We stopped by Herb N Lou's to try their pizza based on reviews, and it didn't disappoint. The…read morebuilding is divided into the pizza restaurant/kitchen up front with the bar and additional dining seating in the back, with a half wall and walk-through separating the two spaces. Luckily, it wasn't too busy, so the bartender leaned over the half wall and let us know how to order. It's all self-service and you actually have to walk up to the counter to place your order, pick up your utensils & plates, and clear your own table. We had the ultimate cheese bread with dipping sauces (both the Alfredo and marinara were delicious!) and also ordered a large Herb's Heaper pizza with olives on half only. Pizza order was accurate and came out quickly, had the perfect amount of sauce and toppings, and was loaded with cheese. A good solid 8/10 for both breadsticks and pizza. The only downside is that the bar and the pizza are on separate operating systems and the bar didn't take debit cards. I had to withdraw cash at the bar ATM to get a beer to go with my pizza, which was inconvenient. Now that we know the quirks, we'll bring cash for the bar and will know how to order next time. We will be back!

Herb N'Lou's Pizza is a no-frills pizza joint that is a huge must-have for this small town…read more We were in town for Hoover Ball. It was a long day of games, in the heat. By the end we were famished! So we decided to pop down the street to this hole in the wall pizza spot. It was happenin'. There's no waitstaff. You order at the window and they hand you an old school ticket.... it takes a minute for your order to be made. Don't forget to listen for your number! They only yell it once or twice then just let it sit in the window, waiting for it to be claimed. We got the cheesy bread (A GOTTA-TRY) -- I am a breadstick snob, these were legit and the marinara was fab. The pizza is thin crust, and hit the spot. The cheese and pepperoni were piping hot. Seating is limited and large parties could be accommodated but it could take a minute to make a table large enough. We had 11 and were able to squeeze into two tables by the front window, luckily. (That being said it was an off time, so if it had been a peak 'dinner time' hour-- we would have been SOL.) Overall, bang for buck was good. Parking is a non-issue. This wouldn't necessarily be as successful of a spot in bigger cities, but for West Branch-- you can tell this is a local favorite both for the food and as a watering hole. (The bar area was jam packed.)

Met a friend halfway and decided to come here, now known as "Toss n Sauce". We were skeptical at…read morefirst but were quickly pleased. I ordered the fettuccine and it was amazing. I just wish the sauce to pasta ratio would've been more even - needed a little more pasta. One of my friends ordered the manicotti and really enjoyed it and another ordered the Hawaiian pizza and seemed to like it as well. If I'm ever in the area I would definitely stop again!

Friendly people and good food! A refreshing take on pizza compared to the norm. Glad we stopped!read more

Really enjoyed this place! Food was great but random detail I have to mention the to-go packaging…read morewas Finally a restaurant that puts as much thought into how the food travels as how it's served. Everything stayed neat, fresh and actually made it home looking like it should.

Can't believe we hadn't come to this gem yet! This location is right next to Sidekick Coffee and…read moreBarre3. There is a decent amount of parking available. Service at Maggie's was excellent--our server Harry really made the experience. We ordered two drinks: the Lemon Lavender Italian Soda (refreshing and tasty) and the Hugo Spritz. The Hugo Spritz initially just tasted like tonic water, but we let our server know and Harry kindly brought us a replacement that was much better. For food, we tried the Margherita pizza and the Ellie (caramelized onion, blue cheese, and onion). Both were decent. Seems like fresh ingredients! I am personally not a fan of blue cheese usually, but I did enjoy it. Service was super efficient--felt a little rushed but they are typically very busy on a Friday night. Dessert was a nice finish: the raspberry ice cream tasted like real raspberries, and the shortbread was decent. Only downside? Lots of flies--we found ourselves swatting them away throughout the meal. Overall, a good experience and we will be back!

The best pizza in the Cedar Rapids/ Iowa city area hands down. You can taste that the chef actually…read morestudied in Italy. Wood fired with both authentic/ American influenced styles The restaurant is very intimate so get ready to know your neighbors (or at least their gossip). The service was great. Our waitress let us try different wines before committing to a full pour.

