Had lunch on New Years Eve. Not busy at all. Both of us ordered the specialty, tenderloin sandwiches with an order of fries. Our tenderloins came wrapped in wax paper, laid on the table in front of us. Period. No plate, basket, or cardboard carton, no silverware to cut it. My husband got up and went to find the server to get silverware so I could cut my tenderloin in half (his was cut in half in the kitchen). I had grilled, nonbreaded tenderloin. The meat was good, but the sandwich had so much "sauce" on it that the bread was soggy. (Also soggy due to having been wrapped up in a piece of wax paper.). The fries came in a basket and were ok. I was very disappointed! Come on, not even served in a basket??? We weren't at the county fair or the ball park. Will not eat here again. read more

I want to start off by saying hands down the best bar burger in town. Not even a question for me, and I get burgers pretty much everywhere. That being said, not the cheapest place to eat. The burgers don't come with fries or anything so the price may initially seem cheap but it ends up being pretty average. The fries are nothing to brag about either. Probably the most limited draw selection I've encountered. Only 3 on tap. You can't go wrong with a bud light, but I'd like some more options. Pretty typical bar environment but their dining room is actually quite spacious. All in all, the burgers will keep me coming back, but that's about it. read more

Starlite Room - Amazing - American Near Me - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

A small group of us reserved the the back room so we weren't close to others as one is going through chemo and we had a few other cancer survivors in our group. Good food and service. Even though it was pretty busy in there for the lunch crowd, our waitress was happy to take time and take a few pictures of all of us. read more

The service is fast and friendly. We just love Sue. The food is good. I highly recommend the buffalo chicken wrap. It's become a regular stop for us.Oh and the pickles are really big. read more

Famous for burgers and tenderloins, this Cedar Rapids institution never disappoints. Great service, ultra-clean newly remodeled restrooms, and the atmosphere of a classic mid-century bar. Another plus is they leave the door to the kitchen open so you can see the food prep. Unlike some CR pubs, they have nothing to hide. read more

There burgers are AMAZING! Just randomly decided to stop by because I've never been. I LOVE it the people are so friendly! Luke was our waiter and HE IS AWESOME. Keep up the great work read more

Not the greatest, but not that bad. I would give it another try. I think that part of my experience was lessened because I didn't know to order their burgers, which are obviously the main attraction. Also, everyone else in the place was offered popcorn besides me and my husband, which made us feel kind of weird. I got a bowl of chili, and my husband got a tenderloin sandwich. We also ordered a few appetizers while we waited. However, there are no "appetizers" in this place, they will come out with your main order of food. As far as food, it was typical bar food. The chili was okay, but I did not eat most of it. I found myself eating appetizers mainly, which were also sort of mediocre. My husband, however, really enjoyed his tenderloin, and it was his first time trying one. Service was okay. I think they were sort of swamped with some larger parties, so I can't really blame them for neglecting our table of two. I would return, and hopefully pick something that tastes better, and maybe go on a less crowded day. read more

The Starlite Room: I knew there was a special place I was forgetting to review on Yelp. I have a long history with this place since my friends have liked it for some reason since high school days. Ever since the trademark "Superburger" was surpassed by offerings from chain joints long ago (the "Whopper," the "Six-Dollar-Burger," the "Classic Triple," etc.) it seems the Starlite Room has little else to offer. If you've come hungry but don't want a burger or tenderloin, you're going to be stuck with a basket of fries. Some argue over whether to call the Starlite Room a restaurant, pub, lounge, or dive bar. I call it dirty. There are Megatouch screens distracting you when you sit at the bar, and ESPN on a projection TV that seems to outsize the whole dining area. The menu is pretty limited; however, it does feature advertisements for local car dealerships. read more

Even though it's a little too dive-y, this is a cheap place with quality food. I love grilled cheese and since I don't enjoy tomato or anything else on the sandwich, I refuse to pay upwards of $7 for one. At Starlite, however, it is $3 & delicious. The bottled beer selection is also fairly impressive considering the surroundings. Watch out for the creepy old lady in the corner, especially due to the mirrors. read more

Once every year or so, I venture out to Cedar Rapids to visit extended family. I don't know who it is in my family who is into this place, but I've been to Starlite with them a few times. It's pretty decent. Dive bar! Arcade games! Cheap, greasy food! Don't expect much more or less. The breaded mushrooms were a little too breaded the last time I went. You can ask for the pork tenderloin sandwich to be split in half, 'cause it is gigantic and can easily feed two people, especially if you're also getting a side. I was very impressed with the people-watching opportunities the last time I was at this place. read more

