Guide: Where to Eat in Sierra Vista, Arizona Restaurant Reviews by a Local Native

This page last changed on 12-15-09. Da Bok is wonderful! Donut Depot opened in town! Sophia's is elegant. Visit the Cochise County Food Reports it is uncanny how many of the restaurants I have removed from my lists ended up with a satisfactory or less rating. Yes, satisfactory means CRITICAL violations were noticed. It means they only change to pass the test. Ask yourself this: If they don't care about ______ what else do they not care about? This list is even shorter. We are protesting the bad service and management in Sierra Vista and taking more of our "out-money" to Tucson. Everywhere I look restaurants are cutting corners here and there to offset the gas costs and economic crunch from the war. I notice smaller portions, slightly cheaper ingredients.. frequent staff overturn, that sort of thing. Things are not as good on the eating front as they once were. Here you will find a review of the quality and impressions of restaurants in Sierra Vista, Tucson, and Bisbee Arizona. My family moved to Sierra Vista, AZ in the late 50s. I was born and raised in Sierra Vista and have eaten in every establishment to date (35 years worth). We keep a running list of restaurants, and re-try the bad ones about once annually for verification. I am the sort that will open cabinets, check out back, and look in the kitchen pretending to be lost. I factor in all kinds of things, like whether police or border patrols eat there - more trustworthy. I get inside-scoop reports from local carpet cleaning businesses. There are no ads here, and no one pays us anything or gives us free meals for these reviews.

Restaurant Name	Description	Price	Conclusion
Italian (Good pasta where art thou?)
Vinny's New York S. Hwy 92 near mall	Awesome and stable pizza and wings. Try the wall of flame if you are brave/have nothing to do for two days.	Moderate	Love it.
Sophia's Italian Upscale	If you can get reservations - Go! Bread and starters were superb, main courses only so-so. Reminded me of Outside Inn. I expected more spice, more adventure.	About 20 each	Very Nice
Mexican
Too many bad things have happened at Rigabertos, Trankas, and Tachos. They are removed for a year, and then we will see.
Santiago's Bisbee Next to Copper Queen Hotel	They do not shy away from flavor. Prices up and quality wavering this past year.	Expensive	Astonishing!
The Real Taco By the main gate	Real food, awesome lunch spot. Combo burrito special is good. Careful, they microwave the to-go styrofoam! Free radicals.	Cheap+	Frequent lunches
La Casita	Quality has stabilized again. Better consistency. Average is good if it is always the same. They really need competition in town.	Reasonable	Average.
Ricardo's Hereford	Hard to get in without reservations. Thursday's BIG special lives up to its name. Mesquite grilled everything, awesome margarita.	Low Expensive	Farther from town is better
Minor Ethnicities
Ali Baba'sSpeedway in Tucson	Tasty slow cooked and soft meats. Wonderful blends of spice and rice. The pastes (hummus and others) were boring.	Reasonable	Great Bread.
Thai: Bangkok Cafe corner of Speedway and Tucson Blvd.	This is heaven in dishes! Cutest little skirt outfits, tidy little clean place. Don't be afraid to try it, no bad dish yet.	Moderate	Really Sweet.
Saigon Pho On University in Tucson	Perfectly clean, everything was excellent. The fresh bread is light and hearty.	Cheap	Noodle Crazy.
Ethiopian: Zemams Broadway in Tucson.	We are blessed by even having an Ethiopian place in the State. Excellent healthy food! Worth making time for. (Phoenix has Lalibella.)	Moderate	Rare treat!
Chinese Restaurants:	Of the seven or so in Sierra Vista, we have NO Chinese food. We occasionally support Mr. Ahn Tucson like Sakura or Great Wall.	Don't waste the money	We go to Pei Wei's in Tucson
Japanese (At last a Teppan to put in here! ^__^)
Tanuki Garden Mid Fry	Friendly staff. The new chefs keep being sloppy. We occasionally support them just to keep Japanese in town.	Lower Expensive	Not bad.
