The next time you visit Tucson, explore some of the city’s best restaurants. You’ll discover great food and creative cocktails in this alphabetical list of the eleven top places to eat in Tucson, Arizona, in 2025.

I explored several of these restaurants on a tour hosted by Tucson Food Tours, which arranged my experience.  I sampled bites from six restaurants in just four hours, providing the perfect setting for tasting without overindulging. All opinions are my own.

Carrillo Restaurant

Get ready for a culinary adventure at Tanque Verde Ranch’s Carrillo Restaurant. While not fine dining, the food here is upscale, using fresh ingredients and local produce. Chef McKenzie O’Leary, a Chopped alum, serves elevated Sonoran Ranch cuisine with unique New American twists. Try the mesquite-battered chile relleno, stuffed with black beans, roasted corn, and cheddar jack. The mesquite flour adds a sweet twist. Pair it with a Prickly Pear Margarita, which features fresh prickly pear syrup and a salt rim. This combo is a true Sonoran delight, blending local flavors with a modern twist. It’s a must-visit for any food enthusiast.

Piper’s Pro Planning: While you don’t have to be a guest of the ranch to eat at the restaurant, consider booking a stay at Tanque Verde Ranch for a complete dude ranch experience.

Chela’s Latin Cuisine

Get ready for a fiesta at Chela’s Latin Cuisine in downtown Tucson. This vibrant spot serves up fresh, delicious Mexican dishes, such as beef enchiladas and Chile Relleno, in a stylish setting adorned with a stunning mural and pink neon lights. Don’t miss the Tres Leches cake – it’s a must-try. Enjoy elote on and off the cob and explore vegan options like tacos de calabaza.

Piper’s Pro Planning: After dinner, stick around for Chela’s Nightlife, where the dining area transforms into a dance floor on Friday and Saturday nights. It’s the perfect combination of great food and live music.

• Read More:  3 Restaurants Offering the Best Mexican Food in Tucson
• If you’re planning your Tucson vacation, check out some of these area hotels.

Piper’s Pro Planning: Pace yourself on the chips. The Topopo Salad is packed with fresh produce—various vegetables for lighter fare. Don’t miss their iconic chimichangas. Monica Flin invented them here.

El Güero Canelo

If you’re in Tucson and craving some of the best Mexican food around, El Güero Canelo is a must-visit. This James Beard Award-winning spot may not scream “fancy,” but its laid-back vibe—complete with picnic tables and colorful papel picado—makes it even more charming. Their claim to fame? The legendary Sonoran hot dog: a bacon-wrapped frank nestled in a fluffy bun, piled high with beans, onions, tomatoes, mustard, mayo, and jalapeño sauce—don’t worry, it’s not too spicy. Starting as a humble hot dog cart in 1993, they now serve tacos, burritos, and more at three locations.

Dante’s Fire, Cocktails & Cuisine

As the Chef-Owner of Dante’s Fire, Cocktails & Cuisine, Ken Foy’s philosophy is simple: food should be made from food. Chef Foy is one of Tucson’s award-winning chefs, earning the title of Iron Chef of Tucson. 

We began at their Happy Hour and felt welcome to linger long after dinner. We kicked things off with cocktails and deviled eggs. I ordered the What a Pear cocktail, which is made with pear juice, citrus vodka, vanilla simple syrup, and elderflower. The bartender then crowned it with a Cabernet float. The Southwest Deviled Eggs featured chile-spiked deviled eggs topped with smoked avocado sauce. The chef garnished them with tortilla strips, scallions, and smoked sea salt.

The Melon & Prosciutto was enhanced with a mango vinaigrette, shaved truffle Pecorino, toasted pistachios, and balsamic vinegar. The New England Clam Chowder includes in-shell clams, potatoes, bacon, celery, and onions, with sherry and cream, making it an outstanding dish.

Our dining companion ordered the Thai curry shrimp, which showcased six shrimp in a Thai curry coconut sauce, with tomatoes, cucumbers, and basil served over jasmine rice with candied orange.

Piper’s Pro Planning: Make a reservation to ensure you have a table. The restaurant can get busy. They managed to fit us in, but we did need reservations, even on a weeknight.

Hub Restaurant & Ice Creamery

Located in a historic building that once served as the center of the community, Hub Restaurant & Ice Creamery offers elevated American comfort food. The cuisine features Midwestern dishes such as Wisconsin cheese curds, pot pie, and mac and cheese. The recently refreshed eatery is like a brand-new restaurant, with lamps hanging upside down from the ceiling and walls sporting exposed brick.

Our tasting menu with Tucson Food Tours included a quarter of a pastrami sandwich and cheese curds. Served on a pretzel bun, the pastrami sandwich was stacked high with pastrami, then topped with melted Swiss cheese, spread with stone-ground mustard, and loaded with coleslaw. When you order the sandwich, it comes with Parmesan fries. The cheese curds are beer-battered and served with spicy ketchup.

