What do you actually do on a Phoenix weeknight when you don’t want to think too hard, spend too much, or eat somewhere that requires a reservation made three weeks in advance? If you’re near Tempe or the Arcadia area, that answer is usually Dos Gringos.
There are a few locations around the Valley, but the Scottsdale Road spot near Old Town is the one I keep going back to. It’s a big open-air patio bar situation — loud, crowded on weekends, and completely unbothered by the fact that it doesn’t have a carefully curated cocktail menu or a rotating seasonal concept. It knows exactly what it is.
The food is bar Mex, which means it’s not trying to compete with Barrio Café or anywhere else doing serious regional Mexican cooking. What they do well is feed a lot of hungry people quickly without making anyone feel like an afterthought. The carne asada fries are the thing I always get — a mess of fries under grilled steak, guacamole, sour cream, pico, and shredded cheese. It’s around $12-14, it’s enormous, and it’s exactly what it sounds like. Share it or don’t. Nobody’s judging. The shrimp tacos are solid, the burritos are stuffed to the point of structural concern, and the chips come out fast and warm.
Drinks are the real draw, honestly. Margaritas by the glass or pitcher, a long list of draft beers, cold buckets of bottles. Nothing fancy, nothing pretentious, and priced like they actually want you to order a second round. A bucket of domestics will run you about $18-20, and margaritas by the pitcher are around $25-30 depending on the variety. Happy hour runs most afternoons and is worth timing your arrival around — usually until 7 p.m. or so on weekdays.
The atmosphere is what makes this place stick. On a warm evening — which in Phoenix is most evenings — the patio fills up with a genuinely mixed crowd: ASU students, office workers who loosened their ties on the way over, couples who’ve been coming here for ten years, groups of friends who couldn’t agree on anything else. There’s a TV or five showing whatever game is on. The energy is casual and high at the same time, which is a specific vibe that’s harder to pull off than it looks.
Summer is when Dos Gringos earns its reputation. When the temperature is 108 degrees and the last thing you want is to sit inside under fluorescent lighting, an ice-cold margarita on a covered patio with misters going feels like a public service. They stay busy year-round, but summer afternoons have a particular rhythm there that I find weirdly comforting.
Parking can be a hassle at the Old Town location on Friday and Saturday nights — plan for a walk or grab a rideshare. Service is usually quick but can slip when it gets packed, so arrive a little patient. And if you want a table on a busy weekend evening without waiting, go before 6.
This is not the most interesting restaurant in Phoenix. But it fills a real need, it does it reliably, and sometimes that’s exactly what you’re looking for.
