It was an amazing place with real $1 bills on every wall surface you could see. I had the chili in a bread bowl with sour cream and cheese across the top. It was really good, not too hot! My wife had BLT and she is still talking about it a week later. If you keep driving from there towards the Roosevelt Dam, the road quickly becomes unpaved, 22 miles or so to the end where the dam is. 25 mph is your top speed unless you want to end up off the road and who knows where. Most of the time you can only go about 10 or 15, tops. It is very narrow, one lane on the side of a mountain, in some places, and very bumpy. The hairpin turns are numerous. Ther are some easy wider, almost 2 lanes, along the way, but I would not do the drive again. Very pretty scenery if your passenger can take good pictures. There are not that many spots to stop though.
Review Source:I would rather eat dog food that has been left in the hot desert sun for a month. Their "cheese" amounts to moist paste with a dash of flavor. There is nothing special about this place aside from the quaint old cowboy feel. I would rather starve then spend my money here again. The best thing I consumed there was my beer. Do not believe the hype it cafeteria hot plate food with western names. Awful.
Review Source:A scenic drive 12 miles east of the valley brought us to Tortilla Flat, an old stagecoach stop with a population of 6 that is now a saloon and general store. This is like stepping into the 1800s with the wood plank walk way and hitching posts to the hand carved wooden Indian that greets you at the entrance of the saloon. I found it odd that the music in the background was 70s & 80s pop but everything else about the décor looked authentic. The walls are papered with dollar bills that patrons have signed and dated over the years.
  They have a full bar with the usual mixed drinks and beers as well as a couple local micro-brews. The grub on the other hand is not your typical bar food. They have a western theme and flavor to the dishes they serve up. I have had the "killer chili" served in a bread bowl and topped with shredded cheese. Not too spicy but just enough kick to give it that southwest flavor. Today I ordered the "killer sized burger". It was a 1/2 pound patty covered in chili and topped with cheese and a side of fries. It was all I could eat.
 The price was reasonable and the experience worth the drive out. I like to bring visitors from out of town here for lunch and to buy souvenirs. This goes on my list of places to take friends and relatives to when they visit.
Got together with Mike C., Jackie C. & Robyn N. today for an outing up to Tortilla Flat here today & I thought the whole experience was just great!
THE SUPERSTITION SALOON:
We arrived early to enjoy a meal here before the "Steamboat" ride. Â This is a screwball place with $100,000 wallpapering the entire place in Dollar bills, various animal heads, skins & whatnot decorating the walls, & so on. Â
I went with a "Bull Rider" (or something like that) burger, which came with 1/2 Lb. of meat, lettuce, tomato, pickles, mild green pepper strips, bacon and cheese, plus a good side of fries. Â Fun restaurant, great burger & service, good coffee!
Bull Rider Burger & Fries $8.99, Coffee $1.85.
= = = = = =
THE DOLLY STEAMBOAT:
This nice, pretend Paddlewheel Steamer takes you for a leisurely 2-hour ride up to the other end of long, skinny Canyon Lake here. Â The boat can hold a little over a hundred people, and there were around 60 of us onboard for this fun ride, including the friendly, knowledgeable staff. Â It's a 2-Story boat with windows all along the sides. Â The downstairs is air conditioned & upstairs the windows were open, so you have a choice of atmosphere. Â There are also outdoor areas to hang out both at the forecastle and the stern. Â I split my time between the cool & warm, breezy areas. Â
Everything about this boat and the ride were just great... a real class presentation. Â The scenery is beautiful up here and we enjoyed seeing a variety of wildlife including several Bighorn Sheep and a Bald Eagle perched on a ledge of the cliff side. Â It was a great outing all around!
Boat Ride: Â $22 (& 2-for-1 with Groupon). Â Â :-))
I really enjoy making the drive out here from Mesa. When I have out of town visitors and after I couple of days they get tired of the seeing desert-khaki hell we call home I drive them out to show that we have some nice views. Tortilla Flats is a stop along the Apache Trail and basically just four buildings: a store that has some touristy items, turquoise jewelry, purses, and also sells the Tonto Pass for those going back to the lake. The bar is nice - I had pancakes there one morning and they were huge. The general store has a good selection of ice cream. I had the prickly pear and a bottle of sarsaparilla. The final building is the small museum. In the past I never had cell reception, but my most recent trip I was able to pick it up. It is a short drive from Mesa but a completely different landscape along the way. Everyone I have brought from out of town was surprised to see the lake, the beautiful cacti, and the nice rocky landscape.
