El Chorro vs. LON’s at The Hermosa

Some restaurant comparisons are about food.

Some are about atmosphere.

This one is about place.

A quick note before we get into this one: yes, we know both of these restaurants are in Paradise Valley, not Scottsdale. But when two patios this good are sitting just minutes away, we’re making an exception. Consider this one a short detour beyond the city limits for two desert dining experiences Scottsdale readers should absolutely know about.

El Chorro and LON’s at The Hermosa are both the kind of restaurants where dinner feels connected to Arizona itself. Adobe walls. Desert landscaping. Mountain views. Fireplaces. Long histories. Patios that become part of the meal.

And both sit in Paradise Valley, just outside Scottsdale, making them natural choices for locals who want the classic desert-dining experience without driving far from home.

But they do not feel the same.

El Chorro is bigger, more iconic, and a little more social. It has been drawing Valley locals and visitors since 1937, with a history that goes back to a one-room schoolhouse built in 1934. Today it is known for its sprawling grounds, Camelback and Mummy Mountain views, sticky buns, and a polished Arizona supper-club feel.

LON’s at The Hermosa feels more hidden away. It sits inside the original 1930s adobe home and studio built by cowboy artist Lon Megargee, and the restaurant still carries much of that intimate hacienda character today. The patio is surrounded by mesquite trees, fireplaces, gardens, and a fountain, with Camelback Mountain in the distance.

Both are romantic.

Both are historic.

Both are very Arizona.

But one feels like an institution.

The other feels like you discovered somebody’s private desert retreat.

So this week’s Fork in the Road asks:

El Chorro has been around long enough that generations of Valley families have their own stories about it.

The property began as a small schoolhouse in 1934, then became El Chorro in 1937 under Jan and Mark Gruber. Over the decades, it grew into one of Paradise Valley’s best-known dining destinations, while still keeping much of the original desert character intact.

That history matters.

You feel it before the food arrives.

The setting sits at the base of Camelback and Mummy Mountains, with desert landscaping, fireplaces, and a large outdoor footprint that makes dinner feel almost like a small escape from the city.

And then there are the sticky buns.

They are not some modern marketing invention.

El Chorro has been serving its famous sticky buns for decades, and they still arrive with entrées as part of the experience. The restaurant describes them as cinnamon-and-butter buns covered in a brown-sugar glaze.

You could argue that a restaurant sh’t be judged by the bread basket.

At El Chorro, the bread basket would disagree.

LON’s is named for Lon Megargee, the cowboy artist who built the adobe property as his home and studio in the 1930s.

Megargee’s story is woven through the entire inn.

His paintings remain on the walls. The adobe construction, hand-hewn beams and rustic ironwork still define the property. Even LON’s Last Drop bar takes its name from Megargee’s famous artwork, The Last Drop from His Stetson. Historic Hotels Worldwide

That makes LON’s feel different from most resort restaurants.

It does not look like someone designed a Southwestern restaurant.

It feels like someone built a Southwestern home and a restaurant slowly grew around it.

Executive Chef Brian Peterson currently leads the kitchen, with a menu centered on regional ingredients and techniques, including roasting, smoking, and wood grilling.

The result is more culinary-driven than you might expect from such a scenery-heavy restaurant.

And that balance is one of LON’s biggest strengths.

This is where the personalities really separate.

El Chorro leans into recognizable American and Southwestern comfort food.

The current dinner menu includes Trout Almondine, Old Fashioned Broaster Fried Chicken, Ale Braised Beef Short Ribs, Beef Stroganoff, Filet Mignon, Prime New York Steak, and seasonal risotto, along with starters such as Flash Fried Lobster Bites, Giant Shrimp Cocktail, and Deviled Eggs.

It has a reassuring familiarity.

You can bring someone here who does not want the chef reinventing dinner.

That does not mean the kitchen is stuck in the past, but El Chorro understands that some dishes became classics for a reason.

LON’s is more adventurous.

Chef Brian Peterson’s menus lean into wood grilling, smoke, regional ingredients and combinations that move farther away from traditional resort dining.

Recent 2026 menus have included dishes such as Himalayan Salt Seared Ahi Tuna, Corn and Jalapeño Crab Cakes, Wood Grilled Pork Tomahawk, Red Wine Braised Short Rib, Duck Breast and wood-grilled seafood, along with a chef-driven multi-course experience.

So the food decision is pretty straightforward.

If you want classic Arizona comfort with a polished supper-club feel, El Chorro makes more sense.

If you want a more chef-driven meal with wood-fired and contemporary Southwestern influences, LON’s has the edge.

Both restaurants understand that half the fun of desert dining is arriving early.

At El Chorro, the bar feels social.

Settle in with a cocktail before dinner, watch the light change over the mountains, and let the evening take its time.

The current cocktail list includes drinks such as the Desert Drip, made with LALO Blanco, Aperol, Ancho Reyes, grapefruit and lime; the John Wayne with Bulleit; and the Cannon Fire with ghost-pepper tequila, lime, Ancho Reyes and peach.

There is also a dedicated bar-snack menu, so coming only for drinks and something small is completely reasonable.

LON’s takes the bar experience a little deeper.

LON’s Last Drop is its own destination, open daily, with a full cocktail program and daily happy hour from 3 to 6 p.m.

Current cocktails include the Last Drop, made with High West Double Rye, apricot liqueur, sweet vermouth and blood orange, along with drinks using mezcal, rye, gin, tequila and Arizona-inspired flavors such as prickly pear.

The difference?

El Chorro’s bar feels like the beginning of a classic Paradise Valley evening.

LON’s Last Drop feels like somewhere you might go intentionally, even if dinner isn’t part of the plan.

This is the heart of the comparison.

