Tinderbox Kitchen

Flagstaff, United States

4.6

Closed now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+1 928-226-8400
Website:
www.tinderboxkitchen.com
Address:
34 S San Francisco St, Flagstaff, AZ, 86001
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
0.3 miDowntown Transfer Center
2 miFort Valley Rd. / Stevanna Way
2.1 miShoshone Point
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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
Yes
Delivery
No
Take-out
No
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Good For
Dinner
Parking
Street
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Good for Kids
No
Good for Groups
Yes
Attire
Casual
Ambience
Trendy
Noise Level
Average
Alcohol
Full Bar
Outdoor Seating
Yes
Wi-Fi
No
Has TV
No
Waiter Service
Yes
Caters
No

Today

Today 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Closed now
Local time (Flagstaff) 1:08 PM Tuesday, June 24, 2025

Business hours

Monday 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Tuesday 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Wednesday 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Thursday 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Friday 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Saturday 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Sunday 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Description

Specialties

Tinderbox Kitchen serves American comfort food — redefined. Enjoy soul-​satisfying classics with modern spins on ingredients and preparations. Everything from the sausage to the bread to the catsup, is made in-​house by Chef Heinonen. The restaurant hosts a contemporary atmosphere and a fun, unpretentious feel. During the beautiful Flagstaff summers, the 50-​seat restaurant expands outside to a beautiful historic patio area, backing Arizona’s only still-​standing Basque handball court from the early 1900s.

A «must-​have» dining experience in Flagstaff!

History

Established in 2009.

Tinderbox is located in the Jimenez Building, built in 1931 by Dionisio Jimenez. It is one of the earliest remaining commercial buildings on S. San Francisco St. One side was first operated as a candy store and the other side as a Spanish Kitchen. The Martinez family purchased the building in 1948 and operated the Martinez Grocery Store in the space for many years. They still own the building today.

One wall of the Tinderbox patio, is the remains of a handball court constructed in the 1920s. It was located adjacent to a boarding house known as Jesus Garcia’s Tourist Home. It served a population of Basque immigrants (an ethnic group from northern Spain) who came here as sheep herders. The handball court (or pelota) was an important part of every Basque community. This court is the only remaining court in the state of Arizona.

Meet the Business Owner

Scott and Kevin Heinonen H.

Business Owner

A trailblazer in Flagstaff’s culinary scene, Chef and Co-​Owner, Scott Heinonen, formerly of Pine Canyon and Cuvee 928, blends artistry with skilled preparation techniques to deliver clean flavors and beautiful, simple dishes. A NAU Hotel and Restaurant Management graduate, Scott also attended the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in St. Helena, Calif and has cooked in acclaimed kitchens throughout Oregon and California.

Partnering with his cousin is Manager and Co-​owner, Kevin Heinonen. Kevin brings over fifteen years of business experience to Tinderbox. As a licensed attorney, Kevin is well-​known in the local business community, having practiced law and marketed commercial real estate in Flagstaff for the past fifteen years. It didn’t take long for him and his cousin Scott to begin visualizing Tinderbox, its potential and their partnership together.

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20 reviews of Tinderbox Kitchen

