Some things never change. Nor should they. They are icons that define an era, tie a community to its roots, hearken back to history and immerse us in the warmth of memory while preserving cherished traditions for decades to come.
Durant’s Steakhouse is one of those icons, a vivid pink building on Central Avenue, its distinctive sign spelling out a destination for power business lunches and celebratory dinners for generations of Phoenicians.
The famous – Barry Goldwater and Frank Sinatra among them – the power brokers, and regular folks just out for a great meal have been coming in the back door, through the kitchen and into the dimly lit dining rooms for 75-plus years. They come for traditional steakhouse fare – thick porterhouses and New York strips, lobster thermidor and shrimp cocktail, sides of creamed spinach and giant baked potatoes – for martinis and Manhattans, for deft, quiet service, for dinner-table deals and power lunches.
Durant’s was founded by Jack Durant in 1950, then operated by Jack and Carol McElroy until early 2025, when it was purchased by the Mastro family – brothers Mike and Jeffrey and their father Dennis – and their business partner Scott Troilo. The group had operated Mastro’s Steakhouses in Scottsdale and Beverly Hills, and then Dominick’s Steakhouse, Steak 44 and 48 and Ocean 44 and 48 in Arizona. Today, three generations of the Mastro family work in the business.
Marc Lupino, chief culinary officer for the group, has been with the Mastro family since he started as a sous chef in 1999. “They’re such a great family,” he said. “As intense as it can be, I really love working for people who have such a great passion for the guests, the facility, the food, and then finding my place within that.”
The new owners closed Durant’s for an update, including extensive kitchen renovations, then reopened last December. It was a restoration instead of a remodel. Deeply tufted red booths, red walls, intimate lighting, Sinatra on the playlist, and a menu showcasing prime corn-fed beef, perfectly grilled, will bring back memories for long-time patrons.
In one dining area, plaques line the walls, etched with the names of diners who downed 42-ounce porterhouses on their own. “We kept that porterhouse on the menu but today it’s 36 ounces and we do it more for two people,” Lupino said. There’s also a 72-ounce version for four.
“We’ve had quite a few old customers come in. I want them to feel the same nostalgia. That was the whole point of this. We could have easily taken out the red booths, but why? We want it to be the same iconic brand with a few different offerings.”
When he was working on the updated menu, Lupino went through the restaurant’s menus over the years. “There was amazing food all across the board over the decades,” he said. “That’s what I wanted to do and what we’ll continue to do.”
On the menu at Durant’s are classics such as the 36-ounce porterhouse steak, mezzi rigatoni with vodka sauce, mushroom caps in wine and butter and jumbo asparagus with Pecorino Romano (photo by Darryl Webb for North Central News). Lobster Thermidor (photo by Darryl Webb for North Central News) 36-ounce porterhouse steak (photo by Darryl Webb for North Central News) Mezzi rigatoni with vodka sauce (photo by Darryl Webb for North Central News) Jumbo asparagus with Pecorino Romano (photo by Darryl Webb for North Central News) Mushroom caps in wine and butter (photo by Darryl Webb for North Central News) Crispy veal parmesan (photo by Darryl Webb for North Central News)
Some new items have been added, including veal parmesan. It’s a tomahawk steak on the bone, pounded thin, breaded and fried, and served with vodka sauce. “That’s my favorite item on the menu,” Lupino said.
The caviar service is another new addition. “I’m such a huge fan of caviar,” Lupino said. “I connected with a family-owned company that does the Sasanian caviar. I went to one of their farms in Vancouver and harvested caviar with them.
“One thing I love about caviar is that it’s very interactive. There are a lot of accompaniments that come with it, and you customize it the way you like it. It’s a very social thing. I love that aspect, and I think sometimes we lose the social aspect of dining.”
While the menu is extensive, with seafood, salads, rack of lamb and pork chops among the offerings, beef is the star of the menu, and Lupino takes pains to find the best. Most of the steaks are corn-fed from the Midwest.
“I work with packers there for our prime beef, and I do a domestic wagyu program and some Japanese wagyu,” he said. “I went to Japan and went to all the farms, from calving all the way through into the packing plant.”
He takes the same approach for seafood. “I went to Norway this year and bought king crab for what I’ll be doing for the whole year,” he said.
Lupino credits his teams, from the valets to the kitchen and serving staff, for helping to create the Durant’s experience.
“When everybody enters through the kitchen, it’s very important to me that they’re met with a smile and ‘Welcome in,’” he said. “I really have to take my hat off to the people who run this place every day. They do a fantastic job.
“I’m so lucky to have the people I have. A lot of them are home-grown. The executive chef here, Felix Ruiz, started off as a dishwasher for me and worked his way up through the whole restaurant. He’s cultivating a guy who is doing the same thing.”
That continuity is an enduring theme for the Mastros, for Lupino and for Durant’s itself.
“We had this iconic institution of Phoenix,” Lupino said. “Everything we tried to do was so that when you walk in, it should have a very familiar feel. We didn’t want to change it; we wanted to refresh it and bring it at least another 75 years. We’re just stewards of this brand for now. We want to do our best for Jack Durant, who did amazing things and has been a staple for years.”
Durant’s, 2611 N. Central Ave., is open for dinner from 4 to 9:15 p.m., Monday through Thursday, 3:30 to 10 p.m., Friday, and 4 to 10 p.m., Saturday and Sunday; and open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Friday. For information, call 602-264-5967 or visit www.durantsaz.com.
