My parents only live about 7 1/2 miles from Unkie's and they'd taken everyone in the family there…read more(multiple times)...but me. It became almost a running joke. They'd rave about the food. Remember how good that was at Unkie's? No. No I don't... Lol We were up there this weekend and it was a couple days before my 55th birthday and mom said... We should take Dan and Owen to Unkie's to my dad... I almost refused... Why ruin a good inside family joke? But I'm glad we went! Don't blink or you'll miss Thor! We arrived at about 430 PM on a Saturday. They open at 300 PM for drinks, seat for dinner at 430 PMish and take orders and start serving at 500PMish. It's seat yourself. The seating is a combination of booths and low top tables and chairs. There is also a small bar with seating at it as well... The place is old school. Mostly dark wood and a classic small town steakhouse vibe. Don't expect a five star atmosphere... The real magic is in the food and the customer service. Unkie's is cash only. They will take a local check. And there is an ATM on site. No card payments. Our server was fantastic. I think she is one of the owners... Took our drink orders first along with an appetizer. We ordered our entrees with her a few minutes later. She checked on us every now and then and our drinks never hit the bottom of the glass. My parents ordered the appetizer sampler (fried pepper rings, cauliflower, cheeseballs, jalapeño cheeseballs, mushrooms, pickles, and onion rings) that they shared with the table and they split a 10 oz fillet meal (medium) with sauteed mushrooms, a baked potato, and a side salad with ranch. Dad ordered three extra jumbo shrimp. The shrimp are $4.50 ea, but they are HUGE. The ranch that comes with the apps (or salad)... It's made in-house and is SO good! If you like ranch it's a must try here. My son ordered the 10 oz ribeye (medium) with fries and a side salad with french. I ordered the 10 oz fillet (medium-rare), the Jojo's potatoes (broasted potato wedges), three jumbo shrimp, and a side salad with blue cheese. We all ordered fountain drinks. All the meals came with Texas toast. Everything was cooked to perfection. Not one thing was not on point! The special the night we were there was two 5 oz lobster tails for $40 and there was a halibut special going on too. I glanced at the receipt. I think the total was $143 before tip... Dad was paying or I'd have been more attentive. Unkie's is a hidden gem of a small town steakhouse who certainly lived up to their reputation! Everything I'd heard was true. Is it worth an almost two hour drive from the Des Moines metro on a date night...? If you don't mind the drive... Yes. Yes it is! And it's most definitely worth the 7 1/2 mile drive from Goldfield to Thor...

Review of Unkie's Entertainment Restaurant & Lounge - Thor, Iowa…read more Unkie's is one of those small-town Iowa restaurants that feels like home the minute you walk in -- the kind of place where you can sit down, relax, and enjoy a good meal without any fuss. It's a real destination spot if you're from the area or just passing through north-central Iowa. I was there celebrating my birthday with my family, and we had a great evening. One thing to note -- they won't seat you until your whole party arrives, which keeps things moving smoothly for the staff and other guests. It's a busy place that draws folks from a wide area, and you can tell it's popular for good reason. The food was solid all around. I had the pork chop -- it was perfectly cooked and full of flavor. My wife ordered the chicken and said it was moist and well-seasoned. A few in our group went for steaks and steak-and-lobster combos. Most of the steaks are market-priced, and while they were just a touch overcooked, everyone agreed they had great flavor. Sides were a mixed bag -- my baked potato was a little overdone, and the hashbrowns leaned a bit greasy, but nothing that spoiled the meal. Between six adults and one child, with drinks, appetizers, entrées, desserts, and a couple of lobster add-ons, our total came out around $50 per person -- fair for the quality and portions. A quick heads-up for anyone planning a visit: Unkie's doesn't accept cards, so bring cash. They do have an ATM on-site if you forget, but it's easier to come prepared. All in all, Unkie's hits the mark for what it is -- a good, small-town Iowa restaurant serving hearty food in a friendly setting. It's one of the best we've found in the area, and we'll definitely be back to try their sandwiches next time

We stopped in here along our road trip and we're pleasantly surprised. We split a house salad and…read morethe pasta dish to save room for their peanut butter pie. Wow! Everything from the service to the food and the ambience was wonderful. This is definitely one of our favorite restaurants in the area and we plan to come again on our next trip through.

Had dinner here on a Tuesday evening while in town for a conference. I partnered up with another…read moreconference attendee and we came here for dinner. The menu had a diversity of options with both bistro and full size options. We both settled on the Main St. chicken dish on recommendation from the waitress along with swapping the rice for mashed potatoes. Great suggestion. My conference mate asked to have her mushrooms removed and I asked to have the tomatoes removed. Although we both ordered the same meal, the presentation looked different for each of us and hit the spot for our tastebuds. Mine seemed more like a chicken marsala while hers was a tomato sauce. Either way we both enjoyed our meals. We both also had dessert - I had the delicious chocolate cake with raspberry sauce. Honestly there was too much sauce but the cake was still delicious! My conference mate had the peanut pie and it was divine - imagine a Reese cup with an Oreo crust. If I'm ever back in Ames this will definitely be on my return list!!

