This chic cocktail spot is a downtown Phoenix gem, offering playful drinks and tasty bar bites in a stylish, festive atmosphere.
"Ross Simon’s multi-award-winning cocktail bar (housed, ironically, in the 20s-era Luhrs Building, which was once home to the Arizona Prohibition Department) has anchored the downtown cocktail scene for eight years and counting. Ross drops an ambitious new menu each year, a lavishly illustrated tome filled with dozens of masterfully conceived and executed drinks. He considers the smallest details, right on down to the water filtration system and ice quality. Drinkers can keep it classic, sipping a polar martini or one of many slight, careful negroni riffs. Or they can get “whimsical as fuck” (B&T’s motto), and travel down novel avenues, from a butter-washed bourbon and Cocchi Torino concoction that nods to popcorn to a pina colada upgrade that is truly worth drinking." - Nikki Buchanan, Chris Malloy
"Ross Simon’s multi-award-winning cocktail bar (housed, ironically, in the 20s-era Luhrs Building, which was once home to the Arizona Prohibition Department) has anchored the downtown cocktail scene for eight years and counting. Ross drops an ambitious new menu each year, a lavishly illustrated tome filled with dozens of masterfully conceived and executed drinks. He considers the smallest details, right on down to the water filtration system and ice quality. Drinkers can keep it classic, sipping a polar martini or one of many slight, careful negroni riffs. Or they can get “whimsical as fuck” (B&T’s motto), and travel down novel avenues, from a butter-washed bourbon and Cocchi Torino concoction that nods to popcorn to a pina colada upgrade that is truly worth drinking." - Mcconnell Quinn, Nikki Buchanan
"Scottish-born barman Ross Simon created a stir when he opened Bitter & Twisted in 2014, and as the founder of Arizona’s Cocktail Week, he’s now considered the godfather of the city’s burgeoning cocktail scene. This now-legendary downtown spot offers more than 65 cocktails, including classics, twists on classics, and dazzling new creations, many served in whimsical vessels such as Santa mugs, honey bears, and porcelain teacups." - Nikki Buchanan, Jamie Killin
"A bar with an award-winning cocktail program in a building that dates back to 1924, Bitter & Twisted is housed, ironically, in the former Prohibition Headquarters on the ground floor of the historic Luhr building. Comprehensive and creative, the menu has a selection of new and classic cocktails with a focus on fresh juices and spirits from around the world. Craft beer and wine fill out the rest of the menu, along with a regular food menu of upscale bar food from 4:00 to 11:00 PM and a late-night food menu from 11:00 PM to 1:30 AM. Make a reservation or be prepared to wait." - MATADOR_NETWORK
"Ross Simon’s multi-award-winning cocktail bar (housed, ironically, in the 20s-era Luhrs Building, which was once home to the Arizona Prohibition Department) has anchored the downtown cocktail scene for eight years and counting. Ross drops an ambitious new menu each year, a lavishly illustrated tome filled with dozens of masterfully conceived and executed drinks. He considers the smallest details, right on down to the water filtration system and ice quality. Drinkers can keep it classic, sipping a polar martini or one of many slight, careful negroni riffs. Or they can get “whimsical as fuck” (B&T’s motto), and travel down novel avenues, from a butter-washed bourbon and Cocchi Torino concoction that nods to popcorn to a pina colada upgrade that is truly worth drinking." - Nikki Buchanan, Chris Malloy