Yummy smash burger! Good cook!! The servers were tidy and on point. The drinks were good they were not skimpy on the booze. The crowd that was in there that afternoon was a crowd that I would hang out with. altogether the place was clean, friendly, fun and me and my three friends enjoyed ourselves.(maybe a little too much). we also like the smoking area that was outside, and it was even clean. me and my friends would highly recommend this place. #Memorial weekend, 2026. read more

You should go when the owner Steve P. is there. He's a funny, outgoing character! Food is good, typical bar food like burgers and Midwest style sandwiches. Bloody Mary is fun. Service is pleasant and fast. Place is kept clean. Can get crowded, loud and a bit drunk but is generally well controlled. read more

This place was unexpectedly AMAZING! My husband, son and I ate here for the first time ever for lunch 3/24/24 and it was fantastic! For a bar and grill one never expects anything out of the ordinary. Just your regular service and bar food. However, we were immediately greeted with amazing energy and service! There was only one man to serve the bar and the sit down area to eat and he did beyond amazing. Even after we sat down and ordered drinks and then appetizers and food more people started coming in and he met them with the same amazing energy and service. He warned everyone he was alone behind the bar and to get orders and people still chose to stay and wait and I fully believe it was because of the man behind the bar and the amazing food! I would recommend this place to anyone looking for a bite to eat in a great atmosphere and energetic/ personable staff! read more

Stopped in today and they had an active pool tournament with a full house. Great atmosphere and TVs covering all the sports action. You can't find a better place for customer service and food. Such a special place. Recent reviews seem off, don't let that stop you from this true gem of a restaurant. Clearly, their focus is on their customers and quality of their product. read more

service was terrible, employees had the door locked and were sitting down so they didn't have to work. Rushed us the entire meal and were extremely rude. Ended up getting food poisoning from there food that it lasted 2 days. Dont recommend ever eating at this establishment. terrible wait staff and untrained cooks. The atmosphere was gloomy no lights on, no music, literally dead sielnt you could hear a pen drop. the staff made us uncomfortable the whole time just trying to get us to leave because they didn't want to work. Go waste your money at a restaurant that will treat you right like uncle Bucks Bar & Grill! Also the staff jaccob batterson made threats for me telling management about purposely messing with my food to cause me to get sick worst establishment I have ever been too. read more

Courtside Bar & Grill - Threats from courtside staff - Sports Bars Near Me - Ottumwa, Iowa

Very tasty fries and tenderloin, first time trying tonight. I will Definitly be back again. read more

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They allow vaping inside. It stinks terribly. Service was average at best. I've got to say, no need to ever come back.

My underaged child came home very much inebriated after going out to dinner with friends at this restaurant they served my daughter alcohol I am beyond mad and will be letting all fellow parents know. read more

So I got food poisoning because I said my food was too cold. the cook there jacob said he wouldnt remake my food and was extremely rude I was extremely sick for a couple days do not recommend read more

The best things I can say for this place is the beer is cold and the service was really good, that being said it was not busy at all. My nacho was nothing more than unseasoned ground beef and jarred salsa. My man's burger was what was left of the unseasoned ground beef in patty form and cooked to hockey puck status on soggy marble rye. If you have to go here bring your own food. read more

Yep - this is definitely a sports bar catering to the locals. The music was not loud (it was a Sunday night), but a patron at the bar kept hollerin' out a rowdy "YEAH!" repeatedly while watching soccer, I hope it wasn't the golf channel on the adjacent screen. At one point I heard an echoing "YEAH" from the kitchen. When in Iowa, Colorado, Florida, DC - I order local beers. Blonde Fatale ale from Peace Tree Brewing Company in Knoxville, Iowa was excellent. I ordered hot corn nuggets with ranch dressing as an appetizer to enjoy with my beer. Comfort food - yum! The menu is extensive, I chose the team tenderloin with homemade potato chips. The sandwich was good and I appreciated the fresh, crisp lettuce and tomato. I enjoy the unique character and characters of Courtside Bar & Grill, but some may not. Take-out is available. read more

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Best prime rib I've EVER had. The friendly and beautiful Katherine was a fantastic waitress and it was a great experience in far-off town.

