Bandana's Bar-B-Q is a tiny little gem on first avenue that suffers from lack of customers. As such, the staff were extremely attentive and friendly when I went in for a late lunch. The restaurant was clean and tidy while the dining area had that delicious smell of cooking meat that makes you drool. The food was delicious and they heaped the helpings onto my plate. It was just the perfect amount of food for me at that time. The ribs were tender and juicy, the burnt ends had a nice caramelized char, the potato was cooked well, and my corn was sweet as pie. If you haven't tried Bandana's before I highly recommend it read more

Bandana's Bar-B-Q - Choose Two Combo Platter - Barbeque Near Me - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

I usually love Bandanas when I eat there. Here's my Yelp offer to go. I paid extra for an turkey...it didn't come with the butter I requested. I'm so sad today. read more

Bandana's Bar-B-Q - My lunch - Barbeque Near Me - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Great Food Too bad they are closing. I hope they change their minds on closing this store DONT CLOSE THIS STORE

We wanted some good BBQ while we were in Cedar Rapids. Reign took my carry out order and was friendly and knowledgeable about the menu. I got two dinners. The brisket and the turkey. They were both outstanding. Nice portions and I bought a bottle of the Chicago sweet barbeque sauce which was also delicious The only complaint I have about the meal was the fries. They were a little soggy and really tasted a lot like frozen fries from the grocery store. read more

Been patronizing this restaurant for years and have never had any kind of issue until now. The service was among the worst of a lifetime. Having said that I don't want others avoiding this restaurant as it is/was my favorite BBQ place. Have seen many servers come and go but never had any kind of experience like this. Due to the server getting my order wrong after pointing at what I wanted then the charges start showing up on my bill...ended up paying between 50% to 75% more than it should have. I told her that I had pointed at what I wanted and she said that she was not wearing her glasses then I told her that was on her then she raised her voice and told me that she was some kind of hospitality person and she was not going to take me attacking her to which I said "Attacking you?" What I should have said was "Drama very much?" But I didn't think of it. Anyway she took off with my credit card for what seemed like 5 or 10 minutes... plenty of time for her to go to the bathroom and write down my credit card number. If there are charges on my credit card that we did not do then she will be the first person I will point at. Anyway the serving manager showed up and asked me could he help me. I told him that like I had told the server that I just wanted to pay my bill and leave. So he let me, returning my credit card. As I walked out quietly I could hear her ranting and raving about the situation in the background. Now, having said all this I still don't want for her to get in trouble as she may have kids to feed at home... I don't know, but her behavior was over the top and really made a scene unnecessarily. I wonder if she did all this in an attempt successfully to inflate the bill to get more of a tip. I don't believe that the customer is always right, but this time the customer was. The servers manager was very kind to us and because of that I will likely continue to patron the restaurant... why should I let her take that from me also? If I have to I will just get it to go. read more

I have to be honest, I am shocked this place doesn't have a solid 5 star rating overall. I waited until I had tried a few different menu items and had been in on slow and busy evenings with multiple servers. I've never had food or service that was less than stellar personally and I'll be honest, I'm VERY picky about barbecue. I grew up in the south and I've had my fair share of incredible barbecue. Hot take- bandanas has some of the best burnt ends I've ever had. Want some? Go for lunch because if you go for dinner you probably won't get any which is standard in every great barbecue joint I've ever been to. There's a reason they are hard to get. Get extra garlic bread to share with the table too. So good! We also love the smoked turkey & fyi because for some reason they don't tell you they sell bottles of their sauce for cheaper than most grocery store brands. I'll be back to update this review as we return because we absolutely will return and we will keep sending everyone we know to give y'all a try! read more

Service and food were really good. One of us had a turkey sandwich + corn, and the other had the pork + brisket sandwich, also with corn. All delicious. The sweet corn was delectable, so tender and well-seasoned. The pork + brisket eater was a teen who has never had brisket and hasn't had pulled pork in a long time, and he loved it. He said the bread was the real winner. I had the turkey sandwich and it was perfection. My only issue was that none of the sauces were especially good, and maybe 3 of them were, to me, yucky. Appreciated that our table was clean. Lots of bbq places never seem to get the tables cleaned of sauce so there is always an unpleasant stickiness. Here we had no stickiness. read more

