There are many restaurant options when choosing where to dine in downtown Tucson. I moved to Tucson from Chicago in the middle of August, and as a newcomer I have really enjoyed discovering all the places and restaurants the city has to offer along with its culture, style and food.

I decided to eat dinner at the HUB Restaurant and Ice Creamery on Congress Street after asking around for restaurant recommendations. No one had anything bad to say about the HUB, so I thought it would be a good place to go to with a few of my friends. 

Situated in the heart of downtown Tucson, the HUB is located at 266 E. Congress St. It is open from 11 a.m. to midnight daily and is the perfect American restaurant for a date night or to bring kids. 

With a patio outside and plenty of seating inside, the HUB did not seem overly crowded at all. The inside has beautiful brick walls, dark wood flooring and a white marble ice cream bar, which gives it an urban feel. 

I ate dinner at the HUB on a Monday night at around 8 p.m. and it wasn’t busy at all, so no reservation was necessary. The HUB is easy to get to, with the Sun Link Tucson Modern Streetcar route right outside their doors. The restaurant is just a quick ride from the UA. 

When dining at the HUB, there is no need to worry about parking. With the option of taking the streetcar right to Congress Street or parking very close to the restaurant, parking is manageable. The parking meters on the street are free after 5 p.m. during the week and all day on weekends. Centro Garage on Congress Street and the Depot Plaza Garage on Fifth Avenue are very close parking options to the HUB.  

The menu offers a wide variety of American food with numerous appetizers, such as calamari, hummus, wings and cheese curds. The main dish I ordered was the salmon, which came with spinach, forbidden rice and basil pesto tomato beurre blanc. 

I am usually very picky with my salmon and rarely order it at restaurants, but I was very pleased with this dish. My favorite meal at home is salmon made by my dad, which is why I’m so picky about it, but this was the best salmon I have ever had at a restaurant. My friends had the classic mac and cheese and the prime dip, which they both said were very good. 

The food was fresh and came out warm. My dish gave me the feel of a home-cooked meal, which was much needed at this point in my freshman year of college. 

The restaurant also has a small ice cream bar inside with 12 flavors available at all times of the year and a variety seasonal flavors and other favorites. It also offers ice cream catering and the option to purchase large quantities of ice cream in a single order. 

Instead of having ice cream at the restaurant, I chose to get ice cream at the HUB Ice Cream Factory, located just next door to the HUB. The factory is open from noon to 10 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, and from noon to 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. 

The HUB Ice Cream Factory was created because of the high demand of ice cream at the HUB’s main location, and is a great place to go after eating dinner. Although it is a little pricey, the ice cream is definitely worth the money and the calories. They have 300 rotating flavors with 24 available at a time. They also serve sundaes, floats, cookies and more. 

With friendly staff, a good location downtown, nice bathrooms and a quiet, classy environment, I highly recommend eating at the HUB and would definitely go back. There were not many large, talkative groups of people when I was there—it consisted mostly of small tables on dates—but it is definitely a family friendly place to dine as well.

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