Review Source:I don't know about anyone else, but to me, this place seems sort of doomed. Based on the history lesson we learned in the tiny museum shack, Tortilla Flat has burned down or been destroyed somehow about 3 or 4 times. Consider the fact that it was supposedly started by a no-good, ragamuffin, low-down dirty thief/murderer who lost his booty somewhere out in the desert, maybe it wasn't meant to last this long.
But this is America! We can keep anything alive and running if it earns enough money! Hallelujah, praise the sweet Baby Jesus!
According to some mathematical equation, they've estimated that the saloon/restaurant has over $80,000 in single dollar bills stapled to the walls, kindly donated by tourists and lookie-loo's from Round the World. The town itself was most recently purchased by some company for over 1.3 million dollars. It was originally purchased for $11,000.
As of today in the Year of Our Lord 2013, the great attraction of Tortilla Flat is the burger in the restaurant, the live music in the saloon (only part of the year) and the Prickly Pear Gelato in the ice cream parlor (which you can't taste before you buy).
It also doesn't hurt that the drive there is quite beautiful. We did it on a motorcycle and had a grand old time swooping around the curves and passing elderly out-of-towners in their comfortable SUVs.
Might as well do it once if you live here, but I'm not sure I would recommend it to visiting Snow Birds.
o.k. so It's been since the late 80's wheni was a tween since I've been here , and the popultion was just 'six' then too! It was such a nice way to trek out of Pheonix/tempe ,i plan to do it again sometime! Untill theni encourage you to go see tortilla flats for yourself and write your own review for me! o.k.? Â /alexavier
Review Source:I live in Mesa,AZ and whenever we have guests in town or want too go for a nice drive , we head for Tortilla Flats. It is an awesome trip and many places to stop on the way too take pictures and just enjoy good old Arizona scenery. You can make a day of it by first stopping at Goldfield mining town, don't forget to take the mining tour and the train ride. Then hop in you car and head too Canyon Lake, it has a sandy beach for swimming, boat marina, restaurant, and a wonderful steam boat ride on the lake. They also have RV camping with boating and fishing. Then hop back in your car for a short ride to Tortilla Flats, a quaint little western town with the best 1/2 hamburger ever. Onion rings are great too plus lots more great food. They also have a little place that sells ice cream, yummy. This is 3/27 and the wild flowers are all in bloom along the road and over the desert and mountains, The ride is beyond beautiful. Hope you try it and don't forget your camera.
Review Source:Surprisingly good little tourist spot on the way through the Apache Trail, Â this historic landmark was once a stop for the stagecoach. Â We expected bland and standard fare, but got good quality fast food and good service. Â I give it 4 stars for these points I note, and recommend you stop if you want a quick bite in a cool spot.
Review Source:i've never been but since i have a visitor in town whom loves the old west, i couldn't resist driving out here. first off, the drive through the canyon is amazing! the rocks and cliffs and the lake is breathtaking to me. my dad however just wonders aloud every few minutes "how the hell did you get a wagon train out here? and why?"
we arrived in tortilla flats, on a weekday, about 2pm and it was crawling with tourists. i had hoped to sit at the bar at the saloon but it was so packed with wisonsinites, new yorkers, and minnesotans, we decided to just walk around.
i did read about the prickly pear gelato so we stopped by the ice cream shop and i tried some. it was surprisingly delicious.
it takes all of 10 minutes to walk the tiny strip. there's a small museum at the end of the strip and apparently some hiking across the road. basically, it's a huge tourist draw, much like Helen, GA or Gatlinburg, TN. luckily, we found a parking spot right in front of the saloon so my knee-deficient father didn't have to walk far.
i would return to take out-of-towners, but not for myself. the drive alone is worth it though.
