Club 21

I know this place is «historical» but I think it’s a tad bit overrated. When we walked towards the door, we thought it was closed. It was super dark and empt inside. We went to dinner around 7pm on a Saturday. The waitress was super nice but she also only had 1 other customer. Considering that though, my water stayed empty for a while.
We shared a cheese crisp (tostada) with Taco meat. it was pretty good and a small was enough for 4 of us. I ordered a house margarita that had way too much ice and foam and not enough tequila. I got the barbacoa burro enchilada style. I wasn’t impressed. I’d go as far as to say chipotle has better barb. The portions were pretty good for the prices though and my friend enjoyed her taco.
The complementary salsa wasn’t spicy at all but it was unlimited so that was nice. I don’t think I would ever go back. If I do, I’ll try the tacos.

As a former Tucsonan, this was always on of my favorites. … I believe this place has been open about 60 years and with good reason… the food is authentic and always good. … I love the dark, old-​fashioned atmosphere in there.

The food was excellent even the beans and rice taste great. The chicken enchiladas are amazing. The prices aren’t bad and the service was good.

My first time here, not my last. I love to support local businesses. I had Enchiladas Suiesse (sp?) and my girlfriend had a carne seca taco and a cheese enchilada. All exceptional. Had mini chimis as an appetizer and thee were tasty; two each beef, bean and chicken!
This gem is a long time Tucson original!

Club 21 is solid mexican food, but with some tex-​mex additions, and it was a little on the high end in terms of pricing.
The Good
The margarita my SO had was really well done, a little heavy on the triple sec, but plenty of booze. Its pretty common for restaurants to water down margaritas, and this was not the case here. However $ 5 for a Pacifico bottle seemed a bit on the high end.
The staff members were friendly and attentive, quick about refilling drinks and checking on us.
The table salsa were also tasty. There were both hot and a mild blends, both well done.
The Bad
The main courses were average, solid american-​mexican cuisine. I had a special, the barbacoa chimichanga with beans on the side. The meat was tender but lacked any real inspiration flavor/​spice-​wise, plus their special included a cheese topping that seemed to just be two slices of american cheese melted on top of the chimi. The beans seemed practically canned, just no real flavor and the consistency was thick and pastey.
None of this would have necessarily been bad, but our bill somehow came to $ 45, for two plates of food and two drinks. I’m never against paying $ 45 for two entrees and two drinks, especially if the food is superb, amazing, and/​or outstanding, whatever you want to call it. This food just wasn’t quite there.
Overall
The restaurant has a nice, rustic atmosphere with kind and attentive staff. However, the food is a bit bland, and for the prices Club 21 asks it just doesn’t feel quite worth it. I’m left just a bit disappointed as I hoped Club 21 would become another hidden gem in our repertoire for out of town guests, but at this point that just doesn’t seem to be the case.

We came in for lunch today, and as usual, it was great. The service was good and the food was delicious. We all got exactly what we ordered (chicken enchiladas, chorizo and egg burro, and beef tacos), which was fabulously hot and fresh. My aunts have been going here for 30+ years and say that, especially for the price, this place has always been outstanding. Try the green sauce!

Been going for years when I visit with family. Salsa is excellent. Margaritas even better. I always get the chimichanga del sol. You might not think it from outside, but this place is great !

I love Club 21. I have been going there since I was a preteen; 50+ years. The food is very good, and always consistent. The staff is friendly and the service is great! Reasonably priced. The cheese crisp is fantastic! Family owned and operated. It is good to support local businesses. I suggested Club 21 for my birthday lunch at work and now two others select this place for their birthday lunch. Don’t let the location put you off. Everything is good! Give it a try!

We meet here every week for a family dinner with my other half’s parents and his aunt who is wheelchair-​bound with cerebral palsy. The staff is always incredibly nice and accommodating for the wheelchair and any extra chairs and tables we might need if more people show up than usual. Service is prompt, and at this point they know all our names and pretty much what we want to order! The food is also delicious (or else we wouldn’t keep going back)! Also reasonably priced.

We love Club 21! Our family has been coming here since the 1970s, and the food has always been excellent. Their carne seca is the best in town and is impossible to resist – order anything with it, and you won’t be disappointed. But everything here is good, and we like that you can order a huge plateful of food, or, unlike most restaurants, you can get virtually any item a la carte if you just don’t have a huge appetite. Margaritas are freshly made, tasty, and very reasonably priced. The staff is always friendly, and most of them have been around forever. And we like the retro décor, as the dark bar area is where we have always chosen to sit; if you prefer it brighter, you can sit in the newer room with the big window.

