Lil Abner’s Steakhouse

Had dinner here with my daughter and her husband. It was great! Excellent beef ribs and steak just like it’s always been over the years and the many trips here to eat. Salads were crisp and fresh, baked potatoes were huge. Service was fast and friendly with several stops back by our table during the course of the meal to see if we needed anything else. Didn’t have enough room for desert but am sure it would have been delicious as well. Sure it’s not a fancy Foothills restaurant but I’d rather eat here, maybe spend the same amount of money in a more fun and casual atmosphere, and get more than enough food to not leave hungry.

Unique and very good food as well as service. Rustic atmosphere we worth the visit!

My 3^rd time here in 10 years and brought 4 family members. The service was excellent and the food was good. One of us had an issue with how the porterhouse was cooked and they took care of him. They cooked him another steak and after a little talking, took it off the bill. They handled the issue very professionally. I recommend this restaurant especially to those looking for the cowboy steak experience.

Casual cowboy atmosphere with pretty expensive food, which would be okay if it was worth it. My husband’s $ 25 steak was maybe ½″ thick, mine and my son’s pork ribs were just okay but at these prices I feel like the meat shouldn’t need sauce. These needed it, and they came with runny BBQ sauce. The bathrooms were the highlight of our visit– they look like outhouses but lead into modern day facilities. Overall I’d say save a lot of money and grill at home for a better meal, which sucks because we were really looking forward to this place.

Fun and great ambiance. Had a lot of fun at this local joint that most people hear about.

The best ribs I’ve ever had! The beans, salad, and bread were also very good! We did have to wait a little while to order the food but it definitely was worth it.

Always top ribs!
Top service! Sweet girl bartender
Music, beers and fun a place to be!
Lot people at the period of mineral show

Lil Abner’s is a must stop location on your Tuscon adventure. My family visits Tucson once a year and this is always on the top of our to-​do-​list. I usually go for the ½ rack of beef ribs. They are always fall-​off-​the-​bone delicious. Never over-​cooked, it comes with a salad, all you can eat Texas Toast and all you can eat cowboy beans. Beer is served in a frosty mug and service is great. Tonight we walked in with a sleeping baby and the staff made an obvious effort to help keep the baby sleeping. As far as the ambiance, it’s decorated like a southwest cowboy bar. That is what they’re going for. It’s done well with rustic finishings. You get the feel of an old cowboy hang-​out without the creepiness that an old dark bar can have. And there is a beautiful brick outdoor dining area, right next to the grill, if a rustic dining area cramps your style. Portions are more than I could finish. Twice now I have been disappointed at the sight of the plate when it came out, thinking «oh, only four rib bones, three hunks of meat». But despite my big eyes, I have yet to finish the meal. Can’t wait until next year to eat here again!

This steakhouse came recommended by our hotel. The Unilocal reviews were mixed. My opinion is Lil Abner’s is average and I would not consider the food alone worth a special trip. I ordered the beef ribs — they by far were the best food served to my table. One complaint: I was told I would get a rack of 4 ribs but I was served 3. Although I didn’t complain I should have said something.
I also tried my friend’s pork ribs. The pork ribs were disappointing.
The sides included beans, a salad, and Texas toast. They were all forgettable.
The service was fine and the place has character. Overall, I didn’t find the food memorable but Lil Abner’s may be a reasonable stop if you are looking for a local place with some history.

After 10 years, the beat part is nothing changed. And I love it!!! So consistent and one of a kind. Ribs fall off the bone and filet melts in your mouth. If there’s room for desert, real fudge on the ice cream. You cannot find a real steakhouse in Tucson better. Period.

Absolutely fantastic place to eat! A MUST if you love a great friendly atmosphere with savory food. Heard about this place while preparing for our vacation to Arizona, thankful we put this on our list. We are from Texas, the beans are some of the best we’ve eaten. All around great place, don’t miss out!