My wife and I stopped in for lunch. I had the hot beef…read morespecial! It was fantastic! My wife had the club sandwich, she was blown away by the quality and the size of the sandwich I would highly recommend this place for lunch!

Fresh, clean, quaint and nice alternative to fast food for sure. Don't forget the desert. A little…read moresmall inside but worth it. It gets busy during the lunch hour

We were greeted warmly and our server was just the right amount of attentive…read more Before we settled in I checked out the art/black and white portraits on the wall behind a selfie station. We started with Buffalo wings. Requested extra crispy. All wings and no drums. Did not disappoint. For entrees I went beef and husband went pork. The meat was undercooked for my taste so I would not order this dish again. Husband gave the pork a good review. We both enjoyed the seasonal veggie side. The hasbrown-like potato side I tried was very well done. We hope this becomes a place we can return to year after year when we visit the Clear Lake area.

Local here who visited for the first time for a birthday dinner. This place was okay, not great…read more Catarino was not very attentive, even though the place had 2 other tables when we arrived. We were having to flag them down for requests. The Hawaiian Mac n Cheese was described as both "Mac n Cheese with Carrots" and 'Mac and Cheese with Pineapple" by two different staff... it was macaroni salad. We asked for a pasta spoon and some Ketchup and Catarino sighed loudly and seemed inconvenienced or annoyed by the request. The Sweet Potato Fries had cinnamon and sugar on them, which sweet + sweet = saccharine, so they were not a side dish as much as they should have been a dessert. We gave feedback to Catarino about our meal, but they argued with us instead of just accepting the feedback. We left a 30% tip on a sizable tab despite the meal and service... We won't be back.

The Filling Station is a gas station, an extra stocked convenience store, a breakfast/lunch food…read morecounter, and a tables inside and out to enjoy your refreshments and the view. Gayle and I stopped in today after reading about it within some "48 hours in Ames" article. I ordered a brisket grilled cheese sandwich, while Gayle chose a similar one with blackberry flavoring. We split a can of Guinness off the convenience store fridge, and then sat outside for our street and car wash view. We had nice shade on a not too hot day and took the opportunity to hang out bit after we finished our meal. This was a tasty and pleasant experience of good value overall.

Was nearby for an early meeting and had a gap before my next one. Decided to grab breakfast and…read morerolled the dice and just went here for a quick bite. Wow, it is a lot more than a quick breakfast at a gas station! The kitchen was complete and had a full menu offered up. It was also a commercial bakery... multiple bakers working on cinnamon rolls that looked divine! I had a breakfast quesadilla. It had real flavor in it with candied jalapeños. It was a lot but judging from all the plates I saw come out of the kitchen everything there was solid in serving size. The chai latte was good too. And the folks were nice. They definitely have loyal fans locally, folks were ordering for tailgates!

Was taking a trip in Iowa to see the Grotto that was nearby in West Bend and stumbled upon this…read morefood stop. It had a local flair to the restaurant and looked more like a storefront than a restaurant, but certainly a hidden gem! We arrived a little after lunch closing time but were still thankfully accommodated. Service was excellent, lots of great options on the menu, and the bacon cheeseburger was arguably one of the best I've had in quite a while! I'm not sure I'll ever find myself back in West Bend Iowa again being from the NYC area but if I do, I'd certainly make a stop here again!

Wow this place exceeded my expectations. The food was plentiful and very tasty. We ordered the…read moregizzards and they were fried nicely and remained very juicy. The portion size was also extremely large for the price compared to a major city. We also orders the 3 piece chicken and the chicken pieces were great. Very flavorful, crunchy and juicy! The dinner came with a choice of potatoes which we got a baked potato and it came with coleslaw. The coleslaw was good as well. The service was good especially with it being busy at the time. It is a family business and it shows they care. I would definitely like to go back and have more of the food but it is not in a location that is easily accessible unless you have a reason to drive that way. Great food and good service! Thanks for a great dinner.

Had dinner tonight at Surfside. Tried the Brussels sprouts and crab cakes for appetizers. The crab…read morecakes were wonderful. Ordered the seafood risotto which had a lot of different seafood including a crab cake. I would highly recommend. Also tried the almond crusted walleye and enjoyed this as well. Highly suggest upgrading to the watermelon salad, for the extra dollar. It's a great seasonal salad. Drinks were great. Portions were big. Will be back. Thanks.

A fun place to have a meal or appetizer after visiting the Surf Ballroom and museum. Our server…read morewas awesome. Food was tasty. A bit pricey but can understand considering it's' location. Drink special was a Yellow Fever. I'm a Sidecar drinker but the Yellow Fever was tasty. You have to go to at least once but go when there isn't an event happening at the Surf Ballroom.

We are in town for a graduation and BandFest 2022... staying at the HPI and stopped in for a…read morecocktail... great service and cold wine and beer... super friendly staff told us they are having live blues this weekend... great place to be... on the Plaza