The Best Comfort Food in Tucson

HiFalutin Rapid Western Grill

★★★★☆ 3.9 (375) • $$$

"Let me get to the principal point! Recommend: Boy oh BOY do I!!Visited this restaurant twice in as little as a month, and traveled almost 45 minutes to get here. This restaurant is pricey, but I will note, you absolutely get EVERY dollar's worth as the food in ravishingly delectable, full plates no matter what you order and cooked to absolute perfection. Their customer service is beyond reproach, the owner is always walking about and the decorations throughout including the restrooms are impeccably unique to the southwest theme and charming particular points of interest like the saddle in the middle of the room. This restaurant exemplifies professionalism, remarkable taste and welcoming ambiance to an amazing degree. This has become, one of my TOP THREE restaurants in the Tucson area. You will not be disappointed!"

Country Pride - Travelcenters of America

★★★★☆ 3.5 (53) • $

"Lisa was out server and she was great. Super nice and attentive. We got the chicken fried steak and chicken sandwich. They were both delicious.The place was clean and food came out fast. We will be back the next time we pass through town!"

Doughbird

★★★★☆ 4.1 (253) • $$

"I said I would go back to Doughbird and did so with a friend that had never been to this place.We were greeted by Austin (Mixologist) and seated, with our menus. Friend wanted to try a cocktail but hadn't decided which one so Austin brought our water and then came back after a few minutes. We ordered our food and the cocktail. Austin was really nice and patient with us. Friend said the drink was good. The food came fairly quickly. The Parmesan Truffle french fries were delicious; hot, crispy, and flavorful. The truffle sauce was really good. I ordered the Tuna Sashimi salad; friend had the Caesar salad with crispy chicken. My salad had a touch too much dressing but was still very good.This place is consistent with its high quality of food. Having Austin take care of us was an extra bonus. Our lunch was a bit pricey, but with the cocktail it did drive the price up. Love this place!"

Royal Sun Restaurant & Bar

★★★★☆ 4 (80) • $$

"Unfortunately the restaurant is not near any attractions/businesses so it was never busy during the 2 meals i had there. I guess the majority of customers are from the nearby hotel which is a shame. People are missing out.Good food at good prices and very friendly and efficient service.Life is not fair knowing I've had worse food & service at more popular locations at higher prices, there is no God.Besides the regular menu items, they also make the efforts to have daily specials.They're keeping it real"

Welcome Diner

★★★★☆ 3.8 (484) • $$

"I used to come here when it was Chaffin's Diner and I was so pleased to not only see they honored the old layout but revamped it in a 50s inspired decor which made my heart sing! The powdered blue bar stools and benches were paired with chrome and blonde wood. I also loved that the menus' stay on the tables and it removes an air of pretentiousness this place could have. If for no other reason, you should come here for the decor alone. So many revamped places get gentrified and the charm and history bleached out to a horrifying blandness. Ugh. Anyway! Onto the food. I started with an Old Fashion which was $5 on happy hour. I always find this the best and quickest way to test a bartender's skills. I was not disappointed! It was actually one of the best I've had in Tucson. It was perfectly balanced and not too strong on the whiskey flavor or orange. My friend and I split the Cauliflower Poppers and Three Sisters Burrito. Both vegan! I was slightly annoyed that they came out at the same time, seeing how the poppers were an appetizer. I soon forgot my annoyance as I tasted the poppers first. Seriously, how is this vegan!? The batter was light, very crispy and the buffalo sauce a perfect blend of spices and vinegar. It was listed as vegan but I didn't know the ranch was too AND made in house. It was very good too. The Three Sisters Burrito was phenomenal. I was blown away again. It comes with tempura battered squash. It was again very flavorful, perfectly cook and it was a miracle I didn't eat the whole thing in one bite! Oh happy tears!! They truly understood vegan does not mean bland and I'm so thankful for that. They have other vegan options too! I cannot wait to come back. One last note, THANK YOU so much for labeling V for vegan AND VEG for vegetarian. It gets frustrating trying to find vegan food with its lumped in with with vegetarian offerings."

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store

★★☆☆☆ 2.4 (240) • $$

"Not a good experience at all! Came in on my own, sat immediately next to 2 families with small children. They need to rethink their seating.Food took 13 minutes to come out. Chicken dippers, Mac & cheese, fried apples, and hash brown casserole. Food was good!! Coca-cola cake for dessert. Stuck a woman in a wheelchair in the corner when plenty of tables were available in main rooms. It's like they have to fill the outside area first? Staff walked by me many times, no refills of sweet tea. I am on the corner chair, banged into so many times because they don't think about the layout of their restaurant. No thought process, no service, manager sitting taking to a customer, staff does not seem happy. I will be going to another one moving forward."