Mount Vernon has some fine eateries, this is one of them. We got here before 5 and ordered wine…read morethen waited for our pizza. This place seats about 30 in the restaurant, 10 around the bar. Small place with a fun painted modern chic. The smell of a smoker greets you when you walk in (yum!). My friend loves to sit at the bar and he also loves to sit on the high seats, I hate that. Some high seats in some restaurants don't have the crossbar (these did) to put your feet up on and some bars don't have a step or rail to put your feet up on - this is one of them - I HATE that. There were two servers behind the bar, both friendly and informative and happy to help with questions or requests. They seemed to be very busy with to go orders. My friend ordered the smoked salmon pizza. He thought the salmon was too lightly smoked. Otherwise it was very good. We both agreed the crust was phenomenal, top 5 we've ever had. I ordered what the cook called a corn pizza. My friend thought mine looked better than his, I agreed. My pizza was outstanding. Spanish chorizo, local corn, scallions, tajín - the tajín was the coup d'état, it turned the pizza from good to great and as mentioned before, the crust was amazing. They have a core 4-5 pizzas then rotate another 3 special pizzas at different intervals. It wasn't really busy in the restaurant but we did wait 30+ minutes for our pizza. 4/5 will for sure return. The wait for the food and the high seats keep this from being 5/5, the taste of the food is for sure 5/5.

I asked three people where we should eat when visiting the University of Iowa. They had a lot of…read moreopinions. Every one of them said Wig & Pen. And so we did. My wife isn't a big pizza fan, so anytime we have an opportunity to pick pizza as a dine-in dinner, and blame it on others, I'm going to take that opportunity. And she loved it too. First for the appetizer, we chose the onion rings. They were really onion straws (remember the old Damon's BBQ Onion Loaf? They're like that!). They were great. A bit messy, but great. For pizza, we went with the thin crust Union Jack, which is basically deluxe: Italian sausage, pepperoni, onions, mushrooms, red bell pepper. I loved the way they cut the peppers super thin, and the pizza was fantastic. I'd love to try the other crust/styles as well someday, but the table voted and that's what we landed on. Six stars for the pizza. The restaurant is bigger than it looks, and was very crowded on an early Saturday evening. It is obviously popular, as the inside dining was full and the outdoor patio was nearly as popular. Service was very friendly, and helped us navigate the crust decision. The only downside - and I didn't test them on it - is the 'only one refill' rule on their fountain drinks. I hate this rule almost as much as Mexican restaurants charging for the second basket of chips and salsa. It just makes no sense to me. But I don't think I even finished the first one, so I have no idea if they would have actually charged me if I had !GASP! asked for a third drink. This is a top ranking for me - loved it, will return next time I'm in town. If you're looking for a great pizza place with other dishes on the menu, Wig & Pen is a great choice!

Whenever I come to Iowa city I must have their Chicago Style pizza. The amount of cheese inside the…read moreperfectly crunchy yet chewy crust is epic. I love their Italian sausage and huge side salad the best blue cheese dressing around. I liked being able to order a stout on tap so I could get that nice inch of creamy head. The kind that gives me a mustache - it's so good. Our waitress was attentive and sweet. And we got to watch our team (Norway) unjustly lose on one of their big screen TVs. The spacious restaurant with an old school charm has plenty of rooms for the crowds that seek out their delicious pizza. Another table next to us ordered the thin crust, so I'm guessing that's as good as the huge pie we got. But if you like Chicago style, you must try the Wig and Pen-this is their original location I went to in the 90s, and I'm happy to say it's just as good as I remembered-every year when I return to visit family. It's either here or Sam's Pizza for the colossal cheese filled loveliness.

I haven't ate here since sometime in the early 2000s when my brother worked at the one in CJ. The…read morebreadsticks tasted just as i remembered, buttery and garlicky!! We went with the bacon cheeseburger pizza!! It Was very good as well, little greasy but thats expected with bacon on a pizza! The dude behind the counter made us feel at home, holding conversation with my 4 year old son like he was his own grandson!! Made for a great experience! It's not really a sit down style place but we made it work with the help of the worker.

The pizza is pretty standard, but the breadsticks are the best. The staff is always pleasant when…read morewe call and pick up our order. It's an old hole-in-the-wall location, which I think is charming. The prices are great.

I visited family in Iowa City in 2025 and had pizza from here that I thought was pretty good, so I…read moretried it again in June 2026. It was a mistake. First the food. I have never experienced such an overdose of salt. Nothing would extinguish the thirst. I tried it a second time, eating a smaller amount the leftovers, with the same result. Even if it had enough salt omitted to be edible, it was very unremarkable pizza, all three of them. Much of it was thrown away. And the ordering. Their web presence is extremely confusing. My siblings who have lived there for years still can't figure out how many locations there are among Iowa City, Coralville and North Liberty, or how to control who you order from. We ordered three pizzas but then couldn't tell for sure that we ordered from Iowa City. So we called the Iowa City location to be sure they had our order, and they said yes, ready in 30 minutes. My niece drove there, to be told they knew nothing about it. They finally figured out that it went to a different location, so she drove quite a distance and eventually found it. The staff were not interested. Fortunately they have an email address where you can write them about your experience. Unfortunately, they will not reply. Very expensive and time consuming experience for food we couldn't eat. (We had much better results getting one made at Hy-Vee, far better pizza for around half the price.)