good steak!! wow!! not too bad on the price for rib eye. 14.00. I had the food to go. not too busy for a wed night at 11:00 pm. music was way too loud for me. glad I had the food to go!! read more

So here I am waiting for service it was packed il give them that! But I've never been anywhere else tht the bartenders are just plain flat out rude! Someone ordered a drink and they messed it up and the tenders response you don't like it get something simpler maybe you should learn to do your job properly a bar tender should know what a drink is if you can't do your job right leave simple as that it was a lady with black hair looked like she was a higher up who thinks this is okay great atmosphere but crappy service there shooter shots that should be cold wet hot as ever poor service won't be going back anytime soon read more

Best reuben sandwiches and Bloody Mary's in town. We also love their steak sandwiches!

Courtside is a nice little sports bar on the north side of Ottumwa. This bar is not fancy but has the perfect atmosphere and ambiance for a southern Iowa sports bar. The menu is pretty typical for a sports bar with a little more variety. Food quality is above average. Most everything I've tried is good. There are not a ton of options for draught beers but there are a few options other than domestics (like an IPA). The staff are all polite and attentive. Overall, it is nice place to relaxe, have a cold drink, and enjoy good food. read more

Went for lunch on a Friday. Perfectly okay looking sports bar. Sat with my party and ordered a beer, and enjoyed chatting. However, some dude (who I am told is the owner) came up behind me, rubbing my back for several seconds and asking how we were doing. Absolutely creepy and utterly unwelcome. I should be able to enjoy my meal without a stranger touching me without permission. Also, I wish the waitress had not assumed that the one man in my party was paying. It was my treat - if you're not sure who's paying the bill, just put it in the middle of the table. A little thing, but it really put the nail in the coffin on my experience at this place. The food was mediocre, so I probably would never have bothered with a review of this place if not for the behavior by that guy. I will actively avoid this place the next time I'm in Ottumwa. read more

Came in with a big group on a Wednesday for dinner and drinks. Each person with our group was very impressed with the food. I had a burger that came out great. The fries and ranch were also high quality. Lots of tvs so you can watch any sporting event you're looking for. Our waitress was also very nice and attentive. Overall I would recommend the place and would go back there when back in town. read more

Friendly and attentive staff. Great selection of food for a "bar". Numerous televisions to keep up with sports. #healthybarfood read more

Courtside Bar & Grill - Healthy bar food!!! Delicious - Sports Bars Near Me - Ottumwa, Iowa

I needed dinner delivered to my hotel room. It was super fast "grilled chick salad" and extremely tasty. They even stopped and got me a bottle of diet root beer. Totally worth it. read more

I figured this place would have normal bar food, but it was even worse than that. I ordered a French Dip and I was presented with a roast beef sandwich with cheese. The roast beef was cheap, sliced roast beef that you would find in tupperware condition in the refrigerated section. Also, I'm pretty sure it had gone bad. I ended up literally getting sick and vomiting later in the night. I love roast beef and this has never happened. The fries were good, and the atmosphere was okay. Our server was brand new and you could tell, but she did try. I would probably have given 3 stars had I not gotten sick, but that has caused me to lose some sleep tonight. read more

Good staff and food. Convenient location near IHCC and major roads. My one suggestion is that they cut out the karaoke at night. It's too loud and annoying for your regular customers. Play thug music and you get thugs showing up who will cause problems for staff and patrons. read more

Definitely great food. Loved the popcorn chicken and the burgers are good too. Occasionally the music can be a little loud so it is hard to converse with friends but just depends on the night. read more

Great food, manager actually greeted us to thank us for coming! Homemade chips were killer!

