When traveling, I always visit local, independent restaurants. The Map Room is a gem!…read more A wide variety of burgers, with house made vegan options. Indoor and outdoor seating. Great decor and comfortable booths. Fantastic service! Attentive without hovering. 10/10

Went here for lunch and it's a nice little cozy local restaurant. Lots of booths and a dim lit bar…read more Their variety of burgers is what makes this place special. There's flavor combinations I wouldn't have thought of trying. The actual burger was good but not great. For a burger joint that charges a premium price, I expect a juicy burger. The meat quality had a few bits of gristle and it wasn't super juicy. It was a bit dry and cooked well done. The fries you could tell were just frozen fries. There's really only street parking or a public parking lot on the same street. However, the restaurant validate parking for the first hour, which is nice. Overall, this place was good but not great. However, the service was great! Friendly staff and it took maybe less than 10 minutes for the food to be ready

I visited The District CR in downtown Cedar Rapids during a recent business trip and had an overall…read moreenjoyable experience. First impressions were a bit confusing--the entrance makes you feel like you're walking into an office building. There's a door to the right with signage for what seems to be a sister bar that's only open on limited nights, but the actual restaurant is straight back. Once inside, the space is large and open, with plenty of room between tables and a sizable bar area. I sat at the bar and learned about their Whiskey Wednesday specials, which included several types of Old Fashioneds and whiskey flights. While it sounded intriguing, I opted not to partake. They also offer daily drink special themes. The menu is eclectic, with a mix of Cajun, Italian, and American fare. I went with the Cacio e Pepe with Elephant Ear (Orcchiette) pasta, and added shrimp along with a half wedge salad as a premium side. The pasta itself was delicious--perfectly cooked with a rich, peppery flavor. However, I wish the server had mentioned that the shrimp was Cajun-seasoned. While great on its own, it slightly overpowered the pasta. The wedge salad was a bit of a letdown--the lettuce was watery, which diluted the overall flavor. The dish also came with garlic bread, which was yummy. Service was outstanding--attentive, friendly, and efficient. Unfortunately, it was hard to get a real read on the restaurant's vibe because it was pretty empty on a Wednesday night.

A nice place with plenty of mood lighting, dark-stained wood and up/downstairs seating. Our…read morewaitress was friendly and efficient. My friends ordered, wine and draft beer, I ordered a fountain root beer (I would've rather had an IBC, Mill Creek or Jones). We had NOLA Hot Honey Taters for an appetizer. Honey drizzled over the top of fried sweet potato squares with a spicy dipping sauce. They were okay but I prefer my cooked/fried veggies to not have a vegetable "snap" to them, these didn't quite have that snap but they were too firm for my preference. The flavor was good though. Two of my friends had Zopa Toscana. Which was Italian vegetable soup, which reminded them of wedding soup a little bit. Rustic cut veggies but the potatoes were cut too large and weren't fully cooked compared to the other vegetables. Both of my friends picked the larger potatoes out and ate the rest. Again the flavor was good, temperature was not, it was just north of warm. Portion sizes were good and the flavor was good. As is a theme with almost all our food was the temperature was not hot. The food tasted fresh but it just wasn't hot enough temp-wise. One of us had Double Down Sausage Bowl which he thoroughly enjoyed. Another had the Muffuletta - New Orleans Classic w/ a twist with double meat, he enjoyed it and it was good. Another had the Shug's Creole Salad which she liked. I had the Cacio e Pepe and I added chicken, given the creole lean to the menu I expected blackened chicken but it was only grilled chicken. The garlic bread was good but my side of cheesy grits was more formed than I expected. The flavor was good but there was no gooey factor that you'd expect with cheesy grits. They came out still formed of the scoop they used to plate them, so not even as moist as regular grits. Overall a positive experience. The flavor of the food was good but the temperature of the food was not. I will return and give them another shot as the flavor was good enough to try them again.

We were in Cedar Rapids for a concert at the Paramount Theater and discovered this treasure…read more Though I didn't snap many pics photos, the interior was classy, yet casual. Our dinner was wonderful and two weeks later my husband still raved about the fried chicken sandwich! Service was good, considering how busy they were but we had a little frustration taking care of our tab when we mentioned we were headed to a show and needed to be headed there,

After many visits tried the Captain crunch fish appetizer. Incredibly good…read more The Witches Slap brew was also amazing! One of the best burgers in town. Wish they had some more burger variations. Sweet potato fries were the best Ive tried anywhere!

