All I can say is WOW!! I stopped in with my son for a nightcap and ended up enjoying one of my best…read moremeals in Iowa city. We sat at the bar and ordered two Long Island iced teas. Not an easy drink to pour for many bartenders, but these were PERFECT! We were glancing at the menu and I decided to order their PIZZAIOLA - ribeye cap, roasted tomatoes, roasted garlic, olive tapenade, fresh mozzarella, oregano, house made focaccia. After ordering, my son and I chuckled that I ordered a steak pizza. And I started to stress - a $50 pizza??? When the dish arrived, I almost fell out of my chair. The aroma of the tomatoes, the bread the steak - wow!!! A picture paints a thousand words but one bite generated millions! I will be back for graduation soon and will be sure to make my reservations well in advance!!! Been to most places in this town the past couple years - stumbling into here was the best decision ever!!!

My wife and I were in town for the holidays and went to Joseph's for a rare date night without the…read morekiddo. Had a reservation but opted for bar seating, the drinks were perfect and service was exactly what you'd want from a nice steakhouse: attentive but not overbearing. Started with the tuna tartare, which was somewhat deconstructed tower concept. I didn't care that the salt was in a pile to be added, would have preferred the tuna to be seasoned by the chef but my wife loved building each bite. I had the wagyu sirloin a la oscar, with whipped potatoes and asparagus. My better half had the petit filet with broccoli. Both were cooked exactly the way we requested, tender and full of flavor. Finished with the oatmeal pie for her desert while I closed out with a pour of grappa. Best way to end a lovely evening. Cheers team and happy holidays!

If I could give more than 5 stars, I would. We ended up at Pullman Bar & Diner three mornings in a…read morerow during our trip, and honestly, it became one of the highlights of our weekend. Every single thing we ordered felt fresh, thoughtful, and just really well done. My kids were obsessed with the chocolate chip pancakes (which says a lot), and my dad and I worked our way through a few different dishes. The biscuits and gravy were comforting and rich without being too heavy, and even the simple eggs were cooked perfectly. But the standout? The breakfast tacos. They were insane. The pork was seasoned perfectly, super flavorful without being overwhelming, and everything just worked together so well. Also, do not skip the fresh squeezed orange juice or the local sourdough with homemade preserves. You can taste the difference. It's one of those places where you can tell they really care about the ingredients. Service was warm and easy, and the vibe just makes you want to sit and stay a while. We'll 100% be back if we're ever in Iowa City again!

Adorable restaurant on the University of Iowa campus with exposed brick walls and a masculine,…read moremodern contemporary diner feel. Food 3/5 Service 5/5 Ambiance 4/5 Croque Madame 3/5. The hollandaise sauce with jammy egg on top was fabulous, but the sandwich itself was just ok. Garganelli 2/5. I liked the mushrooms but was disappointed that this dish was rather bland, especially for this price point.

What a great spot! A cozy steakhouse with a taproom! Great idea! Unfortunately I didn't get the…read morechance to try a steak or have a cold beer. But I tried the steakhouse Philly with bacon and eggs. It was on point and exceeded my expectations! The service was awesome and I really enjoyed my dinning experience. Overall this is a great spot and next time I look forward to trying one of their steaks.

This is one of the more upscale restaurants in downtown pedestrian mall on Iowa campus. We made a…read morereservation a couple weeks in advance for a Saturday night. The place was packed. We dressed up a bit, but many people were pretty casual. They were out of the Iowa pork chop by the time we ordered after 7. We also had the table closer to the door. We felt the chill of the outside each time someone opened the door. That was a bit of a downer. We had the artichoke dip with small french bread slices. It was amazing! They brought us more bread before we even asked. The 5 of us ordered a few steaks, salmon, and BLT. They didn't have Avocado for the BLT which has become popular combination over the years. The steaks were done just right. Side of mushrooms were nice and flavorful. Waistaff did a nice job. Attentive. Food didn't take too long. On the bill they added what appeared to be a credit card fee with no label. Oh well.

Incredible meal at Orchard Green!…read more While the upstairs dining area was booked for the evening, we were able to walk in and have an incredible meal in the lounge portion of the restaurant. A round of mocktails, crab cakes, and my delicious filet mignon was unbeatable. The steak was cooked perfectly and the garlic topping was the perfect touch. For desert, we shared a cheesecake and peanut butter mousse. The cheesecake was great, but the peanut butter mousse... quite literally one of the best desserts of my life! The balance of peanut butter and rich chocolate was perfect. Service was friendly and helpful, and the lounge was relaxed and comfortable. Would highly recommend Orchard Green for a nice dinner in the area!

Excellent meal - whitefish -and great service. Beautiful spot. Will go again and again when we're…read morein IC.

Miss Sharon was a great waitress and we loved her thank for having her ,she greatread more

To be honest I feel bad leaving such a low review for a fine dining staple, but came today for my…read moreDad's 75th birthday and quite possibly has the worst $200 meal on my life. The $50 sirloin steak was served cold. Because our waitress, Grace H, failed to even ask how our food was the entire time until after we had eaten everything I couldn't even send it back. I spent the entire time trying to make eye contact with her but she was busy taking new tables. When she finally came to ask how our food was and was told, her response was I will let the kitchen know. Not "I will bring you another plate" or even discount or comp the entree. Not what you'd expect from Iowa city's fine dining flagship. The prices were not just expensive, but over the top expensive. $50 for an 8 ounce sirloin. $56 for 12 average oysters. To be honest it's below average in value to a nice restaurant in LA, NY or Chicago. They may thrive because the IC elite doesn't have many options for upscale dining. But for someone who has lived in those cities and eaten at Michelin star culinary venues this place is lacking in both food and service for the prices they charge. It was enough of a bad experience that I will never be back. There's Chez Grace, Joseph's and 126 which offer quality food, much better value and food service. Posting my food pics and the receipt to see what $200 gets you here.

