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    University Library Cafe

    4.4 (98 reviews)
    Open 10:00 am - 12:00 AM (Next day)
    Updated 2 months ago

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    UNIVERSITY LIBRARY CAFE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Divey
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Outdoor seating

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    Recommended Reviews - University Library Cafe

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    Library Vegetarian Melt & Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

    The waitress was awesome at recommending us a drink, did not disappoint. Very small inside, lucky we got a table. Best sandwich of my life!

    Breakfast burrito.
    Maggie F.

    We love coming here on the weekends for breakfast (wish they had it during the week too, but sadly just a Saturday-Sunday thing). Our go to is the breakfast burrito. Today was a cold and snowy day so it wasn't very busy but be prepared to wait since there is limited seating and they seem to have a good set of regulars as well as a rep for being a good morning place. Their have a solid line up of burgers and other typical bar food too, which is also worth coming in for. Be sure to check out the specials board!

    Great breakfast Saturday & Sunday, awesome service, not a big place , but cool local restaurant & bar

    Very small, so don't come with a group larger than 5!
    Gabrielle S.

    We had some friends in town, and someone in our party wanted a good breakfast burrito. The Library Cafe was nearby and had good reviews, so we headed out. Just a heads up, the location is VERY small. If you have a group of more than 4 people, you will have difficulty sitting together unless you are okay with limited personal space (which we are). Our experience also started a little awkward, because we weren't sure if they would seat us or if you seat yourself (this always causes me anxiety when trying someplace new). BTW: You seat yourself! Also, it's very dark, so if you have any vision issues, it might be good to look at the menu beforehand. Once we got seated (nice and close), we were able to put in our food orders and our food came out pretty quickly! Hummus Melt w/ French Toast: This is my favorite Texas toast. Crispy on the outside, but with a soft chew and give. Coupled with a fried egg, cheese, and a bite of hummus, this sandwich was almost like biting into a pillow. It was comforting in all the right ways. The french toast uses the same bread, and wasn't overly sweet. Delicious! Smothered Burrito: My husband and our friend devoured their burritos. They were stuffed with eggs, breakfast meat, and large chunks of potatoes, then slathered in a luscious cheese sauce and solid chili. I thought my husband was going to legitimately lick his plate clean! Biscuits and Gravy: Both people who ordered these said they were really good. I didn't personally try them, but they seemed to love them! Overall, we would definitely recommend The Library Cafe for breakfast for groups of 4 or less. I want more of that dang Texas toast, and their breakfast nachos looked good as well.

    Nacho

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    1 month ago

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    11 months ago

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    2 months ago

    Ordered the Denver omelet. Easily the BEST Denver omelet I've ever had. Service was great and the price is hard to beat.

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    3 years ago

    Took my brother in-law to the Library for lunch. He says "Best onion rings I have ever had!"

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    3 years ago

    Great service and food is good too! Small place so get there early on the weekend! Cute, friendly neighborhood!!

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    3 years ago

    Fabulous food always made fresh. This is our favorite go to place. Best nachos and Reuben's in town.

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    Page 1 of 3

    Ask the Community - University Library Cafe

    Harbinger

    Harbinger

    4.6
    (200 reviews)
    1.1 mi
    $$

    A must-visit Des Moines restaurant that pulls off a unique menu in a cozy interior with elite…read morecustomer service. Grace, our server, was amazing, adding so much to the entire visit. Thankful! They serve tapas style, and we grazed all night! We literally tried as much as we could, and loved the entire experience. Among my favorites were the Black Pepper Pork Noodles, Halibut Cheeks, Pea Pasta, and the Beef Fat Potstoes. But I also loved the Farm Carrots and HH Onigari. Seriously, amazing growth food, bolstered by an incredible level of customer service. Finished a great meal with terrific Dark Chocolate Gateau and Strawberry Shortcake. This is a superb place...GO!

    This was such an amazing meal! You could really tell how much thought went into each dish. We…read morestarted with the Dungeness crab crispelle which was a perfect way to start, very light and refreshing. The Island Creek Oysters with miso butter and chicken skin xo were some of the best oysters I've ever had. The steamed buns were addicting, especially the chicken and rhubarb one, i would have ordered more if i wasn't already so full! The vegetable broth in the spring green dumpling dish was perfection. I also can't stop thinking about the english pea lumache pasta dish. And both desserts were absolutely incredible. Who knew yuzu and blue cheese could work so well together? The service was great as well, our waitress was very nice and fun. I'm so glad i came here and would definitely come back while in town!

