I love this place in the snow or rain. It is really romantic and warm. I've been going since high school decades ago. Service has had its good streaks and bad streaks, but I've never had a bad meal. It is a local institution. For meaningful events, it was always either here or broom factory. Since broom factory is gone, this is it. The only thing keeping me from 5 stars is sometimes over the past when service wasn't as good as it could be, but that's borderline unfair on my part, and the vast majority of the time service has been outstanding. read more

Stopped in one random Sunday night with the wife. We had lived in the cedar valley for 3 years and finally had landed at one of the staples of Waterloo dining. Terrible food. Way too much butter and little to know protein in either of our dishes. My rating was generous saved only by the great service. read more

My family frequents this establishment, so I have had many experiences with it. I always leave feeling completely miserable because everything is so buttery and heavy. They don't have many healthy food options. Even the fish is drowning in butter. The salad is probably the best thing on the menu. The dessert is nothing to write home about. I can make a better version of most menu items at home without paying an arm and a leg for it. We eat at the Brown Bottle several times a year because family members choose to go there for special occasions. I never go there by choice. There are better, less mediocre options in the Cedar Valley. read more

Friendly employees, intimate atmosphere, and reasonable pricing make this a great place for any event. The food is fantastic and comes in large portions. The buildings not the best but is easily overlooked at first bite. If you're staying downtown it's by far your best choice with in walking distance. read more

I got a chance to eat there a little before the grand opening on April 9th. Since the remodeling, everything seems better and classier then it once was. The service was still awesome, but the decor has become better. It looks like the lobby may need some more work, but I heard the was being done by the building owner and not the restaurant managers. Things change, possibly for the better. The food was and always will be excellent, and the service draws you in. I like going there do to a welcoming crowd that makes you feel like family. read more

The worst meal I've eaten in the area! I ordered the greek shrimp and my date the prime rib. The shrimp was dry, over cooked, tasteless, and had an offputting bad fish smell. The bed of pasta was undercooked and bland. The prime rib was so over cooked and dry a gallon of aus jus wouldn't have done any good. The waitress was not personable and when I ordered an IPA she specifically checked with me if it was in my price range....? Its a beautiful restaurant I expected edible food and experienced service. I guess not. read more

I worked here for some years and the preparation and quality of entrees as well as appetizers hasn't changed coupled with a wonderful atmosphere and inviting service......I suggest the sauteed mushrooms, and of course the lasagna. read more

Excellent food and value for the money. Service is always top-notch. Love the value of the early dine menu. We always have leftovers to take home. Homemade salad dressings are the best in town, as is the cheesecake and cobbler. My favorite restaurant, by far! read more

This place has incredible food and an interesting location. The person that put up a negative review is crazy or hasn't been there. The owner and his family can't go wrong in the dining world. read more

After reading the Yelp reviews, I had higher expectations than my experience. Not going to trash the place, but the food was average at best and the atmosphere is easily 15 year past due. It's clean, the service was good and the menu diversity was good. Go a few doors down to Galleria De Paco for a much better dining experience in a unique atmosphere. read more

I've eaten at other Brown Bottle locations - and enjoyed the food much more there. After those experiences -- I thought this location would be just as good.... but my meal was actually very bland, and slow service that rarely checked back. I've certainly had worse meals -- but I wouldn't go back to this location (unless someone else is buying!). read more

Super impressed with the remodel--done without losing its uniquely warm and welcoming ambiance. Beautiful atmosphere, experienced wait staff, excellent well presented and prepared dishes. My personal favorite is the salmon veneto...with twice baked potatoes that you can't find anywhere. When so bring guests out to dinner this is our first choice. read more

Ate at the Brown Bottle with my fiancé on New Years Eve. The staff was wonderful and the food was amazing. We both got the Chicken parmesan with the twice baked potato. The meal came with a salad and garlic bread. We have never had a meal that has tasted as good as this did. We topped the meal off with a couple cosmos and a glass of wine. I highly recommend this place for couples who want to experience a romantic meal. We will definitely be going back to Waterloo to eat here again! read more

This place serves overcooked pasta, reheated sauce (tasted sour), and the chicken did not taste fresh. I went to this place on the recommendation of local individuals. I noticed many local people rave about this place, but others who pass through Waterloo do not always share the sentiments. I must agree with some of the less positive reviews. I did not see cockroaches, but the place was not as clean as I would expect for an "upscale" restaurant. Not a horrible place, but poor in quality (at least my meal)...and for an "Italian" restaurant, you would imagine the pasta to not be so overcooked. I would also expect the freshness of the meat sauce and chicken to be a bit better. read more