I ate here the other night before a concert at US cellular Center and it was extremely busy but the service was great! The burgers are always good here and I really love the cheese nuggets! The atmosphere is great there's free popcorn! And the staff is very friendly! Definitely a keeper! read more

starlight ? I know a lot of people from this area. I've been here a few times with friends. The food is typical dive bar greasy fried everything. The burgers that so many rave about are the grossest burgers you'll ever eat. if you're drunk and smoking cigarettes, you' eat anything- I think that's he only way anyone can stomach these things. the best way to eat them is to put ketchup, mustard and a pickle on top, then toss it in the trash. the taste is something like rotten meat, mixed with liver and cooked on a filthy grill. these make white castle (also nasty) taste like the best burger on the planet. beer is pretty cheap. family oriented; any single women in here will be pretty rough. read more

Great bar food and AWESOME burgers. Very casual and a great place to watch games. Can hold groups of 10 or less.

The bf, young one and I ventured to Starlite Room recently to give them a try. They had something for all of us on the menu, big ol' Superburger for the bf which he said was really good. I had the tuna salad sandwich, which was the perfect size (and price!) since I wasn't too terribly hungry. Young one had her stand-by chicken tenders with ranch. We all got sodas, by 2 of them came in 20oz bottles and 1 came as a regular fountain pop. Sort of confusing as to why this would be, but I sort of like the portion control :) The place is divey and has one of those crazy "fortune telling machines", but everyone working there was very friendly and it was clean. No complaints here! There were a number of larger groups there and they seem to have the space to accomodate bigger parties. read more

Outdoor seating is perfect tonight, nice and quite outside and the weather is perfect! Service is up to par tonight! Then I got up to go wash my hands about 5 feet before I got to the door I could smell this nasty scent it was bad, smelled like 12 people pee'd on the floor and had never been cleaned up, bathroom looked clean but stank! On a brighter note the cheese balls were good and along with the fries, as for the super buger (1/2 pound) the meat is different and it might be better then what the used to use! But I wouldn't call it a super burger? $19 for two burger cheese ball fries a water and an ice tea not to bad. Tonight was a great night to go in prolly one of the best experiences I've had here. Oh and Ness and I had been working on the front yard and we were sweaty dirty and nasty (removing river rock) and we didn't feel like we were going to be judge badly by anyone there. After dinner if you want desert you can walk right over to the Diary Queen and get something good! Which we did! read more

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Best burger in town without a doubt. Awesome appetizers and great service, this place never disappoints!

After two visits here over a three day period, I can't say I'm too impressed with this place. The service was extremely slow both times even though the restaurant was more than half-empty, The beer was cheap which was a plus, but the food was sub-par and just not fresh at all. I had the pork tenderloin sandwich and the bun was stale and looked as if someone had flattened it by squeezing it between their palms. I ate half of my sandwich and then lost my appetite so I didn't even touch the rest of it. They're open late even on Sundays, so at least you can count on this place to be open if you're hungry and want to grab drinks late at night. Just don't come too hungry because you'll probably have to wait a while for your food! read more

A neighborhood landmark. Just a plain old bar/burger joint. You can't expect anything fancy, but you can expect good sandwiches, hot fries, and fast, no-nonsense (but friendly!) service. We just recently moved to the area, and we'll be walking down here often for a good meal at an excellent price. Update: since last I wrote, I turned vegan. BUT this place has a house salad that is mighty tasty for just a bunch of veggies in a bowl. Very fresh and not from a bag. And the fries are still great. :) read more

We love to walk up to Starlite for a beer and a burger. Casual and laid back, everyone is friendly - it feels like a true midwestern joint. The food may not be anything crazy and out of the ordinary but it always tastes good and they're the only burgers I get a hankering for that cannot be satisfied by anything else. read more

The Starlite Room is a great bar/ restaurant with a very casual atmosphere. Tonight on 12/22/2016 we dined in. Greeted by a gentleman who offered us popcorn. It had no salt or butter on it. Very weird. Waitress #1 came by and was very nice. We ordered crab rangoons and cheese balls. Came out quickly. Very yummy! Waitress #2 took my friend's order. Another friend joined us. Waitress #3 took her drink order. Food came quickly. This restaurant does not believe in plates. They give you your sandwich wrapped. You eat off the wrapping with no utensils. Odd. Very odd. I had cottage cheese and served with a plastic fork. Waitress #4 gave us our checks. Not a fan of 4 waitresses. Love the tenderloin I had. As we were leaving Zoltar gave me a reading. I love the Zoltar machine. read more

starlite room is open very late and is one of the only places in cedar rapids that is open very late so i came here often because i was at my job until 9 pm every single day. luckily i loved it. i especially love the fried pickles. these are the best fried pickles i've ever had and they come with ranch dressing but i don't like ranch dressing. luckily you don't need to dip them into the ranch. they also have a very good burger and trivia on the back of their menu which is a fun bonus. the best discovery i had is that you can order kraft mac and cheese off the kids menu even if you are 23 years old. speaking of 23 years old i ate dinner here with my friend liam on my 23rd birthday before going to see the movie Little Women. just thought i'd add a personal touch to this review to humanize it a bit. read more

