When Sunset magazine released its 2024 list of where to eat in the West on Tuesday, Sept. 10, Tyler Fentonโs innovative downtown restaurant Bata was the only Arizona eatery to make the cut.
The restaurant, which chef-owner Fenton opened in spring 2022 in a historic 1930s downtown warehouse, is in prestigious company. The list includes three California Michelin-starred restaurants โ Valle in Oceanside, Aphotic in San Francisco and Carusoโs in Santa Barbara โ and Denverโs Safta, helmed by the two-time James Beard Award-winning chef Alon Shaya.
โThatโs pretty amazing company to be in consideration with,โ Fenton said Thursday, giving much of the credit for the honor to his staff.
โThey are amazing and they do the work everyday so this award is very much in recognition of their contribution,โ he said. โI get most excited when we get an award because I think itโs very validating for the team as a whole.โ
The Sunset nod was Bataโs second national accolade this year after Wine Spectator in June gave it an Award of Excellence and its fourth since opening in spring 2022. Bata, which Fenton owns with his siblings, Zach and Courtney, had been open just six months when Bon Appรฉtit named it one of the magazineโs best new restaurants of 2022
In March 2023, Time magazine name-dropped Bata as part of its โWorldโs Greatest Places 2023โ story. Tucson was one of only seven U.S. places on the list, which cited the cityโs UNESCO City of Gastronomy designation and diverse restaurant scene as a driving factor.
Bata specializes in locally-sourced dishes.
Fenton said the national attention, which he attributed to efforts by Visit Tucson to spotlight Tucson restaurants on the national stage, usually brings a boost in business. Soon after the Bon Appรฉtit mention, the guest count at Bata nearly doubled.
โAs a Tucson kid Iโm always happy seeing the city get the recognition it deserves,โ Fenton said. โOur goal is to serve people great food and make them happy, and the more people we can do that for the happier we are and the happier our staff is and the more successful we get to be.โ
In addition to Bata and its sister Barbata in the basement at 35 E. Toole Ave., the Fentonsโ stable includes Reilly Craft Pizza & Drink and its downstairs Tough Luck Club at 101 E. Pennington St. and Fentonelliโs Pizzeria & Bar at 7262 N. Oracle Road on the northwest side.
Early next year, Fenton hopes to open an outdoor sister restaurant at Bata once he builds out the backside of the property. Plans call for an outdoor kitchen and seating area, as well as an active garden.
Bata occupies one of the old warehouse spaces lining the railroad tracks in downtown Tucson.
Fenton said he is still working on a name and finalizing what the concept will look like, but heโs considering a more casual, laid-back version of Bata. Ideas he and his staff are spitballing include an outdoor world barbecue concept that would take you into the culinary and cultural world of barbecue from around the globe.
โIt would look like a backyard party in South Africa, Mexico or the U.S.,โ he said.
He hopes to have the project finished in six months and open while the weather is still nice, he said.
To learn more about Bata, visit batatucson.com.
Thousands of restaurants have come and gone in Tucson over the years. Here are some we wish never left.
