My Mom's Bakery is the first new Czech/European bakery to open in the Cedar Rapids area in quite a…read morewhile (it's located in the quaint town of Ely, just 10 minutes from Cedar Rapids by car, or a fun 45 minute bike ride on the Cedar Nature Trail), but despite being so new, they are already a strong contender for baking the best kolaches in the region. My Mom's Bakery opens EARLY every Tuesday through Saturday: they start baking their goods in the wee hours of the morning, and by 6 AM, their front doors are open and their kolaches and other baked goods are ready to be enjoyed. Their hours technically go until 11 AM, but they actually close for the day when they sell out, which is almost always earlier than that because they are so popular. So, it's important to get here as close to 6 as you can if you want the best selection. As I mentioned earlier, their kolaches are some of the best I've ever had. This quintessential Czech pastry, which comes in many different fruit (or possibly cheese or poppy-seed) varieties, is a very popular treat in this part of Iowa. However, even though it's easy to find kolaches around Cedar Rapids, it's difficult to find really good, traditional ones. The kolaches here remind me of the types I used to enjoy when I visited Cedar Rapids as a child, with a super light, airy dough and generous helpings of fruit in the middle. Their other pastries, including pecan cinnamon rolls and lemon bars, are fantastic as well. My Mom's Bakery also has a brand new, state of the art espresso machine, and they offer a full range of espresso drinks. I really enjoyed their plain espresso, but you can get drinks with milk as well. The shop itself is small, with just some counter seating (as well as a couple tables out front), so it's probably best to plan to take your baked goods to go. They do have a large, clean bathroom. The staff here is super nice, and we really enjoyed chatting with them about their story and operation. They obviously put their whole heart into this little shop, and it shows. We can't wait to come back the next time we are in Cedar Rapids.

If pictures could smell, the fragrance would be sweet, yeasty, and soothing. It is like walking…read moreinto my grandma's house when she was making cinnamon rolls. I get here at about 5:55 on a Friday or Saturday to get my fix. I've heard they can run out before their closing time, and I don't want to take that chance! Always cinnamon rolls...but this morning, a lemon bar too. The lemon bar is fragrant and the crust is buttery perfection. After a few bites from my new favorite, I moved on to the pecan roll. Goodness gracious they are delicious. Perfectly baked bread and the caramelization and nuts are perfectly toasted. I hope to see you at 5:55 am at My Mom's Bakery!

Stopped in for a quick lunch and service was good. Had chicken taco, Al pastor taco and a tamale. I…read morehave a feeling I should have tried something else. Salsa and chips were great. Chicken taco was good but lacked a lot of flavor. Tamale was pretty good but I didn't like the sauce. It wasn't awful just not the flavor I like. The tamale itself had a good consistency and wasn't dry. The al pastor taco was excellent! There was a nice pork to pineapple balance and not too sweet. I hope one day to pass through and order something else.

What a solid spot for a shindig! Frida Kahlo Mexican Restaurant has it goin on…read more I came here for a wedding reception last weekend. There's a cute banquet room off to the side that really can hold a lot of people! It also includes a separate bar. (Just give them a ring to reserve it!) The margaritas were great, tacos were fabulous. Parking is a non-issue. I look forward to coming back and ordering their storied tres leches cake!

I love that I can get cheese curds from Kalona Creamery and now shop with a delicious DRINK in…read morehand! The drinks are amazing and unique. I enjoyed the 52247 (raspberry white mocha with raspberry cold foam) and Cow's Kiss! Wonderful and fast service. Excited to try every single drink.

Stopped in to buy some cheese, but after I had paid for it all, the clerk told me that many of the…read morevarieties were actually just Shullberg cheese that was rewrapped and labeled as Amish creamery label. It was a bit misleading.

Made my way to this side of the state so I had to stop here again! Always great service and…read moreselection available early morning. Today I tried the cinnamon roll with maple frosting, very good! My mom had a sticky pecan roll and loved it. Thanks for wonderful service!

CASH AND CHECK ONLY! Everything we bought was amazing!…read moreDonuts, bread, salt, popcorn, eggs, cookies, noodles

My first visit to Iowa City, and Barrett's did not disappoint! Food, coffee, and vibes were all…read moreincredible. I love the counter service concept and being able to pick my pastry out of the case before finding a seat. I ordered the breakfast burrito, a lemon poppyseed muffin, and a latte. For brunch catching up with a friend, it was the perfect blend of savory and sweet. And MAN was the breakfast burrito delish - I adore when breakfast items have a hearty serving of avocado, and the burrito struck the perfect balance of avo and egg goodness. The accompanying sauce was also delicious. My only complaint is I'm not a local so I can't visit more often. Definitely give this one a try!