Lovin Spoonfuls Vegan Restaurant

★★★★☆ 4.1 (672) • $$

"I ordered the tempeh rueben with a potato salad. I loved the flavor and the vegan cheese in the sandwich was nice and gooey. The potato salad was light but filling. It was my first time here and I will definitely be back! Very cute and earthy vibe inside and lots to pick from. Great customer service too! My food was ordered to go and it was out in a jiffy."

Saguaro Corners Restaurant & Bar

★★★★☆ 3.9 (720) • $$

"I tried to check in after I got home but Yelp wouldn't let me. We went here after a hike at Saguaro national park and had a delicious lunch with friends. The food was delicious and the beer selection was very nice. The restaurant itself was very nice and clean. Bathrooms are single use multi gender style but also very clean. The inside of the restaurant although nice was very echo type and seemed loud. Our waitress was amazing and kept our drinks rolling and updated us on the food as it was getting prepared! Great customer service!"

Meg's Place

★★★★★ 4.8 (29)

"On our way back from Safford we at Megs's Place for breakfast. Fortunately they had stopped serving breakfast and I was able to try their green chile burro. The burro is huge and I didn't think I was going to be able to finish it. But it was so delicious that I ate it all. The green chile, flavorful, the cheese melt perfectly, and the tortilla was homemade which made the burro extra amazing. I also ordered fry bread with honey which also was delicious. The restaurant is really cute and has great decor. There's some pictures which explain the history. There is also a small gift shop. I would highly recommend making a stop at Meg's for some green chile burro or fry bread."

Famous Dave's Bar-B-Que

★★★☆☆ 3.1 (240) • $$

"I stopped to pick up a meal.. the meal comes with a choice of sides and pickles. I got the chopped pork sandwich with a side of coleslaw. You have a choice of several different sides like fries, broccoli and a few others. I tried to see the menu online but you only see it when you start an order which is too bad. Anyway the pork was more shredded than chopped like the picture but that was good for me. It came with 2 types of barbecue sauce packets but there is already their rich and sassy sauce on it. I did add more sauce though. Meat was pretty tender but a bit dry. Extra sauce was appreciated. Pickle slices were spicy and good. Coleslaw was good. Overall was good but nothing special."

Big Bad Wolf

★★★★☆ 3.7 (9)

"I was visiting Tucson along with my brother to visit family. I looked up to see if the old Big Bad Wolf food truck was still around since we were just looking for some bar food and possibly visiting a brew pub. Yelp alerted me that it's no longer a food truck, but a bar and grill now. It had taken the place of the old Rockabilly Lounge. I had never been to the Rockabilly, but Big Bad Wolf is a pretty interesting place. I would probably label this as a dive bar or possibly a biker bar, but don't be fooled. They have live entertainment every day, open early and stay open late. There's plenty of parking in the back. There are also 2 entrances--the back is where the motorcyle over the entrane is and there's also a front entrance. The stage area is pretty large. There are 2 pool tables ---no cost to play. They also have a smoking area in the back which has some tables and a small horseshoe bar type area--no bar though but you can take your drinks food etc out there. A TV to watch sports. Now why you might want to try this--- very friendly staff, around 20 beers on tap, and exceptional bar food. I had the Big Bad Wolf which is a pulled pork sandwich with cole slaw served on a hamburger bun with seasoned fries. My brother ordered the Cubano which he said was awesome--pulled pork, ham, pickle and cheese. We shared a basket of loaded fries which come with real bacon pieces, cheese and diced jalapenos. We also wanted to share a plate of wings. The wings and sauce are exceptional. Wings are pretty big and crispy -- no breading. They have a late night happy hour reduced pricing on drinks. Overall we were very impressed. A place to go for great comfort food, watching sports on the TV's or just chilling to some music. I hope they do well since I'll probably look them up again the next time I visit the Tucson area."

Flancer's Incredible Sandwiches & Pizza

★★★★☆ 4.1 (540) • $$

"Met a friend for lunch and didn't know what to expect as I've never even heard of this place. My friend said she has been coming here since they opened in 2000 and always gets the same thing- 1/2 Philly cheese steak sandwich with a salad, and their chocolate chip cookie. I decided to get a full Philly cheese steak sandwich with a side of sweet potato fries $16.25. I was pleasantly surprised at how tasty the sandwich was! The flavor and seasoning was spot on, there was good amount of meat, and the bread was soft and fluffy. The sweet potatoes were very good too. The service was not the friendliest and they got my check wrong two times which was a bit annoying. They also charge 2.5% for credit card transactions which is a pet peeve of mine but the food was good so I'd probably go back."

