Courtyard Café at the Heard

Courtyard Café at the Heard Museum ©Taylor Peterson

Full of local culture and Southwest-inspired food, this quaint hideaway café is the perfect lunch spot for a quick meeting for business or lunch with old friends, or to meet a member of the family and just enjoy.

Nestled in the main courtyard at the Heard Museum on Central Avenue, the Courtyard Café serves up fresh salads, sandwiches and entrées made with all Native American-influenced ingredients and locally resourced foods. Menus are seasonal, but include the Apple Harvest Salad with fresh apples, mesquite-smoked chicken, Maytag blue cheese, toasted walnuts and arugula tossed in pomegranate champagne vinaigrette. The famed artist Georgia O’Keefe’s Hatch Green Chile Cheese Enchiladas are flavorful and delicate with a three-cheese blend, green chile sauce, corn tortillas, sautéed carrots and potatoes, crema and a side green salad. Posolé, a soup made with roasted pulled pork, sautéed onions, tomatoes, pinto beans, hominy and cheddar cheese, is one of the café’s Southwest specialties and has been noted in Bon Appétit. Making for a heartier meal are sandwiches and wraps, such as the Heard Signature Patty Melt made with ground bison and ground beef and built with applewood-smoked bacon, grilled onions, Swiss cheese, house-made smoky tomato jam and chipotle mayonnaise on grilled sourdough bread.

The setting is reminiscent of a Santa Barbara café. On cool, breezy, sunny days, it may very well be the best spot in town for lunch. Café tables, umbrellas and refined and friendly service make even the hot days pleasurable. There is space inside as well, so be there year-round and enjoy the serene atmosphere. Stay for dessert and indulge in the signature fry bread sundae or the brownie ala mode. It’ll ensure a return visit.

Courtyard Café at the Heard Museum
2301 N. Central Ave., Phoenix
(602) 251-0204