food drink

Eat Beat Review: Three Doors Down

by Phoenix Magazine

The men behind MercBar revive the moribund Esplanade dining scene with a trio of top-flight eateries. by Christina Barrueta | Photography by Grace Stufkosky If you haven’t been to The Esplanade recently, you might be surprised by the sudden eruption of new restaurants in the often-dormant mixed-use mall along Camelbac

The men behind MercBar revive the moribund Esplanade dining scene with a trio of top-flight eateries.

by Christina Barrueta | Photography by Grace Stufkosky

If you haven’t been to The Esplanade recently, you might be surprised by the sudden eruption of new restaurants in the often-dormant mixed-use mall along Camelback Road. Rick Phillips, who spent nearly three decades running MercBar in this same complex, and Peter Hearn, an early MercBar collaborator, have reunited to introduce three new concepts under their 151 Hospitality banner: a fast-casual Jewish deli for the a.m. set; a swanky American bistro and martini bar in the old MercBar space; and an upscale Modern-Mexican restaurant with festive energy. What makes the whole enterprise even more unique is the single, shared kitchen, with orders lining up on opposite sides of the pass for food runners to ferry plates. It’s a backstage story that offers three entirely different experiences. And, as my visits confirm, three very good reasons to come back.

Little Pickle (2525 E. Camelback Rd., Phoenix, 602-641-6876, littlepickleaz.com) started as a personal mission. A native New Yorker who missed the Jewish delis of his youth, Phillips taught himself to smoke salmon and pastrami, started sharing it with friends and launched a pop-up in 2022 (also in the Esplanade) that became a minor foodie phenomenon before he shuttered it six months later. Now, Little Pickle – which Phillips named in honor of his grandmother; it was her pet name for him – is back for good, open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in a cheerful, fast-casual space built around New York nostalgia, right down to the bagels made to Phillips’s specs and finished in his onsite oven.

The menu has evolved since the pop-up days, adding salads, smashburgers and sandwiches to deli classics like matzo ball soup, knishes and latkes. The Works bagel is a winner, layered with Phillips’s silky cold-smoked lox, tomato, red onion and the briny pop of capers. Meanwhile, celery-studded egg salad is bound with just enough mayonnaise to turn it creamy and cohesive, applied generously over toasted Noble Bread sourdough and finished with crisp lettuce and tomato.

Phillips’s much-admired pastrami is everywhere on the menu – with mustard on griddled rye (my favorite); tucked into Reuben-style egg rolls; folded into breakfast burritos; and stacked with egg and cheese in a breakfast sandwich. Brined, seasoned, smoked and steamed on-site, the pastrami balances tender chew and fatty suppleness with a peppery edge that separates true pastrami from something merely deli-adjacent. Phillips may have learned to make it himself, but it tastes like someone’s been doing this for generations.

Pastrami Reuben and The Works bagel at Little Pickle

A few steps from Little Pickle, the former MercBar space has been revamped into The Mercer (2525 E. Camelback Rd., Phoenix, 602-497-3696, themercerphx.com) – updating the ski-lodge-chic lounge décor with a layer of steakhouse polish that suits the more serious food program. It’s a vibe that starts with the martini service. Guests can choose among dry, wet, dirty and pickle iterations with gin or vodka tailored to preference; garnishes ranging from Castelvetrano olives to lemon twists; and add-ons like caviar bumps for those inclined. My Vesper – Ian Fleming’s Bond-novel invention, expertly rendered here with gin, vodka and Cocchi Americano – fell shy of the promised 4-degree-Fahrenheit chill, but that was quickly corrected via the flawless 50/50 that followed, a Prohibition-era classic of equal parts gin and vermouth. As a martini enthusiast, I’m always impressed by a program that takes the drink seriously without the theatrics.

The martinis are an act worth following, and the menu – steakhouse-leaning, with a few unexpected detours like sushi handrolls and pigs in blankets – obliges.

Lobster rolls at The Mercer

From the 16-item-strong salad and starter menu, onion soup gratinée is chock-full of sweet, slow-cooked onions with just enough rich broth to bind it all together under a drape of Gruyère crust. A trio of mini lobster rolls arrive as split-top pain de mie with butter-toasted sides filled with lobster salad enrobed in a lemony aioli. Homestyle half chicken, skin roasted to a golden crisp, settles into a comforting bed of mashed potatoes with a pool of herb gravy and tumble of baby carrots. Then there’s the juicy salt-crusted prime rib, a gorgeous rosy-pink slab accompanied by fries and ramekins of rich beef jus and horseradish cream to let you steer the experience. It may not unseat Feeney’s – my personal oldguard benchmark here in the Valley – but holds its own alongside the city’s heavy hitters.

French onion soup at The Mercer.

If Little Pickle is a love letter and The Mercer is a rendezvous, Camello (2525 E. Camelback Rd, Phoenix, 602-456-9310, camellobiltmore.com) is a fiesta with an upbeat Latin playlist to set the mood.

Outside, fire pits and a wraparound patio frame Camelback Mountain, the namesake inspiration (though the restaurant’s Spanish pronunciation is kah-may-oh). Inside, bubble-gum pink effects, zebra stripes, colorful artwork and a deconstructed disco ball back bar pulls from Mexican architect Luis Barragán, Studio 54 and 1980s Miami in equal measure.

The frozen cocktail program is being updated, but recently onboarded local mixology legend Maxton Kennedy (MercBar, The Ostrich in Chandler) has made his first tweaks. My favorite: the rum-based Crockett & Tubbs, featuring icy swirls of piña colada and strawberry daiquiri that feel right at home in a room this Miami.

While Camello’s energy starts at the bar, the menu earns the reservation. A starter of tuna crudo is a beauty – the fish nestled in a sunny passion-fruit-accented dressing and scattered with cucumber, chiles, onion and radish for a tart-tropical balance of freshness and textures. Queso fundido arrives in a cast iron skillet of buttery Chihuahua cheese topped with house-made chorizo and roasted mushrooms and poblano peppers, with corn tostadas and flour tortillas at the ready. Also from the starters menu: a very good grilled chipotle Caesar salad that makes us coo.

Crocket & Tubbs frozen cocktails at Camello

In contrast to the dozen bocaditos and ensaladas, the entrée section is compact, with a quartet of tacos and five platos ranging from adobo chicken to enchiladas with three shades of mole. Skirt steak tacos are all about the zippy marinade that drives flavor into the tender slices cradled in warm tortillas with wedges of avocado and shaved watermelon radish. One bite of the branzino, though, and I declare it my favorite dish of the night. Moist and cooked to fork-yielding perfection, one half of the butterflied sea bass is lacquered in a smoky salsa roja, the other blanketed in a fragrant salsa verde flecked with chile heat.

If I had a night kill and just one to pick? I’d probably go with The Mercer, with its cozy steakhouse vibe and more dialed-in menu. But who’s to say you couldn’t order small plates at Mercer, Camello and neighboring Mod-Med stalwart Flint by Baltaire in one whirlwind evening of dining tourism? One thing’s for sure: The Esplanade hasn’t felt this lively in years.