Great place awesome atmosphere! Tap beer and it COLD! Fireplace in cold months adds to the experience too!

Ate here for the first time ever last night and the food was completely inedible. I got the Reuben, the beef was tough like leather and unpleasant to eat. Bread was soggy. So disappointed. My husbands wings looked like hush puppies that were perfectly round. Super strange, flavor for those were good. These were at least edible. Ranch was amazing so this place deserves at least two stars for that. We agreed we will not return for food, that's for sure. Maybe a beer. Maybe. read more

. The place is clean interesting with exposed stone walls. The server was polite and made some suggestions. We ordered a rib basket, which was good with two sauces, traditional and maple, both excellent. I ordered the Bear Burger special (local high school mascot). The Burger was good, grilled to medium, the was bun partially frozen. The fries were VERY salty. The ketchup had an off taste. read more

Would be a fun place to drink. But, don't waist your time eating here. Slow service. One person doing it all. Wait time for four was close to an hour and one person didn't get her food till others were about done. Food was not anything special . read more

My wife and I visited here for the first time looking for lunch between daughter's softball games. Atmosphere was cool with the stone walls. My kind of place. That's the only positive thing about this place. Sunday afternoon NFL football on tv and only 4 other people in the place to eat except for a few locals sitting at the bar. Should have been my first clue. Was in the mood for a good bloody mary as I love a good bloody mary and drink them regularly for the past 40 years. The menu raved about the bloody mary being so famous and so great, so I ordered one. It was the worst bloody mary I've ever had in my life. No flavor. Tasted like straight tomato juice. Couldn't taste any of the other ingredients that they listed on the menu. Maybe they forgot to add them. I don't know. So I paid $6 for a "famous" bloody mary that highlighted their drink menu and had no flavor and was just a glass of tomato juice. Horrible. Had only 1 employee working the entire place. Bartending. Waiting tables. Cleaning tables. 1 young bartender doing everything, so the service was extremely slow especially considering the place was almost empty. My wife and I ordered the reuben pannini and the club pannini. Took over a half hour to get the food, again, when nobody else was in there eating. Heard the bell ring from the kitchen I assume meaning food ready. Bartender never heard it or ignored it so a few minutes later bell rang again. Finally got served our food. Our sandwiches should have been warm/hot but both mine and my wife's were cold. The cheese wasn't even melted on them!!! I don't recommend and will never go back. read more

Very nice and cozy bar in a cool cellar type setting. Staff and owner was friendly. Lots of TVs and the owner was happy to change the channel to watch my requested game. Good selection of on tap beers and food was tasty. Would definitely recommend if in the area. Walking distance from Hoover presidential library. read more

Great spot. With some good craft beer. Cool staff and owner. Prices are reasonable. My kind of place. read more

Best traditional wings hands down. The maple hot traditional wings are easily an 11/10 when it comes to chicken wings. Saying the meat is fall off the bone is an understatement, and maple hot (even if you are not a fan of *hot sauce is a must) I promise you will not be disappointed! read more

Good food, reunion beer, and clean modern decor. Fast and friendly service. Fun to watch football with Amy and Mike. read more

The Down Under - a row of bar stools in front of a stone wall - Pubs Near Me - West Branch, Iowa

My boyfriend & I stopped for the quick dinner on the way through this adorable town. The staff was so friendly and the locals were so much fun however the owner made us feel very uncomfortable, we were trying to enjoy a nice meal and he interrupted every minute. Our mozzarella sticks came without marinara and they gave us ranch ‍ he tried to play it off and forced very awkward conservation. read more

Stopped in to watch the cardinals game which was advertised on their facebook page that they were going to have playing with 'loud theater speakers'. The sound was only on for the first inning and then the manager switched it to some crappy music and refused to turn the sound for the game back on. Needless to say we will not be coming back. How can you call yourself a pub if you don't even put the sound on for major sporting events that you have advertised for??? For shame, Down Under. For potential customers of this place I would recommend instead Herb 'n' lous down the street, they have terrific pizza and lack the sh*tty management of The Down Under. read more

We came in to watch the Cardinals NLDS game. We were all of 4 people in the bar and the owner refused to leave the sound on for the game. Definitely a cubbie bar and doesn't care about customer service. read more

The Down Under is a cozy little spot with a fireplace, perfect for the cold winter! The food is good however portions are weak. Good selection of local beer on tap as well as exclusive cocktails! read more

Stopped in tonight knowing that they're a Cubbies bar. Tv's were muted and music was playing. Owners didn't care enough to wait on us and after 10 minutes we left. Food sucks here anyway, microwaved food. Bar is only open for their close friends and they don't care if someone outside of their click stops in. Cubs bar..ha ha. Never plan to go back. read more

Made a pit stop here while driving across the country. Mike was awesome and made us a great veggie sub. The location was perfect with the fireplace and a bar made from an old bowling lane. We loved that the menu had a build your own sandwich. Lots of great local beers! Will definitely stop again if I find myself on I-80 in Iowa read more

They couldn't be slower. They missed part of our order without an apology. They were out of 2 items as well. They never came back to refresh our drinks. I don't understand how such a poorly run place can still be in business stay away. They didn't seem to want us there. read more

My fiancé and I stumbled on the gem hidden in West Branch, IA and decided we were hungry enough for bar food. What we got was a very pleasant surprise. Nestled underground in a cellar-like space was a charming pub with vintage rock posters framed on the bare stone walls. Amy greeted us and gave us our choice of seats immediately. The menu is matter of fact and, at first glance, we were assured that our initial impression was correct...until I noticed a message at the bottom of the menu that declared that The Down Under did not fry their food! I decided to test that by ordering the "fried" green beans and mini tacos. My fiancé ordered a 1/4# bacon cheeseburger with fries. While we had to wait for the tacos, the rest was brought out very quickly. According to Amy, the pub uses convection ovens to cook the food and everything came out exactly as it should. Hot and tasty! We recommend stopping in when you crave for pub food but still want to be healthy. read more

This is a really cool little pub. Down below street level makes it feel private and cozy. The old stone walls (part of supporting foundation) give it a special ambiance. Jonesy and his daughters are very accomadating and the food is straightforward and good! When your hungry and want a little food, fun, and local gossip you need to go "Down Under". read more

We really enjoyed our lunch here. I had an authentic Chicago Dog. My husband had onion rings and cod strips. He thought the breading on both was delicious. Our son had the pulled pork which was very good despite the watery-corn syrup-vinegar BBQ sauce packets. BYO-BBQ sauce. The beer was cold. The prices were very reasonable. The service was friendly and efficient. We are from out of town or we'd definitely be back and soon! read more

Great spot for food and drink. Very reasonable prices. Nice little hidden gem. Staff is wonderful and makes you feel right at home!!