Well, it's nothing crazy. It's a stopping point where you can eat and do a bit of gift shopping along the Apache Trail. There was also a little museum (like, really little) where it has a bit of history or people who came as well as the story behind all the $1 bills that are stapled on all the walls of the businesses. We also ate there and I was pleasantly surprised. I had the grilled chicken burger (the one with green chile, cheese, bacon) and it was actually quite good and the chicken was moist. The BF had the chili in the bread bowl which was also very good. The chips were stale, so we left them, but that just helped us from overeating :-)
Review Source:Tortilla Flat is more of a "stop" on your way to Roosevelt Lake rather than a full blown destination, so the folks who are complaining that there is nothing to do here, you're looking at this place with the wrong eyes. If you enjoy driving your car through narrow, mountain-side roads, or if you just enjoy being a passenger through scenic areas, hwy 88's Tortilla Flat is a blast.
Sun Devil Motorsports, an automobile enthusiast group made up of Arizona State University students, periodically has events that meet in Tortilla Flat and there is always good feedback and buzz afterwards. There are also many motorcycle clubs that come through this stop. I've personally done the drive several times all the way to the lake and it is quite a fun adventure (only take about 45 minutes to get to 88 from Tempe and the drive itself is only a couple hours long at most). That being said, I HIGHLY recommend making the stop in Tortilla Flat to grab a drink and a meal at the bar (the barstools are retired saddles which I thought was kinda cool) and some cactus ice cream next door (yep--cactus flavored ice cream; it's actually pretty awesome).
Dogs aren't really allowed indoors but their is plenty of parking (if your dog does okay in your car/crate--don't do this in summer, though) and places to hang out outdoors with your canine friend. If you plan on going past Tortilla Flat, bring a beater car or an SUV because it becomes a rocky path after a while. If you plan on turning around at Tortilla Flat back towards metro Phoenix, bring the car that has a sunroof or convertible top, manual transmission, clean windows, and cup holders!
I normally love the scenic trip to this little restaurant, but i just got back and for the first time in my life had to say that i won't be returning to a place due to service. Our server was so rude that she clearly upset every single table in our section. The sad part is that she claimed to one table that she had been there for 9 years. That alone shows that management does not care about the customers of this establishment. Very disappointed.
Review Source:unusual....quirky....kinda nuts....I like it! We were there all by ourselves which I think is unusual, but the waiter was very friendly. Decent bar food. Be sure to take a good look around! Perfect stop in the middle of a spectacular mountain drive. We even saw a tarantula in the parking lot, poor thing.
Review Source:Beautiful location tucked in the valley, taking a great drive through the mountains, and suddenly you discover this wonderful place!
Yes, it's a bit touristy like and at certain times of the day, it's crowded, but it's worth stopping and checking out. Â The saddle stools, the western feel, reminds me of a few old cowtown bars back home in Ft. Worth stockyards! Â
It's a bar, so the food is just what you'd expect, nothing special, it was good to stop and enjoy the ambiance.
You don't pay for the food here....It's bar food and that's what you're going to get.
In the middle of an amazing drive through the Mts and hills of AZ, we were told to stop here to quiche our thirst. Â We did.
This small little joint on the side of the road was set up a while ago, but still holds true to it's roots. Â With horse saddles for bar stools, money stapled to the walls (from different countries as well as the good old, US of A), Tortilla Flats was a nice place to swing by as you're driving through.
It's tough to find, but was a good place to stop as you drive by. Â Just don't expect amazing food, it's a bar. Â I still would suggest stopping.
Makes a great destination, if your on your bike and want breakfast, just get there early, cuz it gets very crowded, and they stop serving breakfast early.
It is true, this is a tourist trap, so you have people wandering , but it's the wild , wild west...and people like these types of places.
I love the Chile and the omelets and the burgers, I have NEVER had good service here, so don't expect it, and you won't be disappointed, and remember, it's a popular tourist trap.
We stopped here for lunch on our way to the Apache Trail.  By the looks of the parking lot and people, I thought, "Wow this place must be awesome."  Despite the large crowd, we were seated right away since there were only two of us.  We both had burgers and personally I wasn't that impressed.  The best part about this whole place is the outside look/feel.  It does look very neat.  But the inside is kind of junky (Covered in $1 bills) and the food was below average in my  opinion.  I think next time I will eat lunch elsewhere on my way through Apache Trail.  Maybe just stop here for the ice cream.  Not even to use the bathroom- I heard the girls bathroom stalls are only half-stalls.
