Dakota Bar & Grill

Tucson, United States

2.7

Closed now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards
Free Wi-Fi

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+1 520-298-7188
Website:
www.dakotatucson.com
Address:
6541 E Tanque Verde Rd Ste 7, Tucson, AZ, 85715
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
0.8 miUdall Station
1.1 miSpeedway/Sahuara
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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
Yes
Delivery
No
Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Good For
Lunch
Parking
Private Lot
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Good for Kids
Yes
Good for Groups
Yes
Attire
Casual
Ambience
Casual
Noise Level
Average
Good For Dancing
No
Alcohol
Full Bar
Happy Hour
Yes
Best Nights
Tue, Wed, Thu
Coat Check
No
Smoking
No
Outdoor Seating
Yes
Wi-Fi
Free
Has TV
Yes
Waiter Service
Yes
Caters
Yes

Today

Today 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Closed now
Local time (Tucson) 9:30 AM Thursday, June 19, 2025

Business hours

Monday 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
Tuesday 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Wednesday 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Thursday 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Friday 11:00 am – 10:00 pm
Saturday 9:00 am – 10:00 pm
Sunday 9:00 am – 3:00 pm

Description

Specialties

Dakota Bar & Grill has been perfecting the art of catering in Tucson for 30 years. Please give us the opportunity to bring culinary excellence to your catering events, from 10 guests to 600!

A varied menu, including gourmet salads, daily fresh fish, heart healthy dishes and vegetarian selections. All served in our casual, sophisticated southwestern atmosphere, featuring local art and a quiet, garden patio. Full bar — Great wine list!

Now offering a wide selection of gluten free options.

History

Established in 1984.

Quietly nestled into Tucson’s Trail Dust Town, Dakota Bar and Grill opened in 1984. Dakota has been making its mark on Tucson’s food scene ever since. Dakota has won countless awards voted on by guests and media alike. Some of our favorites are posted around the restaurant for you to share with us. You will also see art work throughout the restaurant. This is art from local artists here in Tucson and is available for purchase if you see something you like. Whether you are wanting a light lunch, happy hour with friends or a romantic dinner, Dakota Bar and Grill is here to accommodate your party. We are very proud of our award winning, dog friendly, garden patio. Many of our fresh herbs and chilies are in fact grown right here in our garden. Our talented Chef has put together a menu that showcases many of his talents from Latin America as well as local favorites. We genuinely hope you enjoy your experience with us. Want to serve what you ate tonight at your next party? Dakota can cater t

Meet the Business Owner

Steve D.

Business Owner

Since purchasing Dakota Bar & Grill 4 years ago, Steve has done some amazing things along side to continue the tradition of amazing, eclectic fare accompanied with a cocktail, craft beer and wine menu that appeals to any guest of any age.

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Vicinity

Browse nearby places:
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Trail Dust Town
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20 reviews of Dakota Bar & Grill

