Durant's has held its address on North Central Avenue since 1950, a red-leather Phoenix steakhouse where the city's longest-running ritual is walking in through the kitchen and ordering a martini at a bar that has barely changed in three generations.
Who would love it: anyone who wants an old-school steakhouse martini in a room with real history. Who would hate it: minimalists, because the scarlet wallpaper, the red-flocked walls and the dim Rat Pack lighting are the entire point. Founded by Jack Durant in 1950, the restaurant built its myth on the back-door entrance through the kitchen, a quirk Tasting Table calls a hallmark of its charm. After a ten-month restoration it reopened on December 17, 2025 under the James Beard-nominated Mastro brothers, who reupholstered the original booths and kept the kitchen entrance intact.
The bar is the heart of the place: a dim, leather-lined room that Phoenix Magazine describes as restored rather than reinvented. Regulars treat it as a destination on its own, separate from the dining room, and the restoration preserved the look that earned a loyal following.
For ordering, the move is a martini, and a dirty one at that, the drink that won Durant's a Best Martini nod in the local Best of Phoenix awards and that reviewers pair with the kitchen's slow-roasted prime rib. Generous pours and a fair price are the bar's reputation; the steaks and prime rib are the reason to stay for dinner.
Best time to go is early evening at the bar before the dinner rush, when a seat is easier and the bartenders have time. The Central Avenue location in midtown puts it on the light-rail line and a short hop from downtown, so it works as a first stop on a longer night or a destination in itself.
The 2025 restoration is the reason Durant's reads as preserved rather than dated. The Mastro brothers, who carry a James Beard nomination and deep Phoenix steakhouse roots, spent ten months reupholstering the original red booths, reopening the private dining room and rebuilding the kitchen, all while keeping the guest entrance through that kitchen intact. The result is a bar that regulars who knew the old room still recognize, down to the scarlet walls and the low light that local coverage describes as Rat Pack by way of midcentury Phoenix. The martini is the through-line: a Best Martini award in the local Best of Phoenix voting, generous pours, and a bartender's room that has, by the regulars' own account, barely changed in over twenty years. Pair it with the slow-roasted prime rib if dinner is the plan, but the bar stands on its own, and an early seat before the dinner crowd is the way to get the unhurried version.
Practical notes for a first visit: walk in through the kitchen, because that entrance is the tradition rather than a gimmick, and aim for an early-evening bar seat before the dinner rush takes the room. Reservations are wise for dinner in the restored dining room, while the bar itself rewards a walk-in. The Central Avenue address sits on the light-rail line in midtown, an easy hop from downtown, and the move is a dirty martini first, the slow-roasted prime rib second if the evening turns into a full dinner.
It is a landmark of the city's classic-bar scene. See how it sits in our best cocktail bars in Phoenix ranking, browse the wider city on the Phoenix bar guide, and for another steak-and-spirits room compare Bourbon & Bones.
Sources
- Durant's official site — address, hours and reservations
- Phoenix Magazine — 2025 restoration and reopening
- Tasting Table — history and the kitchen entrance
