Downtown Phoenix just quietly picked up a serious splurge spot: Uppercut, a 14-course steak omakase from Pretty Decent Concepts, has opened with little fanfare and a lot of beef. The intimate counter seats only 16 diners along a central kitchen and will run one to two seatings each night. At $225 per person, the tasting centers on house-aged beef served as a parade of internationally inspired small bites rather than your standard steak-and-potato plate.
Pretty Decent Concepts, the downtown hospitality group behind Wren & Wolf and Carry On, installed Uppercut inside Cleaverman at the Arizona Center. Cleaverman, the group's large, opulent steakhouse that debuted in November 2025, now houses the omakase counter and provides valet and parking options for diners. Both the group's site and Cleaverman's reservation page frame Uppercut as a deliberately exclusive, counter-style experience tucked inside the larger restaurant.
Menu and pairings
According to Phoenix New Times, the opening lineup leans all-in on richness. Early courses include bone marrow with milk bread, followed by dry-aged beef negimaki with mirin shoyu, shaved truffles and caviar. There is also carpaccio dressed with yuzu aioli and fresh herbs. The meal wraps with a brownie topped with brown sugar meringue and tallow-roasted cashews.
On the drinks side, diners can choose between two wine-pairing tiers ($125 or $300), a whiskey flight or a curated rotating pairing. Phoenix New Times also credits chefs Jared Porter and Travis Sassman with crafting seasonal menus and notes that designer Peter Bowden handled the room's warm, wood-forward look, keeping the focus on the counter and the open kitchen action.
Behind the concept
Teddy Myers, founder of Pretty Decent Concepts, called Uppercut "a temple to beef that introduces something entirely new to the Valley" in a news release, as reported by Phoenix New Times. Myers' group has been expanding its downtown footprint for years and first announced the larger Arizona Center buildout in 2024. For more background on how the company mapped out that expansion, see Hoodline's coverage in trio of upscale venues at the Arizona Center.
How to reserve
Uppercut is releasing a limited number of reservations online one month at a time. Its site currently lists the counter as "coming soon" and offers an email signup for notifications as seats drop. For bookings and practical details about parking and valet at the Arizona Center, consult Uppercut's site and Cleaverman's reservation page.
The counter is located at 455 N. Third St., #190 in downtown Phoenix and will host one to two seatings nightly, setting it up as a rare, ticketed-style experience for Valley diners willing to plan ahead for 14 courses of beef-centric theater.