I was visiting from out of town but grew up in Waterloo so it was a "must" to go to Brown Bottle where almost every prom date started. The interior has been redone and the lasagna is as fantastic as it was 35 years ago! It is almost enough for two to share and comes with a salad. I've never ever had better lasagna than the many times I've had it here! The locals I was with raved about other things on the menu. Sadly I'll probably never have them because I'll always have the lasagna!! read more

I've been to the Cedar Falls and Waterloo locations. The decor at the Waterloo location is a little more top notch, but the food is the same. I've had the salmon and rice, the salmon was okay but the rice was hard and cold. I've also had the ribeye, which it was okay. Went back for one last try and I had the classic lasangna. It wasn't anything great. Pretty bland, not very warm and something i could of made better myself. The scenario is better than the food which I think that's why they can pull off charging $15+ per microwaved plate, cause that's exactly what it is. Microwaved food. read more

We went to the Brown Bottle last night for our book club, we were a group of 8. We ordered a glass of wine which took about 25 minutes to get, after the wine finally came our waitress left and never came back to take our orders. A couple more people showed up the waitress came back and took their orders right away, but still now ours, we had to call her back to take our orders. Finally the food comes, the salad had no crouton toast on top (which it always does) My chicken dijon was lacking the chicken, it literally was about 4 bites, and the cheese was burnt. It comes with a side of spaghetti which never came. Not a good experience and I personally will not go back. The waitress did offer a free piece brownie pie but I am not a sweet eater. read more

Went to this location for the first time in years. It was refreshing. They had a nice special on Thursday and the meal was pretty good. The staff was friendly and the dessert was delicious. read more

Service can be inconsistent but their food dishes usually make up for it. Favorite dishes are lasagna and their feutachini Alfredo with chicken added into it (their Alfredo sauce is more creamy than buttery which I like) read more

For the hype it gets, the food was super salty and average. The bread that comes with the meal was great though! And the service was great as well. read more

Wow what a great experience! My mom, sister, and I went here for dinner during a college visit to UNI and received one of the best services and food we've had in a while. We went on a Tuesday night and the restaurant was packed. The servers took good care of us though, and the manager made sure that everything around the restaurant was going according to plan. The salad we had to start off the meal was average but the main meal was very good. I ordered the eggplant pasta and was very satisfied with the flavor. The bread was very crunchy and buttery. After dinner my sister and I ordered sundaes that were delicious. The server we had, Conner, was very nice and professional. The experience was very good! read more

Absolutely the worst meal ever! My husband ordered the marsala and what he received was a plate of tired chicken and pasta covered with what appeared to be BROWN GRAVY BASE. It was thick, black and disgusting. Not sure exactly what this sauce was... but it sure wasn't marsala! Not a mushroom in sight, the taste was foul and the smell was worse. It ruined the appetite of everyone at the table. Just looking at it was disgusting. We suffered through our entrees and our daughter wanted dessert so she ordered ice cream which was plain Blue Bunny vanilla scooped out of the gigantic tub that had been sitting in the freezer for God knows how long. Again, gross cheap food they are trying to pass off as "fine dining". Maybe if you've spent your whole life in Waterloo and have minimal exposure to real restaurants, perhaps this crap could fly as decent dining, but it won't appease anyone who has even a minimal context for properly prepared Italian food. If I could give Brown Bottle negative stars I would. Its laughable that anyone would consider this to be 'fine dining'. I get it that Waterloo/Cedar Falls is a food desert but there's way better options than this. read more

My date and I are from Cedar Rapids and were visiting Vinton on a Sunday afternoon. Suppertime we wanted to try someplace new and being so close to Waterloo we decided to head that way. After finding no desirable options on San Marnan we got on Yelp on our phones and decided to try Brown Bottle downtown. Charming building, though we had to drive around the block once before we found it; Yelp's map didn't quite pinpoint the exact location. We were seated immediately at a booth near the massive front windows. First off we chose an "oatmeal cookie" martini to share; it did taste like one! She ordered the lasagna; I ordered the baked ziti. A modest but satisfying and delicious salad topped by a slice of hard bread was served; then the main entrees came. The server had my date check her lasagna's temperature though; it was served in a very deep dish and the center wasn't hot so the server kindly took it back. No problem with that, we were glad the server was concerned to check before we dug in. My baked ziti was steaming and sizzling. The lasagna was brought back and was now steaming. The ziti was tasty; the cheese topping had carmelized around the edges of the dish. However it lacked very much sauce. My date's lasagna was plentiful of sauce and she gladly shared it with me. It reminded me slightly of my mother's homemade sauce. Large pieces of soft & crusty bread accompanied the entrees. I finished my ziti; my date had half her lasagna left to take home along with the remaining bread. read more