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Tabu Bar

4.0 (79 reviews)
Open 11:00 am - 11:00 pm

By appointment only

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Recommended Reviews - Tabu Bar

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Chile relleno in white sauce is outstanding
Taric W.

A welcome addition to a thriving Mexican food scene. Tabu features Sinaloan-Style southwestern classics, a simple and accessible cocktail menu, and certainly a ton of style. What I love: Large, luxurious booth seating. Posh exposed brick interior with tasteful modern lighting. The menu isn't doing anything off the wall, but it's extensive and the flavors are tantalizing. You can't go wrong with some birria mini chimis to start off with. And for your main course, there's an assortment of tacos, chile rellenos (with various sauces to choose from!), burritos, and a few American dishes. The flavors are bold and absolutely out of this world--their recipes could compete with any spot around downtown. What I like: These cocktails are not avant garde, but they are simple, tasty, and a great value. I can't get enough of the Tabuena, which is just a Mescal Moscow Mule. It hits the spot every time. The dessert is also top notch--it's the first time I had flan and actually really loved it! What needs work: Service is wildly inconsistent every time. Will you get any chips and salsa after you're seated? It's 50/50. Will your food arrive in 15 minutes, or 45? Will your server forget you exist? You never know. But you know what? It tastes so good that I kind of let them get away with it. Shortcomings aside, I want to keep coming back!

805 beer
Alex K.

Came in for a quick drink on a slow post-holiday day. Beautiful bar that feels spacious and luxurious with big couches for sitting and smaller tables. Our bartender/waitress was good checking up on us a few times. Used the bathroom but it was not properly stocked. They also gave a decent happy hour menu. The men's bathroom stall has no lock on it so anyone can accidentally walk in while you are doing your business. Very little TP too. No additional rolls to be found. Thank goodness there was just enough. No soap in the soap dispenser. That's about it. Honestly just a small issue I would have never known about if I didn't have to use the restroom. Despite the bathroom issue, I would come back and recommend this place to others.

Angel Azul and strawberry basil gin cocktails
Lorena G.

What a great addition to the downtown area! We had just experienced the wonderfulness that Forbes was for lunch and was really craving a cool and refreshing cocktail, upon a trusty Yelp search, hubs came up with Tabu! And to our delight, it was open!!! (It was only 1230 pm) We found parking across the street and hurried in. We were the only ones there and I can only assume because they had just opened. We were quickly greeted and handed menus. We told him that we were there for cocktails and he was happy to explain anything that we might have questions on. I went for and Angel Azul and the hubs went for the strawberry basil gin. Whew! Not only were they gorgeous to look at but they were also tasty and refreshing! It was too bad we only had time to have one because I wanted to have a few more!!! We shall return! Overall two new places on a Saturday and couldn't be happier! Yay!!!

Plastic in the food.

1" piece of plastic in my take-out order, which I chewed on for a few seconds before checking to see what it was. Pretty sure I said, "hold the plastic", when I ordered. I'm skeptical about the ratio of food being cooked vs what's trucked in from U.S. foods or the like.

The menu
Di C.

We revisited Tabu on a Thursday and it was really quiet. The server was attentive and new to the restaurant. I had a bowl of Tortilla soup and it was fabulous. I tried to order a cup of soup but even though the menu listed it, we were told there were no cup sizes...confusing. My husband wanted Pozole but they were out. He got a burger that was ordered medium and came out well. It wasn't bad but it wasn't really very good either. He said it tasted (and looked) like a frozen burger. It was supposed to have Jalapeño and other yummy stuff on it but it was disappointing. There was a big whole Jalapeño on top with undercooked bacon wrapped around it. Not going to reduce the rating because this is not a burger place.

Nina M.

The female bartenders that worked tonight at 8pm should be retrained on customer service. Sat for what felt like 20 mins after she gave us water. It was not busy. Then I see her taking care of two women who were seated well after us. I immediately wanted to leave but we were seated at the bar. She took our orders. Spoke in Spanish to the guys at the bar working and went back to making more drinks. They were super pleasant and one gentleman was training another on properly making drinks at the bar and cleanliness. I asked the woman for the bill when she came back around and declined. She assumed I was paying card and handed me a handheld machine with the full total. No bill. I paid and she never came back. Again I had to ask for help with the machine and getting a bill. The young gentleman was prompt and helpful. He also thanked us for coming. That young lady working tonight was disappointing, showed a favoritism to other patrons and a fail for service. Overall vibe was nice with the music. Drinks were good from the cocktail menu. Seats were visibly filthy because they are light I assume. Aesthetically pleasing overall. Disappointing outing that I'd not recommend unless the young man at the bar was working. The woman gives a bad name to bartenders everywhere.

The "After Dinner Espresso Martini"
Michelle M.