Very overpriced for what it is Our briquette was almost all fat. Each piece was 50% or more fat. - and not the good kid. Just fatty No option for boneless chicken. We spend 75$ and so much wasn't edible. Never going back. read more

Service was great, food was great up until the end. I usually love this place, i took a bite of my wing and found whatever this read more

Bandana's Bar-B-Q - Wing Meal - Barbeque Near Me - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

The food is good but not great. The ribs and brisket were over cooked. The brisket was dry and definitely need some bbq sauce to eat. The ribs are tender but tasted like liquid smoke vs real smoke. The pulled pork was the star . Cole slaw was good French fries were crisp and fresh. This is my second time here first time I dinner in service was good. Sever was pleasant and speedy. This time I ordered to go I felt like the portions were light and more fries less meat.... the counter person was nice and helpfully. The atmosphere is nice , it's modern hip bbq shack . A lot of cool decorations . They have plenty of beer on tap . Good place to watch the games. Over all a decent place to hang out . read more

The service was good, the restaurant was clean and typically presented. The food, however, was subpar. Very little smoke flavor, most was cold, bean appeared to be straight from the can. I will probably give it another try to ensure it's accurate. read more

I am no stranger to Bandanas. I have eaten at this restaurant chain in several different cities. I find their portions are generous and their sauces tasty. This was my first time visiting the Cedar Rapids location. Honestly, it will be my last. The restaurant was not very clean. The person who took our name for the waitlist, forgot about us, as we watched three different tables sit empty. Additionally, the person who took us back to our table was chewing tobacco. We ordered appetizers and three entrées. We sat with empty water and soda glasses for at least 15 minutes. The wait for our food seem to be longer than usual and when the appetizer was finally delivered, the entrées were brought within two minutes. Obviously, there was really no time to enjoy the appetizers before the main meal came. Unfortunately, the food was not up to what I expected from this chain. While the portions were large, everything was cold. All in all, this was a very disappointing visit. read more

Bandana's Bar-B-Q - ows the welcome sign - Barbeque Near Me - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

See all

All good stuff. I came here with a strong hankering for BBQ after a long trip. We came here straight from the airport on our way home. My back was killing me but I needed a meal. We were seated quickly after a friendly greeting. We had fast, pleasant service and were received our drinks and food like clockwork. I really like the ribs at this place. They are meaty and tender and just right. They have about 4 table sauces to use. I go with the traditional/house sauce usually. Theirs was quite good. I had a three meat combo and enjoyed it all but their ribs are a notch above other BBQ in the area. I think there is one thing about each place I've tried that I prefer at the place. Someday I'll have to do a BBQ crawl and order one item at a time and put together an ensemble. But in the meantime, this is tied with one other place as my go-to BBQ joint in town (on food). This place beats the other on service. Decisions decisions.... read more

Bandana's Bar-B-Q - 3 meat combo - Barbeque Near Me - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Fall off the bone ribs. Great variety of sauces. The fried green beans were my favorite!

Kristen was our server. She was so good that we came here twice while we were in town! The food is pretty good for the price point.

It was ok. The fried corn was good the rest was okay. Sausage was pretty good everything else was pretty average.

Food was not worth 20 dollars they were trying to charge me I just return the whole plate. There rib tips were fatty hockey pucks. The mac and cheese was flavorless and the pulled pork was dry will not be coming back. read more

Just stopped in while my truck was being worked on. The beer was cold and the nachos great! Service was great as well.

Well I finally had a chance to try bandanas. And I can say that the BBQ is good but not great in my opinion. The smoked sausage was amazing and really had a great smoked flavor to it. I enjoy the many sauce options as well as the fast service, however I found the prices to be a bit on the higher side and the potato salad was a bit bland for my liking. The ribs had little meat and seemed tough. I definitely would not say don't come here as BBQ is really up to personal preference, but there are other better options in the area that I prefer. I'm sure this place will be around awhile and there is more on the menu for me to try so I will be back to do just that......and to try the donut holes on the dessert menu! read more

See all

Coralville's loss is our gain. Looks like they had to close up in Coralville due to the continuing expansion of Iowa River Landing, and that's great news. It was always a trip to go down there, and when I heard they were coming to Cedar Rapids I was very happy. I've always had a nice meal, whether a sandwich or the ribs. Today I had a 1/3 rib platter and the ribs were 'fall off the bone' good. Many time I don't even use any of the half dozen or so sauces on the table, because the meat is just that good. Very nice variety of sides, and it's helpful that they have the calorie totals on each of them in case you're watching your intake. Apple Sauce, green beans, coleslaw, potato salad, beans, garlic bread, corn, sweet potato fries, are just some of the sides. They also have very reasonable budget items on the menu, so check those out for lunch. Service has always been spot on, and quick. They have some very large screen TVs going as well as free Wi-Fi. read more