The feel is very western and rugged at this restaurant. So if what you’re going for is ambiance and romance– this is not that place. Having said that, we brought my awesome father in law for a nice casual steak dinner, and it was as expected.
I loved the smell of the wood burning grill from the start. Apparently some people have an aversion to it but for me it was one of the best things about the place. I ordered a ribeye and a salad and they were both good… not spectacular. I felt the food and atmosphere just didn’t correlate very well with the prices that seemed high for what I’ve had at better steak houses and paid less.
I do think they have great prices on their draft beer, It was only $ 13 for a big ol pitcher of Kiltlifter!

Great service, Texas toast, ranch style beans were amazing. For the price steaks and ribs were just okay. Bake potatoes are only offered with butter and sour cream, no other fixings.

Rustic and great! It takes you back in time. Love it! When you in Tucson this place is a must

The pork ribs are fall off the bone! Sooo good! Love this place and service is always amazing!

I didn’t get to go out as much as I would have liked during my stay in Tucson, but I am so happy that I did make it out to this place. It’s a little bit of a drive from downtown Tucson but I promise it is well worth it. As soon as we arrived I liked what I saw with the old school western feel. The weather was beautiful so we grabbed some beers at the bar but took them outside to enjoy on the picnic tables out front.
We were a big group of about 12 people but they handled us very well. I ordered the 7oz filet mignon because I wasn’t feeling too hungry and that was definitely the best choice. Soon after we ordered they brought out thick slices of Texas Toast along with baked beans and fresh salsa. The toast and beans were both excellent but the salsa was absolutely mind blowing. I have absolutely no idea what they put in it to make it taste so good but it was hands-​down the best salsa I’ve ever had in my life.
The filet was an absolutely delicious cut of meat but unfortunately it wasn’t cooked the way I asked for it. I ordered it medium-​rare but it came out medium. I checked with a coworker who also ordered the filet and his came out medium-​well rather than the medium he asked for. So it may be worth it to order one level less cooked than you are used to. That was my only complaint about the meal, but I still think this place deserves a 5-​star rating.
Overall, I would love to be sent back to Tucson for work to have another chance to visit this restaurant again.

Have been coming here for almost 30 years and my parents for even longer. By far the best steakhouse in Tucson and have never had a bad experience. Great old-​fashioned atmosphere and meat is cooked over real mesquite and not in a broiler oven. This restaurant is a must-​see if you’re in town. Highly recommend!

I would’ve went straight for the bone-​in ribeye, but my per diem doesn’t cover half the cost. Instead, I got the 11.95 Harris Ranch cheeseburger, cooked medium, with a corn on the cob. The server was really nice to give me a salad on the house. I hope I don’t get anyone in trouble. The burger was juicy and very tasty. The best part was the consistency from first to last bite. It wasn’t a steak, but it satisfied my appetite, as well as my wallet. I hope this review helps those who just aren’t in the mood for steak. My co-​worker got the beef ribs, which looked mouth-​watering. I never tasted it though. The Texas toast was very buttery and crunchy… love it! I dared not finish it.
I loved the décor, but the section I was in was a bit dark. I couldn’t take a no flash picture of my food. There’s no pictures of the burger, but the salad gets some love. Lastly, the service was awesome. Definitely a 5-​star restaurant.
After years of no reviews, I’m back at it. Finally able to successfully post on my phone.

The steak is absolutely amazing but their side are AWFUL. I wish they would have better side. The toast is like wonder bread toast. Not very tasty. If you want the entire steak experience beans/​potato I would not go here if you only want a delicious steak this is great!

I’m forced to wonder what some of the reviewers think makes a good steak. Must be cloth napkins, velvet upholstery, and severely overpriced box-​store quality steaks.
This was a quality steak! I went with the rib-​eye and just could not have been happier. Just the right amount of crunch on the outside and so juicy inside that it took three pieces of Texas Toast to sop up all the goodness. The beans were good, the salad so-​so, and the potato average. But I didn’t go there for any of that stuff, I went for the steak and it was good. If you grew-​up in Texas, you’ll recognize this place right away. It’s very typical of a Texas steakhouse that serves normal people, instead of the 1% wannabes. If you want a good steak, go here. If you want to brag to your friends about how the waiter put the napkin on your lap for you, well, really just go away.