Apparently this is a coffee bar in the day and a martini bar at night, I have not been here during…read morethe day. My friends and I came in for a drink to end our evening and found this place to be a little quirky but very homey. We sat in the area with the couch, loveseat and chairs. There is other seating available with high stools and tables. We had three people check in us during our visit so we were well cared for. We didn't order food as we had already eaten. It's drink menu has about 50 martinis listed. This place has a laidback feel to it, very enjoyable. The martinis come out just slow enough to notice but not overly slow. Enjoyed our experience, we will return.

Fantastic food, drinks, and service! Incredible experience…read more Would highly recommend the blueberry lemon or scotheroo martinis, you will not be disappointed.

I was back at The Hip-Stir last night to celebrate a family event. We made a reservation for 6 and…read moresat at a table near the front. The vibe of Hip-Stir ha always been cool and kinda niche and this was no exception. If you don't know that they changed up their menu.. they did. It's not bad by any means, but I am pretty heartbroken about them removing the Spinach Artichoke dip. It was the best around and I'll be overjoyed when it returns. The new menu still features ramen, sandwiches and other yummy dishes. I ordered a side of Mac and cheese with my entree and the food was out in about 20 minutes which is great! Unfortunately my Mac and cheese was forgotten- our server apologized and went to "get that started", no worries. The next time our server was at our table I inquired about it again since it had been about 10 minutes, but she had forgotten yet again. She rushed back to "get it started", ok. At this point everyone was getting full and I didn't even want it anymore, but she returned a few minutes later with it. A little frustrating. The ramen has changed, unfortunately. My sister ordered the spicy pork (which has historically been amazing) and didn't even finish it, which is pretty weird for her lol. I tasted nothing but soy sauce and spice. I'm not sure where the aromatics went, but they need to bring them back asap. Don't order the carrot cake. It was served over coffee (yes, hot coffee) which ruined it. The cake was overly soggy and tasted of nothing but the coffee flavor. I'm sure it would have been great without it, the frosting looked great. I'll probably be back and love supporting the Fun not Fancy group in CR, but last night was a miss.

This is the second NYE we have spent at The Hip Stir. The service is great, ambiance is great and…read morethe food is unique a d great as well. We had a party of 10 and we all ordered different things. My husband and I got the cheese curds. The honey Lemon aioli was a legit surprise and was SO good. My husband got salmon and loved the vinegrette salad dressing. I got the chicken marsala gnocchi. It was rich and salty and delicious. I've never had anything quite like it. I also enjoyed being able to enjoy the Tinsel pop up decorations as well.

Great food and great service. The best wings in Cedar…read moreRapids. They have great moisture and are a perfect level of crispy. Always a great experience to eat here. Only complaint is to make those Aperol Spritz a little more Aperol!

I chose this restaurant to dine at with my family on the way back from a vacation, and I'm happy…read morethat I did! The chicken sandwich I had was, and I seldom use this word, 'LITERALLY', the BEST CHICKEN SANDWICH I HAVE EVER HAD. The breading was flavorful and the recipe was superb. There was home made Cole slaw on one side, and fresh cucumber cubes on the other side of the sandwich. I cannot stress how amazing this sandwich was! It has ruined all other chicken sandwiches for me, quite possibly forever. The French fries were also home made, and were curled in such a way I've never seen. These were not spiral cut. I cannot even describe them, other than to say they were prepared to perfection. Others had burgers and enjoyed them. Service from the male server was friendly and attentive. You couldn't ask for more--he was great! If you're in the neighborhood of this local Cedar Rapids favorite, take the opportunity to sample some out-of-this-world food!

A great place for drinks, bartender and the people are very welcoming. We just moved to Iowa a…read morecouple months and are trying different places for cocktails and drinks. I'm really liked how friendly everyone is at this bar. I definitely think we will be back!!

A small dive with an interesting cast of characters. A friendly group from the bartenders to the…read morelocals who all know each other, but are happy to show you silly youtube videos or chat with you. The jukebox has just about any favorites your could ask for, and the pinball, pool tables, and shuffleboard in the back allow for a little room to unwind without sitting by the bar. Nothing flashy, but just a place to get a good drink with the people from the surrounding neighborhoods.

Had a wonderful lunch there today. Loved the pear and Gouda grilled cheese and house salad with…read morehoney pear vinaigrette dressing!

Mind blowing experience! Food was epic! Service was first class! Can't say enough great things…read moreabout this place! You should experience it yourself... Thank you for the masterpiece in food explosion