No registration required
Place rating: 5
Paradise Valley, AZ
Great presentation and food! Had the trout and pork loin entrees with side dish of green beans with almonds — more than enough food!
Place rating: 5
Kentwood, MI
What a fabulous meal! There were six of us and everyone loved their meal: Sumac pork loin, buffalo ribeye, ancho masa shrimp, seared duck breast. Our waitress Amy was wonderful as was the wine. Food is described as progressive comfort food and I would add that the flavor combinations were perfect.
Place rating: 5
Lexington, MA
Excellent food! We ordered duck breast and the lamb sirloin. Both entrée doing a great job!
Place rating: 5
Orlando, FL
My fiancé and I drove through Freeport on a road trip and decided it was the perfect place to stop for dinner and we were right! Tinderbox was AMAZING– service, cocktails, food… All excellent. We sat out on the patio, which was adorable, although inside had a great vibe too. We would highly recommend this place to anyone who is looking for unique creative dishes.
Place rating: 5
Boulder, CO
Stopped in for a late and small dinner. We were impressed with: great services, unique food choices, cool atmosphere, fab cocktails. The food was wonderful — we had the grilled watermelon, pork belly and duck breast entrée. First the grilled watermelon made me dig deep to figure out why it was so good. I thought for sure they had some sweet /​spicy Japanese sauce on it — but the chef said it was straight up watermelon with some Sriracha. Delish! I am not a pork belly fan — too fatty and often bland. This pork belly killed it! Had some meat on it, great sauce, and served with wonderful avocado mash.
The duck was super tasty but I thought they could have rendered the fat a bit better. Was a little tough to cut through the skin however the flavor and taste was spot on. I’d give 4.5 stars for that reason but they def deserve more than 4 stars!
Place rating: 5
Yoncalla, OR
Amazing service and food. We were just walking around and asked about a good steak place. We were pointed to this place, at first it didn’t look open but they have some serious blinds to block the sun (which is well needed)!
There is no changing table so I asked if there was another place to change our 1 year old, they let me us the office which is so much better than using the bathroom floor.
The food was great, cheese board and bread was great, well described. We had the meatloaf, lamb and sirloin all were great; even the baby ate a little of everyone’s plate! We all got the cinnamon crème brûlée with short bread cookies, delish! Will probably never head back through flagstaff but if we do I’ll make a point to go back.
A huge shout out again to the staff that didn’t act like us having our 1 year old with us was any kind of issue! Thanks.
Place rating: 3
Las Vegas, NV
Great food and atmosphere took a long time for food to arrive. Amazing blue cheese gritz and shrimp, Steal and truffles cauliflower, and the buttered noodles for the kids amazing
Place rating: 5
Lawrence, KS
Delicious gourmet food ! Food that makes me want to live forever just to enjoy them. We started our evening at T-​annex right next door and proceed to the T-​kitchen for dinner.
It just happened to be my ducky day =D We had duck liver pâté over at t-​annex. I had the seasonal soup: hominies and roasted corn simmering in, again, duck broth. It was packed with southwestern flavors and maybe just a little spicy for me. J and I shared the duck breast entrée. Oh… my…God the duck breast was so tender and perfectly seasoned. The fennels and red cabbage slaws were crunchy, tangy, and fresh, adding a nice complement to the main dish. The duck fat donuts (because why not right?!) finished our dining experience. If you have not had those little donuts, go and get them!
Tinderbox kitchen makes me so happy !
Place rating: 5
Fallbrook, CA
Third time eating at Tinderbox while visiting son in college. Food is always AMAZING!!! Never had anything that wasn’t tasty. Service always good. Especially like duck entrees.
Place rating: 5
Scottsdale, AZ
SOOOOOOO GOOOOOOD!!! My wife and I made reservations for 5:30 which was all that was available. We showed up and were quickly seated. Our server gave us the low-​down on the menu. We started with a couple kumquat jam martinis. Great flavor, a little sweet for me but really good. We ordered the fried cauliflower and pork belly starters. DAMN was that GOOD!!! The pork belly was creamy and flavorful without being to salty and the cauliflower was crazy good!!! The sriracha mayo and mint leaves on the crispy and perfectly fried cauliflower, freakin awesome!!! For the main I had the pork tenderloin with almond risotto and salted melon. I think all conversation ceased as I went face first into this plate only coming up for air and a swig of bourbon (great booze list too). I left nothing behind sopping up the remainder of the risotto with the really good rosemary bread.
Service was spot on, never had an empty glass, and she was knowledgeable about the cocktails and the menu.
I will be talking this place up that is for sure.
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Loved the Tinderbox Kitchen. We visited during a recent trip to Flagstaff. Started the evening in the Annex with the charcuterie + cheese appetizer and drinks. Then moved to the main dining room for our entrees and a nice bottle of Albariño. Impeccable service. Overall a lovely establishment. Certainly one of Flagstaff’s very best dining experiences.
Place rating: 5
Los Gatos, CA
This is the kind of meal you dream about afterwards for weeks. I mean this morning I woke up sad because it had been 3 weeks since I had my smoked slow cooked pork belly over blue cheese grits.
Lisa was our server and highly knowledgeable about the food and the bar and helped us put together a meal all three of us just loved.
We will be back when we’re next in Flagstaff.
Place rating: 5
San Juan Capistrano, CA
This place is for certified foodies. Good grief what interesting favors. We had the pork bellies (amazing!), the swordfish with jalapeño mashed potatoes (delicious), and the pork chop with goat cheese risotto (great, although not quite as flavorful as the others). Our absolute favorite was the jalapeño potatoes, followed very closely by the pork bellies. The drink menu is equally as impressive.
The dessert menu sounded scrumptious but we were pretty full from those generous dinner portions. Service was excellent thanks too, thanks to Rosemary. We’ll definitely be back!
Place rating: 4
Pasadena, CA
