The Cup Cafe

Built in 1919, The Historical Hotel Congress is home to vegan-friendly The Cup Café in downtown Tucson.

Serving since 1990, the newly revamped menu at The Cup Café includes a breakfast, lunch, and dinner items that are fully vegan so, no substitutions needed. Earning a reputation for delicious and creative fare, The Cup Café has garnered multiple awards including ‘Best of Tucson’.  

Enjoy breakfast in the early morning on the whimsical outdoor patio offering a view of the courtyard and eats like Tucson Tamale Co.’s blue corn tamales with house-made tofu scramble. This meal comes prepared with calabacitas, fresh pico de gallo, and a vegan verde crema- also a Cup Café creation. Pro tip: order a side of the vegan cowboy beans to accompany you breakfast.   

Pair you morning meal with a cup of coffee, a house-made horchata, or  — if your day started late — grab a made-from-scratch Bloody Mary (yup, it’s vegan!).

When lunch time hits, there are plenty of vegan options at The Cup Café.

Order up chickpea fritter lettuce wraps with toppings such as pickled vegetables, smoked cashews and harissa vinaigrette. Though this meal seems light, the three lettuce wraps are quite filling.  

Craving something to sink your teeth in to? Order the Beyond Burger. This comes sandwiched between two grilled marble rye bread slices and layers of vegan mozzarella, grilled mushrooms, caramelized onions, and mezcal poblano dijon mustard .This plant-based patty melt is definitely in our top three favorite sandwiches to chow down on!

At dinner time, the menu offers the elegant Sonoran Sopes featuring corn cakes, vegan beans, avocado, onion, pico de gallo, pickled red onions, green chilies, cilantro, vegan sour cream, and finally the chimichurri vinaigrette with chopped parsley, minced garlic, olive oil, oregano and red wine vinegar. Add more protein with some blackened tofu (so good!). 

And for the fourth meal of the day (AKA dessert), Cup Café has a rich chocolate brownie sprinkled with cacao nibs, coconut shavings, and drops of a berry sauce. Other dessert options include the house-made creamy and smooth vegan cheesecake.

Bonus: To celebrate its centennial, Cup Café also has a food truck cruising around town to satisfy late nights cravings and more.

311 East Congress Street Tucson, AZ 85701, (520) 622-8848, SUN-THURS: 7AM-10PM, FRI-SAT: 7AM-11PM