Chaffin’s Family Restaurant

Good News! What a great place. BAD NEWS!!! They do not answer their phone!!! closed or out of business? I hope if they reopened under what name operating and where???

If you’re hungry and not concerned much about ambience, this could be a 4 star joint. But despite the portions, the taste nor the surroundings just wasn’t cutting it. I ordered a mexican omelette, which was way too cheesy and didn’t have quite enough chorizo… hence the lack of flavor. However, this is a short order place so I shouldn’t have had too high of expectations. Yet I’ve had better tasting omelettes in similar spots. The décor was a bit dingy, but you could tell that it was a cool spot when it was first decorated. Its got a charming diner feel, but really needs some sprucing up. The service was extremely good, but not enough to add another star. Overall, I might go back to try another menu item, but would most likely pass to explore another breakfast spot.

I’ve heard from gay people that the owner told them to «take your business elsewhere.»

I patronize this breakfast diner often. Today it was so busy I was worried, however the food was great. This diner is by far the most consistent in good food and great service. Thanks

They offer great proportional sizes for what you pay for. A fun diner atmosphere with great vintage musical artwork. The food is great and they serve quickly, even on their busiest days. The only downfall is that they close early around 2pm.

Lemony hollandaise on the California Eggs Benedict was best I’ve ever had. I subbed a home-​made biscuit (toasted outside, fluffy middle) for the english muffin. The egg was done exactly how I ordered it. Iced tea tasted fresh — not too strong/​bitter like some places. Breakfast potatoes are a mound of thin layers, fried well.
Upbeat servers and friendly atmosphere. Eclectic décor that Tucson is known for — 60’s diner architecture with album covers on display.
This place is old, but clean. Some Unilocalers are bothered that the building is run-​down, but what does a full parking-​lot tell you?

I came here not too long again for breakfast on a Sunday. The wait was about 20min before we were seated (4 of us).
After sitting down and deciding what we wanted we ordered and everything went well. It took at least 30 minutes until our food was ready.
The plus is that the portions are MASSIVE! I couldn’t even eat half of the burrito. I don’t know if this is a good or bad thing. But it seems like everyone’s leftovers went to waste.
The restaurant scene isn’t anything special but I would not come here if you wanted to get a quick bite. It was a solid 1 ½ hour trip.

Chaffin’s is a little worn around the edges but they have a great menu of diner classics and the atmosphere is friendly and relaxed. On a weekday morning I loved that several tables were full of people having meetings or «working breakfasts»…now I want to have a meeting at a diner! The front dining room and lunch counter is bright and open which makes up for the minor dinginess of the décor. Unfortunately we were seated in the back overflow dining room which has fewer windows, a faint weird smell, and is just not quite as charming. Still, service was friendly, food came out quick and hot, and satisfied my cheap breakfast, greasy-​spoon needs. The half-​order El Hazar with house-​made chorizo was still a huge, delicious portion. They do their home fries just the way I like: sliced potatoes fried on the griddle, fluffy and crumbly but crunchy on the outside. Boyfriend got the veggie omelet, the only downside of which was that it was covered in weird processed «swiss cheese», you know, the white kind of American cheese. Don’t go in expecting farm-​to-​table and you’ll be fine.

Food is so good! Huge portions for a great price! I got the Texas burrito, and it had to be 5 pounds! It was the size of my head! My friend got the veggie omelette and that was also great! I’m sad I’m not from Tucson because if I were this would be at least a weekly place for me!

I used to come to chaffins all the time for breakfast when I was a student at the university. while recently back for my sisters graduation my family and I went to chaffins for a good Sunday morning breakfast.
It’s a diner, you get typical diner food, but man it’s good! Nothing like a good greasy breakfast to start off a Sunday. Also, some of the best pancakes I’ve ever had. The service is good, nothing great, but our water was always full and coffee was always hot. Good place to go when you need a good quick meal, nothing fancy.

My family and I are always exploring local breakfast/​lunch places around town, especially Sunday mornings. Chaffins was a great pick! We were all very content with our hardy meals. Good portions, you can tell the food is fresh and homemade, all content with the service and our server was so sweet! Only thing I would say needs improvement is the coffee, besides that tasty meal!

