La Zozzona

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

What "Messy Delicious" Actually Means

La Zozzona takes its name from an Italian phrase that translates, roughly, to "messy delicious" — and the concept wears that description with pride. Opened in 2024 at the Grand Hyatt Scottsdale Resort, it is the first Arizona restaurant from acclaimed chef and restaurateur Richard Blais, drawn from his travels through Italy's cities, coastlines, and countryside. The result is what the kitchen calls an "Itali-zona" approach: Italian cooking that is rooted in tradition but handled with a playful, inventive hand.

The Kitchen and the Team

Executive Chef Jesse McDannell and Chef de Cuisine JR Walters lead the day-to-day cooking, translating Blais' vision into a menu built around housemade pastas inspired by Rome, wood-fired steaks honoring Florence and Tuscany, and shareable cicchetti designed to bring people to the table. The signature Rigatoni "Alla Zozzona" — guanciale, sausage, tomato, chili, and Pecorino Romano — gives the restaurant its name a second time on the plate. Elsewhere on the menu, Truffled Parmesan Gnocchi arrives with mushroom ragù and cavolo nero, while the Itali-Zona Cioppino folds clams, scallops, prawns, and 'nduja into a saffron seafood broth with Fregola Sarda. For something more substantial, a Meats by Linz Bone-In Tomahawk Ribeye is finished with garlic confit, salsa verde, and red wine glace.

Drinks, the Lounge, and the Wine List

The cocktail program leans into Italian spirits and flavors — the "Messy Girl" Martinis, made with mozzarella-washed vodka or goat cheese-washed gin, are signatures that capture the restaurant's irreverent character. A dedicated Negroni Corner and tableside-smoked preparations round out a bar menu that is anything but an afterthought. The wine program, guided by the sommelier and curated around Italy's most iconic regions, earned La Zozzona the Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence in 2025 — a meaningful recognition for a restaurant barely a year old. The Coravin rare wines list, which includes Dom Pérignon, Opus One, and a Super Tuscan from Tenuta Biserno, underscores how seriously the cellar is taken.

Setting and Atmosphere

The space divides between a main dining room suited to family gatherings and celebrations, and an intimate speakeasy-style lounge with plush seating and a glowing firepit — a quieter corner for craft cocktails or pre-dinner drinks. General Manager Austen Hollister oversees a floor team that the restaurant describes as attentive from start to finish. The indoor-outdoor setting at the Grand Hyatt grounds the Italian dining experience in a distinctly Arizonan backdrop, making La Zozzona something that feels both grounded in place and genuinely connected to the food culture it celebrates.