    Photos
    Harbinger
    Fried okra with lavender aioli
    Fried okra with lavender aioli
    Harbinger

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    Jesse's Embers

    Jesse's Embers

    4.1
    (148 reviews)
    1.0 mi
    $$

    My wife, stepson, and I tried this place for the first time tonight. My wife said she wanted steak…read moreand was considering the Big Steer in Altoona. I suggested here instead, mainly because none of us had been here before. I'm glad I did. We went on a Friday night. There was snow on the ground and several parking spaces available. We walked in from the lot behind the building and immediately realized how cozy this restaurant actually is. There had to be fewer than 20 tables, and a few spaces at the bar. We were told there would be a 20 minute wait. One of the bartenders struck up a conversation with us while we were waiting for our table. We could tell there were a lot of regulars here because the bartenders greeted most of the folks by name. And most of the folks were also greeting other guests by name. When we weren't talking to the bartender we were watching him pour the drinks. They were clearly not stingy with the alcohol here. In fact, all 3 of us decided to order drinks with our food That's something we don't normally do. For our meals, I ordered the 16-oz New York strip and my wife and stepson both ordered ribeyes. We each got a dinner salad and baked potato to go with the steaks. The salads were a classic, minimal dinner salad with lettuce, cheese, croutons, and a small cup of dressing. The thing is, the dressing was more than adequate to cover my salad. While we waited for our steaks we were mesmerized by how efficiently the wait staff worked the room. Tables are fairly close here, and the waitresses were constantly moving back and forth. The service was great. The atmosphere was great. And we kept noticing all the people coming in were greeted by name by the staff and other guests. Soon after finishing our salads, the steaks arrived. They were cooked perfectly. There was even a sprig of parsley on each plate. I haven't seen garnish on a plate like that in decades. I managed to get a photo of my New York strip, but not either of the ribeyes. We all dug in quickly. My wife soon commented on how good the baked potato was. I wondered how good it could be. There were packages of butter on the table and the potatoes came with sour cream. There had been no mandatory list of questions about add-ons to the potatoes. After eating half my steak I decided it was time to find out. This was one of the best baked potatoes I can remember eating. It wasn't over-done or under-done. It was cooked perfectly. Even after 15 or so minutes of sitting on my pate while I ate steak it was still hot. Everything was cooked perfectly. The drinks were good. You could tell all the guests were enjoying themselves. In the end, I was the only one at my table who didn't take home leftovers. Our waitress promptly arrived with to-go boxes. I'm pretty sure all 3 of us are looking forward to going back. And it's a good thing I didn't drive. I was feeling my one little drink on the way home.

    This restaurant has a history that 's over 60 years old with a rich history (think traditional…read more"supper club" style which provides fond memories for many). Yet, it has new owners as of this year but I'll bet nothing much has changed since "the good ol' days". As you can see from my outdoor pics, and my pic of the chairs (red vinyl), it's a throwback to yesteryear. Not to say this is bad, just to get an understanding of what you're walking into. At lunchtime on this week day, there was plenty of parking in the rear (and the restaurant was almost full). The tables were a bit close and it was a bit noisy, but everyone was polite and in good spirits. As you can see from my pic, we started lunch with Onion Rings. These are relatively thinly sliced and breaded with batter that ends up being quite crunchy. There was plenty, and then some. We shared a Garbage Salad (see my pic). This truly has a bit of everything in it. It starts off Greek style with deli meats, artichoke hearts, olives and ends with shrimp: all topped on a bed of lettuce and veggies. It's served with Italian dressing, which had usual, traditional flavors. We finished with Jess's Slow Cooked Ribs (see my pic): this is a staple of theirs highlighting their signature BBQ sauce. There was plenty of meat on the ribs, which fell off the bone with the slightest of tugs. The BBQ smoke was earthy and paired well with the sauce. Their sauce was quite sweet, ample and tasted like it was applied after the ribs were cooked

    Photos
    Jesse's Embers
    Cajun Shrimp
    Cajun Shrimp
    Ribeye

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    Ribeye

    University Library Cafe - cafes - Updated July 2026

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