1st time experience: So I arrived with a girly friend in October/November and we got in right away, top floor was great, esp the view from the balcony. No cover, good music. Nice dance floor and quirky decor. Cabanas are cool 2nd time experience: Not a good experience. I arrived with a hubby new years eve. The place, was pretty empty around 1 AM but made "artificial lines" outside to make it look popular and pumped up the music. The security team told us 10 minutes, then made us wait 15+ minutes. I had better things to do with my time than wait in line for a place that does not want my business or my presence. So I ditched the line and went to ... Charlie's Turnbull instead. That place was super cool. I got to go up to the 2nd floor balcony, rock out, dance, enjoy the music and decor and the vibe, check out the outdoor patio, right across from the CASA block party. I'd recommend Charlie's Turnbull for accessibility, courteousness, lights, decor, DJ, and the crowd was cool too! Varsity was disappointing, but thats why wait around and waste time when there are plenty of places around Mill we can give our businesses to, right girls? My girls and I will not be returning to Tavern but going to Charlie's instead starting 2020. Happy new year! read more

My new favorite spot! Varsity Tavern has the best Ceaser Salad , sweet potato and seasoned fries in Downtown Tempe. My sister had the chicken said it was so good . My favorite place in Tempe. Beautiful ambiance, awesome staff . read more

Decent service for being super slow. Food was great though. Definitely a good location with a good vibe!! Just need to work on their service. read more

Stumbled upon this place while waiting for kids at a birthday party nearby. It was a Sunday night during a 49ers game and they ONLY had like 10 special menu items! Nothing from their regular menu. So we waited 20 mins to place an order for one item and are now waiting for that one item to come. Very disappointed because their regular menu looks really good. Wont be back. Silly way to run a business. read more

Aiyana was fantastic. It was a great experience on Mill. Would recommend this place to anyone looking for a great value and service!

If I could give it 0 stars I would. They constantly target people in line even after speaking with management. RIDICULOUS!

Super good food and fun environment!! Great view of Mill Ave and the Tempe night life. Sweet potato fries are a must!! read more

Varsity Tavern - Dance Clubs Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

Went here on Friday and just checked my bank statement...some bartender in there gave themselves a 4$ tip even after I gave them a tip in cash! Never coming here again!!!! BRING CASH ONLY!!! These ppl are just trying to take advantage and give themselves extra tips. I've never had a problem at any bar using my debit card and getting overcharged read more

The best part about Varsity Tavern is the balcony. When the weather is cooler out, it's a great place to sit and hang out. There are cool views of Mill Ave and the overall vibe is pretty chill. It's definitely a "college" scene there for the most part but that's to be expected. The inside seating area looks pretty cool too! I haven't eaten there so I'm not sure how the food is, but their service is solid and our server was very friendly. The drink menu is pretty decent as well. read more

rude ass staff do not give them your money!!! they will make you feel stupid and make shit drinks! ALSO, the bouncer was not properly taking temperatures so do not come here if you're trying to be cautious. read more

Basically basically treated a black man as if he did not belong there he started the dance floor but the fact that he was black it was an OK so they made him leave on purpose I'm from LA so I try everything but they did not treat me as if I belong there so I had to leave and basically was not excepted at this bar I tried more than a couple times to explain to them that I was just dancing but that was not OK with them so they made me leave on the Account of me dancing and I'm pretty sure they will say something else but you can but you made me leave on the only night that I would ever spend in Arizona at this bar so I hope you guys have a great night and I will be attending some other bar that will except me as who I am rather than just some black man that is I guess causing ruckus LOL enjoy your night folks read more

Last night was my 21st bday. I showed up with my group and got in fine. Everything was decent except for the cost of the shots, and the upstairs smelling like penis. Later that night my friend was trying to enter to join us and was harassed, pushed, and called a homophobic slur by the bouncer. It's absolutely absurd especially since he used to be a bouncer for Varsity Tavern. This place is just nasty. Go to old town. read more

It smells like shit but good vibes. I can't wait s express enough this much this place smells like vomit and or poop thank you

Security takes fakes and lets people buy them back for $100, probably not a good thing since the place can lose their liquor license for this. Two young guys at the front, blond guy and curly hair brunette guy wearing timberland boots? Anyways, they don't even scan the IDs, could be totally real and think it's fake and then charge someone for it. Hopefully that doesn't happen to a real one and someone gets the police involved. read more