It was the final day of Thanksgiving Break. The Sunday Scaries were setting in and all the…read moreleftovers in the fridge sounded... uh, less than stellar. I threw out a few options to the fam and pizza won them over. Alas... the freezer was stocked with frozen options but that both sounded like too much work and again, uh, less than stellar. I popped on CHOMP Delivery to see what could be brought to my door. At that time and on that day there were a handful of options. Huzzah! Wig & Pen East to the rescue! While the Flying Tomato is the GOAT of all pizzas in the area (I will die on that hill) we were feeling less cheese and more sauce. (I was saddened to see the Detroit Style 'za is not slung at this location.) We opted for the Chicago Style. It's a stuffed deep dish pizza loaded with mozzarella and topped with a chunky sauce on top. Tomatoey perfection. It is sublime as is but we also got half with pepperoni, for good measure. Additionally, I am a sucker for breadsticks. Wig & Pen East has a lot of options! From the tried the true garlic bread to the cheese filled breadsticks. (Bosco sticks, anyone?) We got the ladder, because-- uh why not? The food came on time. The pricing is pretty standard-- we opted for the large and had plenty of leftovers. Each slice is very, very filling. The pie itself was perfection. The crust is so light and flakey. The four breadsticks that came hit the spot. Overall, the Sunday Scaries were forgotten for a time and I didn't have to cook. I'll consider that a win! Check their website out and order truly anything but especially the Flying Tomato or Chicago Style. You won't regret Wig (though you may need to unbutton your pants after indulging).

We decided to come here last minute, great service and AMAZING food. You can watch your pizza being…read moremade & fired. Smaller establishment, but has a good family ambiance. The pizza, shrimp risotto, and dessert were well worth coming out to North Liberty. I would recommend to anyone & will be back with friends and family!

First time here. The food is fabulous. The service is first class. I will definitely be coming…read moreback. If you are a pizza snob, you need to eat here. The cannolis are good too, very traditional with chocolate chips and pistachios. The service is the best I've had anywhere. Did I mention the food was fabulous?

If anyone knows anything about Italian food. This place is the REAL DEAL. I have tried many Italian…read morerestaurants all over the country and this place is the absolute truth. I don't get impressed by Italian food being a chef in this speciality. However, the restaurant itself has a family orientated comfort vibe. The staff was absolutely amazing and attentive. SAL & FRANCESCA, husband and wife were absolute wonderful and welcoming. Not only did they share their culture but their food was made with love and passion. I cannot explain enough how this rare gem was a blessing for my girlfriend and I . IF YOU COME ACROSS THIS PLACE, you have to try it!!

A friend took me here for dinner this week. The staff truly treats you like family. The staff was…read morevery attentive and friendly. The food was timely, hot, and delicious. They only take cash, but they have an ATM in the lobby. I would definitely eat here again and would recommend it to anyone.

In my mind, the Provender started like this: "Hey dude. You…read moreknow what would be awesome? A sweet old truck with a pizza oven in it!" And the Provender was born of the union of a sweet old truck and brick pizza oven! While, I've only been here on RAGBRAI, the place is seriously magical. A delight of a restaurant on wheels that served up some mighty fine vittles! We had a breakfast bar that consisted of rice, sausage and eggs - served cold and in rectangular form. This action was solid! If not for the miles ahead, I would have partaken in the meat laden sandwich. Apparently you can rent this beast for gatherings as well! We're excited to get to know this unique food truck better in the near future and you'd be wise to do the same!

Wowza, delish!…read more These guys focus on good, local, from-scratch ingredients and it shows! Everything is fresh from the farm and they even make use out of things like the radish greens - love that! Oh, and I suppose I should mention that these dishes are unintentionally healthy, because they are. This is the kind of food you want to eat all the time not because it's good for you, but because it's tasty. The fact that their menu is loaded with a bunch of super foods, is a mega bonus. Also, can we talk about the truck for a second? Because it's the hippest thing that's rolled down Washington Street since horses were the only mode of transportation! The style is perfectly on-par with their local, farm-to-table mission. I can't wait to work my way through their whole menu!