The service is poor and the place is gross and old. The plates and silverware are also nasty. The steaks are not THAT good. They’re your basic Shamrock Farms pieces of meat, only grilled on a mesquite grill. Big whoop. The rack of ribs is tiny and a waste of money. The burgers are dry and the buns are stale. The place is highly over priced and the drink menu is lacking. I would recommend elsewhere. Caytons is near by and provide steaks and margaritas out of this world. Food lovers paradise. I recommend Caytons for your steak night.

We were very disappointed in the lack of service tonight. Waited over 20 minutes at our table with out being acknowledged. We finally decided to leave.

I really don’t understand how anyone can give this place less than 4 stars.
If you are looking for a high end steak house, this is not the place. This is NOT Ruth Chris steak house. It’s a hole in the wall, cowboy boot wearin, southwestern steak joint that makes you feel like you need to take a shower after you visit. Most of the reviews on this page are from people complaining about the décor and price. If you think you are paying too much, please tell me a steak joint in Tucson that is worth the $. Go to Sullivans and tell me how much you spend for the same product. Hard pressed I promise.
(Our recent visit)
The food was great. Half rack beef ribs that literally melt off the bone, garlic Texas toast and a beer. Worth every penny. Waitress was super sweet and helpful. Most of the waitresses now are young (when I went here as a kid they were a bit rougher looking). Now at least they seem softer around the edges, hopefully brining in a younger crowd. Manager and Bartender sat and talked to me for a while and bar patrons were very friendly. Saw the reviews on Unilocal and had to chime in. You know Tucson is turning into Phoenix when people complain about the price and décor of Lil Abners. If you want high end, take your money back to Scottsdale.

What can I say but what a dump with the best steak I have ever had! Now this place is not much for décor and in fact when I first walked I was shocked but steak makes up for it all. Now you have to keep in mind the menu is now vast with choices but what the do offer is fantastic. All their meat is cooked over a wood fire that gives it such a great flavor! The cowboy beans made for a good side dish along with my baked potato.

I had to come into Tucson on an unexpected business trip and once again found myself a guest at this «steak house»…
Obviously its me that does not get this place… you get a 1 pound bone-​in ribeye (somebody got their finger on the scale) for $ 28.00
Salad I fail to understand how lettuce, and an onion «ring» constitutes a salad.
Our waitress, who was she… we had to keep asking the ‘helper” for things we needed, like our beers… can we have a glass, then brought one (hey can’t count, there are two of us)…
How come we got those beans and bread ten minutes before our steaks… and no plates or bowls Failed to get any one’s attention about this.
We order medium rare steaks, not well done… waited, and waited and waited to see the waitress, to say hey… look at the inside of this steak, where is the pink, red, yes bloody. No they were damn near well done!!!
At one time many years ago the manager would have come over and apologized, and made sure to get it correct…
Well, no apology, only it will take us another 30 minutes to recook the the steaks…
You know, there comes a point when owners care more about the money going into their pockets then the people who put it there, when nothing changes except the smaller size of the portions, and non attentive wait staff… its time for a change.
There are many choices in Tucson these days, and when it is my choice you won’t find me here.