Da Bok Mid Fry	Korean Japanese Fusion. Excellent Rice, best Cali roll in town. Spices and Flavors abound.	In the ballpark	Excellent
Sky Blue Wasabi Tucson	Awesome Sushi, Good tea. Teppan is decent. Wilmot near Broadway.	Lower Expensive	Nice.
Sushi Cho in Tucson	This is nice, try the lunch and dinner Box specials. Best Edamame I have had! Corner of Campbell and Broadway.	Reasonable.	Big sushi.
Vietnamese
The Peacock S. Carmichael	Fine jasmine rice. High class, good service, decent food. Prices are up and quality has wavered.	Expensive	Go try it!
BBQ (I have wanted something to put here since Pit BBQ where Delios is now. Remember?)
Famous Dave's BBQ on Oracle near Tucson Mall	Finally a consistent possibly chain, BBQ place! Many flavors and strengths. Very awesome.	Moderate	Love it
American (whatever that means)
Gracie's Station 90 and I-10 behind the Shell	I fell in love with the little fry breads and honey. All the other dishes were very good. Service was pleasant.	Expensive	Fun Decor
Outback	Mixed quality. They have the best baked potato but occasionally black bits or problems. They cheapened the bread. Now it is closer to colored white bread.	Expensive	Not consistent
Mesquite Tree S. Hwy 92 & Carr Canyon	10 Minutes south. Tasty variety. Lots of flavorful spice. Good burger. Sit on the patio weather permitting.	Expensive	Holding strong
Breakfasts
Donut Depot Southwest Huachuca City	Spreading himself thin by opening in Blimpies old place. Very consistent, no healthy choices. Leave a buttermilk bar for me. (get there by 9 a.m.)	7 buck dozen	Outstanding
LandMark Cafe Landmark Plaza	Better breakfast all day place. Best biscuits and gravy, bacon, and coffee of the breakfast shops.	Cheap+	Good and stable
Bisbee Breakfast Club BBC East side of the Bisbee mine	Fast food, good specials. Really nice layout. Featured lots of places. Call for their hours.	Reasonable	Good and stable
Bisbee Coffee Co.	Not exactly a food place, but we support them. Classy and elegant. Ethiopian and Tanzanian coffees are Wow plus.	Reasonable	Good and stable
Sandwiches
The Sub Shop On Wilcox st.	Lunch only. Crinkly Fries are a plus! Tasty sandwiches if they are busy enough to be fresh. Secretly like the pork over noodle.	Cheap	Yum
Bread Basket On Wilcox st.	Pastry and Lunch only. Plain but tasty sandwiches, soups, and excellent pastries.	Cheap+	Yum
Beyond Bread Tucson Speedway and Wilmot	Sandwich and desert heaven! They are not afraid of flavor. Maintain high quality standards. Creme Brulee!	Mid level	Try the flavor tea.
Jimmys Hotdogs In Bisbee at Naco Hwy and 92	Bisbee gets Chicago style! Real Fries, beef subs and Vienna brand fare. Stainless and clean. Nice job.	Reasonable	Good lunch.
Debbie's Deli	Tasty subs using top ingredients, best Hot Dog in town! Boars Head brand means quality. Don't go there in a hurry. Have to look hard next to Midas.	Cheap+	Good lunch.
Romantic suggestions:
Cafe Roka 35 Main St. Bisbee	30 Minutes away in Bisbee, Posh New York influenced Creations. Reservations and scheduling.	Pricey.	Pampered!
Rosa's Little Italy Bisbee	The finest uppity Italian. Worth every effort and expense.	Pricey.	Wow Plus one!
The outside Inn 4907 S. Highway 92	Cozy, low lit tasty Italian and traditional food, with a slight local flair.	Not outrageous	Love.