Piper’s Pro Planning: The Hub Restaurant & Ice Creamery makes all its ice cream on-site. Even if you’re not in the neighborhood at mealtimes, stop by during snack time for an ice cream cone. After all, anytime is a good time for ice cream. Isn’t it?

The Monica

The Monica is named after Monica Flin, the founder of El Charro. The owners also own the famed Mexican restaurant El Charro. This elevated counter-service restaurant offers brunch on weekends, lunch, and dinner. During the week, you can also get breakfast dishes for lunch.

I had the carne seca blanca pizzetta. The carne seca is Sonoran sun-dried meat brought from the drying cage hanging above El Charro. The pizzetta starts with a thin-crust dough. Then, it is topped with El Charro carne seca, mozzarella and cotija, grilled poblano, onion, and mushrooms. This is an unusual version of pizza, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

They also offer heavier entrees like roast chicken, salmon with citrus chimichurri, and some steak choices. A nice cocktail menu featuring sangria, craft cocktails, and beer on tap rounds out their offerings.

Piper’s Pro Planning: Reservations aren’t needed here.

Nook

Nook is an urban restaurant on E. Congress Street that serves breakfast and lunch. Its menu features new American cuisine and offers vegetarian and gluten-free options. The restaurant boasts an artsy atmosphere and showcases the work of local artists and employees.

We sat on the patio and enjoyed a Mediterranean salad with a foundation of chopped romaine and quinoa. They mixed in marinated tomatoes, fried capers, pickled onion, feta, smashed cucumber, and fried potatoes.

The fried potatoes carried nuances of potato chip flavor, albeit without the crispiness. It left me curious about what was pleasantly contributing to that flavor, a bit of mystery. The entire salad was tossed in a red-wine herb vinaigrette. Our version included shredded chicken, while others featured steak, salmon, or tofu.

Piper’s Pro Planning: They close at 2:00 p.m., and you can make reservations online.

Saguaro Corners Restaurant & Bar

Located outside Saguaro National Park East, on the corner of Escalante and Old Spanish Trail, Saguaro Corners Restaurant & Bar features a shaded, misted patio for those hot Sonoran Desert days, with views of the Rincon Mountains. The restaurant has been offering Tucson Comfort Food since 1956.

The food is excellent with one of their refreshing craft beers. With 18 taps, it was easy to find a favorite. I started with a house salad. What drew me to it were the jalapeño cornbread croutons. In comparison, I expected bite-sized pieces of cornbread, sized like typical croutons, but four large pieces covered most of the salad.  Then, I ordered the carnitas taco plate with beans and cilantro lime rice. My friend had the birria served with flour tortillas.

They make everything in-house, except the catsup and the desserts. While the churros were tasty, they weren’t made in-house.

Piper’s Pro Planning: This is a convenient, family-friendly atmosphere and a perfect dining stop before or after visiting Saguaro National Park East. If you hike at the park, you can throw back a cold one and cool off on the misted patio.

Scented Leaf Teahouse

Our first stop on the Tucson Food Tour was the Scented Leaf Teahouse, and I was excited because iced tea is my drink of choice. Not only was their specialty drink tea, but it was also the iced version. While I typically have black iced tea, the teahouse had such a wide variety that I wanted to try something different. I enjoyed the Fruit Fresher, customized with a mango tap tea base, the Hibiscus Breeze, and the Strawberry Lemonade.

Piper’s Pro Planning: The tea goes well with a glazed donut from Estrella’s Bakery. The glazed donuts are yeast donuts, light and fluffy. So, plan to stop by the bakery, get a donut, and pick up your drink at the teahouse afterward. You can sit outside on the patio and enjoy the two together.

The Cup Café

Located inside the historic Hotel Congress in Tucson is The Cup Café. It was the 1934 Hotel Congress fire that led to the capture of John Dillinger. The café serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

For breakfast, try Benny’s Burrito. The breakfast burrito at the café consists of scrambled eggs, beans, jack cheese, and ranchero sauce rolled into a flour tortilla. It is served with cashew poblano crema, pico de gallo, and sour cream for breakfast, which will satisfy you until lunch.

For dinner, I had the Mesquite-Smoked St. Louis Ribs. The half-rack mesquite-smoked ribs featured a house-made BBQ sauce rather than a rub. The side of green chile mac and cheese attracted me to this dish. I love green chiles, and this mac and cheese was on point. It had just a bit of a kick against the creamy cheese. It came with a side of house made pepper coleslaw.

Piper’s Pro Planning: Reservations are helpful for dinner to avoid a long wait.

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