I came here for my husband’s work Christmas party and even after reading the Unilocal reviews I decided I was going to give it a try. I really tried to give it a positive note on every aspect of the restaurant but even after that I can’t give it more than two stars.
We were there at 7 PM on a Saturday night and were one of three big party tables along with maybe two other tables the entire night. A very sparse crowd for Saturday night during the holiday season which led me to believe that maybe we should’ve chosen another place.
The menu is very simple very sparse but what struck me as very odd was the out Regis prices for Tucson steakhouse with the history of this place.
The ambience was very roadhouse-​ish with roaring fire places and bathrooms that looked literally like out houses. Seating or long tables very cafeteria like. We had two servers assigned to our party but that lead to more confusion than it was worth. The waitresses seems confused as to the multiple orders and different people wanting different sides with their meals. The portion sizes themselves were great but the cuts of steak were nothing late the prices indicated. Are sides of big potatoes and corn on the cob came with tabs of butter and packets of sour cream is you would see in a fast food restaurant. Besides came out first then the waitresses brought out the steaks stacked up like file folders on top of each other. This bothered me a bit.
For $ 20-​$ 30 a steak you would expect something better than you could cook at home it seems like a good effort but missed.
Like I said before the service staff became confused very easily in for a party of 12 we waited 45 minutes for our check. The head of our party had to seek out to other people a hostess and a bartender to be able to get the final bill. So while sitting in a very frigid cold dining room we waited with no one in site. And like I said there were maybe four tables in the restaurant by 9 o’clock on a Saturday night.
I know this place is an institution but other then the possibility of it being a very expensive roadside pitstop I would choose some other place.

I’ve been coming here when visiting family in Tucson for over 30 years. And, I’m sad to say, the last few visits have shown a downward spiral that just doesn’t seem to be getting any better.
My wife and I were here at 7 on a Friday night which, in the better days, would have meant a good wait. Not this time. No one outside, and we were immediately seated in a dining room that was maybe a third full.
I ordered a full rack of pork ribs, and that’s just what I got. A full rack of pretty well tasteless ribs that had not had any seasoning, marinade, or basted sauce. Just a bowl of something out of a jar on the side. Now normally when I have ribs, I finish mine and start looking to see who can’t finish theirs and offer my help. Not this time; in fact, I didn’t even finish mine; left three or four.
So we asked our waitress for the check. Nothing.
A while later we asked the busboy. We watched him tell the waitress. Nothing. She went to the table next to ours and took drink orders, and then hung around the bar while they were being filled. Obviously no time in her busy schedule to bring our check.
We finally got up and headed to the front, passing her face to face as she delivered drinks. Upon arriving there, the bartender asked, «Two for dinner?» No, we want our check. He went in the back, told someone we needed our check. Nothing.
Another 3 – 4 minutes and the hostess returned. «Two for dinner?» No, we ‘re trying to pay and leave.
Five minutes later, yet another person showed up and we were finally able to pay and leave.
And given the rather pricy, poor food and incredibly pathetic service, not likely to return

