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    West Side Diner

    4.0 (20 reviews)
    InexpensiveDiners

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    Nice salad bar.

    What a nice little gem! We stopped in on a Friday night for a quick supper. We placed our order, had our salads and the entrees were perfectly timed. My husband had the pork tenderloin dinner which came with a huge pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes with gravy, sourdough toast and salad bar. I had the 2 pc beer battered cod which came with French fries or choice of potatoes, toast and salad bar. The salad bar was nice. Lots of options. The Cole slaw was excellent! We enjoyed our meal very much. Our waitress was super nice and attentive. We had a nice conversation. Before we left she offered us pie. We were full but decided to take a piece of pie to go. We had read the other reviews and had to try the coconut cream pie. She boxed and bagged it to go and even put plastic forks in for us. Such a thoughtful thing to do. Stop by if you are in the area!

    One of the pages from their menu.
    Fern M.

    I came to eat here a few times while I was on vacation in Atlantic. A quiet and nice town, this place seems to be the best place to eat in the area, not just in Atlantic! The first time around I ordered their 6 oz sirloin and 3-piece shrimp. I ordered it well-done and paired with the A1 steak sauce, made it better. It was very juicy and the three-piece shrimp is done very well, crisped just right! The meal also includes one trip to their salad bar, boy they make a good coleslaw here and their beer-battered fries are out of this world, very addicting and the best fries ever, paired with a nice pepsi made this a great dinner. The service was alright, it was a quiet Monday night not many folk in here at the time so it was nice having some peace and quiet, compared to where I am from LOL The other dishes I had here while staying in Atlantic were the Hot Beef Sandwich with sweet potato fries. They serve the most natural fries here as they are also cut and sliced here, with no added seasonings, by far more natural than a chain. I also ordered a pepsi. I went during their lunch hours twice which was almost packed. If you don't want to wait, then come in after their lunch hours, otherwise its hustle and bustle for everyone during the lunchtime. Their patty melt I ordered one of the other times was the best I've ever had in my life. Normally I am used to big greasy melts that ooze grease and cheese but personally, the way they make them here is out of this world. Nice firm meat, nicely melted cheese, served on marbled rye, yummy! I also ordered beer battered fries again as those are amazing again. From what I heard, management is very fussy with that they deliver to their valued customers, which is rare to see that in a restaurant. The fact that they want the highest quality products shows in the taste of their food. This is probably the best locally owned restaurant/diner I have ever been to and I live in a major city, not to mention their prices are a deal compared to city restaurant prices I am used to! If you travel through or visit Atlantic or near, I highly recommend coming here for their top-notch food. I know I can't wait to come back, this will be the first thing on my to-do list next time!

    West Side Diner tenderloin with hand-cut potato discs.
    Matthew S.

    I'm not sure if I was just that hungry or the food was just that good, but it hit the spot. The decor was very 1980's Americana, stars hung on the wall and an American flag border wrapped the room like the ribbon on a Christmas package. I asked the waitress what was good, she said the tenderloin or the beer-battered cod. "When I Rome, try the pizza Margherita and when in Iowa go with the tenderloin." I thought. She told me that if you asked nicely, they'd hand slice a potato into fried wedges, which sounded like the perfect compliment. When the tenderloin arrived it was the size of a VW bug hubcap. There were about ten pickles, two tomatoes, lettuce and fresh-cut onion. Many places make the mistake of pounding their tenderloins to thin to make them look bigger, but ultimately they dry out in the frying. This tenderloin was the perfect blend of crispy and meaty. The sandwich and fries were fresh out of the fryer, as it was a half hour before closing on a Saturday, so the kitchen had time to do it right. In no time it was gone. The waitress told me that Marv, the owner, made killer pies at home and brought them in. He was renown for his coconut cream pie around Christmas, but they'd just cut open a banana cream. She wasn't joking; one of the best banana cream pies I've had. The crust was perfectly flaky, the banana cream must have had egg whites beat it because it was amazingly fluffy and creamy. Marv and his team knocked it out of the park last night. Well done!

    Tenderloin was huge and very good.  The onions rings were okay, Nothing to brag about. There seem to be two different types of onion rings.

    Nice little diner that could use an update in decor. Wait staff was a little slow and didn't appear to be very attentive. Food was good enough, but wouldn't say it's the best I have ever had.

    Double Eby Burger and sweet potato fries!

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    5 months ago

    Permanently closed. Food was fair, service poor, but none of that matters since it is now permanently closed.

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    8 years ago

    All good food was great. Easy in and out parking service was fast and the price was fair.

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    13 years ago

    Delicious cheeseburgers and a fix for fountain soda. My Grandma approves their malts.

