I'll admit that I've been curious about gila Hanks cafe for some time. So after the movies my wife and I went there for the first time to eat. Not hard to find. The dining area is large and open with a handful of tables. But it's the activity center for the students as well so it doesn't look like a restaurant. The young lady at the counter seemed nice enough to me. But I did notice the dirty glance given to my wife. But she did well and recovered with a smile quickly. ALMOST not noticable. As the meals are made ready they call the number out and set the to go boxes on a table with an order number laid up on it. Which gets frustrating watching multiple students going through all of the boxes before determining that none of them are they're own. The wait for food was a little much while feeling rather uncomfortable around children that seem to want to point and laugh much more than necessary. But finally we got our food so that we can head home to eat. Since neither of us cared for the atmosphere. I'll include photos. Because they don't seem to compare to the photos I saw in the reviews. So let's make it fair by showing more than one version. The version 40 year old people receive I suppose. Or it could have just been an off day at the cafe. Who knows? But we won't be returning. Both of our orders were horrible. My fries were just cold, undercooked and drowning in the buffalo sauce and ranch sauce. Overkill. And my wife's cod fillets were hard. How do you mess up deep fried items? They have timers. And the extra order of fries I got to go with my wife's fish weren't even half full.
Carmen Cordova
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September 16, 2022
This is my current favorite!! The Buffalo chicken fries with no Bleu cheese!!
I also love the salads they are soo good and such a great serving size with fresh ingredients!
Larissa Smith
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February 17, 2022
This place is a hidden treasure! I had no idea that the Monster Express existed at the college. Freshly cooked Chinese food. Very clean. Tons of other options and great staff.
Gary Crockett
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February 05, 2026
For a old fogie newbie, it was confusing and intimidating. When I picked up my order, somehow I was expected to know that I was supposed to get my fruit cup and chips myself. Not friendly for a first timer.
Carl Linnaeus
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October 01, 2024
Food has taken a dive in quality, portions have gone way down in size, service has also suffered in quality, but prices keep going up. Honestly, there are about three restaurants within a block of this one with better food, better service, and in most cases, better prices. I would bring up that many past reviews here are two years old, when this place was significantly better.
I got chipotle steak fries. The fries were decent, but the "steak" was just a few small pieces of fatty ground beef. My fries were not topped with cheese per the description, and it was quite heavy on the chipotle sauce. Additionally, I waited for twenty-five minutes before I finally went back to the counter to see what had happened to my order. It was sitting on the counter, I'm not sure for how long. It tasted hot, so I assume it was fresh enough, but no effort to notify me seemed to have taken place. I may have been a little impatient, but twenty-five minutes seems like a long time to wait for a basket of fries and some ground beef.
I understand that there are some unique logistics involved in running a cafe staffed by students. I used to really like this place despite some of the problems, because the food was good and affordable. But given that the food is now more expensive than most restaurants in town, portions have decreased significantly, and the food quality is so much poorer, I am less inclined to excuse them. There really is no good reason to spend money here.
Edit: The atmosphere was pretty great. The remodel is super awesome. It just really seems like they're trying to cover up sub-par food and service with a flashy cover.
Our Address
on the EAC Campus, Gherald L. Hoopes Jr. Activities Center, 615 N Stadium Ave Campus Dining, Thatcher, AZ 85552, USA
I'll admit that I've been curious about gila Hanks cafe for some time. So after the movies my wife and I went there for the first time to eat. Not hard to find. The dining area is large and open with a handful of tables. But it's the activity center for the students as well so it doesn't look like a restaurant. The young lady at the counter seemed nice enough to me. But I did notice the dirty glance given to my wife. But she did well and recovered with a smile quickly. ALMOST not noticable. As the meals are made ready they call the number out and set the to go boxes on a table with an order number laid up on it. Which gets frustrating watching multiple students going through all of the boxes before determining that none of them are they're own. The wait for food was a little much while feeling rather uncomfortable around children that seem to want to point and laugh much more than necessary. But finally we got our food so that we can head home to eat. Since neither of us cared for the atmosphere. I'll include photos. Because they don't seem to compare to the photos I saw in the reviews. So let's make it fair by showing more than one version. The version 40 year old people receive I suppose. Or it could have just been an off day at the cafe. Who knows? But we won't be returning. Both of our orders were horrible. My fries were just cold, undercooked and drowning in the buffalo sauce and ranch sauce. Overkill. And my wife's cod fillets were hard. How do you mess up deep fried items? They have timers. And the extra order of fries I got to go with my wife's fish weren't even half full.
This is my current favorite!! The Buffalo chicken fries with no Bleu cheese!! I also love the salads they are soo good and such a great serving size with fresh ingredients!
This place is a hidden treasure! I had no idea that the Monster Express existed at the college. Freshly cooked Chinese food. Very clean. Tons of other options and great staff.
For a old fogie newbie, it was confusing and intimidating. When I picked up my order, somehow I was expected to know that I was supposed to get my fruit cup and chips myself. Not friendly for a first timer.
Food has taken a dive in quality, portions have gone way down in size, service has also suffered in quality, but prices keep going up. Honestly, there are about three restaurants within a block of this one with better food, better service, and in most cases, better prices. I would bring up that many past reviews here are two years old, when this place was significantly better. I got chipotle steak fries. The fries were decent, but the "steak" was just a few small pieces of fatty ground beef. My fries were not topped with cheese per the description, and it was quite heavy on the chipotle sauce. Additionally, I waited for twenty-five minutes before I finally went back to the counter to see what had happened to my order. It was sitting on the counter, I'm not sure for how long. It tasted hot, so I assume it was fresh enough, but no effort to notify me seemed to have taken place. I may have been a little impatient, but twenty-five minutes seems like a long time to wait for a basket of fries and some ground beef. I understand that there are some unique logistics involved in running a cafe staffed by students. I used to really like this place despite some of the problems, because the food was good and affordable. But given that the food is now more expensive than most restaurants in town, portions have decreased significantly, and the food quality is so much poorer, I am less inclined to excuse them. There really is no good reason to spend money here. Edit: The atmosphere was pretty great. The remodel is super awesome. It just really seems like they're trying to cover up sub-par food and service with a flashy cover.