Safehouse

Awesome place to kick back and relax, late! The Spork is amazing and if you have any questions about anything on the menu, the staff is more than happy to help. Always was a joy to go when I lived in Tucson.

Getting a good bevie is doable here. The only issue is when you fall in love with a drink they won’t tell you what’s in it due to their policy. Good place to hang out to get grading or studying done and it’s changed a lot since I was in high school and this was «the» hangout. New owners and updated look.

The whole point of this place is to smoke indoors. They are labeled as a smoke shop that sells coffee so thats why you can smoke indoors. I’m kinda tired of people saying its to smoky in doors… DER

This place is like the giant tree house that you always wanted to build as a kid, but only it is better because it is for adults. The coffee and tea here is cheap and delicious and the staff all seem nice. It doesn’t keep quite cool enough during these Tucson summers but it is a great place to hang out regardless. Beats Starbucks any day. :)
Although a caution to the wise: It is sometimes quite smokey.

NON SMOKERS ALERT!!! Seriously, if you walk in, you wouldn’t have thought there was a no smoking rule inside. It’s extremely suffocating. Any who, if the smoke doesn’t bother you, it’s open late, you can grab a drink, play pool, or study. The lighting is dim, but I’ve seen plenty of people do it. In my opinion, it’s more of a hang out place to gather your friends late at night when there’s absolutely nothing else to do in good ol’ Tucson!

Safehouse is a bit of a unique coffee shop. I ended up in here while waiting for an oil change on my car. There is free wifi and tons of seating. But a lot of people might not want to come here to do work while sipping some coffee because smoking is allowed inside here. The smell of cigarette smoke doesn’t bother me much personally but I could see how that would make some people uncomfortable (or some people more comfortable)! The barista was a bit of a personality. If it doesn’t bother you to have your barista swearing and burping (like mine did) then you’re fine. For me, as long as I love the drink, I don’t mind much. I ordered an iced chai. It was pretty good. A little heavy on the milk and light on the tea but overall decent. It’s a bit of a unique place but some people may like the uniqueness it offers.

As others have said, Safehouse is the kind of place that you will either love or hate. Fortunately, I love it. With the relaxed seating upstairs, pool table, and arcade game, it feels like kind of a dingy dive bar, but in a comfortable rather than scary way. No amount of atmosphere can make up for bad coffee of course, but no worries, their espresso is excellent.
A caveat: Do not go here if you have somewhere to go later and need to stay classy (or sit outside if you do go). When we went, it was almost empty, and only one person was smoking, but we still smelled like a thousand cigarette butts when we left.

Loved this place. Came here with the hubby such a fun little spot to be at. Definitely lots of smoking but that’s what they go for. My breve was delish and the hubby enjoyed his mocha as well. Looking forward to hanging out there again.

Safehouse either is or is not your thing. If you’re not a smoker, it’s pretty likely that it’s not gonna be your thing. To quote fellow Unilocaler Brad, «Safehouse is filled with cigarette smoke, a vintage arcade game, and looks like some kind of awesome desert-​ravaged, time-​warped, demented 1970s ski lodge.»
I would have LOOOVVEDD this place in my cigarette-​hazed, overly caffeinated, Noir-​seeking college days and would have given it an 11 of 10. But even now, in my post-​college, Noir-​seeking days, it still gets 4 stars.

Great coffee, competitive pricing, relaxed atmosphere, free wifi, indoor smoking and plenty of patio seating. Awesome place to just hang out and relax.

It was a surprise to see they managed to get smoking indoors approved. So the goth/​punk/​biker smoker crowd is back. I had grown out of my habit and the atmosphere years ago, but last night I decided to try the espresso one last time. Place has not changed.
I think I am too healthy for this place. (LOL) Of course the coffee was crazy strong which they would be proud of. Perhaps my drink had a different flavor when I smoked a pack a day those many years ago, so it wasn’t the same.
Currently I am still suffering the strong side effects of my mega strong espresso (only had a few hours sleep) and the second hand smoke shock to my lungs. Time for me to move on.
Overall, you might enjoy the place if you:
A) Are a indoor and outdoor smoker.
B) Love really really strong espresso.
C) Enjoy Punk, Goth, Metal, Alternative Music.
D) Like a rebellious (sometimes dodgy) crowd.
E) Need Wifi, since you share a blood supply with your computer.

I have been to the Safehouse a few times. Most of the time it has been tolerable but last weekend was not so great. The inside of the shop was so smoky and the vibe was really angry. Also, while I think that smokers should get a chance to partake in caffeine nectar, the shop needs to invest in some fans. None of the smoke was circulating at all, it just hung out and made it smell and taste terrible in there.
The fews times I have gone I have enjoyed the Ibarra Coffee and the regular brew is no better or worse than anywhere else. Overall I give it a two because my coffee tasted like cigarettes. My mate and I went outside to talk because the inside was intolerable.