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    Ask the Community - West Side Diner

    Chuckwagon Restaurant - Tenderloin.

    Chuckwagon Restaurant

    (124 reviews)

    $

    Love this place. Stopped by between Des Moines and Sioux City and had a deliciously disgusting…read moremeal. Everything was yummy and so unhealthy. Garlic cheese ball and tater tot poutine? Amazing. The tenderloin was massive. And the broccoli cheese soup was a star. Tried the peach pie as well which I thoroughly enjoyed. The wait staff was super friendly and the ambiance was exactly what I was hoping for, a quality local establishment. Throughly enjoyed it.

    The gf wanted to check out I-80 MetalArt and we found the Chuckwagon Restaurant right across the…read morestreet. We arrived pretty much at straight up noon on a Saturday. I fully expected the place to be packed as it appears to be pretty much the only show in town as far as a sit down restaurant. There was a please wait to be seated sign there as we walked in. We were greeted right away and seated in minutes. It's old school wood tables and chairs and I think there was a counter available. Ordering is done at the tables as well as settline your bill up with your server. Surprisingly the speed of service continued throughout the visit. After drinks we ordered the rodeo burger and fries, a tenderloin with chili cheese fries, and the garlic cheeseballs. The cheeseballs came with marinara and ranch. Fresh, hot, and fantastic! I've eaten a lot of tenderloins. Many that have been highlighted as Iowa Tenderloin Trail winners or participants... This is one of the better tenderloins I've had in the state! Obviously hand made, breaded, and fried. Not too thick and not too thin. Drained properly. Served with the essential condiments including the holy trinity (onions, dill pickles, and mustard). The gf liked her burger. It could have used more of the featured ranch and bbq sauce. The fries... Neither of us cared for them. Obviously hand made, but almost too thin and too greasy. We'd both opt for a different side next time. To each our own though. Almost every small town along this stretch of I-80 has a pub & grill. The menus vary a little, but are very similar in a lot of aspects. The quality of service and the cooks make the biggest differences. The Chuckwagon hit five stars in some aspects of both. Work on those fries and the flavor of the chili (horribly bland) and this review would have been five stars. I'm going to emphasize this again. Truly one of the best tenderloins I've had in the state! Keep doing what you are doing!

    Downtowner Cafe - B.E.L.T. Sandwich

    Downtowner Cafe

    (9 reviews)

    **A Great Time at Downtowner in Atlantic, IA!**…read more Downtowner in Atlantic, IA, was such a fantastic spot for a family meal! The atmosphere was cozy and welcoming, perfect for hanging out with loved ones. The food was delicious. Plus, the service was super friendly and made us feel right at home. Whether you're local or passing through, Downtowner is a must-try. We'll definitely be back for more!

    Walked into the Downtowner around 8am on Saturday and the place was filled, which after talking to…read morethe waitress was normal. I just needed to put in an order to go for my mom and I before she put me to work at her office, helping her organize. She sent me on a mission for snapple diet peach tea (from the grocery store) and breakfast from here. She told me she wanted the omelette with gravy on it. So with my mission started I grabbed the tea from hyvee then headed to the downtowner. So the downtowner is on chesnut, which is like Atlantics main street area. Its cute, chic, and has the old buildings all along the street. It was easy to find parking, most everything on chestnut is closed at 8am. So it was easy to tell where the downtowner was if you didnt know where to find it. The downtowner is on the main floor of an apartment building. This apartment building looks like a 1920s hotel. The building has been taken care of and still looks like it has all of the accents. Right in the doorway of the downtowner is their daily special, and their coffee bean rug. A waitress came right up to me and asked what I would like. I told her I needed a minute though. I had never been there before but my mom had. It took me all of 4 minutes to decide and the waitress was right there to take my order. She said it would be about 15 minutes because the hashbrowns take longer. My mom wanted the downtowner omelette and I ordered the vegetatarian omelette. Both come with a side of hashbrowns and toast. We both got cheese on our hashbrowns. I told her I would wait outside the door since it was busy and there was a bench that looks like it was a church pew at one time. It took exactly 15 minutes to cook and put everything together and the waitress brought it right out to me. I paid and the total was around $18 so worth it and very comparable to Palmers breakfast on Ingersoll. The waitress even added jelly packets to the order which I was grateful for since I forgot to grab them from a table on my way out. My only dislike is that they buttered both sets of toast after they had cooled down so the butter did not really melt on it. The downtowner is also one of the few places in town that caters. If you want good food. Order from here for catering. The service staff is great, friendly, and on time. My mom has had the downtowner and hyvee both cater, and the downtowner won hands down, and I dont just mean for taste or quality of food

    West Side Diner - diners - Updated May 2026

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