Always the same folks serving and preparing your food. Friendly , spotless and delicious. It's more…read moreFamily than crew. 5 Star!

After being out for a hike at one of the parks nearby, I needed to find a place to replenish my…read moreenergy and took to Yelp to find a diner or something similar to get the job done. Sunrise Cafe immediately piqued my interest, and it was all I hoped for. The sign on the wall when I walked in stated "if you leave here hungry, it's your own fault" and based on my experience that's 100% true. I ordered the meat lovers skillet and the skillet was absolutely overflowing with hash brown, egg, and meaty deliciousness! If I'm in the area again, I know where I'll stop.

The town is 31 people. Figure it out. Super clean, friendly owners, bar food plus. Owner stops by…read morefor conversation, had wings and tenderloins, plus cheese curds. Wow. This is real Iowa.

The food was really good. Kick The Pig was great and giant. We loved the garlic cheese curds.read more

If you are reading this, I would guess that you are traveling across Iowa on Hwy 20, or even up…read moreI-35, and you're searching the Internet for fresh food, and this stretch of highway looks pretty bare for hometown restaurants...but, you are in luck! Just detour into Steamboat Rock (five minutes off Hwy 20), and find yourself in another world, possibly another century. Mama's Family Diner is in the downstairs lunchroom of the local schoolhouse (formerly called the Schoolhouse Diner). You'll find yourself feeling like a very lucky grade school student, where the lunch ladies serve fresh made tortillas for your Mexican fare, and Iowa favorites for the nostalgic. The day we visited, the lunch specials were either burrito, enchilada, meatloaf and mashed potatoes with dessert, or goulash with dessert. There is also a Mexican menu of soft tacos (ground beef, chicken or steak) and quesadillas, etc. There are none of the tired old bar food menu items, the American fare is limited to the specials, and the Mexican food is geared toward Iowa palates, but this may change as the restaurant gains popularity. Your food (plenty of it) is served on real restaurant china, by Mama herself. And the burrito was muy grande, as you can see from our picture. Do yourself a favor, drop off the beaten path, and, when you step out of your car onto the quiet, peaceful street, bordered by old growth trees, and walk down the sidewalk into this renovated schoolhouse, you'll remember the good times when school lunch was the best part do the school day! Three stars because the menu is very limited, but five for home town atmosphere...this is what Iowa small towns are really like, hence the four star average.

Best home cooked Mexican food ever! Every time we visit Steamboat Rock, we have to come here…read more Everything on the menu is delicious. Went here with a vegetarian friend and Mama made the best vegetarian burrito she's ever had! Definitely worth the short drive off the interstate for some authentic home cooked food.

What went well? EVERYTHING. I was a lonely dude just trying to start over. Saw a suggestion for…read moretraveling to Iowa and starting over. I got a steal on a big ass house, it was old, and a ton of work to modernize. I was determined to make the house ready for my future family. The folks at THE STANK ( what we locals call it) were very welcoming and kept me from quitting on my dreams many times. They also suggest maybe asking Jesus, and God. I did. I worshipped, I prayed. I danced. The snake thing was weird. met this cool woman that already had 6 kids, but my dream was 7. She's like, no problem. Life is good. Probably getting married. Job at the Post Office didn't work out. I'm a pet groomer now. Her kids are violent and rob stores across Iowa.

I was single in Aplington for a while. There just aren't many people here to choose from. I took a…read moreleap of faith and decided to go on a date with a guy from church. He had just moved to IA to take a job at the post office for $25/hr. That's more than most people make here! I wasn't sure about him but he took me to Stinky's bar and grill and I had a great time. Now we go once a year with our 7 kids on our anniversary. What a life!

Went here for lunch with the family, this place has a lovely charm - and was at one point a train…read moredepot. Our server was attentive, and it was quiet enough to have a pleasant conversation over lunch. Three of our table had the daily special - a ribeye sandwich with caramelized onions, lettuce, tomato, their version of sweet and saucy steak sauce. Everyone enjoyed it - and I stole a few fries which were golden crisp and perfectly seasoned. I was assured their fries are consistently delicious. I had pork shoulder with two sides, i went with hallelujah potatoes (cheesy potato casserole) and cornbread pudding. The pork was melt in your mouth tender, perfect with the sweet and sassy bbq sauce. Each plate comes with some pickle slices and pickled onions, the onions were nice - i gave my pickles away as i am not a savory pickle girl. The hallelujah potatoes were cheesy, creamy and crunchy (topping) and the cornbread pudding tasty. The lemonade was recommended to me and it was well done - tart and sweet. Overall if I had more time in town I would definitely come back.

