Home / Neighborhoods / Mesa
Mesa, Main Street and Dobson
Mesa got a lot cooler while nobody was looking. Main Street is all taprooms and sandwich shops now, and the Asian District on Dobson is the best munchie run in the East Valley.
This page covers two pieces of Mesa that are worth the drive, or better, the train. Downtown is the grid around Main Street near the Mesa Arts Center. The Asian District is a couple miles west, strung along Dobson Road around Main.
Mesa still has its quiet suburban reputation, and parts of it earn that. But downtown has filled in with breweries, cider, arcades and real-deal food, and Dobson is where you go when you want dumplings, hot pot and a cart of dim sum at a table full of friends.
Mesa history in a few bites
The Hohokam farmed this land for centuries and built irrigation canals before leaving in the 1400s. The canals outlasted them. A group of Mormon settlers who called themselves the Mesa Company showed up on February 14, 1878, cleaned out one of those old Hohokam canals and finished the Mesa Canal that October.
They laid out a townsite one mile square and moved in by that fall. Within four years about 300 people lived here, and Mesa City incorporated on July 15, 1883. That one-mile grid is still the bones of downtown.
The modern chapter started with the Mesa Arts Center opening in 2005, which the city leaned on hard to bring people back to Main Street. Then light rail rolled in and kept extending east into downtown. The result is a walkable little main street that feels a lot more lived-in than Old Town Scottsdale.
Things to do in downtown Mesa
Downtown is compact and easy to wander. Pair one daytime stop with a long dinner and a taproom, and you've done it right.
-
Downtown Mesa
Mesa Arts Center
1 E Main St, Mesa, AZThe anchor of Main Street. It's a big arts complex with theaters for live shows, visual art exhibitions and classes. Even if you're not catching a show, the campus is fun to walk through, and the light rail runs right along Main.
TipCheck what's on before you go. A show plus dinner on Main is a perfect night.
-
Downtown Mesa
Arizona Museum of Natural History
53 N MacDonald St, Mesa, AZAn 80,000-square-foot museum covering archaeology, paleontology and geology, with dinosaurs stacked up on the upper levels. Air conditioning, giant skeletons and Hohokam history in one building. Elite hot-afternoon move.
-
Downtown Mesa
i.d.e.a. Museum
150 W Pepper Pl, Mesa, AZA hands-on art and science museum built for kids but genuinely fun for adults too. Good if you've got the little cousins in town and you need a clear-headed afternoon.
-
Main Street
Nile Theater
The brick facade dates to 1924, and it's one of the best-looking buildings on Main. The front is a popular photo spot, and it pours coffee these days too.
-
Dobson Road and Main Street
Mekong Plaza and the Asian District
Mekong Plaza opened in 2008 inside a former Target and became the anchor for what's now Mesa's Asian District, which runs about two miles along Dobson Road, with the main cluster between Main Street and Broadway. A newer expansion added a pile of new tenants, including a big hot pot chain and a Japanese udon spot.
Inside you'll find small eateries doing bao, pho and banh mi, plus a grocery with produce, noodles and live seafood. H Mart sits across the road, and Asiana Market holds down the south end with its own food court.
TipGo hungry with a group and graze. Two or three spots in one trip is the way.
Where to eat and drink in Mesa
Main Street does sandwiches, empanadas and taprooms. Dobson does everything else. Split the night between them if you've got the time. More around the Valley on our eat page.
-
Main Street
Worth Takeaway
218 W Main St, Mesa, AZThe sandwich shop people drive across the Valley for. The Italian grinder and the crispy chicken are the go-tos, and the menu's side section is literally labeled Not Sandwiches. Pure munchie heaven.
TipGet there early for lunch. It's popular for a reason.
-
Just off Main Street
República Empanada
204 E 1st Ave, Mesa, AZFamily-owned South American spot doing empanadas and sides like cassava fries. Order a mix and share. The pernil empanada is the one.
-
Main Street
12 West Brewing
12 W Main St, Mesa, AZA brewpub right on Main with pub classics plus a few chef-y plates. The Zona Pils is the house beer people know it for.
-
Robson Street
Cider Corps
31 S Robson St, Mesa, AZA cidery on Robson with a pizza counter, Myke's Pizza, inside the same building. A nice change from the beer-everywhere thing.
TipFly a few ciders before you commit to a full pour.
-
Main Street
¡Qué Chévere!
142 W Main St, Mesa, AZVenezuelan food a short walk from the Arts Center. Get the patacón, the fried plantain sandwich, and don't skip the carne en vara.
-
Main Street
Proof Bread
125 W Main St, Mesa, AZA bakery right on Main. Grab bread and pastries for the morning after, or for the next hour, no judgment.
-
Mekong Plaza, Asian District
Mekong Palace
Dim sum with rolling carts of glazed pork ribs, shrimp dumplings and regional Chinese plates. Point at what looks good and keep pointing.
TipWeekend dim sum is the move. Bring a crew.
-
Asian District
Jin BBQ
Korean barbecue with thin-sliced meats, stews and Korean drinks, and the grills run late. A tabletop grill is the best group munchie activity ever invented.
Questions about Mesa
Can you smoke weed in Mesa, Arizona?
Yes, if you're 21 or older and you're on private property where the owner allows it. Smoking in a public place or open space, like Main Street, parks or patios, is a petty offense under state law.
Where is the Asian District in Mesa?
It runs about two miles along Dobson Road, with the main cluster between Main Street and Broadway. Mekong Plaza at Dobson and Main is the anchor, with H Mart across the road and Asiana Market at the south end.
Does the light rail go to downtown Mesa?
Yes. The line runs along Main Street into downtown Mesa, close to the Mesa Arts Center. It's the easiest way in from Tempe or Phoenix, especially after a sesh.
What is there to do in downtown Mesa?
Catch a show or exhibition at the Mesa Arts Center, see the dinosaurs at the Arizona Museum of Natural History, and eat your way down Main Street. Then hit a taproom or cidery to wrap the night.
When was Mesa founded?
Mormon settlers known as the Mesa Company arrived in February 1878, rebuilt an old Hohokam canal and laid out a one-mile-square townsite that year. Mesa City incorporated in 1883.