Dirty, worn, neglected and run into the ground… and I’m not talking just about the pot-​holed parking lot either.
This place does not look like it had an update since it was a Sambo’s some time last century. Grey, worn and weary the customer come for the grub, and it too is probably served much the same as it probably always has been.
Not bad food, but Tucson, we can do better. I’ll bet the owner’s don’t eat here.

I went to Chaffin’s for the first time today, after years of hearing people rave about how it’s the go-​to diner/​breakfast joint. And… meh. I love greasy spoon diners; I’m not expecting this place to serve locally sourced farm-​to-​table brunch or to have a craft cocktail menu. But I guess I wouldn’t expect a breakfast on a Friday morning at 9 a.m. to take an hour to arrive… lukewarm, and honestly not that tasty (I had the veggie omelette.) An hour? I don’t get it.
The service was friendly, and the servers kept coming by and refilling our coffees, so maybe the wait time is a back-​of-​house issue.
This place gets props for having a good selection of hot sauces, from both red & green Poblanos, red & green Tabascos, sriracha, and Cholula. They sure would’ve been good on some hash browns!
But I had the cottage cheese, instead of hash browns, because the waitress told me they were out of hash browns. And then, when the food arrived, I saw literally everyone else in our party get HASH BROWNS. I was feelin’ pretty pouty then, with my sad little cottage cheese.
I like to support local businesses, but in this case, I’d probably rather just go to Denny’s.

I hadn’t been here in a few years, and the food was probably OK. The major memory I had were the original Sambo’s pictures over the kitchen. I don’t remember seeing the pictures this time around, but what I DO remember is my Texas Burrito. I understand now why the restaurant was 70% college kids and 5 or 6 policemen.
$ 9.99 got me a behemoth of a burrito. Simple recipe (I think): Chicken-​fried steak, potatoes, eggs stuffed into a very large flour tortilla until it weighs 7.2 pounds (I’m guessing), covered with gravy with a strip of bacon on top. I fought the good fight, lost, and still have ¹⁄₃ of it 3 days later. I don’t mind. At all.

Went here cause it’s the only place by walking distance from work aside from the Del Taco… I’m new to Tucson and this place is def worth going to. It’s an old school diner yet it is one of the few that accepts bitcoin! As for the food it’s above average and their tots are really good, however the wait is quite long. The sandwiches are really good portions too. Def worth trying out if you’re near the area

I eat here several times a month, and my advice is to avoid weekends if you’re in a hurry or expect stellar service. Service can be fairly fast at times, and at some points unexplainably slow. Overall the food is pretty consistent and a nice place to have a good sized meal. That gigantic cinnamon bun is something to look at, but not worth the calories.
The place could be a bit cleaner, but the outdated look works.
I say try it without higher than moderate expectations. With that said, I’m a repeat customer.

Your good old classic 1950’s style diner. Relaxed, laid-​back, friendly and great food at great prices. Very wide and diverse diner menu– it’s impossible not to find something to eat here. Your choice of counter top service and booths. Crispy bacon and eggs cooked to perfection! Great local diner. I highly recommend it, especially for breakfast on a weekend morning.