Visiting phoenix for the weekend and I decided to make a quick trip over to Tempe to visit Varsity. This bar has three levels and host a variety of events (i.e. brunch) but on this particular evening I found myself on the top (rooftop balcony level). The happy hour event started off a little slow but things picked up at around 730-8. The bar on the top level also had some great happy hour deals on drinks and food, plus a "bar" that allowed patrons to buy hookahs. Overall, I had a great experience and am looking forward to visiting on another Friday evening the next time I'm in town! read more

Ive NEVER wrote a review in my life , this place has brought me to this point. Me and some of my friends attended this place for a Kodak Black concert a couple of months ago, and when I say the security will make you feel anything but unsafe, I mean it. when I went up to ask for help and or direction, I IMMEDIATELY got attacked for even asking a question, He didn't even hear the question I asked. Then when I asked for someone else to speak with like a manager I was told I was going to be kicked out, when I asked why I was going to be kicked out, the security replied with, "cause I can kick you out because I simply don't like you." so I walked away. I decided to try and approach a different team member and different security, and when I told them the problem they repeatedly ignored me and walked away. Others told me they would kick me out just because I wanted to talk to a manager. Will NEVER go back and don't recommend this place to anyone. It's sad that this place is even still open. read more

I went there on a Saturday and I got shoved off the stairs by a bouncer, I was never aggressive or violent. Very unprofessional and rude, my back and neck have not been the same be careful going to this place. I tried reaching to the owner and manager but no response. If this happens to anybody else file a police report, I failed to do so thinking I was going to be ok. This happened on 8-31-19. read more

This place is garbage smell bad floor was falling apart under us needs to be inspected seems like there is mold growing. Security is power hungry they don't know what they're doing they give preference to people thinking they are going to get something out of it. Bully people there because they feel like they can. When they ask people to leave even if they leave calmly they will push,choke,and toss you around. read more

Deserves 0 stars. Horrible asshole security during closing time. A guy lost his phone, 2 youtube live streamers were trying to help him find it, doors were locked, a couple people eventually walked out, the youtubers caught the door in time, and the security didnt even listen to the fact the phone was lost or consider looking for it, they just yanked the door shut like worthless unhelpful idiots. read more

This place is very slow for a Saturday and I can see why. We've been coming to Tempe for spring training for years and like to try new places. The place used to be a Hooters in a college town but it's a dump now. Dirty tables, dirty fake grass floor outside, rickety furniture, servers not picking up empty glasses, very limited menu. A lot of servers in tight yoga pants and black sports bras "working" but no excuse for how dirty and unkempt it is for all the workers standing around. Will not be back. read more

Service was sub par at best. Had to finally go get my condiments off of another table. Food was about what I expected for a college bar. Nothing would entice me to return and wait over an hour for food during lunch time. The food was served on a tray with paper on it that got so soggy I was cutting in to it and eating it by mistake. Yuck. read more

Our drinks were fine and the food was good, but if you don't fit the college kid mold, a little 18 year old hostess will seat you in the corner away from everyone. read more

Place is disgusting! Smells like stale booze and vomit. Service is terrible. Half of our food came out and didn't get other half until 30 minutes later. Said the kitchen was short staffed but other tables that came in after us had food. Chicken on sandwich was very small and thin. Had a toothpick in one of the bites of my chicken sandwich. Plenty of other options on mill. Don't go here. read more

Wow, not sure where to start. In town for Ironman and was complaining to my girlfriend there's no good food in college towns. Needed to eat quickly and most places were crowded but not here so ate at bar. I can honestly say the vegetarian protein bowl is fantastic. I work out like crazy too so I needed French fries as well. Some of the best I've ever had. I save 5.0 ratings for spectacular restaurant experiences but I'll say this was 4 plus and something I could have never expected. read more

Varsity Tavern - Dance Clubs Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

Most of the staff here are super nice! Unfortunately, there is one male bartender who is a real jerk. He tried to give me two "shots" of sprite instead of Green Tea shots and charge me. When I told him he needed to fix it, he became super nasty and yelled at me multiple times. Other guests around commented to me on how rude he was being, and even left the bar themselves because he was making them uncomfortable. He tried to charge one couple $30 for one drink. I'm hoping management sees this and is able to address it with their staff. :) read more

Came for a brunch event. The good and drinks were excellent. The bartender remembered my face and my order, which is great! The staff was very friendly, attentive, and helpful. I will be back. read more