Since my review on Unilocal,the manager of Club 21 sent me an email asking me to contact so they can make up for my previous visit. I bumped up my rating to 2 stars for the attempt to make things right for such a poor experience. I appreciate that. However, I didn’t bother to contact them, because I’m not looking for any freebies, and the original experience was noticeable by management and should have been addressed on the spot then rather than later on, when they knew about things and were whispering to each other about how we weren’t being served timely, they should have made an attempt to fix it on the spot or at least make sure the food was great instead of sub-​par. I already wasted money and time.
Even though they lost my business, maybe they will make it a point to be more pro-​active with their remaining patrons.

So as a Mexican the food was decent. The staff was nice. But they only carry Mexican imports Dos X and Tecate aka Mexican piss. There were 3 crack heads at the bar but not their fault they were paying customers. The only problem I had with the place was that it’s slightly pricey and it’s dark in there. I went there at like 3 pm and it was so dark I had problems reading the menu. The food and the staff makes up for the actual restaurant. Although there were a few cholos crossing by the parking lot as I was leaving I noticed that there was a ghetto right behind it. Oh and the entrance is like a maze. Other that 4 stars for food and staff.

I was a little uneasy when I found out our Christmas party for work was going to be at Club 21… I always assumed it was a strip club due to name and location. Could use a lot of updating inside but the food was very good… everyone at the party enjoyed their food and the service was spot on! It is local businesses such as this that we should all go out of our way to support.

Good lord. The most overpriced, boring Mexican food in town… hands down.
When I was a kid, it had an almost magical appeal to it. At some point along the way, I must have developed a taste for good. good Mexican food.
With all the options out there, you can safely pass on this one.

I love this place. It’s the oldest family owned mexican restaurant at the original location in Tucson. Full of old tucson character. You have to check this off your checklist!

Best authentic, old-​school Tex-​Mex! My grandparents and mother started coming here in the 1950s. I’ve tried all sorts of Mexican places in Tucson over the years and Club 21 is the best by far. Don’t let the location hold you back… it’s worth it!

I went home and had to take a tums, my stomach did not agree with my meal. I was so disgusted I couldn’t finish my meal, so I brought it home. My husband ended up throwing it away before it made it to the refrigerator. A few things I can’t believe: we paid $ 35 for two meals and an iced tea and that people love this place. The service was mediocre at best. That my my first and last visit to Club 21.

I wish I could give 3.5 stars because I liked this place but it doesn’t quite deserve 4. I loved the atmosphere, it felt like an old school Tucson cowboy place (which it is, I think it has been there since like 1949). The crowd was cool, kind of again an old school Tucson crowd. Not old people, per se, just cool unpretentious people. Waitress was nice, food was good… but not great, It was hot and seemed fresh but it was kind of… gringo Mexican food. And I’m a gringo! I don’t know, I told the dining partner as we left «I liked it, I’d come here again, but maybe I wouldn’t rush to come back here anytime terribly soon» and he agreed.

Still one of my favorite Mexican restaurants in Tucson. The restaurant itself seems like it’d be rundown, but don’t let the exterior fool you. Head inside and you’ll see that the atmosphere inside is like you’re in someone’s kitchen and they’re cooking for you. The salsa is amazing, but be warned the hot is HOT. I try and order something different every time I go, so I’ve had the enchiladas, tacos, chimichangas… everything is delicious. And their house margarita is exactly what a margarita should be. I recommend giving this place a chance and I guarantee you will walk away pleasantly surprised.

First of all, it’s called Club 21, not «Twenty One Club», and it’s been a Mexican food restaurant in Tucson since I was a kid. It’s been over 20 years since I was last here. It used to be the best place in town to get great Mexican food, at least as far as I can remember through the thick gauze of childhood memories. I remember big, red-​leather booths (still there but not used), a dimly-​lit, yet cheerful & bustling dining room, ordering kiddy drinks from the barman, a friendly staff, and of course delicious Mexican food, especially the carne seca. Nobody made a carne seca chimichanga like Club 21.
On a recent mini-​family reunion this was my dad’s choice for our first night out. All I can say is the place has fallen on hard times. Granted, it was a few days after Christmas, but the place was dead. The interior was also looking very rundown, some of the clientele were looking a bit seedy, and the staff were cheerless (apart from our waitress, who attempted small banter). It’s always depressing when you see a once-​popular place you love turn into a dive.
And not the «good» kind of dive where the food is still great. The other kind, where the food seems to have suffered too. My carne seca chimichanga was so-​so. Service was also poor. Though the waitress was friendly enough, she flubbed a couple of orders, failed to refill waters, and forgot my second drink order. (At least we weren’t charged for it.)
I really wanted to visit Club 21 and find a place that had improved and blossomed over time, but what I found was a place that the Tucson restaurant scene has left for dead by the side of the road.