My work group is here in Cedar Rapids for a few days looking for something to eat. We say Bandana's when we passed by the other night and thought it looked interesting. So tonight we checked out Yelp for guidance. As usual, Yelp was spot on. Coming from Florida, we have our opinion of how BBQ should be. Each of us tried the 3 meat combo so that we can get a variety. Overall, really good. I had the pork, beef and sausage combo. It comes with 2 sides as well and 2 huge pieces of toast. There are also several different sauce choices on the table as well. Original, Spicy, Hot, KC and Sweet sauces to match your mood. Not sure when I'll be back in Cedar Rapids, but it I do, I will need to check in to Bandana's again. read more

We wanted some BBQ tonight so headed over to Bandanas which we had driven by many times, but never eaten at. LOVED It! I had the chicken and my husband had the ribs. Both were delicious! Comes to the table unsauced with 3 choices on the table. All are very good. The sides were excellent. Highly recommend. Prices very reasonable and the staff were very hard working and friendly. read more

Hands-down the worst barbecue I've ever tasted! Not to mention six of the worst barbecue sauces on the planet!! Shame Bandannas, shame on you for putting out product like that. If you like your brisket boiled with no flavor then Bandannas is the place for you to throw your money away. read more

Bandana's Bar-B-Q - And here we see a plate of complete garbage! Best thing there is the side of canned baked beans. - Barbeque Near Me - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

The positive- My burnt end were incredible. As were the BBQ beans, green beans, slaw, and my bf ribs. The not so hot- we started out with okra. It was under fried and slimy. The ranch wasn't cold. It was almost room temperature. Also the potato salad had little to no flavor. Unfortunately our server also wasn't having the best night. We had to ask for refills. Upon receiving our food he set it down and walked away. Dirty plates remained on the table for the duration of our meal. I said thanks so much. No reply. It was just very cold service. I understand that not everyone is peppy, but being friendly and welcoming is part of the service. Im sure he was just having a rough a day, we all have them. Overall, an ok visit. read more

After Bandana's in Coralville closed down, I was delighted to find out that there was one here in Cedar Rapids. One of my favorite meals in the Iowa City area is here at Bandana's because of the combination of good ole' barbeque and the unbeatable price of the meal! Bandana's budget buster meals (I'm pretty sure they were $5 at Coralville), but now $6 here in Cedar Rapids comes with 3 oz of meat, garlic bread, and two sides. It's not the most filling meal since its slightly smaller, but a great deal for lunch and a decent amount for the price (and you can order it for dinner too). It was at Bandana's that my eyes were opened to ordering chicken at a bbq place! I've never tried chicken at bbq places as I usually order brisket or pulled pork or ribs, but the chicken turned out to be delicious. Soft, juicy, tasty. You can specify if you want dark or white meat. I always order dark and it comes with a drumstick and thigh. The garlic bread I always love here as it comes crispy and well flavored (and a good size). Sides are all decent. I especially like their baked bbq beans. read more

Great food. Always unbelievably busy. If I wanted to be critical I could bump them down a star just because it always takes longer to get food to go (no matter how far you order in advance). Just add 10-15 minutes to what they tell you. Very friendly. Very helpful. And very apologetic. But when you arrive you'll see why they are always behind. In store traffic plus all orders out the door while you wait. Obviously others must think it's good enough to put up with delays. My family & I will continue to enjoy our meals. My wife doesn't like BBQ (hates pork mainly) but loves smoked turkey. So try that if people in your group are not bbq fans or don't know what to get off the menu. read more