This one’s a «I’m glad it’s around, but it’s not my thing.» After all, the world needs places that counter that sterile, safe, manufactured feel that Starbucks has standardized.
Safehouse is filled with cigarette smoke, a vintage arcade game, and looks like some kind of awesome desert-​ravaged, time-​warped, demented 1970s ski lodge. Ah, yes, that evens things out nicely.
That said, the smoke is just too much for this non-​smoker. The coffee is comparable to other places. This place is overflowing with atmosphere, though. If you smoke — or maybe are shooting a noir film — I’d definitely recommend it.

I have the unfortunate pleasure of having to taste more than 50 shots of espresso from here and none of them have been palatable.
I can say this, they are better than Raging Sage…
If you smoke and can’t taste anyway, this is the place.

This is an interesting place. Just a fair warning, the whole place is filled with smokes. Not the bad kind, but strong. They don’t have any non-​smoke area inside. If the weather is nice, you can sit outside and enjoy some fresh air. They have two floors. Upstairs is quieter. There are couches, benches, booth, all kinds of seating arrangement. Drinks are mediocre. Chai is kinda bland.

Small interior and slow service but decent.
I also visited on a warmer day (around 98 at 9 PM) and was also glad to get outside because the inside of this place was sweltering. There were no fans on and the misters outside were off for some reason.
The place does seem to be a under 21 and biker hangout. Under 21 sucking but bikers making it interesting.
Has one internet terminal (that I saw) that someone was hogging to use Facebook. Didn’t bring my iPhone to test the «free WiFi.»
Tight parking. Cramped interior. Slow service. Decent drinks.
A solid 2.

Free WiFi, cool décor, very relaxed, lots of seating for a coffee shop, plenty of power plugs, and okay coffee. The staff, though, definitely has that irritating Tucson hipster vibe. If you’re from out of town and want to know about the people in Tucson, and how friendly they aren’t, definitely get safehouse a shot.
As far as the coffee goes, their beans are always burnt tasting. The baristas are pretty high and mighty acting, and when they put caramel in your white mocha and not in your caramel macchiato where it was supposed to be, and then insist the blended white mocha is a macchiato, it’s quite frustrating.
Overall, the service/​staff at this place really brings it down. If they were friendlier, this would easily be four stars, even with bad coffee.

Safehouse is great! Sure! Man. I remember coming here when you could smoke inside (now gone as espresso counts as food apparently) and spent many a night trying to ignore everyone without chance, listening to half decent music, playing a game of pool (they’ve a table), drinking shitty coffee and using the wi-​fi while sitting upstairs on the couches.
Why, I’ve smoked a cigar here for a special occasion. I suckered people into chess. Strangers would butt-​in during conversations and we’d let them because they had something interesting to say. At some point on some late night I let some guy with mouth piercings slap me in the face after spending the night telling me about how much he likes the underground rave scene.
Maybe I’m weird, but that’s when it was great. I’ve met some good friends here, an ex, a great chess player or two, a bad chess player or two, a big angry somewhat hostile talks-​to-​himself chess player (or three), walked up to the front counter and couldn’t order a drink because the barista was too busy lighting someone’s cigarette while pretending to get his dick sucked.
How I describe it makes it sound like a circus, sure, and to some degree it can be. It’s a crazy place sometimes. I don’t know about anymore though.
The wi-​fi started going to shit when the smoking stopped inside, what with all the WoW players coming in to leach. The strangers that used to be interesting, I find, have become annoying high schoolers just being incredibly irritating. Most of the customers, really. There’s some interesting people still, but to me it’s become a wasteland and I tend to avoid it. The interesting baristas have been replaced by interesting baristas that aren’t as offensive and playful. The music has turned to mostly shit. The coffee still sucks.
Safehouse still has one thing going for it at least: There is a shitty arcade machine that despite never recording my high score on Donkey Kong I keep shoving quarters into. I gravitate to it now when I find myself there. It helps to keep me sane when children make the place unbearable. But, undoubtedly, if you’re into an alternative, busy and laid back place, it’s one of the better sorts of that in town. Just try to get there when the kids aren’t there. Open lateish — 1 AM I believe.

Great coffee, limited parking, relaxed atmosphere, easy conversation, bring your own air conditioning. However very «hippie» for those who let such things matter — I recognize it because I was there when «hippie» was invented. I’ve been to the Safe House several time. The staff has always been courteous and friendly … but maybe it’s because I remind them of their grand-​daddy and because I don’t have ‘tood.
Free WiFi, by the way.

It could be a cool place but it has a weird vibe and the staff can be rude.
They have a computer upstairs but it’s old, slow, and gross. I’d make sure to wipe down the keyboard before I touched it.