Review Source:Sub par burgers, though the fries were alright. Â Went there with a party of 6. Â Three of us thought the burgers were dry and not that great, definitely not worth the price tag. Â a fourth in our group didn't care for her food and she had chicken.
The service was good, even though our waitress indicated that she was new. Â The food came out quickly too. Â There's some cool stuff on the walls (such as dollars people have written on and are stapled up).
Definitely a tourist trap.
We've eating here numerous times after a long grueling hikes through the eastern end of the Superstitions. Great place for a burger and beer. Be sure to ask for jalapenos ... they'll bring you a generous serving for your burgers. One note - the place is loaded with snowbirds in the winter during the daylight hours - and stay off the saddles at the bar - they look cute, but not too comfortable.
Review Source:After a crazy drive doing the long loop of the 60 to the 188 to the 88 I was happy to have reached Tortilla Flat. I had been looking forward to saddling up at the bar, literally and grabbing a burger after what I read online.
The service was VERY friendly, the food was great, and it was an overall good experience. People were friendly and chatting with those around then, the food was tasty and came out quick, and it was the perfect spot to stop along the Apache Trail. Grabbed a Prickly Pear ice cream from the parlor and I was off.I am looking forward to going back.
Yes, I am now of fan of Tortilla Flat. Â There's not a lot of options in the eastern Phoenix area and this is a fun, historic place. Â The drive is beautiful. Â The bathrooms are unique, there's no phone service, dollar bills cover the walls, bar stools are saddles. Â We had burgers & fries, and all was tasty. Â We visited the general store and had some prickly pear ice cream. Â It was a fun outing and we'll probably go again when visiting MIL in Apache Junction.
Review Source:Got lucky coming here, It was just before the rush of tourist. Â This place really does make you feel like a tourist though, whether that is a good thing or bad thing is your choice. Â I will have to say the quality of food was better than expected, I got the chili and cheese crisp. Â I hear the chili can go either way of agreeing or disagreeing with your stomach, but I got lucky here. Â The sarsaparilla was especially refreshing I must say.
All in all, good place when you are in the mountains, but if you hate tourist, run away.
I love this place! Â I don't care if it's touristy or not. Â Since I always bring people from out of town, it's kinda neat. Â Coming from the midwest, we don't have much like this to offer, as far as scenery and wild west style. Â It's a great couple hour get-a-way from the city, and it's a fun fun drive. Â The chilli is great in my opinion, and I'm pretty darn picky about chilli. Â Cheese crisp with green chillies on it is damn good too! Â Their bathrooms are pretty funny too :)
Saddle up and grab a beer partner!
"Tourist Stop" Â
Nestled off the Apache trail a little strip mall of an old west town sits. Â It is really crowded with a lot of people, and we had a hard time finding a spot to park. Â My husband and I were excited to stop in the saloon/resturant for some of there "famous chili" we read about on the web. Â Walked into the restaurant and saw thousands of dollar bills stapled all around the interior with an old west vibe. Â Hostess was really slammed with taking peoples names down for a table. Â She told us a 10 minute wait.. I think it was more like 15, but whatever. Â
We sat down and our waitress was off who knows where, we waited another 10 minutes to get our menu's and drinks. Â I ordered a BLT sandwich, my husband ordered the "killer chili" and a burger meal. Â Chili came out and was super bland, nothing spectacular about it.... Â Food was OK, Denny's quality, prices were descent. Â Probably next time we will look for another restaurant in town before going on the Apache Trail ride...
Enjoyed the ride to the town, nice twisty road with some scenery! Liked the Bar Stools...They were sadles. Food was decent and beer cold what more can ya ask for!!! ENJOYED THE DAY! and learned a little more history!!! Go early since the place is VERY BUSY with snowbirds and bikers!!!
Review Source:Tortilla Flat is the kind of place you take out-of-towners when they're grating on your nerves and you threaten to leave them there unless they pull their act together.
It's also a fun place to take out-of-towners and claim they have the best Mexican food in the state, only to see their disappointment when you get the Grande Nachos.
Speaking of that restaurant, that's the best place to take MJB, hand her a red pen and their menu/newspaper and say "Go for it, baby. I found 14 grammatical errors above the fold."
Okay. So that last one makes me appear to be an elitist, egotistical, insensitive prick.