No registration required
Place rating: 1
Tucson, AZ
After coming here for 20 years, I know a few different owners, I sadly have to say I’m done. Was here a few weeks ago and had terrible customer service, had to give them another chance. Went for lunch today, upon arrival let the staff know my guest and I needed to get in and out. Was served a glass of water and got our order in right away. Over a half hour later there we sit, no food and an empty glass of water. Asked the busboy twice to check on our food. Would have been nice to have seen the waitresses but she was no where to be found. Food comes, needed to scarf it down to get on our way, but no waitress. 15 minutes after finishing finally there she is. Ask her please, we need our bill, we need to go. Ten more minutes, no bill, oh thank God there is our busboy. Ask him to please check on our bill, ten minutes later, there he is again I flag him down and just give him my credit card and beg him to give it to our waitress and bring the check. 10 minutes later we stand up, go inside, our waitress reaches in her apron and silently hands me the bill, turns around and walks away. Nothing… no thank you… no I’m sorry… no have a nice day. And wait for it… yep…the check is wrong. BTW the restaurant was half full. I was feeling bad till I came on Unilocal and saw it was nothing personal. An awful lot of 1 star reviews. Sad to see, has always been a favorite spot for me and my 90 co-​workers that work just down the street.
Place rating: 5
East Lansing, MI
Came here for lunch. My landlady and I sat outside. Beautiful serene ambiance in the garden. The Hummus and BLT i ordered were absolutely delicious. My landladies salad was quite large and filling. Multiple staff members checked on us and made sure our water glasses were always full. I loved the large portions. I think the best part though was seeing and hearing the diversity of guest. There was a large group of red hat ladies, a family with small children and then a young couple all mixed together on the patio and they all seemed content with their meals and service. Great place to come!
Place rating: 1
Anaheim, CA
Made reservations for eight for brunch. Arrived at the podium and was ignored by the waitstaff for several minutes before we were sat.
We ordered a round of waters that took almost five minutes to arrive. Four of us ordered off of the brunch menu. After ten minutes, the waitress came over and told us that they had ran out of breakfast. This was a half hour before brunch was over. So we ordered different items.
We waited for over an hour for food, all the while our table was essentially ignored, having to ask for water refills. When the food did arrive, it was only two out of the eight plates, which were stone cold. It was the last straw for us and we left to find a new restaurant.
Place rating: 3
Tucson, AZ
I have very mixed feelings about this place. On one hand, it is an accessible bar/​grille in a perfect location. On the other hand, the staff seems to have this undeserved sense of superiority that makes us not want to return. The girlfriend and I came here after taking a ~4−5 mile walk around that part of town, so we were wearing athletic clothes when we came in. The hostess took one look at us, and then proceeded to apparently ignore us for a few minutes before finally asking if we were planning on eating there. Even then, we were told that we couldn’t sit out on the patio because it was «full on reservations» (only two tables were taken and nobody else ever walked in during our time there).
Luckily, we got a pretty cool server and the food was, well, decent enough, but I left hungry and had to stop for fast food on the way home.
In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with some restaurants expecting a certain unspoken appearance standard from their guests, but you can’t just take a run-​of-​the-​mill bar, turn the lights down and sell cocktails and expect that to justify turning your nose up at customers.
Dakota, your competition is Applebee’s and Chili’s. You can’t change that by offering an underwhelming experience while simultaneously pretending that your guests are lucky to be there.
Place rating: 5
Tucson, AZ
I’ve been taking my clients to the Dakota for well over 8 years now, and have loved the service and consistency of the food even with the changing of the ownership. The Salads, and Burgers are fantastic. They are PET friendly, and the management cares about the entire experience. Keep up the Good Work, your friends across the street CS DESIGN STUDIOS.
Place rating: 1
Tucson, AZ
We had a party of 7 & unfortunately had really bad service. The 3 waiters focused their attention on an outside party. Food took over an hour to be served & it was cold. Not coming back.
Place rating: 1
Tucson, AZ
Wow… what happened to this place? I have been coming to this joint for many years and I will not be back! The service was very poor… I ordered the rib eye and got cold short ribs. When I asked for the waiter to correct the situation, he brought a bowl of soup for the inconvenience. Then he tried to rebound and brought another round of drinks on him, but the rib eye, while hot when it arrived, was sub par and my wife’s salmon was terrible. We will not be coming back, there is simply too much competition in this town for this restaurant to survive. And what is with the checkout procedure with the I=Pad Manager checkout… would you like a 15 – 20 or 25% gratuity… very tacky to say the least!
Place rating: 4
Orchard Park, NY
Really enjoyed this restaurant. Probably helped that we went on a very nice evening — loved their outdoor patio. All the food was very good and well presented. That in addition to their location (in Pinnacle Peak) make it a great choice.
Place rating: 1
Tucson, AZ
We’ve been 15-​year customers of Dakota. Tonight’s kitchen experience was unsatisfactory.
Two of four ordered cheese burgers/​ham burgers — medium rare — and were brought to the table after too long a time for the service since the restaurant was nearly empty. Hamburgers were well done.
Cheeseburger was sent back to the kitchen. Replacement was almost well done again, and the cheese on top was not melted.
So the service was slow, the food not at all up to Dakota standards.
Management tried to make it right, but could not overcome the awful dining experience.
Place rating: 2
Chandler, AZ
This place is better tasting than Pinnacle Peak because they actually season their food. It wasn’t amazing, it was just good. Also, the atmosphere is quieter. However, the service is just way too slow!
Place rating: 4
