Zulu Caffe

Great food, friendly staff and a unbelievable view of the airplanes parked nearby. The quality of the food is very good… in fact this restaurant provides a lot of the catering on the private jets at the airport.
The setting is good for both conducting business or bringing your kids along for a unique restaurant experience.

This used to be the «go to» restaurant for me and a bunch of work colleagues. Zulu Café closed down for a month or so this summer, and reopened recently. To our surprise, the menu has been completely changed removing (in our opinion) the best things on the menu. No more burgers, fries, mac & cheese, or the Zulu chopped chicken salad. We had the Turkey avocado sandwich and it was decent. It said it came with a side «salad», but it was actually just a small cup of black beans, jalapeño, and cheese. Sadly this restaurant went from being the «hidden gem» restaurant in Scottsdale to just a decent, slightly over priced, and somewhat slow lunch café.

A long time ago when I had some close friends who were GA pilots, we’d occasionally assemble on Saturday mornings a rth local GA airport café, and enjoy watching the planes. Or, even better, we’d all climb in an airplane and fly up to Cal City, Mojave, or Lake Isabella and grab a late breakfast or early lunch at the airport cafés. Sadly, it’s no longer so simple or quaint.
Zulu Caffe is in a nice location here at SDL, separated from the Tarmac only by a sidewalk. The tower is across the field, and Camelback Mtn and the McDowell Mnts form the majority on the horizon. Plenty of GA jets and props.
The café itself is ok, during the time I was here there were no other customers, which seems strange given it being 9am on a Wednesday. No pilots in here swapping stories, nothing.
The food is completely acceptable, coffee hot, sufficient attention from the waitstaff. In talking with her, I understand that they do a fair amount of of business catering the private jets that come through here, and the lunch is more busy.
I ordered the 2 eggs/​bacon/​potatoes, which was $ 8, and coffee, which was decent.
I would come back again if I have business nearby.

If you’re waiting around the airport Zulu is definitely the place to eat. Lunchtime can be busy with regular locals but the service is always great. My favorite is the Anchiote Chicken Wrap. It has avocado and black bean hummus and just enough spice to make it really tasty! You can also order ahead for in-​flight food from their catering side, Ciao Baby.

Pressed Pork Shoulder sandwich = 5 stars
Chicken Salad = 4 stars
Kids Mac n Cheese = 4 stars
Service = 3 stars
Setting = 5 stars
My wife and two children went over to Zulu for lunch after finding out we could watch the runway from this great little restaurant. My toddler is a big fan of trains, planes, etc…, so he was quite excited to be able to see the planes from the lovely patio.
I ordered the pressed pork shoulder sandwich and it was fantastic! I highly recommend this sandwich with a great blend of spreads, cheese, and crunchy bread — it is a mouthwatering combination. The Chicken Salad my wife had was good but not great — definitely better than average though which is what warrants the four stars. The kids mac n cheese was also great — definitely beats kraft and my toddler downed it!
The setting is fantastic, I recommend it to everyone who can spare some time for lunch as the time of service was the only thing that was lacking. However, we were able to enjoy a leisurely lunch while watching some jets and planes fly in and out for the holidays.
Go check this place out. I look forward to trying the Zulu Burger next time.

Great view of the runway and mountains beyond. A nice variety of standard fare menu items with some upscale twists.

Over the last year in 2013, spent many a lunch times there bringing along colleagues. The food is great! Talking a break at lunch to watch Learjet’s take off and land is amazing. One day, I’ll be in one of those planes taking off and landing in Scottsdale, Arizona. Definitely sit where you can watch look NE out the window and eat something tasty.

The only «bad» thing I can say about this place is trying to find it. Especially if you’re not familiar with the air park. Other than that everything was great. Not too crowded but not a ghost town. Nice place for a business luncheon. The ladies working were all very friendly and quick to refill drinks. The pulled pork sandwich was absolutely wonderful! Reasonably priced for the amount of food on your plate.

I went here with a few co-​workers for lunch, very trendy, business savvy environment. The view of the planes and the runway at the private airport is definitely a unique and visually appealing asset. The food was fantastic, I ordered the beet & goat cheese salad with chicken. One of the best salads I’ve had. My co-​workers ordered the Chinese chicken salad and the chicken wrap. We all finished every last bite. Our server was very pleasant and nice, however the service was a little slower than we would have liked, being that we only had an hour for lunch, we felt a little rushed towards the end. Other than that, great restaurant. We will definitely be eating here again soon.

Ordered a salad take out– it was prepared quickly, and was delicious. They even packaged the chicken separately– so it stayed warm.
Definitely recommend.

Yummy! My new favorite spot for lunch. These kids have really made this airport restaurant an excellent restaurant. The furnishings are interesting; outside patio is perfect if the weather cooperates. The menu, while rather short, offers excellent choices. I’ve yet to have a meal I didn’t love. I had the grilled cheese sandwich (with added bacon) last time there; the BLT the time before. The soup selection is good this time of year. Oh — it is rarely busy even over lunch hour, so if you want to be seated immediately and be able to hear the person across the table, this is the spot for you!

This place could get by on its location alone but they have put forth the requisite effort to come up with a menu that merits a regular spot in your lunch rotation. Like many other fellow Unilocalers I came away quite pleased with the Pork Shoulder Press.

