Arizona's Best Dive Bar Is A Lively Hidden Gem Tucked Away In An Overlooked Tempe Strip Mall

Sometimes the best bars are found exactly where you'd least expect them. Yucca Tap Room has proven that point for more than half a century. This lively hidden gem is tucked away in Danelle Plaza, an overlooked strip mall in Tempe, Arizona. The location, the space, and the lack of natural light all contribute to its dive bar status, but Yucca Tap Room defies the stereotype, offering amenities that led Tasting Table to christen it the best dive bar in the state.

While it maintains the gritty atmosphere that dive enthusiasts crave, Yucca Tap Room flips the script with an on-site art gallery, a spacious outdoor area, and pizzas from its Vinyl Pie kitchen. Then in 2018, the bar introduced the Electric Bat Arcade, featuring dozens of vintage arcade games and pinball machines curated by Phoenix artist Rachel Bess. Still, the most surprising element of this "strip mall dive" may be its beer program. While you can certainly get a cheap domestic, the bar boasts a rotating tap list that could give the Maine beer trail a run for its money. With nearly 30 options on tap, the bar specializes in craft brews, ranging from tart sours and hazy IPAs to complex ciders and heavy stouts, sourced mostly from small-batch brewers.

On top of all this, the bar hosts a legendary live music stage, showcasing local and national acts. Epitomizing peak coolness, the venue had an Operation Ivy cover band headline its New Year's Eve line-up. This '80s ska-punk band might not have mainstream name recognition, but it's a GOAT candidate for punk aficionados. Live music is an essential part of its cultural identity as evidenced by the 10 Phoenix New Times awards it's won since 2019, which include both Best Dive Bar and Best Small Music Venue.

The story of Yucca Tap Room is one of evolution and deep family roots. Before it became a punk rock and craft beer institution, the space opened as Frank's Yucca Lounge in the 1960s. South Tempe was still largely rural at the time, and the bar catered to bikers and cowboys with country music, Mexican food, pool tables, and the occasional go-go dancer.

In 1972, Peter Hu purchased the bar and initially kept the country vibe before rebranding the space as the Yucca Tap Room in 1974. When Peter passed away, the legacy fell to his son, Rodney Hu. A graduate of Arizona State University, Rodney was working high-stakes finance jobs on Wall Street when he returned home to take the reins. Under second-generation ownership, the bar slowly added pieces that turned it into the beloved dive bar it is today. Simply put, Yucca Tap Room is the rare "everyman" spot where a biker, a college student, and a craft beer geek can all sit at the same bar and find exactly what they're looking for.

Yucca Tap Room is located at 29 West Southern Avenue in Tempe, a college town just east of Phoenix. Tempe is home to the first car-free neighborhood in the U.S., though the strip mall sits outside this zone. The bar is open from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. seven days a week. Before you ask, no, that's not a typo. Yucca Tap Room really does open at the crack of dawn like a great dive bar should.