Frontier Cafe

Between Iowa City and Des Moines leave I80 and drive into Grinell and dine at the Prarie Canary…read more Worth the 5 minutes. Vietnamese spring rolls made by Matayas (the owner? and our waiter) mother were delicious. Our simple fare was perfect after a long drive but there were more complete meals on the menu. Sunday with a homemade blondie and a flourish wrapped things up!

A delightful lunch stop in Grinnell. It's a casual place, the service is friendly, and the food's…read moregreat. Burgers are excellent, salads are delicious, the fries are perfect, and the flourless chocolate cake is memorable. Would definitely return

Speakeasy

Chicken DeBurgo with glazed carrots

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Five Spice Salmon over Sweet Pepper Risotto

Hometown Heroes

3.9(27 reviews)

0.1 mi

As we traveled to the Chicago area we stopped along the way. Hometown Hero's in Grinnell, Iowa is a…read morefun sports bar with good food! I had a very good burger and my girlfriend had the spicy chicken sandwich. I think this would be a great place to watch a game

Excellent food and service at reasonable price. First visit yesterday 2/23/26 and I will be back…read moreand highly recommend. Tenderloin was absolutely deliciously amazing!! The aioli is out of this world. Also tried the Hawkeye burger and wow, just as delicious!! Love the bar theme!! Can't wait to return!!

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West Side Family Restaurant

3.9(47 reviews)

0.7 mi

First visit did not disappoint! Great service, good food, ribs were excellent . Waitress said my…read moreLong Island Ice tea was her first time making and she nailed it!! Highly recommend! We will be back! Keep doing what you're doing!!

Worst service I have ever experienced in my life. Totally ignored the whole time…read moreOrdered side salad. It arrived AFTER we finished the meal. Instead of apologizing and removing the salad from the bill, the Waitress wanted to put it in A "to go box". No refills on the drinks! None. One person ordered the petite prime rib and 2 ordered the king size. Yep! All 3 were the same small size! Over cooked and dry. Vegetables were soggy and over cooked. I swear this was an absolute train wreck of a restaurant every way possible

Sitting area

Burnt ends with baked potato

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The setting area

Montgomery's Sandwich Shop

3.3(14 reviews)

0.2 mi

Good food. Good service. Fun diner on a Saturday for lunch. We stopped there on our way through…read moreGrinnell. Guys had the loose meat sandwiches & said though tasty, not as good as Maid Rites. My tenderloin was good. Friend had small order of nachos & said they were fine. The loose meat is just like the sandwich meat. You add your own salsa. Fries were hot & crispy & onion rings were good as well. Good place for a quick lunch--reasonable prices.

Very friendly staff that greet you, Quality food at very affordable prices, same delicious classic…read moreIowa loose meat sandwich they've been serving since the 30's. Quiet small family dinner setting.

Montgomery Loose Meat Sandwich

New Seats!

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Dari Barn

4.7(32 reviews)

0.9 mi

I've heard multiple people tell me about the Dari Barn and how legendary it is. So while in town, I…read moremade a stop to check it out. Reports are accurate, this place rocks. Delicious ice cream and chicken nuggets. I loved it! Glad we made it before they close for the season.

This place got me through college, and if you're a struggling Grinnellian, it will get you through…read moretoo. I was always a huge fan of the daily froyo flavors and some of the hot foods (do try the cheese curds!). Portion sizes are gigantic, which I cannot complain about.

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Sad helpless barn animals

McDonald's

1.7(29 reviews)

0.2 mi

Your typical McDonald's that is all there is to it. They are a bit skimpy on their ice cream…read moreoptions though. I have been disappointed to find my McFlurries and my sundaes only three-quarters way full. They keep it pretty clean and the service is much friendlier than your average McDs.

Terrible Service I have never been disrespected More in a McDonald's waiting 30 minutes for a Mc…read morehappy meal, my Mc frappe was also terrible terrible service terrible people terrible job.

Casa Margaritas

2.9(46 reviews)

1.5 mi

I think I'm going to have to drop a star, unfortunately. The past couple dining experiences at La…read moreCasa Margaritas has emphasized the spotty level of service. The most recent time, we stood for about five minutes before being seated. When we were seated, it took about 15 minutes for the waiter to come over to ask us what we wanted to eat. In the interim, a 10 year old boy that was dining with his family came over to our table and got us our drinks and chips + salsa. It was an extremely weird experience. After eating, we had to grab our own boxes and we never received our check, so we had to go up to the counter and tell the cashier which table we were sitting at so she could pull up our bill. This boxing and paying experience has happened a couple times so far. Basically, the food is still pretty good but on the expensive side. I'd still recommend going, but the service has proven to be extremely hit-or miss, mostly leaning towards the missing tendency. It is unfortunate because La Casa Margaritas has great food, but interacting with the staff can be troublesome.

The atmosphere was good. The service started out poor. They seem to ignore us at first. My…read moreboyfriend said his food was terrible. Mine was good.

Burrito bowl

El trío

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Strawberry banana pancake

Los Girasoles

4.1(26 reviews)

0.7 mi

Food was hot and fresh. Great refried beans and drinks. Chip and dips were refilled without request.read more

I ordered take out for pick up, and I was puking and pooping my guts out all day the next day. Do…read morenot recommend.

Sunflower art

Tamales

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Beautiful dinning area

Casey's

5.0(1 review)

0.8 mi

Stop by to get a soda pizza or a doughnut the place makes amazing things and hopes the amazing…read moreCasey's will survive ( for more good reports follow me on tic Tom ;)

Casey's

3.8(4 reviews)

0.5 mi

This is not the Casey's closest to us, but we order pizza from here and drive to this one because…read morethey cook them right! The staff have always been very pleasant and helpful too. Whether fueling up in the morning or getting a family meal, this is probably our favorite Casey's.

This Casey's delivers, which is nice because there aren't many places that do in Grinnell... There…read moreis an automatic $2.oo delivery fee added to the price of your pizza, sub, or whatever you want delivered - so you don't have to feel bad about tipping the deliver'er cuz it's already added in the total! The food is much better than you'd expect from a gas station! I love their pizza, & my wife loves their subs! Price is competitive as well. Great place to get dinner, especially for a movie/game night!

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Jj Z.

11 years ago

Easily the cheapest food in Grinnell and if you're on a tight budget, then this is the place for you. When my wife and I went, she had chicken and I had ham and they were both bland and both tasted the same - EXACTLY the same. So remember - you get what you pay for. read more

Clare T.

7 years ago

Food and service is great all day everyday! Most businesses service tends to decline and vary from day to day but with this place I always know that I am going to get amazing service. The food is always good as well. read more

Micah Kelly N.

9 years ago

Great food and very fast! If I'm ever in town again, I will go out of my way to eat here.

Carl B.

5 years ago

Food was Okay, except they have Cockroaches walking on the table while eating.

Hilda O.

297

5 years ago

Loved the food, atmosphere and service

Vidush G.

8 years ago

Amazing diner food. Great ambience

Frontier Cafe - tradamerican - Updated November 2026

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Valerie’s Fine Dining

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I went with 3 longtime friends and had a wonderful experience. The food was absolutely delicious! I…read moreasked for rare prime rib and it was actually rare. My friends had the ribeye and salmon and both were cooked perfectly. The flower pot bread is fun and tasty. The salad dressing, I think was onion vinaigrette, will be my choice going forward! The service is excellent. The only downside is we did not have enough room for dessert because they sounded amazing. We will be back to try more of the menu (perhaps start with dessert :) ).

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El Cascabel

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