Just some suggestions for future guests. Please ask first if guests want to be seated on patio. We…read morewere taken outside on patio, granted the plastic sheets were down, but it was a cool, rainy day. We were told the heaters would be turned on. They weren't. We asked to be moved inside and a they moved us to the loudest part, next to bathrooms and opening to patio, so still cool. Waitress had no time for us, maybe because we were asked to be moved. Idk. Food was good. If the name of your restaurant is "cornbred" you would think your meat dish would come with a piece of cornbread. Instead you have to order it as an appetizer which are muffins. How about one little muffin person placed on the table. I would also maybe include a side with your meal (maybe less meat) to accommodate for the side. Just suggestions. It is a cute place though.

If you haven't been here, you need to go. The ambiance is…read morehometown friendly with wonderful decorations to the walls. The selection of beer and cocktails is outstanding. Whether you are looking for pizza, wings, monster burgers, or something else, you can't miss. Your hosts always provide service with a smile. It's a bit like going to your friends house.

Quick update! ! Pretty busy on a Friday night! We got lucky and a group had just left so we got a…read moretable. We visited for a while before ordering our food. We had the spaghetti special - - spaghetti meatballs, bread, and a salad and a small Reuben pizza. The Reuben pizza was very good. The spaghetti meal was as well. The salad is served on the same plate as the spaghetti so it doesn't come early.

From the minute we walked in it felt like we were regulars. We sat in the dining area and it was…read morefull except for two tables. The smells from the kitchen were wonderful. We were greeted by a friendly and kind server. She was waiting on the entire room(7-8 tables). The menu was explained to us and we ordered fried pickles for an appetizer. For our main dish we both ordered the fried fish. Food was great, and service was wonderful. Homemade blue cheese dressing and tartar sauce were both excellent. Even a holiday pour for my wine! We would definitely stop here again!

Wow. Perfect spot for lunch. Our server Katie was extremely knowledgeable & very friendly. There…read morewere 3 of us. We all had Chicken Wild Rice soup ( simply amazing ) the chicken club, patty melt and 2 pc cod with coleslaw. Everything came out fast and very hot. The food was delicious. Wish we lived closer, I would go there all the time! Plus for being super clean!

I really wanted to love this place but it was a big let down…read more First, we were there on a Friday, just before what is likely a very busy time. We sat at the bar. The servers were there, obviously waiting for customers to start arriving, and they were all congregating at the end of the bar, chatting it up. It was super unprofessional and pretty annoying. We were glad when the food came out quickly so we could just eat and leave. To be honest, I don't recall what my husband ordered. I got the pork tenderloin. The tenderloin was very tough and had zero flavor. Like, I don't think they even put salt in the coating, let alone any other seasonings. This is Iowa, if you can't make anything else at all, you should at least have a decent pork tenderloin. This was our second time trying the place. Both instances were equally underwhelming. I wanted this to be our "go to" place but sadly we won't return.

Called ahead of time to watch the Iowa State game. They said they'd have it on with volume. We…read moreasked politely to have the music turned down to hear the game. They refused. I went to the bathroom and heard the dish boy/cook using foul language stating he wasn't going to accommodate the request. He was super rude and sarcastically clapping at the game to make a point. We planned to all have dinner but left to a more accommodating restaurant. Any restaurant in town would be more accommodating and respectful than this place. We'll never return or spend a dime here again.

Always a fantastic ploace to go to! The specials are somthing you alwasy should try, but you cant…read morego bad with one of their elli poppie burgers!!!

The food was good overall. Excellent burgers and I recommend avoiding the fish. The service,…read morehowever, was not good. Our server took a long time to come over and wad inattentive overall. We were at the restaurant at 5:15 and left at 6:45. I think part of the problem is that many in town have figured out the online orders are prioritized over people actual at the restaurant.

A friendly dive bar. Cheap drinks and no attitude from staff or customers. Great music on the…read morejukebox. What's not to like ?

On the square in Newton...nice place for everyone. Friendly local place. Drink snacks beer rock…read moreand roll and country...630pm on a monday