My wife and I visited Barrett's for coffee and pastries on Wednesday morning. Below are our…read morethoughts! Food/Drink: Apple Cider Donut Cake (Delicious! Rating = 8.6/10), Nutella Croissant (I'm a sucker for Nutella and this definitely delivered. Rating = 9.2), Hot Frosted Sugar Cookie Latte (Solid - nothing special here, probably wouldn't order again. Rating = 7.2/10), and Iced Vanilla Latte (Another solid latte, I liked how you could easily taste the espresso flavor! Rating = 7.9/10). Service: We didn't receive great service on this morning. The cashier seemed a little grouchy and our drinks took a while to come out. Nothing that majorly impacted our visit though. Ambiance: The location itself has an excellent vibe and physical space. There is ample seating with a variety of tables, booths, and stools. The space is also decorated/setup extremely well - I'd say one of the best I have reviewed thus far! Overall, Barrett's is an excellent non-chain coffee shop! I'll be back to visit in the future.

I'm always on the hunt for some good cold brew. I stopped in before heading to lake macbride and…read moretried the cold brew and a scone pastry for quick light breakfast. It was a good drink and good pastry. The interior was nice as well. A local coffee shop in Solon I'd recommend for anyone in the area looking for a morning drink, a light breakfast and maybe some good conversations with friends or family. Service was good.

Cute little Christian coffee shop. The latte flight was super cute and fun. The Smokey drink was…read moreamazing and Shockley smoky flavored

Best cakes I have found in Iowa. I drive from Fairfield for all of our special events. Really…read moredelicious and beautiful work! Thank you!!!!

I ordered the attached cake for my wife's bday. It was finger licking delicious. The cake was…read moreextremely fresh and made to our specifications. My wife and all our friends just loved it. The good think about the cake was the chocolate mousse filling with chopped strawberries. I don't like heavy cakes and the owner was like you won't regret it this is one of my specialty and I was sold out on it. The owner was very friendly and welcoming. I would definitely be back for all my party needs.

January 2026. It's been quite a few years since I've been back and it's overdue. They have since…read morechanged ownership and have more options for their meals but still have the great counter treat options available. Overall a great experience and would be back! Coffee options were good and the Cafe Breve I had was great. Our group had breakfast this go so I ended up ordering the Denver Omelette with the smoked Gouda cheese option. It was tasty and the eggs were done perfectly. The basic cafe options here are great for any meal. And if you want to grab a coffee and treat with a few friends also a nice option. It wasn't too busy (but filled up with only a few tables open) on the Saturday morning we were there. The service was good but reminder that you have to go to the counter for all transactions but they will deliver items to your table at least and this method seems to work well for them. Ambiance is nice with the perfect small town cafe vibes.

Really really fantastic brisket sandwich for breakfast. Coffee was good, service was nice though…read moreit's a lot of self service. Beautiful interior.

We were visiting Galena from Chicago for our son's third birthday. I did a Yelp search for bakeries…read morenearby and came across Triple Tier Bakery. She was so accommodating and easy to work with. She made an amazing Spider-man cake in 2 days notice and it was delicious! Definitely worth the 25 minute drive from Galena. Wish she was closer to Chicago - I would be a regular customer.

Triple Tier Bakery did an outstanding job making the wedding cake and cupcakes for my son and…read moredaughter-in-law's Dubuque wedding. She provided excellent guidance in making decisions on the choices. We provided a photo of what we were looking for and the results surpassed our expectations. Tiffany set up the cake and cupcakes in such a beautiful manner, with special touches. Three key points in working with Triple Tier: 1. Through our interactions, her questions, and how accommodating Tiffany was, the care and attention she provided made it clear she really wanted to do her part to make sure the event was wonderful. We live three hours away and were able to take care of all the details through phone/email/text. 2. As stated the end product was beautiful and exceeded expectations. We ordered vanilla, chocolate, and carrot cake cupcakes. There was a light dusting of cinnamon on the carrot cake frosting making it easy to tell them apart. The attention to detail was wonderful. 3. The actual taste of the cake and cupcakes was amazing. The flavor of each was distinct and delicious. The frosting was perfect, not too sweet. I have no idea how she did it, but the bride and groom wanted a marble cake and it was marbled. It looked like marble, not like traditional bakery marble cake. After tasting the cake, they both remarked "Ok that is a really good cake!" I highly recommend Triple Tier - We have a favorite bakery where we live and the Triple Tier cake and cupcakes surpassed the deliciousness of our local expert.

As someone who loves to bake, I don't really get to bakeries enough. But it's always fun to treat…read moreyourself and support a local business. I recently stopped in to try a few things and get a latte. They have a nice selection of cookies, cupcakes, and other pastries as well as a lot of fun coffee drinks. It's all very reasonably priced. I got mine to go, but they do have plenty of seating. The service is very quick and friendly as well.

Met up with a friend here on a Sunday. I had tried some of their items at an event and wanted to…read morecheck out the store. The store is very welcoming, neat, and clean. They have a full coffee bar and lots of baked goods. We were the only ones there besides staff only because it was bitterly cold and the streets were pretty bare. Staff had smiles and welcomed us. I had an iced sugar free caramel latte and he had espresso with a glass of water. We split the Billionaire Bar. Total without tip was just under $15. I'm will to pay a little extra for small business and something that was homemade and not shipped in a truck and defrosted. They were closing when we left and the owner gave us a few extra items that would have to be thrown out. Loved it! I'd highly recommend the Billionaire Bar, Olive Oil Cake, and Blueberry Scones. I need to try more items, so I'll be back!