Wow ok Dylan was the nicest manger.. I lost my card and the other bartender was busy and taking care of customers and Dylan spent so long trying to find my card because I don't live here... and he looked over the whole bar he was so sweet and helpful I will always come back to this bar.. he acted like it was a five star restaurant with his customer service..... thank you Dylan again read more

Great place to watch a game. Huge TVs everywhere. Decent wings and decent drink prices too. Will definitely stop back during another football Sunday read more

I come here about once a month for events thrown. It's a great spot downtown Tempe to either watch games or if someone was throwing a big event. The creators of brunchish throw an event here every month and the atmospheres great! There's plenty of room a huge balcony section with lots of seating! There are tables and booths inside, three full bars video game stations inside and it brings a nice modern look and feel. One thing i miss about Chicago is most of our hangout spots have a great feel to it and the tavern brings that exact vibe and energy. read more

My son and I live this place. They have great food. My sons loves the French dip sandwiches. It's a nice place to eat food and catch a game or two. read more

horrible pineapple tequila. literally don't come vibes smell nasty and gross. elevator not up to code

Not good, like at all. A group of 9 of us went for lunch on a Monday afternoon and were very easy to manage because it was just a pitstop between airbnbs. The printers were broken which is not a big deal, our server told us and we were understanding about that. The food took well over an hour and this place was not at all busy. We had to keep asking for refills on water and got them once. She never checked on us when the food was dropped and we just had to sit and wait around to ask for the check due to her not coming back after the food dropped. overall we were there for 2.5 hours and collectively agreed it was a waste of time. There was also automatic gratuity for us being a larger group which is totally fine, but for literally the worst service I've ever had its annoying that its automatic. read more

Daniel was great. always on it, asking how we were doing, making sure we had what we needed. had that veggie broth thing and it was really good. only thing was i was told its "really spicy".. sure maybe if you think ketchup is spicy. still good though and recommend it regardless. read more

Danica gave amazing service!!! Great food and a great time highly recommend. Perfect for lunch or going clubbing at night. Staff is great.

Great place to hang! Fun music, great food. Service is awesome...fun games and dancing! read more

Varsity Tavern - Lovin' the cocktails here! - Dance Clubs Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

Oh this place is just 'eh. I won't even give it meh. So we walked from the hotel and it's beautiful. Nice scenic walk. A typical downtown area with nicer views. Ok. I'm done with the nice part. We walk in and it is really empty. I see why now. But they had a few games to play like basketball and punch bag. The staff bless them hearts. Little blonds in tank tops and yoga pants. Now, they have this walk-in talkie attached to this very flimsy material. I thought we were going to see boob. Oh we did we almost got nip. Almost. It wasn't just our waitress but others as well. She couldn't remember the order. If you can't remember then write it down please. Slow. I was the DD and she brought me a beer. I was like when did I order this? My boss wanted stout beer...nope they don't have any. Just the old regular stuff. Bottled. He also got a half spicy pasta and it was extremely hot. He didn't want the veggies. So it was just pasta. The waitress said the chicken comes with the veggies in a package so yep he just had noodles. I got wings and for this place not be busy my food was cold when I got it. Wings were not it. She came and stamped our hand with a club stamp. Mind you it was only 7:30. We don't look like college kids by any means. We asked why and she said it turns into a club at 10. I'm looking like I'm not sitting here for another 3 hours why stamp my hand. If ever back in Phoenix I will walk right by that place. I guess the club part is better. Who cares what you eat when clubbing...right. At least the view was cool. read more

Great food and great environment. A lot of people don't know they serve food but after trying it out I'm definitely going to be a regular. Our server was Jordan and he was very attentive which I appreciated. I wish they had more brunch items. Maybe a bottomless mimosa would be cool. read more

Chill vibes and cold beer. The staff is dope. Even during game day they were able to provide quick and efficient service.

Created a Yelp account just to review my experience at Varsity Tavern. The food was delicious. We were in town for Ironman and my brother and I both ordered the protein bowls. Our server Burklee was phenomenal and she really took care of us. Eating here was a good experience. I would 100% recommend. read more

BEWARE HIDDEN COSTS! Go to a honest business instead. I trekked down here after getting notified of a free desert. When I arrived, the manager said it was dine-in only. I pointed out how the coupon didn't say that, and he said he was changing it tomorrow. I was going to come for the coupon to sample the food. From this example of their service, I do not want to come back to this dishonest business. read more