Best Restaurants with a Fireplace in Central Phoenix

We had a fabulous time at El Chorro --- attentive and friendly service, spectacular meals and we also bought a few more sticky buns to take home with us. Love this place for special occasions - or really any time - because the surroundings are beautiful and the people always take such good care of us. Always look forward to going back.

Amazing Valentines Day Dinner. Got there early to explore and enjoy the views. Had two rounds of drinks at the wine bar and then got the most amazing table with views for dinner. 4 course menu delicious and the somm helped us get an awesome bottle of Chianti.

Excellent food, fantastic service, beautiful ambience… ONLY complaint is that the servings sizes were SO SMALL that my husband and I had to order two entrees plus an app to have enough to eat. (And we don’t eat a lot, we’re not large people) Our server actually recommended that we did and we’re happy we ordered more. So because of the multiple entrees plus an app the bill was naturally higher than it could have been so I don’t believe the value was great.

Some restaurants grow tired after they have been open for a couple of years but Francine is aging like a fine wine, getting better with age. We are frequent diners at this wonderful bistro. I have sampled most of the menu selections but admit I had not sampled the chicken before last night. After all what can you do to chicken that hasn’t been done? Let me assure you the chef at Francine has a chicken preparation that will rock your world, Please know this is a limited availability item. If you are lucky enough to dine on a night where this delicacy is available, count yourself among the culinary fortunate.

We were early for reservations and grabbed seats and the bar for a couple of drinks while we waited. Our manhattans were excellent and our table was ready within 5 minutes of our reservation. We sat near the kitchen so there was some noise, but we enjoyed the atmosphere. The restaurant is huge so there’s plenty of room to find something more intimate. The scallops were fabulous, and my husband enjoyed his grain bowl with salmon. We finished with the butter cake and practically inhaled it. 3 cocktails, two entrees and a side plus a dessert for less than $150? We will absolutely be back!