Our home away from home! Old time atmosphere and great prices. The waitresses are some of the best in town. I love there food. My opinion they have the best burger in town, juicy and very flavorful. The jumbo chilli dog is more than a meal! Great bar with great bar food! Prices are great. My wife and I will order the burgers share a side (sides are large) and drinks and we have never paid more than 25$ for our bill! Old establishment that I hope will be around for many years to come! read more

The absolute best burgers in town. I absolutely love the super cheeseburger. I also love that they give you free popcorn. The atmosphere is sort of an antique feel to it. Several large TVs to watch sports on and a bar in the other room as well as a pool table. read more

Starlite Room - Mini Tacos appetizer - American Near Me - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

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Huge half pond burgers that are cooked to order. The beef dip sandwich looks small but is chock full of beef that is not dry with minimal salt au jus.The north facing patio has plenty of ceiling fans to keep you cool when it's blistering hot outside. This place has the friendliest servers we have met since we left LA. A great burger plus restaurant! read more

Huge place to eat. Down home, friendly. Good great had super cheeseburger and broccoli cheddar bites. Both awesome. TV's. Bar not noisy.

First off, the service is okay given they probably don't train very well. We were served quickly, but it wasn't our meal...it was someone else's. No worries! After we discovered it by unwrapping them, the waitress simply delivered it to the proper table. Nice. Wonder if they knew I man-handled it and my lunch-mate put extra ketchup on his. Best burger my rear end. Tasted like they hadn't cleaned the grill in years...could actually taste the old grease-trap flavor. Kept tasting it again and again after I left and for the rest of the day. No way the burger is 1/2 pound and it's a sorry lure to say it is. First, it was obviously from a frozen patty. Nobody forms a "handmade" patty exactly the same and from cooking frozen patties in a pinch myself, I know how they look when cooked. Tough and bubbled in the middle. Second, while it was nice to have the bun steamed slightly, it should be toasted so the condiments don't make the bun soggy. The lettuce was crisp, but why I paid almost 6 dollars for a burger that I'm sure isn't as good as your average Hardee's burger up the street is beyond me. Don't believe the hype. Some people feel it necessary to promote "local" and "institutional" places like this out of habit or guilt. I prefer places that actually have good food. read more

We had a party of six for lunch on a weekday. The atmosphere was pretty good - what you'd expect from a local burger bar. I ordered the BLT and it was very small and made from grocery store bread - not impressive since I can make the same thing at home (but better) for less than a dollar. The fries were extra but they were good. The total price, with a soft drink, was about $10. The burgers that other people in the party got looked much, much better than my kids-menu style BLT. The service was meh - personable but not particularly attentive - and you have to pay at the register. Definitely no need to hurry back. read more

The Starlite is my favorite cr spot. It used to be great stopping in to see my favorite bartender; lately, though, I'm not allowed to buy the bartenders shots and it takes away the fun and interaction that used to be at Starlite. #makestarlitegreatagain read more

We were in on 1/30/2017..I don't even wanna give them a 1 star. Our waitress got us our drinks but didn't return. We got up and left out of frustration. As we were leaving she told us to have a good night, not realizing we are her customers she never helped. Absolutely terrible service from this woman. Didn't catch her name, but She had long black hair.. read more

I drive by Starlite room a lot, because I'd rather drive on C than on 1st, and the turn onto 33rd is a lot faster than 32nd. Each and every time I pass by, I look at each of the signs boasting "the corridor's best burger," and I wonder if the burger is truly that good, or if they just need a hook to lure people in. I finally had a chance to stop in and try the super burger. While I can't speak to the entire corridor, I can say that the super burger warrants inclusion in any discussion about the best burger in Cedar Rapids. I think that the biggest determinant of whether a person will consider it the best burger in town is whether people like standard toppings, or exotic toppings. If you like standard toppings, I think you're going to have a very tough time finding a better burger than this. As someone who makes burgers a fair amount at home, I think the most important decision is the fat percentage, relative to the cooking surface. I find that 75/25 is ideal for a backyard grill. I'm not sure what ratio is best for a restaurant flattop. Starlite room seems to have it figured out, however, as the burger was perfectly juicy, without being greasy. The burger was also cooked evenly throughout, without being overcooked on the outside. That's not easy to do with a burger as thick as this one. I didn't read any description of the burger on the menu, if there even was one, but it tasted to me like it was an all beef burger, as opposed to being a blend with some amount of pork in the mix. The only part of the burger that wasn't better than expected was the pepper jack cheese. I'm not sure whether I was mistakenly given the wrong kind of cheese, but I didn't pick up on any level of spice being added by the cheese. I was pleased with the fries, as well. I don't remember them as well as I remember the burger. So, I can't really provide a lot of detail. I do remember liking them, though. I would definitely come back here for another super burger, and would recommend Starlite Room to anyone else who likes burgers and has a decent appetite. read more

