Valentine’s Day fills restaurants across Tempe tonight, but my wife and I learned long ago that romance works best on your own schedule. We walked into Caffe Boa on Mill Avenue for our first date in October 1999, and we’ve been walking back in every year since for our anniversary lunch.
Twenty-six years of the same booth, the same street, and somehow the pasta keeps getting better. February 14th doesn’t own romance. October does it for us.
Where Love Started on Mill Avenue
The Casa Loma building holds Caffe Boa like a secret worth keeping. Original brick walls and hardwood floors that have seen three decades of first dates, proposals, and couples like us who can’t seem to stay away. We’ve watched Arizona State students come and go, seen Mill Avenue change faces, but this spot? It stays the same in all the right ways.
1999 was a different time. The food was good enough that we came back. The memory was strong enough that we made it a tradition. We’ve only missed one year (2003, when Hawaii got in the way), but every other October finds us at the same table, ordering pasta and remembering why we started this whole thing.
What Makes This Place Worth 26 Years
Handmade pasta rolled fresh every single day. Not the frozen stuff. Not the “fresh” pasta that came from somewhere else. The kitchen here makes it by hand, and you can taste the difference in every bite. The Fettuccine Bianca is light, creamy, and doesn’t sit heavy in your stomach. Add the wild Alaskan salmon, and you’ve got a dish people rave about on every review site.
The Voodoo Penne brings Cajun heat with blackened chicken in a cream sauce that balances spice and comfort. It’s been on the menu for years because people keep ordering it. The award-winning wine selection gives you plenty of options to pair with dinner, whether you’re celebrating something big or just making it through Monday.
The Details That Matter for Date Night
Organic ingredients. Locally sourced produce. Wild-caught seafood flown in fresh. The current owners, Jessalyn Italiano and Zachary Powell, took over in 2017 after working their way up from servers. They’re in the restaurant every day, which means something when you’re trying to run a romantic dinner spot in Tempe.
Live jazz plays every Monday from 6 to 9 PM. The atmosphere shifts from casual lunch spot to something more intimate when the sun goes down. Dim lighting, brick walls, and music that doesn’t drown out conversation make this one of the best restaurants for an anniversary dinner in Tempe.
Romance Works on Any Date You Choose
Today, every restaurant in town is booked solid. Prices are up. The tables turn fast. That’s fine if February 14th works for you. But here’s what 26 years taught us: the best romantic meals in Tempe happen when you’re not competing with everyone else’s calendar.
Pick your own date. Make it mean something to you.
The location at 398 S. Mill Avenue puts you right in the middle of Tempe’s downtown scene. Park once, walk to dinner, and explore the rest of Mill Avenue before or after your meal. It’s the kind of date night restaurant Tempe couples return to because it delivers without trying too hard.
Make It Your Spot, Too
Twenty-six years in the same restaurant sounds boring until you realize it’s not about the routine. It’s about finding a place that matches your rhythm and sticks around long enough to become part of your story. Caffe Boa did that for us in 1999, and it continues to do so today.
The handmade pasta, the brick walls, the way the staff remembers your order even when you’ve been gone a year. Whether you’re going tonight or picking a different day entirely, make a reservation at Caffe Boa and see if it becomes your spot too. Some traditions are worth starting.
Sources: cafeboa.com, yelp.com, Caffe Boa Instagram Page
Header Image Source: cafeboa.com
