Are you going to feel slightly overwhelmed the first time you step foot inside Mora Italian, chef Scott Conant's eagerly anticipated new Italian restaurant in uptown Phoenix? Possibly, yes. Mora Italian is busy, youthful, loud, and even a little grand. It's hard to resist the urge to just stand there for a minute and gape at its color and spectacle, like some hapless tourist deposited in the middle of a big city square.

The ceilings, unfinished and industrial, are loftier than they appear from the outside. The open kitchen is so well-lit and well-configured, it looks like a movie director's idea of what a professional restaurant kitchen ought to look like. A team of young cooks move in swift, confident orchestration, and there always seems to be a server careening around the corner.