Amazing ambiance, fine food, bad name. We were really excited to check this place out when it opened. When we entered the restaurant I was even more excited. Beautiful decor and cool thematic sections really give the restaurant the feel of a place you just want to explore. Wait staff was high quality and courteous, no complaints there. The food though, it was just OK. I got some sort of chicken dish with mushrooms and I don't know if it was the presentation, ingredient quality or just the taste but it felt homogenized, like it was the same meal I could have gotten at fifteen other places across the city. I actually felt vindicated when I saw all the 3-star reviews here, because it made me feel like I wasn't crazy. The issue may be that the restaurant itself is too pretty for its own good, which leads to disappointment when the food doesn't match up. And briefly, I'm not a one to tell a man what to name his business, but "Cheddar's"? If they called it "The Brickfire Grill" they could charge 20% more and no one would blink. read more

A place we definitely will come again! The side black bean, a bit spicy taste, oh i already begin to miss it. My husband and i both ordered combination. No place for dessert! How sad! We will manage this next time. read more

Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen - Grilled salmon with black beans and steamed broccoli. Sorry, it just happened too soon. - Comfort Food Near Me - Coralville, Iowa

Comfort food in generous portions at reasonable prices. They haven't reinvented any wheels here, but the service was exceptionally friendly and prompt, and the food for very good for casual dining. The soda selection (Coke products) is larger than most, and had I saved room for dessert, I absolutely would have tried one of the many....they all looked delectable. You will never go wrong with the warm monster cookie sundae, though! Ask for 2 (or more) spoons! read more

Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen - New Orleans pasta, featuring smoked sausage, chicken, and shrimp. Flavorful with just the right amount of kick. - Comfort Food Near Me - Coralville, Iowa

See all

We visited 1/17/16 and loved it! If you're in need of comfort food, I suggest Cheddars. Hubby loved the decor, especially the ceiling fan lol. I had the country fried chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy and green beans, DELICIOUS! The chicken was crispy and seasoned perfectly. The service was fast and our server was great. My only problem was that it was chilly while we dined. We were seated towards the front but it could've been a little warmer. I'm ready to go back lol read more

Came in on a Saturday night. Service was great. We had onion rings as an app and they were good. I had the ribeye and it was nothing crazy. I asked for medium rare and it came out close to well done with barely any pink. The seasoning felt lacking. I'll comeback and try something else. They have a good sized menu with a lot of options. Overall, I think it's a step up from the other chains in terms of quality. read more

Excellent food! Well priced I think especially being made from scratch. Had the ribs...very tender and flavorful. Onion rings were excellent and got a generous amount. Chocolate cake was massive! Did not leave hungry or disappointed. Everyone at table had good things to say about their entre'. Server Ashley was excellent. read more

The food is pretty good for the price. My boyfriend and I decided to come here on a date night, it was our second time coming here. Right when we walked in, there were about 3 employees standing by the host station, and all three of them carried themselves very unprofessionally. The gentleman that lead us to our seats was sagging his pants so low, I almost lost my appetite. We were seated pretty close to the kitchen, from which we heard yelling, dishes breaking, and loud music the whole time. Our waitress was good, she did everything in a timely manner. However the food, oh man the food. I ordered the chicken breast with the pineapple salsa with Mac and cheese (which was supposed to be a "favorite"), and my boyfriend got the rib and chicken tender combo with Mac n cheese and some garlic bread on the side. When the food came, I had about half of a chicken breast on my plate. It was really bland and the salsa had completely drenched the rice underneath making it extremely soggy. The Mac and cheese was horrendous, I'm pretty sure the boxed Kraft Mac n cheese has more flavor than this one did. The only thing that saved my plate were the fries. My boyfriends food however was pretty good, all the meat was well prepared. The Mac n cheese had the same problem, and the garlic bread was hard as rock. We decided to give their dessert menu a shot since I was still pretty hungry (half a chicken breast doesn't do much). We got the chocolate cake and it was pretty amazing actually! It's so big that two people barely finished it! So honestly, maybe on a different day it'll be good, but as of right now, we will not be returning for quite some time. read more