Welcome to Cedar Rapids -- first of all Came in with a party of four to Bandana's and was greeted right away and sat quickly. There's a really nice ambience about the place -- just really friendly and inviting. It feels good being here. Two in my party decided on ribs while another got a pork and beef dinner which left me with a turkey and sausage dinner. We tried getting multiple sides too, and ended up with the applesauce, fries, salad, green beans, BBQ beans, and cole slaw. Everything, according others was really solid. A few standouts though: Applesauce was chunky and flavorful. Green beans were a little odd, tasted kinda sweet and probably wouldn't order again. Side salad was a solid choice and the lemon dressing was delicious. Entree wise, the ribs were packed to the bone which meat which you don't always find around here. I am a huge smoked sausage fan but this stuff was really lacking in flavor and depth from my experience. Left me wanting something better. The pulled pork was good, turkey excellent. Beef was fantastic and the bark was just so delightful. Bandana's offers 6 different sauces and really you should be able to find something you like. I tried them all and the ones that stood out to me were the spicy (non-mustard base) and the sweet and smoky. Really good, full bodied flavor with a strong smoky accent. And if you leave here hungry, it's going to be nobody's fault but your own. Prices are a little higher but that should be expected when coming to a place like Bandana's. They do have some value options though if that is what you are looking for. One small complaint -- the servers are a little over bearing. They are super nice, but come check on you dozens of time. Otherwise, great place to be and eat. Will definitely be back! read more

Bandana's Bar-B-Q - Barbeque Near Me - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

See all

The ribs here are decent and probably good enough to eat without any bbq sauce. But once I start to dip it in the sweet and smoky sauce, I can't go back. They give a decent portion for a full rack (though you pay for what you get) and two large pieces of garlic bread. My wife loves it here, but as a bbq place, this place doesn't stick out too much for me since there's no brisket. Can't be an 5 star bbq place with no brisket. read more

My wife and I arrive around 11:45 on Saturday morning and the place was packed. There were 4 open spots at the small bar so we took two of those. We had a straight shot into the open kitchen watching the well trained crew put out orders at a surprisingly fast pace. Our waitress/host was Stacy and she is the head trainer for the franchise. Very knowable and extremely friendly even though they were very busy. They smoke their own meat on the premises. I had the pulled pork and beef sampler and my wife had the smoke sausage. All very smoky and delicious. There are 6 different sauces available right at the table ranging from sweet to spicy. I highly recommend this restaurant. This is very good and affordable BBQ in Cedar Rapids. read more

Good food. Ok atmosphere. Server was paying more attention to her phone than her customers. Will probably go back for take out.

Went to lunch with friends. Had the ribs and they were great. Meat fell off the bone. Baked beans and baked potatoe were good too. Service and speed of service were very good. read more

Tons of food... great selection of items on the menu... super friendly servers... Michelle is awesome... and we got our food really fast. We had the two person meal... and are stuffed. Plus we will both have lunch for tomorrow with leftovers. Great place as was Coralville. Will be back soon! read more

I love this place! The food is great with many choices and variety. Prices vary and you can get lunch prices for dinner! Beer on tap. Variety of Pepsi products and other beverages. I will be coming back very soon. read more

Love what this franchise offers. Ribs, pork, chicken, and sausage, turkey. I prefer any combination with ribs in a two or three meat meal. The ribs taste like smoked ham. They aren't fall off the bone but are great . my favorite side is baked beans. Staff is very friendly and the building is handicapped accessible. This is one of my too carry out chains very inexpensive. read more

See all

I called in my order this evening and was pleased even with the customer service on the phone. Even when I got there and found that my order was incorrect it was taken care of immediately apologetic and everything. They just told me to keep the wrong order plus gave me the correct order. The ribs and sausage with the Chicago Sweet Sauce was delicious. The potato salad and friend green beans is a must if you have not had them. I will definitely revisit them again. read more

Not impressed, $14 for 4 of the smallest ribs I've ever eaten, the taste was there just far to overpriced for the quantity

Since when are buns and bbq sauce not include when you purchase pulled pork to go as a catering!?! Who would think you have to ask for this lol read more

Very good food and service. I liked my sausage and sides of potatoes salad and coleslaw. Best ice tea in the Midwest.

Ordered ribs here, were very dry. Was over cooked so much it was more like beef jerky than ribs. Left after just a few bites

Already been here at least six times since they opened up in Cedar Rapids. Our favorite is the ribs, always juicy, never tough or dry. My kids prefer the pulled pork as it's easier for them to eat. The sides are all pretty good as well. The BBQ beans and fries seem to be top picks in our family. The fried donut dessert it a total must get. It kinda tastes like a funnel cake and a donutland donut had a love child. The service has always been excellent and prompt. The restaurant appears to be clean and kept up. I sure hope it sticks around. read more