Lil’ Abners est un restaurant quasi-​légendaire à Tucson, en Arizona. Situé en dehors de la ville, à l’ouest de l’autoroute I-​10, il m’a fallu deux voyages pour le localiser.
J’ai entendu parler du lieu pour la première fois par Stephen, un ami de San Diego qui, apprenant que je me rendais à Tucson, m’appela spécialement pour me dire: «Tu vas à Tucson? Il faut absolutement que tu ailles dîner chez Lil’ Abners. C’est un steak house perdu au milieu de nulle part dans le désert, à l’écart de la ville. Tu y accèdes par un chemin de terre, ils sont en contrebas d’une colline. J’y ai été manger il y a 30 ans, ils avaient deux plats au menu: steak et steak. Le vrai „cowboy steak“, il n’y a pas mieux !»
Armée de ces indications un peu approximatives, j’ai cherché l’endroit sur Google Maps, qui m’a donné une vague idée de comment né pas me perdre dans le désert. Lil’ Abners n’a pas de site web, apparemment les patrons se fichent pas mal de se faire de la pub.
Hélas, de ma première équipée je suis rentrée piteusement bredouille. De chemin de terre, point. De collines, des tas. Laquelle choisir? Pas d’enseigne visible. Le numéro «8501» n’était pas affiché en lettres de néon sur les cactus ! De toutes évidences, les lieux avaient changé en trente ans, et la route avait été asphaltée. La description de mon ami avait perdu de sa fraîcheur d’antan.
Quelques jours plus tard, armée d’un GPS, je suis retournée sur Silverbell Road. Et cette fois fut la bonne. Mais le bâtiment est si discret qu’il m’a fallu passer 3 fois devant, au ralenti, pour né pas le manquer. L’enseigne Lil’ Abners n’est visible que lorsque vous roulez sur Silverbell Road vers le sud. Si vous allez vers le nord, le restaurant est sur la gauche, et son enseigne est cachée. Vous né pouvez le repérer que par un pilôné au sommet duquel est perché un petit signe «A1», célèbre marque américaine de sauce pour steak.
Mon ami Stephen avait tout de même conservé une image assez fidèle du restaurant lui-​même. La route n’est certes plus le chemin de terre d’autrefois, mais le bâtiment n’a pas changé. Tout au plus s’est-il entouré d’un mur qui le dissimule partiellement au yeux des dineurs désespérés de le trouver.
La bâtisse date de 1905. C’était un «trade post» qui servait de rendez-​vous aux cowboys, aux indiens, aux Mexicains et aux pionniers de la petite bourgade de Tucson. Construite en simples briques peintes, elle est de plain-​pied, sans étage. Sa porte d’entrée m’a tout l’air d’être la porte originale, une solide porte en bois étroite, avec un guichet protégé par des barreaux de fer. Un «trade post» en américain, une «posada» en mexicain.
Lil’ Abners n’est devenu restaurant qu’en 1947, lorsque la famille qui possédait le trade post avant la guerre le transforma en steak house. Au menu: steak et patates. La philosophie du lieu: offrir aux «patrons» (les clients) des steaks de qualité à un prix abordable.
Il m’est arrivé à plusieurs reprises de mentionner le nom de Lil’ Abners à Tucson. Toutes les personnes avec qui j’en discutais m’ont dit connaître le restaurant et y avoir mangé. Toutes avaient un bon souvenir de la place et disaient y retourner au moins une fois par an. Vote unanime sur la qualité du steak. D’aucunes regrettaient simplement que le prix du steak ait tellement augmenté… en 20 ans.
L’intérieur est résolument western. Rien de prétentieux là-​dedans. Poutres en bois, simples tables de bois recouvertes d’une nappe de Vichy, éclairage intimiste pour né pas dire sombre. En face de vous, en entrant, le bar. Au fond à droite, une énorme cheminée de pierre au dessus de laquelle est suspendu un fusil du Far West. A gauche, une salle moins stylisée, avec aux murs des enseignes néon de diverses bières.
C’est la salle de droite, la principale, qui est la plus remarquable. Les murs sont totalement recouverts des plaques d’immatriculation et des graffitis des gens qui sont passés par là. Cela me fait penser aux livres d’or du Bagdad Café (oui, le café du film) sur la Route 66, près de Newberry Springs. Ou bien encore aux murs graffités et décorés de billets d’un dollar de Krabby Bill’s à Indian Rocks, en Floride. Les gens adorent un endroit, ils le décorent, ils en font un lieu culte. Lil’ Abners est de ceux-​là. Avec un parfum Wild West, des miroirs anciens, et les photos de Calamity Jane, Wyatt Earp et Jesse James.
En 30 ans, la carte n’a guère changé, mais elle s’est étoffée de deux ou trois plats supplémentaires. Du poulet rôti, par exemple.
La serveuse est très accueillante, avec un bel accent du sud-​ouest des Etats-​Unis. J’ai commandé un steak accompagné d’une pomme de terre. Rapidement servi, 5 à 6 minutes plus tard, le plat est arrivé avec une grosse patate, et un énorme steak avec une bonne odeur de viande grillée. Les steaks sont préparés sur le grill, à l’extérieur.
Le steak était délicieux. Vraiment à la hauteur des dires de Stephen et de mes anticipations. Cuit exactement comme je l’avais demandé (en