The glory of a hotel restaurant in the Greater Phoenix area isn’t a secret, but these three newcomers may surprise you. 

In Hotel Solaya, Ella on the Park opened in the spring, bringing southwest fusion to the plate. Cielito, located inside AC Hotel Scottsdale Old Town, has killer views and great Mexican fare. Finally, Salt & Sol at Hilton Scottsdale Resort & Villas, an ode to the Mediterranean with a few unexpected twists. 

While this dining trio offers very different ideas about what to bring to the table, each is a must-visit in its own right. Whichever version you choose, good company is worth a toast. So book one or all three and bring a friend to share the evening with at these must-visit new spots.

Ella on the Park at Hotel Solaya

Hotel Solaya opened in January, followed in April by Ella on the Park. In the meantime, the team received plenty of advice to build a traditional Southwestern restaurant in Scottsdale. Executive chef Brian Paskvan’s years cooking in Texas and New Orleans gave them another idea.

“So, in a way, we dropped the ‘West’ and went South,” says Megan Ferreira, Hotel Solaya’s director of food and beverage. 

That decision brought Southern smokehouse cooking to the edge of Scottsdale Civic Center, where pork belly comes with Louisiana sugarcane syrup and cornbread purée. That, mixed with Paskvan’s relationships with producers around the country helped him to create the bold menu.

Those special connections show up in Hog Heaven, a rotating selection of Southern hams served with pickles, red-eye gravy aioli, and benne seed crackers. The cured-ham program draws from producers including The Hamery in Tennessee and Kite’s Country Hams in Virginia, giving diners a chance to try regional specialties far from home.

Pickled mustard seeds on the Steen’s Braised Pork Belly add a little bite to the rich plate; the pork comes from Beeler’s Pure Pork in Iowa. The From the Smoker selections spend a full day over oak and highlight Paskvan’s time in Texas, while Shrimp & Grits pairs Gulf shrimp with andouille, taking diners further east.

“We’re not trying to make people feel like they need a special occasion or a certain level of culinary knowledge to enjoy Ella,” Ferreira says. The team wants the experience to feel immersed in Southern hospitality, with prices that make regular visits easy.

At the 360-degree bar, order Saints & Sinners, which brings the New Orleans-associated liqueur Herbsaint together with blanco tequila, lime, honey, and cucumber. Or take a seat outside, where the patio overlooks the park. The team singled out sunset as the time to settle in, with enough distance from Old Town’s busiest streets to enjoy the desert’s colorful way of welcoming nightfall. 4000 N. Drinkwater Blvd., Scottsdale, hyatt.com 

Cielito at AC Hotel Scottsdale Old Town

Cielito, the rooftop restaurant, sits above AC Hotel Scottsdale Old Town, with a view toward Camelback Mountain. Scottsdale native chef Shon Foster helped develop the menu, drawing on the flavors of northwestern Mexico. The rooftop was surprisingly comfortable even during a visit on a 100-plus-degree day. Misters and plenty of shade helped, with enough airflow to keep things pleasant without sending food or hair flying.

The bread alongside the Agua Chile deserves a moment here. Food and beverage director William Allgood called huitlacoche, a Mexican delicacy harvested from ears of corn, the “truffle of Mexico,” and the ingredient lends an earthy, mushroom-adjacent flavor to the spread on the warm garlic herb toast. The scallops arrived lightly seared, with serrano heat and dots of green and red oil across the plate, making it almost too pretty to eat.

The Trolelote turns street corn into a shareable skillet, with charred kernels in a creamy mixture brightened by lime and salty cotija. Golden tostada chips do the scooping. For a more unusual order, Rabbit + Rattle Snake combines the two meats in a sausage served with nopales and chochoyotes, small masa dumplings. Every detail comes back to those Mexican flavors.

Ask for the separate dessert menu. You won’t regret the calories. There’s a luscious Chocolate Torte, a flourless cake with cinnamon and morita chili, accompanied by prickly pear syrup, vanilla ice cream, and candied pumpkin seeds. Pan Elote offers another way to finish, with sweet corn cake, cajeta, sweet crema, and orange zest.

Cocktails and mocktails also abound. The zero-proof BeetBox gets its fruit flavor from pineapple cordial made in-house, with beet juice adding bright color and Topo Chico keeping it bubbly. For an adult beverage, Nice Weather mixes Prieto whiskey with piloncillo and bitters. Allgood said the whiskey’s four-corn blend carries a little of the grain’s flavor into the drink.

For the easiest arrival, use the AC Hotel’s main lobby and take the elevator to the rooftop. The street-level side doors with Cielito signage were restricted to hotel guests during our visit, so don’t let a locked door send you home hungry. 7117 E. 3rd Ave., Scottsdale, cielitoscottsdale.com

Salt & Sol at Hilton Scottsdale Resort & Villas

At Hilton Scottsdale Resort & Villas, Salt & Sol brought Mediterranean flavors with a Southwestern influence to the poolside dining area of indoor and outdoor seating. Bartender Matthew Olley, who helped create the cocktail menu, said the restaurant hoped to draw locals as well as hotel guests to the recently renovated property for a meal or a drink at the bar. 

The fusion of flavor shows up in the Desert Bloom Guacamole, where crispy corn and pomegranate seeds share the bowl. The Fig + Goat Pinsa takes a sweeter route, with arugula and a fig balsamic glaze over the crust. Adding prosciutto gives the figs and balsamic a welcome salty counterpart. The Roman-style crust gets a long fermentation, which helps it bake up airy and crisp beneath the toppings.

Olley’s own introduction to Mediterranean food came with a few pleasant surprises, including the Bacon-Wrapped Dates. “I was very surprised at how good those were,” he said. The Campbell River Salmon Bowl, meanwhile, is the restaurant’s best-selling dish, according to Olley..

The Moroccan Chicken Skewer is another nicely spiced dish and comes with apricot yogurt, charred lemon, and pickled vegetables. The yogurt’s sweetness works beautifully with the spiced chicken; it’s the sort of sauce you want to bottle and take home. For dessert, the Spanish Basque Cheesecake comes topped with chocolate ganache, pomegranate, and candied pistachios.

Ask about the salts, too. Olley explained that the restaurant used different varieties for different dishes and offered selections for guests to try, including Maldon, smoked, pink Himalayan, and blue Persian salts.

Olley named the Pomegranate Martini among his best-selling drinks and pointed to Figs & Fire as a personal favorite. The bourbon-and-fig cocktail can also be made without alcohol, and the nonalcoholic version was a pleasant match for a relaxed, Mediterranean meal in our beautiful desert wilderness. 6333 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale, hilton.com