JJ Madisons All American Grill

★★★☆☆ 3 (298) • $$

"My mom's neighbor told her about bingo. We met up last Tuesday and had a great time. It starts at 5. You should arrive a bit early to get your cards and find a seat. It's pretty packed. It's free and they have great prizes. The menu is expansive! There are so many great options. Our service was great. There's a ton of seating. Looks like a great place to watch a game. The pulled pork was delish. My mom and I shared nachos. It was a huge dish. There was plenty for both of us. We'll definitely go back. I've told coworkers and friends how much fun it was . It was only 1.5 hours. So, don't worry too much about being late on a work night. I'd definitely recommend this establishment for fun and food!"

True Food Kitchen

★★★★☆ 4.2 (284) • $$

"Pretty good, I went some time ago and forgot to write my review. The service felt pretty rushed and slow but still the server was kind. I understand it was probably the end of someone's shift. The food was expensive but good. You pay for quality ingredients. We had the Thai noodle peanut bowl with egg which I think would have been better with chicken. The happy hour spiced nuts were very good. The butternut squash soup was VERY sweet if that's your thing. Heavy on the brown sugar or maple syrup maybe. Very good but sweet, I like it a little less sweet. I would suggest trying it though when its back in season. The seasonal butternut squash salad was interesting and the horseradish sauce was not my favorite. I really love the concept of True Food. I want to go back and try the sourdough pizza next time. The patio and nice and a good vibe for friends or a casual happy hour lunch. I would recommend going with friends but it's not really a place I would rate as a top Tucson restaurant. It's a chain. It does have lots of options which are good for larger groups or picky eaters. Try it out! I want to give it another shot."

Flancer's Incredible Sandwiches & Pizza

★★★★☆ 3.7 (297) • $$

"Fries portion is way better. lol. We love Flancers. My mom and I come here at least once a week. Her fav is the prickly pear chicken salad and mine is the philly steak. We love it so much we always get each other gift cards for Christmas."

Substance Diner

★★★★★ 4.8 (41)

"Great vegan diner food, we can always rely on Substance for the good stuff. Best vegan Sonoran dogs we've ever found. Thick diner fries that are seasoned great, and great vegan ranch. We love their new spot behind Screwbean Brewery, I hope it serves them well! We always go out of our way to find Substance Diner. Yum!"

Lucky Wishbone

★★★☆☆ 3 (19)

"After having heard many stories of my father eating here tracing back to the 1960s I knew that I had to try it.First off don't come here if you're on a diet or health food conscious. Virtually everything is fried except for maybe the hamburger. That said, I was truly impressed that my fried shrimp were made to order. I had to wait around 10 minutes. I had to drive home 25 minutes and the food was still hot. That was a big plus in my mind.And the fried shrimp was actually fairly solid. It had great flavor and both my father and I love the cocktail sauce. I love the old-fashioned crinkle cut fries. I can't say they taste the best after sitting out for 30 minutes. However, I thought they were solid. I also saw some really interesting things on the menu. Like gizzards and liver. I'm also really interested to try out the steak fingers.This place was clean. The staff was friendly. The food was made to order and hot. It's definitely not a gourmet offering. But if you want some down home local fried cooking it's not that bad and you know what I think I'm gonna be back."

The Blacktop Grill

★★★★★ 4.5 (212) • $$

"Great first time experience. They have lots of vegan/veggie options. The food has great flavor. Our order came out quickly and was correct. We can't wait to come back and try more items."

Make A Mac

★★★★☆ 3.9 (43)

"The service was quick and very very friendly, and the food was deliciously hot. The green chillies were absolute perfection and I want more already."

47 Scott

★★★★☆ 4.1 (466) • $$

"Came here for dinner with my gf and her friend before going to a concert at Club Congress on a Saturday night. My gf had made a reservation but the restaurant wasn't too packed so I'm pretty sure that even if you just drop in without a reservation, you'd still get seated.We were seated in the back patio (not sure if my gf had requested it specifically) and I have no complaints - the string lights provided enough lighting and it wasn't humid like in Houston where I'm from. have to mention that when we placed our order, we had informed our friend that one of us was lactose intolerant and to make sure to let the chef know so we wouldn't have dairy in any of our meals, and our server took note and happily complied.We ordered the Calamari to start with along with Brussels and Bacon and they were both delicious.My gf and I shared an order of the Meatloaf while her friend ordered the Salmon. The meatloaf came in a pretty big portion - big enough that I was able to share it and still felt full. Those who know me know that I can eat a lot so that's saying something. I didn't try the salmon but my gf did and she thought it was delicious. Her friend thought so too so I'm going to take their words for it.My gf and I shared the Chocolate Molten Cake and it was pretty good, although I thought that the chocolate could be a little more melted inside the cake, it was too crumbly for my liking.Overall, I had a great experience dining here. One of the things that could be improved is the cocktails. No, don't get me wrong - they were great! But it took forever for the cocktails to come to the table after we had ordered it. Other than this, everything else was pretty much perfect. I definitely wouldn't mind dining here again the next time I visit Tucson."