A group of 7 of us came here for dinner. We orders the curried cauliflower, pork belly, and charcuterie as starters. They were all excellent! Our main entrées had split opinions. The duck and Mac and cheese was AMAZING! The duck was nice and crispy and the Mac and cheese was a little spicy and a lot creamy. The risotto was a little bland. The pork tenderloin tasted like ham, which made us question the true cut of the meat. The shrimp and grits was ok. The meatloaf was another delicious dish. The desserts were awesome! We had the chocolate cake with incredible ice cream, cinnamon and sugar donuts, and peanut butter mousse thing.
Place rating: 3
Henderson, NV
I really, really wanted to give Tinderbox Kitchen four stars. I wanted to LOVE this place, but I simply can’t.
On the basis of other Unilocal reviewers, I decided to give this place a try. It seemed cool, and like a gem in the rough. We came in, the atmosphere was nice, it seemed like this would be very promising. The server and the hostess were both very nice. We ordered the pork belly appetizer with grits. The pork belly was amazing. The grits were on point. Onto dinner.
Dinner was good, but not worth four and a half stars. Me and my dad ordered the steak with cheesy potatoes, fried cauliflower, and broccolini. My brother ordered the buffalo meatloaf, my mom the Bronzino.
My mom loved her fish, my brother the meatloaf. But my steak was very chewy, and at some points tough. The potatoes were good, but not great. The cauliflower was too big so that it didn’t really get crispy. The broccolini was good, but be prepared for some spice. After 150 dollars, I don’t think the meal was worth the price.
Place rating: 5
Fountain Valley, CA
This is a gem of a restaurant and I cannot recommend it enough. The service was impeccable and their food was top notch. We were told that this restaurant specialized in making everything from scratch and after indulging in recommendations from our waitress the proof was in the taste. Can’t miss recommendations include the chartrussier plate, the bacon wrapped meatloaf and the homemade s’mores dessert. Seriously, cured meats, homemade ketchup and made from scratch marshmallows?
If you enjoy a fine dining experience without the pretentious atmosphere, this is a place for you. I expect we will come back to Flagstaff just to eat here again.
Place rating: 3
Chandler, AZ
It was a wonderful experience dining in here.
When we first walked in, the hostress was very friendly. She initially wanted to sit us in between two small tables. When I saw another one right next to the wall, I pointed and asked her if it was ok for us to sit there instead. She was kind enough to let us without any problem or an attitude.
Shortly after we sat down, a beautiful smiley lady got us our drinks. I ordered roasted duck (Entrees #1) and my friend ordered a New York steak. My roasted duck was average. The meat is a bit tough and the flavor is a bit blend. I honestly couldn’t finish it. Nevertheless, it was well decorated and meat portion was generous. I did take a bite of the new York steak and it was very delicious.
The waitress did tell us a list of amazing dessert. We were so stuff at that point we simply don’t have more room for it. Maybe next time when we come back, we will try their dessert menu.
Menu is a bit overpriced comparing with most restaurants in the area. Overall, I enjoyed the wonderful service we received and how beautiful our dishes look like.
Place rating: 4
Flagstaff, AZ
I went to Tinderbox Kitchen for dinner because I never eat American comfort food and my friends recommend this restaurant for me. The first I order the cheese and tomatoes and the calamari. The second I ordered the Pork Belly, the Board and a soup scallops. The dessert I ordered ice cream and Churchill Manhattan. The Pork Belly came with some bread and some vegetables, the Pork Belly is hot but the Board is cold. The portion size was large, so I can’t finishing but food is very delicious. The food is very fresh and was at delicate artwork, so quality is no problems.
When I entered the Tinderbox Kitchen this restaurant give my first feeling is very quiet and decoration is very simple. If you want to sit outside it make you feel relaxed. In the restaurant it has a large kitchen in the back. Whether indoor or outdoor tables are very clean. At here customers can available some special. I think like eat meat people can come here because they will have many options to choose from. For example, the actual lamb under the sweet roasted onions.
Tinderbox Kitchen is a very expensive restaurant in Flagstaff, so they are service is very good, when I enter my waiter very fast land me to my table and took my menu. When I was ready to order, she answered all my questions. I didn’t wait a long time for my food, food is hot to come. This restaurant just have one in Flagstaff and they have good quality, large portion size and nice service. So I recommend Tinderbox Kitchen to everybody.
Place rating: 5
Phoenix, AZ
My parents and I were staying in Flagstaff for skiing trip and we decided to check this place out. The food here is fabulous! I ordered the ginger carrot soup first, which was really delicious. It was a sweet, creamy based soup topped with scallions, which added another depth of flavor the soup and gave it a little «kick». Next I had their green salad. This salad was good, but nothing to rave about. I got the bacon wrapped meatloaf for the main course, and it was amazing! The meatloaf was nice and soft, and the bacon around it was easily cut and very tasty. The service was also 5 stars. Our food came out in a very timely manner and the server we had was attentive. Overall a great experience, and I would recommend this place to anyone visiting the area!
Place rating: 5
Phoenix, AZ
Best food in Flagstaff… I don’t know if that’s true or not. I was just visiting from Phoenix and been recommended tinderbox and loved it so much the first night, we came back our second night to try more items on the menu.
I had a good old fashioned served with the Italian Bing cherries which I love. We also had a smoked cocktail which was great and good table side presentation.
We had pork belly in a cranberry reduction in blue cheese grits, absolutely amazing and not too over powering with the blue cheese. Definitely recommend this.
For main course we had the jalapeño Mac and cheese with duck and the mushroom risotto with duck, both were well sized portions and well balanced flavored and textures. Would recommend either.
For dessert they have an evolving menu each night with 4 – 5 options. We had the almost flourless chocolate cake served warmed with cherry ice cream on top.
Perfection from start to finish. Will be coming back next time we are in town Nd will also be checking out their market and cocktail lounge next door.