My wife and I visited for the first time on a busy Friday night. We had to wait for about 20 minutes but after we got seated our waitress was very friendly. We got our food very quickly. I was impressed how affordable it was. My burger was only $5.99! We had to wait for about 10 minutes for our dessert but it was delicious. I will definitely be going back here again! read more

Is it possible to give no stars? Over cooked Mac and cheese in a ball of mush with no seasoning. I then order the Spagsna... not only did it arrive cold, over seasoned and watery, when I returned it for a new one kitchen just stuck it in the Microwave. read more

See all

Stopped without checking Yelp...the place is just dirty! The blinds were filthy next to our table.. mentioned it to staff.. guess what? Tonight is blind cleaning night.. really??? Hubby's tea glass looked frosted with a substance that could be scratched off.. guess what? They have hard water.. we had 4 glasses on the table that was the only one that was attacked by hard water and the top 2".. The service was fine, but they insisted we sit in the bar that had a stiff breeze from fans and the temperature varied from minute to minute. The food was very salty.. just ok. Learned a lesson today Always check. YELP read more

Very impressed, our waiters name was Alex and he took great care of us. We will definitely stop back by. They were busy and we didn't have to wait that long at all for our food. The food was amazing. read more

See all

The front staff was mediocre. Once we were seated, the waitress, Rose, was a diner's delight. Knowledgeable, pleasent, attentive. From order to service was about 7 minutes. His fried shrimp with rice and my burger with green beans were properly prepared and served. Rose asked if we were local or visiting and told us about the big block party in Iowa City that night. We were offered dessert, which we turned down. I made a point of complimenting Rose and spoke to her manager to ensure that managment realized that Rose was a delightful asset to the restaurant. We will be eating there again when we are in the area. Rose is a 5-star employee. read more

We had a decent night at cheddars, our server forgot a few things but she was extremely nice. But, me and my boyfriend noticed something on our way out that kind of horrified me, I noticed the area we sat in was literally all black customers and some hispanic, we were all sitting in the back of the restaurant by the bar, as we walked up front by the doors there were only white customers, like they were trying to hide us away from the front door... I don't want to make any assumptions, I dont know if this is a regular occurrence or just a coincidence, but it made me uncomfortable and I thought I should at least address it. read more

Wow I just found out after having a horrible experience there that the manager who was there the 22 of December, cussed at my grandson who was the reason we were there celebrating his birthday. Wow! read more

Absolutely Horrible! This was the first time to visit Cheddars for my wife and I; we wanted to try something new. They opened at 11am, we got there at about 11:25am. From the moment I walked in the door I knew something wasn't right; the floor, including the bathroom, was slimy like it had been mopped the previous night with greasy kitchen water. But, I was hungry. Hostess at the entry was not friendly and acted like we were bothering her. When seated, our server was very nice. Kudos to him. We ordered our food, including appetizer. When that appetizer came, we opened our silverware to find crusty food and dried detergent on the fork and knife for both of us. I asked for new. Second set came as above but this time with green crusty stuff on the knife. Round three was ok, I think our server checked before he brought them to us. My wife wanted the Monte Cristo, but was informed that they were out of that. So she ordered the BBQ Chicken Sandwich with Fries. It came SMOTHERED in ranch with just a dab of BBQ Sauce. She said that the BBQ was hardly noticeable under the ranch. I ordered the Bacon Cheeseburger. Advertised with "4 Strips of Crispy Bacon". It came with two slices of soggy, limp, bacon. The burger was over cooked (black bottom) and dry. Both of our plates of fries tasted like three week old burnt grease. My wife ate 1/3rd of her sandwich and maybe 10 fries. I ate 2 bites of my burger, a dozen fries, and then asked for the check. My wife asked me to not make a scene and ask for the manager because if this is how it operates 30 minutes after opening, the manager won't care or fix the situation anyway. It was NOT busy at all. So I paid my $35.14 bill, plus a small tip for the server... totaling $40.40, and then we left hungry and vowing not to return. Server: Brian Check #: 44754 Table: 108 Bill time: 12:20:31 03/22/2021 read more

Excellent food. The onion rings are must. The ribs so tender they fell off the bone and very tasty. The chicken tenders not over breaded. If in the area we will definitely be back. Our waiter Andy was very friendly and helpful in helping us pick out some selections since this was our first visit. read more

Food is great. Service is great. You lost three stars for taking the catfish plates off the menu!