A CR staple since...?? The place has been at this location for as long as I can remember, right off 1st Ave 'uptown'. They advertise their burgers, chili and pork tenderloin on a big scrolling sign out front. They apparently also have a large room for bigger parties available in the back somewhere. As for the place itself, when you walk in you face the bar directly, a sort of U-shaped thing with wood paneling from 1970 and a worn top. Only 3 beers on tap :{ and one was out each time I've visited. When I've ordered soft drinks it's been served from a can or bottle, the waitress claimed they were 'out of syrup' but I've been there several times over 2 years and it's always been out...this screams poor management or outright cheapness on the owners part (even though it costs a lot more to purchase 20oz bottles and cans). The beer itself was cheap but don't bother asking for anything but domestics - even the bottle selection reflected an outdated mindset of 'what customers want'. The booze selection is also pretty slim, and without proper mixers a rum/jack n coke isn't even possible. One star for the 'bar' portion. As for food, the burgers are in fact well-seasoned and tasty, but nothing worth going out of your way for. Hard to say if they're handmade or not, the buns are typical sysco-style straight buns (nothing fancy). The breaded pork tenderloin was large but arrived dry and overcooked, a shame since Iowa grows more pork than anywhere else in the country and if it;s local it's being mutilated. As for the fries, they're mushy and bland. Once I stopped in to massage a hangover and, enticed by the promise of the 'best chili in cedar rapids' from the sign out front, decided I'd order some chili fries. Initially the server said 'we don't have chili fries' and seemed perplexed about how I might get some. So I ordered a bowl of chili and a side order of fries (lol) and had to send the fries back because they were undercooked. It wouldn't seem like such a hard thing to do but I guess frozen, unseasoned plain fries from Sysco are difficult to cook properly. Most of the time my service has been acceptable, if a bit slow, but on two occasions I had to go to the bar to get another drink because my server was nowhere to be found. The girls are pretty but they vary in ability to serve. Summary: if you're not too picky, and don't mind feeling like you've stepping into a 1970's era basement den, the food is priced about right for what you get. Probably good for families and larger groups if you aren't in a hurry. read more

Giving one star not on the food but on the service. The food was excellent. The waitresses were too busy fighting amongst each other to serve us or anyone. While checking out they were yelling at each other and it was extremely uncomfortable. I have two brothers and have never spoke to them the way they were yelling at each other. read more

Your classic neighborhood tavern. Not sure what the Starlite in the name refers to, but chances are your imagination is going to be more glamorous than the reality! On the plus side, they have tasty burgers - the thin, greasy kind you can only find in bars. There's also a back room you can reserve for parties. read more

Decent food and an average price. Other bars/restraunts have changed over the years and adapted.... except the StarLite. I dont mind going there once a month or so to remind me why I dont go there more often. The food is pretty good. Its just everything else thats below average. Service is spotty. Furnature is old. Lighting is irregular (dim in one booth, spotlight level in another.) If you were in CR 15 years ago and liked the StarLite, I assure you, you can come back and get the exact same thing. read more

Best dive bar joint around! Friendly servers and greasy food! What more do you need?

Not quite the same quality as the previous owner but gas footed better as the time goes on. The popcorn is great as well as the usual, starlight burgers and tenderloins read more

If you have a hankering for a good greasy burger, this is the place. Hands down the cheese burger steals the show but, the tenderloin is a close second place. My kids also like to go here due to the free bowls of popcorn. My suggestion is to split the fries - a small will easily feed two and the large will do for four. read more

Food was good, everyone loved their burgers and I really enjoy the french dip. Only real negative is that when you order a burger or sandwich, it doesn't come with french fries or anything so that has to be ordered separately. Food took a little long to get to table but all together wasn't a bad experience, just wasn't the best either. read more

GREAT burgers. Sassy waitresses. Generous pours. Clean bar. Open till 2am. What more could you ask for in a dive? Get in here and order the super cheeseburger, jalapeño cream cheese poppers, breaded mushrooms and fries already! read more

When I moved here 5 years ago, I noticed a lack of good hamburger places in CR. I asked many people what the best burger place in town was. Most common answer was The Starlight Room. I have been there several times and it was ok, but just ok. If this was the best CR had to offer, I was not impressed. Judging from many people here, it seems The Starlight Room is living on past reputation only. Places like Hamburger Marys, and even the chains like Red Robin, do a much better burger. read more