Went here for a brunch after an Iowa women's basketball game, was quite busy but great food. Great…read moreservice, amazing and super friendly staff. I want to come back and try the brioche french toast sticks as well as the belgian waffle with espresso whipped cream, they sound delicious and I was super impressed with the avocado toast! It was such a cute interior, very modern and nice breakfast spot, will be coming back with my boyfriend for sure.

My college daughter said this is the upscale place for special occasions. The 3 of us went for…read moredinner the Friday night before a Saturday football game. Looks quiet on the outside. Oh boy, it's an energetic place on the inside. Yet, it's rather dark. I think they know how to cater to both college kids and their parents. The inside exudes upscale. Feels turn of the century (as in 1900) . We had a semi-circle table on the main floor. I heard downstairs is a different world. We ordered drinks first. One drink took a long time and so they comped us. That was nice. One daughter ordered a steak. It was a good size. I ordered fish. Really good. The atmosphere just put all 3 of us in a great mood. The prices are higher than average in Iowa City. Still less than in Chicago. It's a great place to dress up and have a nice dinner.

This morning marked my third visit to The Dandy Lion. From my experience, many restaurants can be…read moregood once. Being consistent is what differentiates good restaurants from great ones and this one meets said criteria. We ordered the house made cinnamon roll to split and it was delightful. Pillowy soft with a sweet icing. For the meal, I ordered the Breakfast Sandwich with sausage (as I have the other two visits). If you're wondering what you should order, refer to my last sentence. There's limited seating so I strongly recommend joining their online waitlist before you show up as it is a hot spot. You won't find friendlier staff in the area. The Dandy Lion is truly a gem.

Stopped by during lunch rush and scored the last available seat at the counter. I was served by…read moreCole, who gave me excellent service and fast arriving food. I had the French Toast with the house fried chicken - delicious! Lovely Ped Mall gem with an old school diner flair!

I love Basta! How can you not love fresh pasta??? Every time I say I am going to try the pizza,…read moreyet I get a pasta. It's always cooked al dente, and the dishes are plentiful. I finally became a believer of the brussels sprouts (I'm not brussels sprout person) but holy moly, if you're ever going to try some brussels sprouts you need to try them here! I will definitely be getting them from here on out. Their focaccia bread is always a staple at our table. Just simply delicious. This time we tried the Chocolate Budino with vanilla gelato, and it was the perfect ending to an already wonderful dinner. As always, our service was stellar. Our waitress had a trainee with us and they both did a wonderful job.

I checked out this restaurant on Yelp before going, and I thought I would not be impressed with the…read morefood based on the photos, so I was blown away when I got there and actually tried all the food. It was extremely flavorful and everything was really good. The ambiance in the restaurant is nice, a great place for groups or date night. We got 3 apps - the flatbread, burrata, and brussel sprouts. I enjoyed the flatbread, it is very cheesy so I felt I got the pizza experience even though I didn't get a pizza as my main. The burrata came with amazing bread, and the brussel sprouts were really good. I got pasta as the main and it was a lot of food. The menu claims all breads and pasta are made fresh daily, and I could believe it. Very good! Service was also good, better than I would expect!

I've been to Blackstone numerous times but this is the first time I've felt compelled to leave a…read morereview. The Chimichurri Steak I had last night was absolutely amazing. Steak cooked (med. rare) and seasoned perfectly and the chimichurri sauce was out of this world. The service was, and is always, really good. But that steak? Next level.

We had booked this location for a lunch after a funeral. We were to be served half of a sandwich…read moreand a salad from a very limited menu. (3 sandwich choices and 3 salad choices) Service started off good with a waitress, taking our orders and getting us drinks. Once we had placed our orders is when the problems started to happen. We brought in a group of approximately 35 to 40 people. (We had reserved a party room) Sitting at long tables with approximately with 8 people to a table. We waited and waited for our order to be taken with some tables receiving their food before we had even ordered. The waiters and waitresses slowly went from table to table taking approximately 20-30 minutes in all to take our orders. We were the last table to place our order and people were being served prior to us even ordering. We waited for over an hour and never received our food. Some people were even done at point. Needless to say, we were a little exasperated and finally asked them just to bag our food. Believe it or not, that took them another 30 minutes. In all we were there for close to two hours without being served. And when we asked our waiter, why it was taking so long he informed us that they weren't expecting our group to be so large. I think I would've preferred a simple "I'm sorry, we messed up," or even if a manager had just shown up to let us know that they had forgotten our order completely, rather than the lame excuses that they came back with. I don't know if this was just a bad day for Blackstone or if this is what can be expected from them, but our experience there was horrible. Unfortunately, as we were from out of town, we can't go back again to see if the service will be any better. I do not recommend this place. The food may be fabulous, but we'll never know. Also be forewarned if you have any complaints the management does not care.

Fabulous homemade pasta and the staff is amazing. Definitely recommend. Very small.read more

We came to Baroncini last night for a late Valentine's Day date, and it was such a cute, cozy…read morelittle Italian spot in downtown Iowa City. Our server was very kind and we enjoyed her a lot. We ordered the Spinach Ravioli and a Margherita Pizza to share. The pizza was fine, however the toppings were quick to fall off. The spinach ravioli (not pictured) was amazing. I was a huge fan. We also split a bottle of riesling and the cheesecake for dessert. Both were wonderful. We are excited to have found a new spot in Iowa city and are looking forward to returning!