The Peacock S. Carmichael	Not like any Asian food you are used to. We go for the quiet.	Expensive	Nice.
Sophia's Right where Baskin Robin's used to be.	Get reservations days in advance.	Expensive	Bring wine.
Dessert in the Desert. My favorite!
Dairy Queens: AVOID	HWY 90 - kids workers with their scary boyfriends hanging around. FRY - run down, tiles and machines are often broken.	Avoid	Avoid
Frost Frozen Ina + Oracle	You must try this Gelato in north Tucson. Addicted to the coconut.	Somewhat	Love!
Frost on the EAST SIDE!	You must try this Gelato in East Tucson. Still addicted to the coconut.	Somewhat	Love!
Cold Stone Foothills + 92	Floors building up filth, sour stench in the air. More flavors mixed together than you expected. Prices out the roof. Why do they not have an inspection report?	Problems.	Sad. Normally Cold Stones are awesome.
Section contains successful boycotts and items to remind us to try.
Dawn's smoke Tavern (Pancake is same menu) IS GONE! Yay!	Q and Lous is GONE! Yay! Bad food, hours, and Mngmt.	Golden Corral is back in full force, keeps the Sunday brunch people occupied. Remember when they were a steakhouse?	Country house and The Diner still run by smokers.
Mariscos has some good points, but we could not get past the premade tortillas and storebought shells.	Hey, Tucson has an In and Out burger! Go at once. Don't delay!	Mexico Lindo is GONE! Yay. Sad that they had to assume the debt buildup waste of Gonga burger.	The end of Boston Subs is known. :( He just couldn't keep up with the volume. Poor chef choice also.
North Star shut down! YAY!! Keep up the boycotting of poor management.	Chuys finally shut down! YAY!! Haunted location since NJ's, no business has been able to stay there.	Gonga Burger shut down! YAY! He upset his neighbors and fought me for my words here about cheesy clip art.	Dunkin shut down! YAY! They never figured out it was time to make the donuts. (choose from 3 kinds? They must have had a back door business)
Po Folks is GONE! Yay! We ran the longest campaign ever. Bad service, management, filth.	Peter Piper has returned! Apparently corporate got word of the bad management and substituting ingredients. Hopeful again.	How long can Filibertos be supported with one customer?	Big Mo's failed on the second attempt. Cheap bun, not memorable. Where is a good cheap hamburger?
Trankas and Naranjos couldn't hang. Why oh why can't we get better mexican? I could throw a rock and hit the border.	Tachos was cleaner this visit, still not properly chilled prep area, Fiesta brand Horchata came back in a jar.	We tried Blue's Cafe. We were SO out of our element. Most uncomfortable. Will they survive?	Someone needs to stop the growth of that stucco Cantina style building where Luke's was on Wilcox and s. 1st. Traffic can't see around it.

This review of Tucson restaurants is awesome! We strongly agree with most of it, and even rank them similarly. Since the smoking ban has passed, life has been so wonderful! I am impressed that people respect the law for the most part. We went to another state that has not passed such a law. Tar yellowing the paint, smoke covered IHOP. Eew. I was so thankful to be home! I love kids too much to feed them any fast food, so if you want those reviews, sorry, can't help! This page is mostly for non-chain type places. We don't prefer the noisy stuff, TVs in your face and all that. Eating is not about getting full, it is about the enjoyment of life and culture. Please support our local culture by sampling these listed places. I consider cheap to be around 5-6 bucks per person, moderate to be 7-9 bucks a head, and expensive to be 10 dollars or higher. I have added some places from Bisbee and Tucson. If the SV place you are considering is not on this list, it was too bad to mention. I know these reviews sound very negative, but they are not meant that way. Over the years we have encountered lawsuit level problems in our meals. Rather than listing all the bad experiences, we simply avoid listing the establishments. Kind of a "If you can't say anything nice" approach. One bad experience can remove them for a year, and many never make it back on the list.