. No idea if tourist numbers/congestion continues across the hot summer.

Final thought for anyone is to realize we're around 4500ft elevation with very low humidity . . . dehydration is a reality with the 90F days so hydration is important even when you feel no need. Sea level folks need 2 days to fully altitude acclimate and lots of folks feel the difference but ignore it (we originally came from sea level NJ and experience it. Enjoy the trails but keep in mind that dehydration can sneak up on folks who don't walk/exercise very much. We're in our 7th decade and wife and I can feel when we need to hydrate as we Boomers need to stay aware.

Travel safe and enjoy the red rocks

 

[PamMo]

jerseyfinn has given excellent advice! Sedona has always attracted visitors, but it's popularity has grown exponentially since Covid. The traffic can be absolutely maddening, especially on weekends! Our kids and grandkids initially took their time getting organized in the morning, and had to change plans due to dead stop traffic on 179 and no parking at the trailheads. They quickly adjusted to getting up and out early!

If you want to hike the trails, it's best to get out very early in the morning to find a parking space and avoid the heat of the day - and bring plenty of water. I highly recommend a Camelbak-type of backpack, filled up with ice and water for the trails. Or pack frozen bottles of water in your backpack. We're usually off the trails by 10am in the summer. Enjoy shopping the galleries, take a 4WD back country tour, visit Native American ruins and learn some history of the area, cool off in your resort pools, visit the wineries, tour open houses and dream about living there, etc. in the heat of the afternoons.

Also, if you're 62+ and visit National Parks and Monuments, I highly recommend buying a Lifetime Senior Pass to the National Parks for $80 at the ranger station. You do NOT need to buy a Red Rock Pass if you have the National Parks Pass. Ask for a hang tag for your park pass at the ranger station, as you'll have to leave it in view for parking at most trail heads around Sedona.

 

[HikerBiker]

You have lots of great suggestions and thought I would reinforce some of them. We have been going to Sedona during Feb./March for the past 20 plus years to hike. If you plan on hiking, as others have suggested, go early, very early. We were there in March this year and skipped some of our favorite hikes due to parking. However, we did think of a place where parking was always available: turn by the light on Route 89a by Yavapi College (Summit resort, Marriott, and high school all right in that area). Continue past the college and parking is plentiful. There are several large lots as many new trails (both for biking and hiking) are there. We also walk across the road and by and across from the high school are more trails. Keeping your grandsons in mind, and a moderate budget, I would also recommend Rotten Johnny’s, Javelina Cantina, and Wildflower. Also, nightnurse613 mentioned “ a great little sandwich shop” and I think that is “Sedona Memories Bakery and Cafe.” We love that place! Homemade bread huge, delicious sandwiches, and very reasonably priced; get there early if you have a favorite sandwich. My husband and I split a sandwich. We also really like Picazzo’s and Mesa Grille but their prices aren’t quite as reasonable. Cottonwood also has many fast food places, reasonably priced restaurants, and an easy drive. Sorry, I don’t remember specific names of restaurants there. We love Sedona and the surrounding areas. Have a wonderful time and enjoy the experience with those grandsons!

 

[BJRSanDiego]

I'm heading out to Sedona and staying at the Hyatt Pinon Pointe. I've made some calls and would like to give an update.

This past week there was a 70,000 acre wild fire called the Rafael fire. It is largely contained and the fire fighters are now doing mop up and repair.

So, I called the Hyatt and the concierge told me that the national forests are closed. Some, like Slide Rock (state park) are closed presumably because of ash in the water. Hiking is shut down. In some areas that falls under "common sense". But in other areas like Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte (nice hikes) are simply shut down because they are part of the Coconino National forest. But the fires never got within 5 miles of Bell Rock. The concierge told me that the hiking trails would re-open in Sept. Yikes!

 

[jerseyfinn]

Yes, State of AZ itself along with several National Forests have closed all access until further notice. This can also mean closure of some AZ State Parks and recreation areas. The expectation at this moment is some of these closures will remain in effect well into September.

As of 2 July the National Forests that are closed are: Coconino, Kaibab, Prescott, Tonto, and Apache Sitgreve.

The seriousness of this situation is how authorities are determined for people to respect these closures. They invoke a felony law on the books for trespass that carries $5000 fines for those who violate the closure.

Best advice to anyone planning an AZ summer vacation/visit is to call ahead and find out what's happening on a daily and weekly basis with the places you have interests in. It's not quite a State-wide closure, but the impact will feel this way as much of the fire danger is in northern AZ. But Phoenix and other urban regions also have fire risks. This is year #3 with severe drought conditions across AZ.

The Verde Valley where 2 of the larger fires are located & is itself the geographic center of AZ that includes Sedona, Camp Verde, Cottonwood and other popular tourist places below the Mongollon Rim as well as the high country that's also under high fire watch.

The "good news" is that Grand Canyon NP is open with fire restrictions ( both rims). Downside are crowds etc.

Not sure what to say to folks planning a Sedona visit as all of the trails are off-limits. There's not many alternative places to visit up here in our region that aren't impacted. Not exactly the place to be without access to nature.

_________________

As to Sedona/Village of Oak Creek, not much else to do here. Folks doing timeshare stays are walking around VOC and Sedona. Slide Rock, if open is always about first come mayhem/parking with or without fire closures.

Honestly speaking, the State of AZ and the National Forests are spot on for closing everything down as there's no room for error with everything tinderbox dry.
The part that visitors don't comprehend is how many folks come to these National Forests and take advantage of the ability to jump off onto the myriads of fire roads and camp/RV it for up to 14 days. They're out of sight from the daily tourists, but also dead center in the driest spots with highest risk. All it takes is one careless individual.

Another observation about some of this extended off-road camping is how some of these camping folks dump trash and used toilet paper all over the place. Then again we've also had day tourists on trails like Cathedral Rock doing the same on the day trails. Sort of speaks to how civility is being ignored. So the landscape gets a time out and hopefully our stewards of the landscape catch up on things.

_______

It's been an unusual Sedona summer here in the sense of extreme heat, but up here at elevation, some cooler days ( =anything below 100F ). We've had some clouds that tease us as if there's going to be some monsoon events, but we've only had passing thunder clouds without substantive rains. These on/off clouds and sun days make things cooler, but without rain to quench the landscape.

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Before the closures, we recently did a drive from Flagstaff via the old 89 off the rim and down into Oak Creek Canyon and Sedona. The resurfaced hwy up on the rim is smooth and beautiful and enhances the drive to Sedona. The eye-catcher to us is how well-tended that Ponderosa pine forest on the rim has been carefully manicured and managed with proscribed burns the past several years. AZ takes fire prevention seriously and it at least gives us a chance to preserve forest landscapes.

Wish there was better news, but that's Life. We live here so at least still have the views. Given the closures, I'd suggest folks try to find alternative destinations but even those places have their own issues. The AZ summer of the Covid travel rebound is indeed a disappointment on top of ridiculous car rental prices and airport frenzy.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

I checked with Hyatt and they said that their natural gas firepits and natural gas BBQ grills are also shut down until at least Sept. 1.

I respect being safe, but I've never seen a natural gas firepit or grill put out any sparks.... Also, I suspect that restaurants using natural gas or propane aren't being restricted. So, that one is a bit strange.

 

[dioxide45]

I checked with Hyatt and they said that their natural gas firepits and natural gas BBQ grills are also shut down until at least Sept. 1.

Were they still shut down from COVID? Many of the resort fire pits here in Florida have not yet reopened.