The Collins Small Batch Kitchen sits on East Camelback Road in the Biltmore corridor, a gastropub built around chef Christopher Collins and a seasonal menu of elevated American comfort food. The bar is the engine of the room, and the happy hour is the reason regulars treat it as an after work staple.
Who would love it: the post office crowd who want a real plate and a good draft without a special occasion budget. Who would skip it: anyone hunting a late night dive, since this is a kitchen first room that closes earlier than the bars on Camelback proper.
The format is small batch by name and by practice. The menu leans on seasonal ingredients and rotates often, with upgraded takes on familiar dishes rather than reinvention for its own sake. Phoenix New Times named it the city's best high end happy hour, and that distinction captures the appeal: this is a restaurant bar that prices its early evening to pull a neighbourhood crowd.
On the drinks side, the daily happy hour runs from three to six, with draft beer around five dollars and most cocktails landing near ten. Start with whatever local draft is pouring and a few of the upgraded happy hour plates, which run roughly eight to fourteen dollars and eat better than the price suggests. The wine list is deeper than a gastropub usually bothers with.
Timing favours the early bird. The three to six window is when the value peaks and the patio is comfortable for most of the Phoenix year. Weekend brunch is the other strong play, busier but worth the wait. Late night is not the move here; the kitchen and the energy wind down well before the bars around it.
It slots neatly into a Biltmore evening. See where it lands in our best after work bars in Phoenix guide, or branch to the Phoenix craft beer list when the table wants to keep drinking local.
What to order
Build the visit around the happy hour. Start with whatever local draft is pouring, since the five dollar price between three and six is the whole argument for arriving early. Pair it with a few of the upgraded happy hour plates, which run roughly eight to fourteen dollars and eat better than the price suggests. The menu rotates with the season, so the smart move is to ask what just landed rather than to order off memory. The wine list is deeper than a gastropub usually bothers with, and it is worth a look if beer is not the night.
Who it is for
This room suits the after work crowd who want a real plate and a good draft without a special occasion budget, plus a relaxed weekend brunch table. Phoenix New Times singled out the high end happy hour, and that distinction captures the appeal of a kitchen first room priced to pull a neighbourhood. It is the wrong call for a late night, since the energy winds down well before the bars around it on Camelback.
Best time to go
The three to six happy hour window is when the value peaks and the patio is comfortable for most of the Phoenix year. Weekend brunch is the other strong play, busier but worth the wait. Book ahead for a weekend dinner, since the dining room fills.
What regulars say
Across Yelp, where The Collins carries more than six hundred reviews as of June 2026, and the Phoenix New Times coverage, the consistent notes are the happy hour value, the kitchen's consistency, and an attentive bar staff. The common caution is that the dinner crowd books up, so a reservation saves you a wait on weekend nights.
