Feb. 12, 2025

New in Town: Élephante Brings Mediterranean Vibes to Scottsdale

Photos courtesy of Élephante

Élephante restaurant opened its second location in December at Scottsdale Fashion Square. With its original location in Santa Monica, California, Élephante offers coastal Italian cuisine, including wood-fired pizzas, fresh pastas like tortellini pomodoro and squid ink pasta with shrimp, sustainably sourced seafood like diver scallops and branzino, and meats such as bone-in ribeye and veal Milanese.

The menu features Élephante’s signature wood-fired puccia, a puffed, soft bread from Italy’s Puglia region, with dip options including whipped eggplant, and burrata and caviar.

Élephante offers a selection of unique craft cocktails, including the namesake Élephante made with passionfruit, lemon, almond orgeat, Amaro Montenegro, Calabrian chili and a choice of vodka, tequila, mezcal, gin or rum. Other cocktail options include Bird of a Feather with gin, grapefruit and Earl Grey tea, and White Elephant with reposado tequila, lime, almond orgeat and spiced pear. Élephante’s wine program includes bottles from every region of Italy and private-label wines.

“I was inspired by the island of Pantelleria off the Sicilian coast. On the island there is a rock formation that resembles an elephant that inspired the restaurant’s name. It is very arid and has a desert feel. If you reoriented the island in the middle of Arizona, it wouldn’t look out of place, so bringing Élephante to Scottsdale was a natural fit,” said Nick Mathers, owner of Wish You Were Here Group, which owns Élephante. “Our style of service has a relaxed energy and inclusivity to it, and as we grow, we want the locality and comfortability to remain, yet still be able to offer that escape that guests are looking for.”

The space features desert plants, large banquettes for group dining, a spacious patio, hemp artwork, handmade baskets and silk tapestries centered around a white oak and teak wood bar.

“Every aspect of the space is custom designed, and we made every piece of furniture in-house,” said Mathers. “We imported the stone from Italy and flew in artists from around the world to make the artwork, macramé and tapestries on site.”

Unique to the Scottsdale location is Bar Bambino, a cocktail lounge for late-night drinks and bites housed inside Élephante. Open Thursday through Saturday, the bar has a DJ and tableside cocktail service. Signature cocktails include La Bambina with vodka, lemon, pear, and ginger and a maple wood-smoked Old Fashioned featuring Élephante’s private select barrel bourbon. The food menu includes lobster rolls, tuna tartare, arancini, caviar toast and more.