The Zulu Caffe is a great Lunch & Brunch spot. Bring your GPS because it’s a little hard to find. Last time I was here was on a lazy Saturday afternoon. I enjoyed the views and my lunch. Fortunately, my wife let me have a bit of her pulled pork sandwich and I’m telling you I’m hooked on their pulled pork.
We chatted with Chef Ford for a bit because we were complimenting him on the delicious lunch. I said this sandwich is just like the pulled pork at Sweet Baby Ray’s in Chicagoland. He said he uses their sauce and adds some of his own secret ingredients to the mix. I would stack this pulled pork sandwich up against any BBQ joint in the metro area. This is the best pulled pork I have had since I’ve been in Arizona.
I enjoy the food at Zulu but wish they had evening hours. I heard their brunch is really good with the bottomless Mimosas but I haven’t had a chance to check that out.

I loved this place. After a long day of touring homes my client took me to Zulu Caffe for lunch. It was fairly empty inside but had a nice ambiance. We were greeted by a friendly waiter named Roger who seated us on the dog friendly patio. The patio overlooks the airplanes which is might sound wierd but its pretty neat. The food was absolutely fantastic. Normally I have at least one thing that I think could have been done better but our meal was flawless. Great job chef!
FOOD: We ordered the Chicken Wrap w/​a side salad and the Local Pork Shoulder Press sandwich w/​half fries & half sweet potato fries. I highly recommend the pork sandwich, sweet potato fries (yes they were crunchy!!), and side salad (the vinaigrette was plate licking good). Small but nice beer selection, I had the Sunbru from Four Peaks Brewery. The service was 5stars as well. Roger was very friendly, knowledgeable, and a great waiter.
I can’t wait to go back for brunch!

Dear god we eat here all the time… probably too much, but it’s close, convenient and yummy.
Food is flavorful, fresh, consistently good.
Service is good, with a smile, and usually pretty quick.
Great patio (no misters if you get toasty in the 6-​months of PHX summer), and great runway view for airplane nerds such as myself.
Only complaint is the menu is quite small and fairly limited for vegetarians (grilled cheese sandwich and a wrap plus your typical salads).

Great place to sit on the patio, enjoy weekend brunch, and watch the planes take off and land.
Although the menu is rather small, it provided the basics for brunch. We ordered a potato chip stack and neither my husband nor I had a clue about how huge the portion would be. A table of four could easily share this! Definitely filling and delicious! Both of us had omelets which were very good. .. not the best we’ve had, but overall quite good.
Service was spot on and friendly. I wouldn’t hesitate coming back and would like to try it out for lunch as the menu looked very enticing.

Another Groupon winner. We bought a deal where we got Brunch w/​Mimosas. That’s what brought us to this hidden gem at the tiny Scottsdale Airport. Without the Groupon, we’d never find it nor come here. During our visits we ordered:
Ham & Cheese Omelette (Ham, Cheddar Cheese, Peppers, Breakfast Potatoes 10 Chefs Quiche of the Day Served with Potatoes), $ 10
Salmon Quesadilla (Scrambled Eggs, Gruyère, Tomato, Red Onion, Fried Caper Crème Fraiche), $ 9
Breakfast Burrito, (Eggs, Chorizo, Cheddar Cheese, Onions, Peppers, Potatoes, Homemade Salsa), $ 9
Burger (Gruyère Cheese, Pickled Red Onions, Chipotle Aioli, Arugula, Bacon, Challah Bun), $ 9
We enjoyed all of these items. The portions are big too, so you leave full. The best part was bottomless Mimosas!
Yes, we got hammered.
We came on the weekend on a Saturday, which was perfect. Not too many people and we got a lot of personal attention. It was kind of cool to watch the small planes take off and land… and to dream of the G6 I will own one day soon…
Return Factor — 90%

Had a coupon for this place, so I went for brunch today.
Wasn’t expecting it to be in the airport terminal, but was pleasantly surprised with the calm, modern atmosphere they’ve created at Zulu Caffe. The entire east wall is a window looking out to the runway — allowing guests watch the planes take off and land with the beautiful AZ mountains in the background.
Looking forward to cooler weather so that we can eat outside on the patio near the fire place.
Meal was delicious, staff and owner were extremely friendly and helpful. It’s a great place to meet up with a friend, sit and chat. Will certainly be back soon.

Great lunch spot in the Scottsdale Airport!
Zulu is the perfect lunch option in the Airpark area. The restaurant is open and clean with a great view of the planes coming and going. It is quiet enough for an important business lunch or just a casual lunch with friends.
I can’t seem to get myself to order any but the chicken wrap. It is wonderful with perfectly cooked spicy chicken, avocado and black bean hummus. For your side you must order the sweet potato fries. They are worth it, crunchy and seasoned just right.
The prices here are very fair and the food is really great.
Enjoy!

The Zulu Caffe is a fairly new and the only restaurant gracing the empty spot in the Scottsdale Airport terminal. The three lovely lady owners and their team and service are spectacular. Their food is moderately priced and always presented in a passionate fashion. Kudos to the chef. I’m sure we’ll see discounts for regulars soon. I hear they are planning to use the flashy SquareUp App for this and other promotions. Stop by for breakfast or lunch and watch the planes and jets arrive and depart.
Did I mention FREE WiFi ?!? A HUGE plus these days in order to hang and do some mobile biz over a cappuccino or lemonade.
Remember to ‘Like’ Zulu Caffe on Facebook and drop them a line. Ideas are always welcome. Support your immediate community and small businesses wherever you can. The Scottsdale airport is a real alternative to most other places. Who knows, you might get inspired to do your pilot’s license like we did.
And if I get surprised some day by longer hours and getting served by a PanAm — style steward or stewardess staff, I’d give them a five star rating ;-)