Tucson, AZ
UPDATE: They took the Cuban off the menu! GAH!
If you like Cuban sandwiches, you owe it to yourself to order one here, but request it on toasted sour dough bread instead of the french roll. IMHO, a Cuban just isn’t a Cuban if the bread isn’t toasty, but boy — they sure do the rest of the sandwich right! Just scrumptious. The fries were the bomb, too; each one perfectly crisp and tasty. Service was prompt and friendly.
Place rating: 4
Tucson, AZ
We always bring visitors here or if the dogs feel like an outing. We love to see the old west town atmosphere and dine outside. today the misters were on and a slight breeze. I love the scallop salad; but also enjoy their breakfast offerings on weekends. My husband goes for their burgers and green corn tamale and my cousin loves the Mac and cheese. Truly the food and atmosphere is wonderful. Happy hour is great also, but service can be very uneven! Regardless it is one of my favorite places.
Place rating: 1
Tucson, AZ
So sad — my girlfriend and I hadn’t been in a long time and was really looking forward to
a great lunch… the portabella mushroom sandwich was very disappointing. It normally comes with beautiful orange and yellow sweet peppers — this time is was all chopped up and
charred and dried. We will not return — it was not worth the money, not when there are a lot of other, much better places to go to. You lost two loyal women :(
Place rating: 3
Tucson, AZ
My wife and I have eaten there on several occasions for lunch and will happily go back. She orders fish and it’s beef for me. Other commenters have mentioned slow service, and I don’t disagree. Food, atmosphere, and *quality* of the service has always been good.
Update: a few nights after the above review, we went for dinner on a Saturday night with family. Wow, service wasn’t just slow, it was horrendous. Removed a star.
1) one of the four orders were not placed-​we were not told what was going on for almost 5 mins after the other three meals were on the table. We all were just waiting and the staff had disappeared.
2) the food delivery person was clueless
3) finished the meal (tasty!) before waiter came by to check on us.
4) drinks remained empty until you flagged someone down
5) please, no Heinz in a glass bottle, especially an almost empty bottle. Is that a trick you play on customers you don’t like?
6) slow service, more than usual
Free dessert was provided.
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
It was great! They are dog friendly on the patio, provide gourmet biscuits and filtered water. It’s was casual and relaxing with great food options. I loved their salad! We are going to make it our weekly ritual.
Place rating: 4
Tucson, AZ
This restaurant is located in Trail Dust Town which has some interesting places to look at if you have a wait to get into the restaurant. I The restaurant had good food and is a good place for a family visit though I’ve been there with friends as well. They have a variety of food including beef, chicken, fish, and vegetarian dishes. Their salads are fresh and good. The entrees were all good and the kids enjoyed the children’s menu items. There is outdoor seating and even when it is cooler, there are heaters outside. All of us enjoyed our meal and would return again.
Place rating: 1
Spokane, WA
I’ve been here for 45 minutes. After 15 min. I finally got up to ask for service. It appears there is one waiter for the entire patio.
Ordered the burger. Good size, otherwise pretty bland and boring. The server actually asked how I would like it cooked. Ordered med. rare. It was very overcooked… gray meat. One small very soggy piece of lettuce with what appeared to be an insect hole in it. Fries average. Server never checked back to ask how everything was. I had to get up to find him so I could pay my bill. Don’t waste your precious time and money.
My guess, after reading the most recent reviews, is the change in ownership. Wish I had picked up on that before I ate there!
Place rating: 2
San Diego, CA
We’ve been eating at Dakota Café for 24 years and it has always been exceptional. Unfortunately it has come to an end. We’ve tried 3 times over the last 6 months with tonight being the final time. We came in tonight and were seated in the back next to a couple with a baby. When I asked to be moved, the host said all the booths were reserved. I knew this was not true as we had our 12 year old son with us and it was obvious they wanted children in the back.
It took 15 minutes for a waitress to come over to the table because they were too busy congregating at the bar. We ordered 2 diet cokes and to my amazement, the waiter brought out 2 plastic bottles of diet coke. I guess we were lucky there weren’t 4 of us there because we would have had a 2 liter bottle sitting on the table.
We placed our order (2 chicken bow tie pastas & a ½ rack of ribs) and waited for 37 minutes. I understand we were probably waiting a little longer because of the ribs, but when our food finally came out, the chicken bow tie pastas were luke warm at best and the flavor was not what we have grown accustomed to.
When we were leaving I checked the booths that we were told had reservations on all of them. 3 out of the 5 large booths and 6 out of the small booths were still empty. I knew they were lying.
I know this business recently sold and we are sad that the service & food are progressing downward. If the old owners are reading this, thank you for 22 years of great food. If the new owners are reading this, you have a problem that can be remedied. I hope you realize it and take the necessary steps to bring back the quality & standards Dakota Café has been known for.
Place rating: 2
Tucson, AZ
I would say a nice place to eat but their food juz like a fast food place. I ordered spinach melt and fresh fruits but trust me its not fresh at all.
Place rating: 4
Tucson, AZ
I’m going to give this 4 stars mainly because the atmosphere was just right and the food wasn’t all that bad.
We had a party of 6 adults and 1 child, whose 3rd birthday we were celebrating! The server seemed kind of overwhelmed, and they were completely out of Chardonnay that night and my in laws were looking to buy a bottle– so that was disappointing.
The calamari was good, antipasto plate was good, the tamales were also good.
My entrée was the bow tie pasta with shrimp. It was pretty good. Everyone else’s good looked equally good.
They brought a little slice of cake for my son for his birthday, I thought that was pretty awesome.
We celebrated his 1st birthday there and it was good, this time was pretty good also. We will go back.