Tryst Cafe

★★★★☆ 4 (635) • $$

"My buddy and I wanted someplace healthy shortly after lunch on a Sunday. It was busy but not so busy that we had to wait for a table. The server was patient and attentive. He had some strong recommendations, which is always appreciated, as I rarely order by looking at the menu.I had the Ahi Tuna Melt and it was pretty good. I personally would have appreciated some jalapeños, or hot peppers.They had a relatively large selection of healthy-type foods. I say "healthy-type" because they looked healthy-ish but I haven't tried them, yet, so I don't know.I could definitely see going back!!"

Judy's Cookhouse

★★★☆☆ 3.3 (117) • $

"The food was just phenomenally done comfort food, the service was fast, friendly, and considerate. Everything you'd want in a diner. We'll come back for sure."

Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen

★★★★☆ 3.5 (649) • $$

"Chain restaurants are good for a decent meal, decent prices, and consistency. I've frequented Cheddars in Tucson a few times and every visit has been good. Service was always pretty decent. The location can be busy and the parking lot packed, but the waitlist usually goes by quickly. The restaurant can get a little loud inside, but that's to be expected for the size. The croissants are yummy, served warm and dripping with a honey butter sauce. You will lick your fingers. For appetizers, I've tried the cheese curds which are crispy, hot, and cheesy. They can occasionally be a little greasy if not drained all the way before plating. My last visit I tried the trio sampler for my meal and was surprised at the size. The spinach dip was massive with a ton of tortilla chips. The chicken tenders as expected and the queso warm with a little kick.I've enjoyed the chicken pot pie for a meal which was creamy, warm and had a great flaky crust. The country fried steak is a decent selection, maybe not quite as good if you grew up in the south, but it's a solid plate. A friend loves their monte cristo and will go to Cheddars just to enjoy that sandwich. I also enjoy the option of getting a vegetable plate. Sometimes I feel picky, don't know what I want, and that typically accompanies an aversion for meat. The veggie plate lets me get a salad or soup, a baked potato, and some side dishes. I'm a fan of the broccoli cheese casserole and baby carrots. It's kind of like a mini-buffet for myself. It's a nicer chain restaurant, good for a quick date or family meal when you don't want to break the bank and want solid food in a nice atmosphere."

CarH's kitchen Food Truck

★★★★★ 4.5 (21) • $

"A few different food trucks visit my work on a weekly basis currently. I looked up Carh's Kitchen on Yelp and decided to give them a try. I have a confession. This was the first time I have ever ordered from a food truck (I live under a rock). The woman who greeted me was very friendly and helpful. I had a lot of questions like always and she did not mind spending the time to assist me. I ordered two Brooklyn Burgers and two orders of fries for a co-worker and I. I paid with my debit card and the wait for fresh food was about five minutes.The burger was decently sized and cooked just how I enjoy. I shared half of my meal with another co-worker and she said the burger and fries were very good as well. I really enjoyed the fries too. They seem to have care about the quality of food they deliver to their customers and I highly appreciate that.Overall, a tasty meal, friendly prompt service, and fresh ingredients. I have no complaints and I do intend to order lunch from them more often."

Girls Kitchen

★★★★★ 4.6 (9)

"This Mexican diner has only been opened for 2 months but is already gaining a reputation! After reading about them in "This Is Tucson" I had to try. Once inside the brightly painted exterior you enter into a turn of the century bungalow that was likely once a residence. There are three immediate dining areas and the kitchen/counter lies just past the "living room" wall. Staff is super friendly and brimming with recommendations. I visited just after the lunch rush and that likely played to my benefit. I was visibly torn between the 3 enchilada plate and the 3 quesabirria plate (each is $16.50 and includes 2 sides). The cashier kindly asked the chef/owner if I could try a custom combo 2/1 and the chef smiled and nodded yes :)The quesabirria tacos were delicious, with lean tender meat and a balanced amount of cheese. The lone critique is that they had quickly become soft, losing their crispness in the short time from grill to plate. That could easily be my fault as the chef accommodated the customer third item - the shredded beef enchilada for my combo. There was 2x the beef in the similarly-sized enchilada as the quesabirria tacos (but it's not flash fried with cheese either). The red sauce that douses the enchilada is delicious, if a bit sweet(?). I opted for calabacitas (sautéed mixed veggies) and refried beans (rather than simply rice or also whole beans) - I must say, having options like those is wonderfully unique. The calabacitas (diced zucchini, onion, and corn) was delicious. The refried beans were perfect and dipped nicely with the (free) intro bowl of chips/salsa.Parking in their private lot is a little snug but sufficient for now. Bathrooms are modern/quaint, gender specific, and clean. Traditional glass-bottled sodas abound as do agua frescas like jamaica and also horchata. I can't wait to return!"