Stopped in for a beer before a wedding. I think we were about fifteen minutes before opening. Say at the bar and the customer service was incredible gentleman with a long beard got his staff goin told then to grab a couple of menus and was ready business even though the door said they weren't open yet. They were very accommodating we cane back after the wedding to catch the rest of the Nebraska game they toothed the big tv on for us and opened the pool table for free pool. The entire staff was hard working great place to have a drink read more

Went last night and got the full order 12 wings with the 5 alarm sauce. I always order 10-12 wings but this time it was too much. The wings they serve are huge! Loved them. And at $9.99 that's a good deal. Sauce will definitely put some hair on da sak. Not too busy for a weekend at 10pm. Would have given it 5 stars but the TV's are not very up to date junked around the place. Step above a dive bar. Very nice service staff. Server never let us need for anything. read more

This place is close to our hotel so we frequent it often, large bar top and plenty of seating, they have a pool table, darts and a shuffle board table. The food is good, the hamburgers are big I usually go for the 5-7 and it comes with waffle fries. Some of the bar prices seem a little high but oh well your there to have fun so indulge. read more

Beer selection was better then the food. Food was typical bar food for the most part. Huge selection of apps INCLUDING chicken livers and fried chicken gizzards. Smithwicks on tap which was awesome. Burger was OK I could tell it was a frozen patty - a little dry. But the homemade chips were excellent. Wings were good and quite large. read more

I recently stopped in to watch a game, get a beer, and munch. I sat at the bar to get a good view, and there were plenty of TVs and places to sit. Service was great as the staff was very attentive! There were some regulars seated near me, and I felt I got just as much attention as them. Menu is pretty long. Mostly standard sports pub stuff with a few specials mixed in. I will definitely return the next time I'm looking for a nice sports bar experience. read more

Just ate lunch here today awesome service excellent food. Come on out and see these good people,oh yeah big screen TV everywhere.

Nice people. Decent bar food. Great sports bar atmosphere and a fun place to watch a game.

Went to Courtside tonight for dinner. After waiting for over 30 minutes for our meal, the waitress finally came out to tell us there were out of hotdogs for their Scotty dog. Did they just run out or how long had the kitchen known? Then after reordering something else, the prime rib was cold, which had to sit while the fish was cooking, and fish sandwich wasn't anything like we ordered. After telling the waitress and manager on staff this was unacceptable, they comped the drinks and food (which we sent back to the kitchen). Not going back there anytime soon. read more

Fabulous service!! Wonderful food and drinks. Run by a fine man, Steve Palen. I love going here for my drinks and meals. They have wonderful bloody mary's...good size with all the trimmings. read more

Food has really suffered the past few years. Also going to eat at night can sometimes be difficult if you are bringing the family as it gets packed with bar patrons. I used to really love this place but it is just starting to get old and it shows, especially with Saints opening across the street. I feel like this place could bounce back, the food is still okay. I think the passion isn't there and I fully acknowledge that passion is hard to find in a town like ours. I'm also not going to pretend that half of the reason why this place is on the decline isn't the crowd. More people concerned about getting wasted than enjoying good food. Not much is expected in those circumstances. I'm not being negative I am just giving my honest opinion. Love the owner and all of his establishments past and present. I just feel like they need to get manager or two in there that really want to push this place back to where it once was and still could be read more

This is by far the best "bar" food in this area. They have amazing salads, wings, Santa fe egg rolls are the best. They also have amazing ranch! That's very important. Lol.. Staff esp during the day is amazing!!! The owners are always helpful and going out of their way to accommodate. Great place to have a drink with some food. read more

Great service, great people. The owner is a great guy disregard Meredith L's comment, she doesn't even live in this town! Some people just don't recognize friendly owners. I actually lol'd @ her comment it was so dumb. read more

This is the very definition of a neighborhood bar and grill, but the neighborhood is all of southern Iowa. The Manager looks like a reject from Duck Dynasty, but you will never find a friendlier guy or one more concerned with your satisfaction. The bar staff is the best, they are genuinely warm and fun loving. They treat my three boys like solid gold. My sons literally beg to go for football, baseball, nascar, any excuse. The bar is clean with a great atmosphere and the food is awesome; hot tasty and plenty of it. read more

Awesome. We were told to come here by one of the line guys at the airport. I'm really glad we did. Great service. Awesome food. And cold beer. What else could you ask for. The corn nuggets were amazing. read more

great place good food I travel for a living and see all kind of places. This is a good place to eat. I went 4 times and never saw the same staff at lunch. good service good fokes read more

terrible service, we got there and were the only ones there. 15 mins later 3 other sets of couples walked in. they all got their food 20 mins before us even though we had ordered way before them. food was so/so. read more