HighWire Lounge

Reviews

• Sophia I.

  star star star star star 12 June 2026

  Highwire and Independent are two great stops in Tucson for well-crafted cocktails. Visiting on the weekdays (Sunday-Thursday) it's less crowded and the bartenders are able to craft drinks to your liking. Friday and Saturday nights they have a limited menu to cater to the large crowds. It. Gets. Crowded.
  
  During the late summer nights it's so hot there. They try their hardest with the fans
  
  Love the molecular shots here!! The Mexican Candy one is the best!!

• Hannah M.

  star star star star star 8 June 2026

  This place is a little off the beaten path so you don't really know it's there. It's a cute little hightop bar area. We tried their shots that come in the spoon based off of photos from other yelp reviews. The creativity behind the shot is so cool and the taste is pretty great too. Just a really neat drink experience!! Also tried the Mimosa with the congealed "caviar" vodka drops and that was another cool drink!

• Christina F.

  star star star star_border star_border 3 June 2026

  Update 1- I'm really encouraged by the response I got from the owner after posting my initial review. They have added a bathroom attendant to keep the place nice and sparkly. I'm looking forward to going back and I will update my score again-- for now, just the professional response I received prompts me to bump up a star in advance! Hoping to jump up more stars once I get back in there for another go!
  
  Original post-
  I wanted to like this bar. I was excited when it opened and helped bring life to its little alley.
  
  Five times, I've gone and the following have been consistent:
  
  1. Bartenders are unfriendly. I always approach with a smile, but I'm always met with a frown, as if I'm inconveniencing them with my order. I understand the pressure of bartender, but I've never had trouble smiling at my patrons or acknowledging them with brief eye contact during their order. Here-- consistently, the bartenders are almost defiantly unfriendly.
  
  As a girl, I understand sometimes it's easier to be stone faced so that patrons don't mistake friendliness for flirtation. But I've never ordered a drink there and felt it was a positive experience.
  
  2. The outdoor bathrooms are filthy and never have soap and usually only one or two stalls have toilet paper.  I seriously hope the staff have their own private bathroom, because in all my visits, there has never once been soap in the bathroom. Not once in my 5 visits.
  
  Since they are unisex bathrooms, there's also the delightful adventure of dodging pee puddles on the floor from very sober and clean people who forget to aim. There aren't hooks in all stalls to hold bags, so it's interesting to hold your bag, tiptoe hop to the toilet, and pray that nothing touches the pee soaked floor.
  
  Photo included for your pleasure. From Sat, Aug 25th @11:24 pm. (I shutter to imagine what it looked like upon close.) and don't forget the fun fact that there is never soap. Wish I had taken a picture of the defeated SoftSoap bottle that had been decapitated, used up, and left thrown on the counter by about 10PM. Mind you, my first trip to the restroom was around 10 (no soap then) and my second trip when I took that picture was around 11:30. Still no soap. No one could wash their hands that entire time. Or probably the whole rest of the night.
  
  The drinks aren't particularly well made. I've given two stars because one time they had a great DJ outside and it made me happy.
  
  Note: they used to have an attendant for a few hours working there passing out paper towels, but in exchange for passing you a paper towel, they expected a tip. Normally I wouldn't mind, but for such a dumpy bathroom, with no soawith pee on the floor, down a Tucson alley, that is comical to me.

• Tiffany K.

  star star_border star_border star_border star_border 29 May 2026

  Went tonight at 10 pm (Thursday) and ordered 4 drinks from the several menus they had sitting out. There were 2 female bartenders (blonde and brunette) who proceeded to tell me that the 2 smoked cocktails we ordered were not served after 7 pm and that we looked at the wrong menu. One claimed she "just picked up all the old menus" and missed the 3 we saw. She handed us a totally different menu without half the drinks we wanted on it. I asked for a manager and 1 girl said shes "acting manager". She commenced to tell me that "it is busy, she doesn't have time to smoke cocktails. If i have an attitude or a problem with it then i can leave".
  There were maybe 18 ppl there total, not nearly busy at all.
  We left and went across the way to The Independent distillery where we were treated with respect, kindness, and given the correct menu.

• MissJay Z.

  star star_border star_border star_border star_border 27 May 2026

  Terrible service! The manager tries to hit up on all the girls and when they are not interested he finds a reason to kick them out! They also offer "Vip bottle service" but that's really a joke. The place is janky and they should consider new management who wont make you feel uncomfortable!