If you are doing either restaurant during Scottsdale’s good-weather months, I would make every effort to sit outside.

El Chorro gives you the big Arizona postcard.

Camelback Mountain.

Mummy Mountain.

Desert landscaping.

Open sky.

Fireplaces.

And a patio with enough space that the whole property feels like part of dinner.

The restaurant describes the setting as sitting at the foot of Camelback and Mummy Mountains, and the outdoor spaces are central to the property's identity. El Chorro

This is somewhere you take visitors when you want them to understand why people put up with August.

Sit outside on a perfect October evening and suddenly February in Chicago seems very far away.

LON’s patio is more intimate.

The restaurant describes it as an expansive patio with five outdoor fireplaces, a fountain, and colorful gardens, all connected to the historic adobe inn.

There are mature trees overhead.

Adobe around you.

Fire glowing nearby.

And enough separation from the road that it feels tucked away.

This is not the sweeping, wide-open desert presentation of El Chorro.

It is more romantic.

More enclosed.

More secret-garden-in-the-desert.

For views and that unmistakable Arizona wow factor, El Chorro.

For romance and intimacy, LON’s.

El Chorro feels celebratory.

There is energy.

Groups arrive for birthdays.

Families have traditions here.

Visitors come because someone told them, "You have to go to El Chorro."

There is a little more movement and a little more visibility.

It feels like a place people know.

LON’s feels quieter.

Even though it can be busy, the adobe architecture, fireplaces, artwork and landscaping give the restaurant an almost residential feeling.

You can very easily forget there is a hotel attached.

El Chorro says:

LON’s says:

At this level, you expect polished service at both.

But the style is slightly different.

El Chorro has the rhythm of a long-running destination restaurant.

Staff are accustomed to celebrations, visitors, large parties and regulars who have been coming for years.

That kind of operation has its own confidence.

LON’s feels a little more resort-like and paced.

Dinner can stretch out.

The wine list is substantial, and staff are expected to help guide guests through both the food and wine experience. OpenTable currently notes a wine list of roughly 7,000 bottles and highlights the restaurant’s focus on special occasions and outdoor dining.

If you want dinner to move along at a comfortable but traditional restaurant pace, El Chorro fits.

If you want to settle in and let dinner become the evening, LON’s fits naturally.

Neither one is casual dining.

You are paying for more than the food.

You are paying for the property, the history, and the atmosphere.

At El Chorro, current entrées range from classics such as fried chicken and beef stroganoff up through filet, lamb, and prime steak.

At LON’s, recent 2026 entrée pricing has generally run higher, with dishes such as filet, short rib, pork tomahawk, salmon, and duck landing firmly in special-occasion territory.

But both places show that comparing entrée prices alone misses the point.

You are not simply buying dinner.

You are buying a few hours in a place that feels distinctly Arizona.

The better question is:

Which atmosphere are you willing to pay for tonight?

✔ You want the big, classic Paradise Valley experience.

✔ You are bringing out-of-town guests.

✔ Mountain views matter.

✔ You love an open, lively patio.

✔ You prefer familiar classics over a more experimental menu.

✔ Sticky buns are part of the reason you came.

✔ You want a cocktail before dinner while watching the desert light change.

✔ You are celebrating with a larger group.

✔ You want a place that feels woven into Valley history.

✔ You want something more intimate.

✔ You are planning a romantic dinner.

✔ You care as much about the setting as the food.

✔ You like chef-driven menus and wood-fired cooking.

✔ You want a serious wine program.

✔ Adobe walls, fireplaces, and old mesquite trees sound better than a sprawling resort-style patio.

✔ You want dinner somewhere that feels hidden away.

✔ You like restaurants with an actual story behind the building.

✔ You want to linger.

This one is difficult because neither restaurant is trying to win the same way.

El Chorro is the bigger Arizona experience.

You go for the mountains.

The patio.

The sticky buns.

The history.

The feeling that people have been coming here for generations and will probably keep coming for generations more.

It is one of those places that makes sense when someone visits Arizona for the first time.

LON’s is more intimate.

The history is literally in the walls.

You are eating inside and around the home built by Lon Megargee, surrounded by his artwork, adobe architecture, fireplaces, and mature trees.

And the kitchen takes a little more of the spotlight.

So if friends were visiting Arizona for the first time?

Anniversary dinner for two?

If we wanted a cocktail while staring at Camelback Mountain?

If we wanted wine by the fireplace and nowhere else to be afterward?

If classic Arizona dining traditions mattered most?

If chef-driven food and a quieter atmosphere mattered more?

If we were taking a big group?

If we were trying to impress one person?

And that may be the easiest way to make this decision:

Neither road is wrong.

You are just deciding how you want Arizona to look from your table.

Your move. 🍴

Address: 5550 E. Lincoln Drive, Paradise Valley, AZ 85253
Phone: 480-948-5170
Cuisine: American / Southwestern-influenced Arizona cuisine
Brunch: Sunday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
Dinner: Wednesday-Sunday beginning at 5 p.m.
Known for: Patio dining, mountain views, sticky buns, Beef Stroganoff, and classic Arizona atmosphere
Website: ElChorro.com

Address: 5532 N. Palo Cristi Road, Paradise Valley, AZ 85253
Phone: 602-955-7878
Cuisine: Contemporary American / Arizona-inspired
Breakfast: Daily, 7-10:30 a.m.
Lunch: Daily, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
Dinner: Daily, 5-10 p.m.
Weekend Brunch: Saturday-Sunday, 7 a.m.-2 p.m.
LON’s Last Drop: Daily, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.
Happy Hour: Daily, 3-6 p.m.
Parking: Complimentary valet
Website: The Hermosa Inn / LON’s Arizona Hideaway Collection