The Red Light Lounge at the Downtown Clifton — Restaurant in Tucson

We'd been wanting to try the Red Light Lounge at the Downtown Clifton for a while now, but having friends coming into town soon finally got us off our bums. Based on the pictures and positive reviews, this is just the kind of place they'd like to have a meal and a drink with us.

Sadly, the lounge is pretty much all show and no go. The young woman working the front desk (really just a table and laptop in the lobby) wasn't evidently wildly enthusiastic to see us, but she at least politely told us where to find food and drink. And the young woman bartender was friendly and courteous, and she even intuited that we were going to share our entries and had them plated accordingly.

But the food. My god, the food.

The $18 Red Light Burger had a pretty decent brioche-like bun. But the meat was just one of those preformed patties that come in huge packages at Costco with a too-sweet BBQ sauce slathered on it. And the side of black beans we ordered was tiny, and seems to have just been spooned out of a can based on the temperature and taste.

We also shared an Eighteen Visions Quesadilla for $12. It was supposed to contain several tasty sounding ingredients, but they must have been in miniscule proportion because all we really came away with was the taste of the store-bought flour tortilla and not very good salsa.

Oh, and although we were the only people waiting for food, neither the burger nor the quesadilla were very warm when they arrived at our table.

$50+ later, our recommendation would be to maybe order a drink, partake in some of the free popcorn, take your Instagram-able selfies . . . and move...

Tommy the chef serves up incredibly flavourful cuisine that is all driven by fresh local ingredients. I feel that term is overused often but it really applies in creative ways here. We tried the tepary bean hummus, great flavor and great texture. The red chile posole is legit, the spiciness was perfect, plenty of tender tasty pork, just perfect on a cool winter night. Next up we tried the elote fry bread. Unlike anything I've ever had. If you think you've had good fry bread think again. It was spicy, crispy, and somehow refreshing at the same time. Absolute must try. Finally finished up with the fish of the day, which I was super excited to see makes use of gaujillo Chile. Overall, great food, great ambience, didn't get to try the drinks as we couldn't stay long but I recognized the bartenders and feel quite certain the bar offerings will be top notch as well. Go try it out before it gets...

The Elote Frybread is the only thing I want in my mouth for the rest of my life. No picture because I was pretty hungry when it came to the table. We stopped in for a late night bite, and we are so happy no where else was open. The lounge is quirky and warmly welcoming. There is outdoor seating within the courtyard. The interior is decorated with vintage thrift store artwork - which was fun to look at while we waited for our plates. We also tried the Daily Special - an Italian Sub with Caprese Salad. It was tasty, but seemed antithetical to the theme of the menu. That was ok though, because my partner is not a fan of Southwest fusion. I wanted to try the Smothered Fries with Carne Saadi and queso. Great cocktail menu! Recommend the Mexican Rum & Coke. The evening gave me Grill vibes. Or maybe it’s just the nostalgia of walking downtown past a bunch of boarded up buildings. We will...