Tabu has a lot of potential! It has a diverse selection of cocktails, wine, and beer. I got their espresso martini. It is my mission to try all espresso martinis in Tucson and although this wasn't my favorite the tequila base was unique and fun tasting! We came after the kitchen was closed so I didn't try the food menu. Ultimately, this is a new downtown bar that's still trying to figure out what type of place it wants to be. The decor is gorgeous and sophisticated but the music was being blasted as club-level loud. It made for a contradictory experience -- I thought it would be a great place to catch up with the gals but it was hard to hear each other over the trap music being played!

Specials
Mandy T.

I came here for drinks on a Saturday night and was surprised by the DJ. I liked the music but it was a bit loud. I ended up moving from the bar to one of the tables because of the noise. I really liked the Bloody Sour as the bourbon was not overpowering in it like most bourbon drinks are. I loved the Angel Azul. It was light and refreshing and a little sweet. I had 2 of these. I wasn't a fan of the blood moon. It was very beet forward and a little sweet. I really liked the chips with guacamole as well and would get this again.

Erick D.

Cool spot. The sound could be better, you can hear parts of the building rattle when the music is loud. The food and drink were pretty good. I got the Mexican Chocolate Old Fashioned and this twist on a classic cocktail was great. The chocolate wasn't too sweet and everything else went well together. The elote had good flavor, but was over cooked. Some of the parts were mushy. This could have been due to being a slow night or still working out their kitchen.

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15 days ago

Made reservations months ago for Easter dinner. We showed up and they were closed. Never notified us.

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2 months ago

Love this bar! Classy, CLEAN, and excellent music during their night hours. I enjoy this place out of all the Latin clubs on congress.

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(82 reviews)

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I will say without hesitation that Juniper serves the best cocktails in Tucson. Maybe not even just…read moreTucson--this is the best of the best you can find through the entirety of Southern Arizona! These drinks are innovative, thoughtful, and aesthetically pleasing in a way that leaves you excited for more and expands one's idea of a well-made libation. Inspired by a medley of global flavors, Juniper started off as a side project from a local brewery and unexpectedly exploded into a swanky hangout with zero seats left open on weekend nights. Yes, virtually everything on the menu is gin-based. But that shouldn't scare you away! Gin is essentially a neutral spirit infused with botanicals and/or citrus, so if you had a bad experience with one brand, there will be another out there you'll fall in love with. Elliott, the General Manager of the bar, elevates the passionate curation of his menu to perfection. Here are some examples of what you might fall in love with: Balzy Maracuya: A 'maracuya' is a passion fruit beverage originating from South America. In this drink, fruity flavors are enhanced with popping boba filled with balsamic vinegar. Botanist: Upscale gin and tonic with thyme, rosemary, and star anise. Cronus Punch: Rum punch lovers will be blown away by the rare sighting of clarified gin On special ocassions, you'll find limited edition items like gin sorbet affogatos and horchata martinis. At the turn of each new year, there's a menu rotation that may sadly remove some of my faves. But here, at Juniper I can guarantee two things: Something uniquely enjoyable, and a gracious staff that will be happy to explain the intricacies of lesser-known spirits on the shelf. In 2026, I predict it will remain one of Tucson's hottest cocktail hangouts.

The first time I went there their signature blue cocktail was amazing but the second time it was…read moresuper sweet. I also got the Thai cocktail which I extremely warn against! It was so bitter I had to go to Icecreamery next door and get a scoop to be able to drink it!

The Century Room - Coffee borgata liqueur and cream. Big band jazz the Century Room stage was full! No more case of the Mondays when the music starts playing.

The Century Room

(86 reviews)

$$

Pie Allen

Best surprise of our trip yet we found two tickets for a rather inexpensive cost for some live…read moremusic early in the evening. Sold! Super cute bar amazing staff from the point of check-in to the bar. Mainly cocktails, beer and wine. You might see a couple of small plates of nuts or olives nothing major. The vibe was ridiculously cool absolutely loved it. The music was amazing. We were considered preferred customers with our tickets and asked to sit at the bar. No questions asked the owner/manager even said, "The bar is probably better place to sit! " Awesome night out thank you so much. This was a treat!

I went here again for the "twas the night before Christmas" jam session and learned the difference…read morebetween a typical show and a jam session. I was disappointed that I didn't hear more Christmas music, but I guess I should've went to the Charlie Brown Christmas show for that. The performers were extremely talented, and the host did a good job too. I got a hot chocolate, which was okay, as well as the mixed nuts, which were also okay. My large party also tried the popcorn, and it was a bit stale. I was saddened to see that there are no longer charcuterie boards on the menu, leaving only and truly "small bites" that don't really hit the spot. The chocolate covered pretzels were the only thing I ate, which I would order again. I really like the century room , I just hope they make revisions to the menu to really make it the whole experience!

Tabu Bar - lounges - Updated May 2026

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