On a serious note, Tortilla Flat is a great place to take someone (or yourself) after Canyon Lake. It's only a few minutes away and is such a quaint locale. The dollars on the restaurant walls are enough for the trip. Walking along the river and seeing the power of water over stone is another reason. And feeling the sand that's been washed down is spectacular. (I have a sand collection of my travels and those of my friends, so sand in alcohol bottles means something deep to me...I just didn't have an empty bottle this time.) The food isn't great, but the staff are all characters and isn't that what a town of six permanent residents is all about??
Roads are good
Service not so good
This place is a tourist trap in every sense of the word. The restaurant and gift shop are overpriced for what you get and the ice cream isn't anything special. Service from the staff needs to be a lot better and treat the customers like you want them there. Always understaffed always waiting on food. Been there a half dozen time no improvement.
Do come to the area for the beautiful views, not for the food or souvenirs. Great road for motorcycles ride.
During the summer outdoor cooking.
Not too shabby for a stage coach stop from the days of old. Indeed this place has become much more touristy than anything else, but it's oh so fun.
One of the anomalies of Tortilla Flat is the river that runs along side it and how it flows over the road leading deeper into the mountains and along the Apache Trail (Photo: <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/kWGJZYLDaQHowmGHy_820Q?select=6qg_ud6HY60tK5Y_3q_pRg">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>).
Parking can be horrendous, especially during weekend days in the summer.
Occasionally they have gun fights for the tourists. Take that as your time to get a scoop of prickly pear ice cream or set yourself down in one of the saddles/stools at the saloon's counter and get a Souix City sarsaparilla while everyone's distracted.
Five stars for the photo ops.
I found the combination of a few old buildings and rusty junk a perfect place to stop. I am not sure if it is tourist trap I did look in the store and the prices seemed about what they would be other places. I was only interested in lunch and photography and was able to do both successfully
Good day drive for us touristy folks! Â Even more fun via motorcycle! Â One of the only places left with the ever-so-delious prickly pear icecream! Â For some reason, the bathrooms really stand out in my memory of this place. Â Guess they were really fun for bathrooms with the paintings! Â The saloon has all the things you'd expect in the wild west. Â Saddle up!
Review Source:I think of Tortilla Flat less as a destination and more as a waypoint. What attracted me there was the wonderful drive on the Apache Trail from Roosevelt Lake to Apache Junction (the reverse directions from what is usually recommended).
After the long drive from Roosevelt Dam on Scenic Route 88, Tortilla Flat's ice cream was a welcome relief to my 7-year old. That day they had about a dozen flavors available, and their famous prickly pear ice cream was worth a try. It tastes like berry and has nice chunks of fruit in it. The Old West ambiance added to the treat. If you're there on a weekend, expect lots of bikers and fellow touristas. The rest of the way back to Apache Junction was much quicker as it was paved.
This is a good road trip. Actually, one of the primary reasons people visit Tortilla Flat is that the winding Apache Trail can potentially be a really fun road to take your sports car or motorcycle for a ride, and it's the last place to stop before the pavement ends. You can also find yourself stuck behind a slow truck with a boat trailer for 20 miles, so don't get your hopes up.
The food in the saloon is your basic pub grub (burgers, sandwiches, tacos). It was pretty good, and priced better than one would expect for a tourist trap. The general store is famous for it's prickly pear ice cream, which I'll leave to some other reviewer to describe (the mint chocolate chip was good). There's also an interesting little museum next door, about the size of a garden shed, with a little history of Tortilla Flat as a stagecoach stop.
It's worth checking out.
Good trip at least once
Tortilla Flat was a stop for gold miners and a post office for people around the area. Â It has a population of 6. Â Yes, it's small. Â It has a cute little history written on the walls.
The best thing about this little stop is the saloon and general store. Â I haven't tried any of the food in the saloon, but it's kind of neat to go in and look around. Â The general store's little gem are the flavors of hand made ice cream. Â
Mmmm...prickly pear ice cream.
Don't go to Tortilla Flat expecting a grand Disneyland feel, it's just a little surprising outcropping in the Superstition Mountains. Â But if you're in the area and passing through, you HAVE to make a stop and try the ice cream at least. Â Plus you get a little Arizona history in the system.
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