I was so excited to share Chaffin’s with my brother and his fiancé. It’s a local/​hipster/​family type place, so I figured it would be great for them as well as my 3 year old and baby.
We came in at a little after 11 on Sunday. It looked like most of the breakfast crowd had just cleared out, and it was still a little early for lunch. While there were plenty of open spots, we had to wait for a table to be cleared off.
Our waitress (I think her name was Britt) came over to take our drink orders. I thought it was strange that when she came to drop off our drinks she didn’t take our meal order. After waiting for some time, I waved her down and asked if we could order now. Simple stuff, pancakes and eggs.
After 15 minutes we were watching our clocks. After 20 minutes, my 3 year old was ready to climb the walls. At 25 min I flag down the waitress. She gets a flash of panic on her face – uh oh, she knows something isn’t right. She hurries off to talk to the kitchen. I can see her pointing at our table, and looking around for our order ticket. I’m guessing it got lost.
She comes back over after making a long, slow round to the other tables to let us know a table of 14’s order got put in right before ours. Ah, ok… Well, that’s not quite an apology. It’s not my fault a large order went in. And you should have been proactive to come to us and say «I’m so sorry our kitchen is delayed, but I’ve already talked to my manager and gotten your drinks taken off. Is there something I can get for the little guy to snack on or play with while you wait?»
Instead, I felt like they were upset with me for even asking why the meal was late. At 40 min my pancakes came out, burnt on one side. Five min later, my sons meal. 5 min after that, one omelette. 5 min after that, the other one. It was seriously the strangest dining experience.
The meal was hot or cold, burnt or undercooked. I didn’t even bother to complain. I asked for our check, frankly expecting at that point to have our meals taken care of and just paying for drinks or something. When she dropped it off, it was with zero apology that we had to wait almost an hour for our food. Oh yeah, it was full price too.
I asked to speak to manager, who was Maya. I said I was unhappy I even had to ask, but there should be some consideration to our bill given how long we had to wait and the fact the food was terrible. She curtly explained again a table of 14 was sat before us. Again, I sympathize, but it’s not our problem. Don’t seat groups that size if you’re not able to accommodate them and others who are waiting. She takes the bill, and minutes later the waitress comes back…
And our drinks are removed. A coffee and an Orange juice.
Needless to say, I won’t return here again. It makes me sad because I know historically this has been a loved local business. I sincerely hope the owner reads this and knows it’s time to make some big changes.

It was a beautiful rainy morning in Tucson, and I decided what the hell I’m going to give this place a shot.
Its an old fashioned looking diner with the pitched roof. Inside they had LP’s on one wall, huge pictures of craters on the moon, or mars, or whatever, on another. Overall the place looks super dated.
The service started off quickly, finding a seat, getting a menu, and getting some coffee… Then it starts to become the lamest place. I never got a water with my coffee. They didn’t have any regular good ‘ol fashioned sugar, and when the creamer came it was a strange non-​dairy cream that was pretty nasty. I asked if they had regular cream and luckily she had half-​n-​half. Why are they serving non-​dairy creamer if it wasn’t asked for?
I got my plate, and the food looked pretty dang good. They had a nice assortment of hot sauce. They even had Poblano… «Awesome!». I ended up ordering a special they had that was biscuits and gravy, and a ham, spinach, and swiss omelette with hash browns/​countryfries. It was cooked well, seemed to be a decent run of the mill breakfast. I couldn’t get a refill on coffee to save my life, and still no water. SO I actually had to leave sooner than I thought because not only was I getting irritated with the service but I was really parched!
This gets better. So the place has this huge painted up «Welcome back Wildcats» on the entire side of the building, but do you think they offer wildcats a discount… NOPE!
I thought I would ask just to see how it played out, and considering my simple breakfast cost over $ 12.00!!! They waitress said she didn’t think they offered a discount but the owners right there if I want to ask him. So I said sure and she calls him out of the kitchen to come over and have me ask him. So I did, he looked at me stunned and said no, but proclaimed how last week 750 students came through, and that it «may» be something to think about and then walks off.
So moral of the story here is!
1.) Overpriced
2.) Service SUCKS
3.) It’s so dated… and dusty feeling.
If your looking for breakfast thats good, quick, and affordable… DONT COME HERE!
NOTE: If your the owner and you actually take the time to read these, You’re place has so much potential, spend some of that money that you rob from your customers and update the joint, hire some capable staff, hold them to some sort of expectation. The foods good, but the overall ambience and environment suck.

Located in an iconic building that once was a Sambo’s (which changed its name after scrutiny of the origins of the name) still hold some of the mid-​century appeal. It would be amazing to bring it back to its throwback charm. The food was typical diner comfort food, nothing fancy. The fires were frozen but pretty crisp and palitable.
This is a good answer for that problem of where the hell do I go to get some basic grub in the odd hour