We will be staying in Scottsdale for spring break and looking for some restaurant recommendations that are more moderately priced than the usual top-rated (read: $$$) restaurants. Southwest, Mexican, we're not picky. Looking for great food and don't need the pretension or tourist trap, nor do we need the food "painted" on the plate! Thanks for your help.

We enjoyed the Roaring Fork near the big mall in Scottsdale. It was a little tricky to find, but the food and drinks (huckleberry margaritas) were great!

One of the best at moderate prices is
Los Sombreros at 2534 N Scottsdale Ave.
We were in Phoenix last week and chose to stop there and had a good experience.

Thank you for your input. I had seen Roaring Fork listed several times, but saw on (competing, tripadvisor) negative reviews. What do you think?

I live in Phoenix, and have heard very little negative about Roaring Fork. However, the price might be a bit higher than I think you are aiming for. Los Sombreros is a terrific recommendation - don't miss it. Havana Cafe on Bell Road for Cuban food is also a good match. Richardson's on Bethany Home Road makes great SW food, but does allow smoking and can be noisy. If neither of those bother you, it's one of the best in town. Sawadee is my favorite for Thai, but not all would agree. Flo's has some unusual and very good Chinese dishes, and is a nice place - not an ethnic dive. For standard Cantonese, Jade Palace is quite good.

You might try AZ88. It's kind of hard to find but well worth it. It's on the perimeter of the "Square" at the Performing Arts Center. Casual food and great drinks at very moderate prices for Scottsdale. We live in the Midwest but always go there when in Arizona.

Wow! Thank you! I'll check these out, for sure.

For a happy hour (3-6:30) with FREE appetizers (we had carved roast beef sandwiches - yum) - try El Chorro Lodge (Casual); and if you really want a fun, VERY casual experience -- try Greasewood Flats -- outdoors -- sit around open camp fires at picnic tables -- hamburgers/beer and sometimes live music -- it's really a hoot.

Maggianno’s serves big portions of Italian food at reasonable prices in a up-scale atmosphere; they have a great happy hour, too.

There is a sushi place on Scottsdale Avenue North that has a deck and a great happy hour, but I can't remember its name.

I'm local and here's what I recommend to get a great flavor of everything... Start with breakfast at T.Cook's at Royal Palms Resort (Camelback Rd). Nationally rated restaurant whose dinners are $$$$$ but the breakfast is great and affordable -- about 8$ for the best pancakes I've ever had and you get to walk the grounds of a beautiful historical resort. So you get to sample a top notch restaurant without paying extreme prices. Lunch at Postino or La Grande Orange at 4oth/Highland would give you a taste of Phoenix's laid back Arcadia area -- Postino's is a great wine bar converted from an old Post Office and La Grande is a small gourmet grocery with a walk-up kitchen line -- great sandwiches, pizza, and pastries. Then I'd do dinner in Old Scottsdale on Thursday night during the Art Walk when all the galleries stay open late -- I recommend Malee's on Main (Thai) but there are a lot to choose from.

tandyr has great suggestions, but I'd argue that Malee's is just passable Thai food. It's not bad - but nothing special or memorable. And not exactly ethnic cheap, either. Instead, do the art walk and hop in the car for a very short drive to Los Sombreros on Scottsdale Road. Now THAT'S great food.

Try the Phoenix City Grill on Bethany Home.. you can't go wrong there! It's excellent.

Another place you mite try in Old
Town Scottsdale is Cowboy Ciao. They have a website so you can check out the menu, extensive wine list, and decor. Its a tiny place. Cozy.