Brings sophistication and fun to downtown Phoenix’s dining scene

STORY BY TERESA K. TRAVERSE

The food menu is as eclectic as the décor. The New American menu is influenced by Asian, Middle Eastern, Latin and Mexican fare. For instance, look forward to mole from scratch. Wren & Wolf also partners with local purveyors including the Sonoran Pasta Co. and Noble Bread.

“It comes down to the high quality, totally scratch kitchen,” says Myers.

Menus are chef-driven and change regularly. On the lunch menu as of press time, guests can sink their teeth into hearty meatball subs, a chicken sandwich and a double smashburger—the only time diners can order a burger. The lunch menu is rounded out by a variety of salads and entrees like fried cauliflower, wild boar Bolognese and Faroe Island salmon.

The dinner menu includes local Noble Bread country loaf served with whipped truffle butter and charred bone marrow served with Noble toast, chicharron and chimichurri. Another noteworthy appetizer is The Bonet, a three pound roasted bone marrow. The menu states that this dish “belongs in a museum.”

The restaurant is renowned for its steaks. Guests can sink their knives and forks into cuts like a 10-ounce beef tenderloin, a 16-ounce ribeye and Japanese A5 wagyu. The 16-ounce beef wel- lington is served with filet mignon, mushroom duxelles, puff pastry and potatoes that’s meant for two. If you’d like to order this dish, you’ll need give the restaurant at least 45 minutes to prepare it. If you call 24 hours ahead, the team will guarantee you can have it. Otherwise, there’s a chance you can’t get the dish that’s available on a limited basis.

Additional entrees include Faroe Island salmon, duck breast a l’orange, Moroccan spiced chicken, Maine lobster ragu, a 12-hour braised oxtail pappardelle and New England sea scallops. Sides are hearty and decadent. Dig into truffled mac & cheese, parmesan whipped potatoes and German potato dumplings made with gouda, manchego and sage brown butter.

A few dessert highlights include a decedent butter cake, a lemon cake and a chocolate dessert inspired by Ferrero Rocher called Lost in the Woods.

Wren & Wolf is also very well known for its caviar bumps. Diners can add bubbles, a shot of mezcal or even order a full tin of caviar along with an entire bottle of Veuve Cliquot rose if they really want go all out.

“It’s celebratory in nature,” says Myers of the trendy caviar bumps.

In keeping with Wren & Wolf’s lively nature, guests can listen to DJs from Thursday to Saturday from 5 p.m. to close.

The cocktail program is also of some note and an outstanding aspect of the restaurant. The menu was developed by Mitch Lyons and Libby Lingua, the mixology team behind downtown Phoenix’s Highball cocktail bar.

“Our focus, it’s not crazy garnishes. It’s all about the craft,” says Myers.

The cocktail bar is stocked with elevated ingredients like artisan ice and fresh squeeze juiced. Many of them have cheeky names like Shishito Out of Luck, a spicy take on a margarita, and Touch Me Gingerly, a mix of vodka, Italian amaro, coconut crème, ginger, lemon and lime. The wine list was curated to feature bottles that would be new to diners like wine from Oregon’s King Estate and Napa Valley’s Caymus. One truly unique offering is the orange Riesling from Union Sacre Winery in California.

Wren & Wolf is also home to the Trophy Room—a much buzzed-about cocktail bar due, in part, to the fact that guests are not allowed to bring their smart phones inside. They lock them up inside of a vintage card catalog system from the Midwest. Although guests can order drinks, head back out of the bar and take photos there. The Trophy Room opened on Feb. 6 of 2023. Guests enter the bar through a black curtain inside of Wren & Wolf. The intimate space houses anywhere from 32 to 36 people. Reservations are required and often fill up. The cocktail menu is exclusive to the space and rotates bi-annually. A special holiday menu will also be served. Currently, a few drink options include the Teddy Bear Book Club, a clarified milk punch, and a truffle washed old fashioned.

No food is served here. Reservations are each 90-minutes long. Seats are reserved with a $25 deposit that’s good toward beverage purchases. Chandeliers and archways incorporate bullets and bullet shells. Vintage trophies are also in the bar. A taxidermy bear with her cubs is on display. Projections on a white wall show cubs finding a hunter’s campsite. The idea behind the space was “what if the animals won,” says Myers.

Wren & Wolf has even more coming. The restaurant is about to roll out a breakfast menu. Myers describes the morning menu as quick, efficient and approachable. Although the full menu hasn’t been finalized just yet, guests can likely expect oversized cinnamon rolls and sandwiches served on house-made brioche. The team behind Wren & Wolf is also slated to open another bar sometime in the fall of 2023. Given the team’s success with Chico Malo, Wren & Wolf and The Trophy Room, the new bar will more than likely thrive.