I ordered a burger take out, and it took awhile I understand because of COVID-19 but really? No napkins and no silverware? Oh Come on even McDonald put napkins in the bag.. read more

Got a to go order but I had no napkins or silverware and I got a salad. Also took quite a while for me to get my order.

I used to love Cheddars at another location. This one is just bad management. Dirty floors and bench seats were disgusting. Spicey mojito not spicey at all. Just not great! read more

Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen - Booth at Cheddars Coralville, Iowa - Comfort Food Near Me - Coralville, Iowa

We waited over 30 minutes for the food. I went up and asked the hostess to check on it. No follow up. No manager. We got the food and mine was almost warm. No apology no checking. You do not have the option to private message... read more

This was a very good restaurant. Had to wait a while to be seated despite many empty tables. Once our was taken service improved and food was delicious. read more

I use to love this place. I did find a bug in my food once and got a new free meal. One time my friend forgot to sign his receipt and the female manager chased after us out to his car with some big dude like he was her body guard. My friend and I are small and he is a twig, you think we are going to hurt you over forgetting to sign a receipt? Haha. Okay so my last interaction with this place happened two months ago. My mom and I ordered food and came to do curb side pick up. We called to let them know we are here and we also described our car and where we are in the parking lot due to there being four other grey cars in the parking lot. Food wasn't done on time. We noticed one of the staff bring out food to another car that got there after us. Well that customer went in and my mom had a feeling they gave her our order so my mom went in too. Yup, they didn't pay attention to what we told them earlier and gave our food to someone else. They said they could remake the box the other customer opened and my mom said no, she wants them all re made because by the time that one box of food is done being remade then all the other food will be cold. This is very reasonable, my mom was not overreacting. She came back to the car and we waited for maybe another 20-30 minutes. One of the girls that work there came up with our food and came to our window and asked "Karen?" And my mom said no. So the girl turned around and went back in and a minute later another girl brings out the same bag and comes up and asks for my moms name and we say yes. I'm not stupid. Your staff called my mom a Karen because she wanted our food remade because your staff's screw up. We are in a pandemic and my mom's request was not crazy. To those two girls, mature up. You are lucky I didn't go off on you for being rude. Also they only remade the box that was touched, not the whole order like we kindly asked. Rest of the food was cold when we got home. The Cedar Rapids Cheddars is the better one. Better staff and better food. :) read more

Had to wait 10 minutes just to get a waitress. Took the waitress 20 mins to bring back one drink. The pinot Grigio wine was out so she came back with no drink then offered to get a different wine. Didn't come back for another 15 minutes. We also watched the bartender use the last drop of wine from a bottle and clean the glass with a dirty rag. The food was cold and was very disappointed in the service. read more

Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen - Comfort Food Near Me - Coralville, Iowa

See all

A formula restaurant, along the lines of applebees, etc. Decent serving size, kind of "blah" in flavor. Looked around the room, a lot of large people grazing. Not a place I'd make a special trip to, but carried the 4th as one of only a few places open. read more

Wow! Very disappointed. Very unprofessional staff. One bartender was talking about smoking weed after work with another employee, Also saying he was going to f***ed up. Another employee was licking her fingers after eating a cherry (did not wash her hands after) then that same was playing with another servers hair (again did not wash)again saw that same server in the restroom and was playing with her own hair and again did not wash her hands. Service was very slow. Bathrooms were a mess both Men's and women's. Overall very disappointed! read more

