Tempe Tavern — Restaurant in Tempe

One of my favorite watering holes. This rustic rock building looks like it's at least 100 years old, but it is conveniently located by a light rail train stop. Great food, fair prices, lovely hostesses, live music on weekends, peace and quiet when you need it in the mornings. This is what the owners say. “Tempe Tavern is a clean and comfortable neighborhood tavern with a rustic feel. As anyone is welcome to come enjoy a cool drink or some good food here, we don’t "cater" to any particular persons or demographic. College students, business professionals, soldiers, music lovers, fashion enthusiasts, sports fans, retirees.. you name it..”

Check out the history of Tempe Tavern and it becomes more enjoyable.

The site has previously been home to the New Oxbow Tavern and Murphy’s Irish Pub. The building is a historical site in Tempe, AZ known as The White Dairy Barn. The White Dairy Barn is the only known river cobble building remaining in Tempe. It was built in 1918 by E.M. White, after he bought the property from M. H. Meyer and J. H. Guyer. White came to Arizona from California in 1908 and farmed near Phoenix before moving to Tempe to permit his children to attend the Tempe Normal school. He used the property as a dairy farm until 1927, when it was subdivided in acre tracts for sale. White is best known for the large river cobble he built just across the river from Tempe, called the White House, which was demolished in the...

Food : 5 Stars. Excellent and tasty. I ordered the tacos. Staff: 0 Stars. Not inviting. We walked in and the only waitress we saw across the room just stared at us. We had to ask for a menu to see before deciding to stay. The same waitress only gave my brother a refill, but ignored myself and my dad. My dad asked the bar tender if she could turn on a hockey game. The bartender said, "I don't know what channel that is", to which my dad replied, "Neither do I. I'm from out of town". We asked the bartender two more times and her answer continued to be "I don't know the channel". (Well neither do we, lady, just check the sport channels because we don't know the local channels either). No channel was changed to hockey that night. It was difficult to flag down our waitress for drink refills, to-go boxes, or the check. Both the waitress and the bartender acted as though us 'out of towners' were bothering them. It should be noted we were a group of 3 in the restaurants containing 6 total customers, the other three were seated at the bar. Atmosphere: 4 stars. Funky and fun Summary: This would be a great option for take-out because the food is great and it would be a great option for a local or someone new to the area looking to meet locals. If you are visiting, stay away, you are...

GOOD NEWS: This place is conveniently located right next to the light rail. The local bands that play there are awesome and there's no cover to watch! Good sound system as well. The food is good. Has a nice little patio for smokers outside. There is plenty of space there. They also have a bucket filled with free matches when you walk through the door in case you need a light. The whole bar is filled with creativity and artwork. They have an old phone booth in the middle of the bar.

BAD NEWS: The bathroom only has one stall. The service is fairly slow. The majority of problems occur at the bar. The drinks are expensive and not worth what you pay. A coke is $3. They fill your drink to the rim with ice, I mean pack it down. You are getting less drink and more ice. The bartenders seem to be more focused on their daily gossip then paying attention to their customers. They are rude for the most part and not very friendly either. My friend had their card charged more than what was owed because the bartender wasn't satisfied with her tip. They also have a $10 minimum for cards....