Tinderbox Kitchen — Restaurant in Flagstaff

I've been a fan of Tinderbox for over a decade, or as the staff tells it, an earlier spiritual successor to what they now call "Tinderbox 3.0". It's always been a solid high-end choice for Flagstaff, but we ended up there for our anniversary dinner this past weekend and reader, they knocked it out of the park.

My wife and I eat out at a lot of nice restaurants. We're fortunate to enjoy several $100+ per person experiences in a given year. And there's something interesting in this price range: great restaurants know how to deliver a high-end experience at this price point, but sometimes fall into tropes or traps of familiar restraint. They pull their punches. They fall back on standards. They can execute these standards brilliantly at times, but they still leave something to be desired, especially as it pertains to "awe".

The $100 pp tasting menu we had at Tinderbox instead pushed itself at every point. It was a triumph. It surprised. It delighted. It punched far above its weight. It was pitch perfect.

I'll start with the plum salad. It frankly didn't sound like my personal taste, and when it arrived, I found myself expecting it to be another dry, boring salad. Instead, it had this melded together blend of textures, bound by a reduced egg yolk mixture that made it work on every level.

Then came, perhaps, the star of the show: the nori dumplings. This dish was other-worldly. It featured three perfectly al dente dumplings, filled with a carrot ginger mix that, while very ginger-forward, was perfectly balanced with a miso glaze. And as if that weren't enough, there were these delightful curlicues of lightly fried carrot. The texture and flavor these provided brought this dish to a whole new level. It had the rare experience of introducing me to a presentation I hadn't tried before, and in a way that felt like a natural addition rather than superfluous.

The trout was seared perfectly, flavorful and rich, though the dumplings were a tough act to follow. And the final course was an exceptionally cooked (sous vide, I assume, but could be wrong) piece of filet that just worked.

Then there was a dessert that was just a symphony of flavors and fun things.

These menus can run astray easily. It can be hard for the kitchen to know how to compose them. And it feels like in some cases, you're getting what they're looking to get rid of, or force on people, rather than a true example of their best work. This was very much the latter: a brilliant demonstration of what the kitchen is capable of. And the portions are another area that was done to perfection: no small or micro plates here, as evidenced by the three dumplings and essentially half a steak portion.

We had dinner the next night at Cress. Nearly the same price point. A very fine and well executed meal. But literally nothing to write home about. Nothing I'll remember next year. I will remember Tinderbox's meal, though. I'll remember those damn dumplings. And the perfect steak.

Oh, and the service was impeccable and you could really tell the whole team just deeply enjoys being part of people's evenings and making them feel valued.

We'll be back, probably every single time we find...

This place is a must try for those looking for date night/celebrations/fine dining in Flagstaff! Compliments to the Chefs (filet and pork loin pictured were to DIE FOR) and Our Server Charlie. Everyone did a wonderful job all around.

We did not realize this was a higher end place at first, we were still politely welcomed in our sweatpants and sweatshirts. (I forget his name but the man with a ponytail was great at helping us get a table and gave us the exact amount of time it would take for our table)

I was very impressed that Charlie asked if there was any allergies at the table before any drinks/food were brought out. This is something I have never been asked at a fine dining restaurant. Charlie thoroughly explained popular house entrees in extreme detail and also gave his personal take on the food. (I asked lots of questions about the food and they were answered in great detail)

Another thing I was very impressed with is that we were not overly bothered but also not underserviced. Charlie was very good at understand when we wanted to be bothered and when everything was good for us. Even offered to box our leftovers for us which is rare nowadays.

I did not catch the other 2 employees names that helped us throughout the night. (One was wearing full black business casual fit with a ponytail and the other one was wearing a green dress) Being so welcomed by every employee was greatly appreciated and we will definitely be back.

We were offered a small portion of sorbet before our meal to cleanse our pallet to get the full flavor of our entrees.

We were greeted with a 30 minute wait in which we decided to grab a cocktail next door at a cocktail lounge directly next door named Annex. (We asked and found out both restaurants are owned by the same person in which both places offer a great atmosphere). The service and drinks were also delicious at Annex. If you are unable to get a table right away at Tinderbox, grab a drink at the bar next door at Annex, you will not regret it.

Thanks again for the wonderful service. I will be coming back next vacation. Thank you so much for a wonderful experience.

The only minor inconvenience is that the bathroom is small and a bit rundown and the water pressure was horrible when trying to wash my hands but Charlie was quick to fix the water pressure issue when I brought it up. The other issue was parking in downtown flagstaff but that is an issue you will run into for any place in flagstaff this time of year.

Still 10/10 all around. I think even Gordan Ramsey would be impressed!

Thanks again to the Chefs, Charlie, and the rest of the staff for a wonderful, memorable experience on...

To say that I am disappointed is an understatement... We have been coming to Tinderbox Kitchen since 2011 and have been dining there every time we are in Flagstaff. We drive almost 3 hours. We made a reservation a month ago to celebrate our wedding anniversary and we were called by the owner, Nick, the day before to let us know they had a private event going on and we would need to either cancel our reservation OR they could see us at their sister location, Teatro, at the same time as the original reservation.

I am gluten free... I do not normally eat Italian, but, Nick said, "You will be well taken care of" so we decided to try it out. We did a little research on Teatro and they are known for their superior service and wine knowledge which we were excited about. Our experience was average. The hostess asked if it was our anniversary and we said "Yes". Our server was fine but at no time provided any guidance on wine, any info on the food, basically average. The food was fine, I could only pick from half of the menu and they were accommodating with a pasta substitution so I could eat. The manager never approached our table, even though he was wandering around, to say anything about our issue with Tinderbox.

When we received the bill, there was no acknowledgment of our inconvenience or any kind of compensation. Now, I am not expecting our meal to be free, but I was thinking a dessert? Appetizer? Something to say, "Hey, thanks for staying with our group of restaurants and spending $250 on food that wasn't your first or second choice on a pretty important night."

Had the manager even just said anything, a thank you, Happy Anniversary, anything, we would not be so upset.. I just thought THAT Place Projects would be a little more professional and upscale.

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