Doug S First time I have ever ate with out leaving tip. In over 40 years of traveling for work I experienced the worst waiter ever. Food served with out silverware. Had to get up and ask the hostess. He came to my table 3 times. 1st to take the order. 2nd to leave the food and 3rd to leave the bill. This was at 4:00 in the afternoon. Not busy, he preferred to socialize with other employees rather than work. Have eaten here over a dozen times. Conclusion, if you are seated in the bar, service is usually bad. Food was good, service terrible. Waiter argumentative. Won't be back. read more

Food has been hit and miss but mostly hits. The service has been mostly misses though. The servers all seem really lost or not well trained. One time our server spent more time hanging out with her friends than keeping tabs on her tables. The prices are really great thought so some times it's worth dealing with some lazy servers. Decent and cheap place for a quick dinner. read more

Great place to stop when in Coralville! Always was the best place to eat homemade chicken strips and mashed potatoes with white gravy. We always liked the location West Des Moines location but has been closed for years. read more

Our food was cold. The waitress was rude and pushy (as in trying to get us out of there) and it wasn't even busy. As soon as we got our order, she came back in 2 minutes seeing if we were wanting/ready for dessert! Then two minutes after that, she came by with the bill and told us to have a nice day. Very rude and wanting us out of there. It wasn't a nice "have a good day" it was a "how dare you come in and I don't want to be here" attitude. Chicken was cold, soup had no flavor, raw potato skins, etc. We used to have a Cheddar's in the Quad Cities and I was so excited to see one kind of close by. Never will we eat here again. read more

Terribly disappointed with our first and most likely last meals at this place...First we ordered drinks and an appetizer (chips n queso). They were good 20 min. Later. Then another 20 minutes later we got our food and they were all out of baby tomatoes, so my daughter was served a sliced up tomato on a plate. Not a real big deal but I think they could have asked if we would like something else. The food was a disaster. My ribs were completely scorched on the bottom, the coleslaw was dry (which I had to ask for after realizing I didn't get it), my girlfriends steak was well overcooked, and I really hate this one...the shrimp still had the poop veins in them...I wouldn't have thought they would given how nice the place looked. Awful!!! read more

Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen - Comfort Food Near Me - Coralville, Iowa

I'm normally not a fan of chain restaurants. I'm even more suspicious of extraordinarily CHEAP chain restaurants. That being said, Cheddar's has won me over in a BIG way. They have a diverse menu and each time I've visited, I've tried something different. I've never been disappointed. The food is excellent. read more

Good service and everything, but the food was more than generously seasoned. Nice atmosphere but froze our tails off!!

Piss poor service. Waited for 20 minutes to be seated and then waited 20 for drinks then got the wrong drinks. Left so pissed off.

Not sure why this gets so many low reviews. My mom and I stopped in for a quick bite and enjoyed the Chicken Tortilla Soup, the Potato Soup, Chicken Tenders and Mac n Cheese. Service was good, food was good and the price for all that was $13. I will be back again when in the area read more

The food was okay (yes, just okay.) but the service ruined it for me. Not only did I hardly see our server but they also messed up our order and practically tried to run before we could ask any questions about the menu. It took over forty five minutes to place our order!! I would not recommend this place to anybody and I will NOT be returning. read more

Great food good price nice service what more can you ask. Our go to place for a small steak and a verity of sides.

Really Good food and service, They even gave us free cookies because it was our 1st visit.

Was curious since this place has been packed since it opened. Nice, new building. But that's it. Loud atmosphere, mediocre food and service. Salad needed a better wash, iceberg lettuce was bitter. Chips/queso/salsa for $4, nothing special. Entrees served barely warm or in the case of one baked potato, raw, and the other clearly leftover from day before. Yuck. Cold side of broccoli casserole, res-serve of broccoli casserole lukewarm and sans broccoli, just rice and breadcrumbs. Bland tilapia and rice. Steak was fair, nothing special. Sandwich and fries, fair. The only tasty item was the cold mango salsa. Honey croissants were raw, doughy. On par with Applebee's and Chili's. Mediocre, overpriced, boring chain-restaurant food. Won't go back. I was really hoping for something better... read more

They should not even get one star wait and waited for the food order chicken fried steak and it was raw never again