The Sydney in Scottsdale Is Starting to Get Interesting

I’ll be honest, I didn’t pay much attention to The Sydney at first.

But the more I hear about what they’re putting in, the more interesting this project gets.

If you haven’t heard of The Sydney yet, it’s a new mixed-use development in Scottsdale near the Loop 101 and Pima Road corridor. It’s being built as more of an entertainment and hospitality destination, with restaurants, nightlife, live music, hotels, retail and other things to do all in one place.

And the location is pretty hard to ignore.

It’s right near Talking Stick Resort, Topgolf, Salt River Fields, OdySea Aquarium and Great Wolf Lodge, so there’s already a lot happening around this part of Scottsdale.

Now they’re adding even more.

The newest announcement is Bistecca & Bones, from the same group behind Bourbon & Bones.

It’s going to be an Italian steakhouse with things like pasta, seafood, tableside Caesar salad and a flaming Bistecca Fiorentina.

Sounds good enough already.

But then I saw what they’re putting upstairs.

They’re bringing a much larger version of Old Town Ski Lodge to The Sydney.

The new location is expected to be around 2,500 square feet and will have a wraparound patio, gondolas and ski-lift chairs for seating, plus an actual walk-in ice bar.

That’s definitely a little different.

And when you look at the rest of the project, you start to understand what they’re going for.

There’s REVERB by Hard Rock, City Winery, The Rustic, Pickle & Social, plus more restaurants and retail planned throughout the development.

So this isn't really shaping up to be the kind of place where you just stop for dinner and head home.

You could have dinner, grab a drink, listen to live music, play pickleball, stay at the hotel and then find something else to do without ever really leaving the area.

That’s probably the part I find most interesting.

Scottsdale obviously has no shortage of restaurants and entertainment, but having all of these different things together in one development could make The Sydney its own destination.

There’s still a lot of construction ahead, and not everything is opening at the same time.

Bistecca & Bones and the new Old Town Ski Lodge are currently looking more like late 2027 or early 2028, while the other parts of the project have their own timelines.

So we’re still a ways out.

But I’ll admit, The Sydney has my attention now.

What started out as another big development along the 101 is starting to look like it could become a pretty fun place to spend an evening.

And honestly, I think Scottsdale could use more places where you can park the car, grab dinner, and have a few different options for what to do next.