I love Emil's, I got the American Classic burger which was pretty good. But last time I was here I ordered the one thing I probably will order forever. The Italian beef sandwich with garlic mashed potatoes. Pro tip, pour some of the Au Jus on the potatoes. Reasonable pricing and great service! read more

I have been there 4 times so far. The food is great grub and pub food. The service is amazing. The day time bartender we had was so amazing she made us feel like family. GREAT place if you want a little dark nook to talk business. I would stay away from the pasta, very heavy and oily. read more

Fantastic! We went on a Friday night at 5:30. I didn't know what to expect as we had never been there before but had heard good things. And it was Friday night! Our server, Jessica Parker, was absolutely fantastic! She explained the menu thoroughly, had her own suggestions as to what was good, and in general made a good dining experience even better. My wife had the tenderloin (grilled), my sister (visiting from Dubuque) had the shrimp bacon sandwich, and I had the Lobster Mac n' Cheese. The service was quick, the food was all delicious, and overall it was a most pleasant dining experience. Did I mention that Jessica was fantastic? read more

Every item on their menu is delicious. One of the precious gems of Cedar Rapids. Casual dining without having to rely on a chain restaurant. Pricing is great, too! read more

Restaurant was OK. Kind of dark. Food was very good but a little and the difference in the taste of the spices the sauces for just a little bit different than when you were expecting waitress was good it was good I will return again read more

Yum! The food was great and everyone was sincerely welcoming. Im not big on leftovers when eating out but I was happy to ask for a box here. The place was spotless and bigger than it looked from the outside. Glad we saw it tucked behind the other stores or we would've just missed out. read more

Okay, this is like a breath of fresh air to CR. Not the same old thing on everyone else's menu. It's new blends of spices. The hand breaded ( very light I might add) chicken tenders with homemade honey mustard, delicious. Smothered chicken sandwich on a toasted bun. I was really going to take some home, but it was so good it got finished. Will definitely be back, over and over. I love that it's tucked away off First Avenue, fits the namesake! D. O'Brien read more

Came here for nachos and ended up bringing half the platter home! More food then I can eat alone. Great food and wait staff were great. It is a bit hidden and took me a few minutes to figure out where to turn to get to it though. read more

Love this place my family goes here almost every week and have never had bad service or food yet. Always friendly always get sat right away great food and great prices read more

Just stopped here for the first time and WOW - the menu is HUGE. We stopped on a Monday night, usually slow anywhere but not here - it was hopping. Great selection of drinks and our waitress was wonderful, friendly and very informed of the options. My husband and I went with the Philly and I had the Italian beef. Both large (I took half home) and good. No room for dessert. Great sides here. We will be back! read more

Nice place tucked away. Food came out very fast and was tasty. Service was good atmosphere was nice. Would recommend you try.

I travel frequently for work and depend on yelp for my daily meal recommendations. I had the pleasure of stumbling upon Emils yesterday for lunch. The location is hidden behind a few other businesses, but don't let it's location fool you, the food here is top notch. My counterpart and I were greeted and seated promptly, and I was quick to decide on one of their "house speciality" sandwiches. I love spicy food and asked the waitress for a side of the hottest condiment in the kitchen, to which she replied ....I don't know spicy very well there is some sriracha I can bring you. I replied with a chuckle and said that was like ketchup to me... My sandwich was delivered a few minutes later by what appeared to be the chef on duty. He said he wanted to be the one to deliver my sandwich because he made me a special hot sauce concoction and thought he should warn me that it may be hot. The corn beef in my Reuben sandwich was superb and the fresh cut fries where perfectly crisp, AND the hot sauce from scratch was exactly what I needed to my make experience fantastic. To top it all off the prices were very reasonable. All I can say is if you have a chance to stop by this gem DO SO. You will be pleased. read more

Awesome burgers and others sandwiches. The red neck nachos are the bomb! Also the owner is a really great guy try to stop in every now and then. read more

I have to start by saying that I absolutely LOVED Emil's Deli on C Avenue, and was severely disappointed that it closed. Pretty much everything I had there was wonderful. When I heard they were opening a new location... where Hamburger Mary's used to be... I was skeptical. This location alone will be the downfall of this place, regardless how good they are. It is out of sight, and thus out of mind. Unless they are so special that they bring in a large core customer base, I give them two years max. The location is that bad. Which gets us to... how good (read: special) are they?. Oh, wow, as much as I liked the deli on C Avenue, this place severely disappointed me. I've been twice. Once for lunch, and had the French Dip, which was good, but not as good as before. Second time went with family and friends for dinner (we go like clockwork, once a week). My wife and I each tried a pizza, and shared, and both of us felt the pizzas were bland and boring. I tried the Hawkeye (basically a Philly sandwich pizza w/1000 dressing), which had virtually no taste whatsoever. My wife had some peanut Thai chicken thing, which was ok, but certainly not memorable. Our friends has basic burgers, etc. Everybody commented how overly salty everything tasted, including the appetizers. Prices: The meals are decently priced. No complaint there. The appetizers are outrageously priced. They start in the $5 range, with most being in the $8 to $9+ range. $9 ($8.95, technically) for six average-sized apple-jack cheese sticks (which don't even have apples or apple flavor, I found out) is out of line. Basically, $1.50 each. If they were huge, or had a unique and special taste, then maybe. They were neither. I won't make that mistake again. Service: Nice and friendly. They get a 'thumbs up' from me there. They do seem to have the place over-staffed a bit. There were several people who looked like employees looking for something to do. Atmosphere: More trendy nightclub-ish semi-loud than I would like, but not bad. The place is well laid out and there are relatively quiet corners if you just want to have a nice meal and not be a party animal. Overall: The unanimous consensus in our group was that we'd go once-in-a-blue-moon for a change of pace, but feel no need to make it a regular stop. As for myself, I'm seriously disappointed. I'll be back a couple more times because I know what these people *can* do, but I think I'll stick to the standard fare they brought from the deli and skip the new stuff. If they get better, I'll revise my review and give more stars. read more

Emil's Hideaway is fantastic! I have been several times and have enjoyed it every time. The appetizers are all homemade and I have not found one that I did not love. The fried pickles are the best I have ever had and I can say the same for the onion straws. The chicken rangoon is my favorite. The sandwiches are as good as they were when the deli was open; they still have mounds of meat. The additional sides are excellent also, particularly the homemade macaroni and cheese. The pizzas are extraordinary. The shrimp rangoon is my personal favorite. Finally, the lobster macaroni and cheese is exceptional. One special note is that they serve food late at night. It is difficult to find good food late in Cedar Rapids and this place delivers. read more

This is now one of my favorite restaurants in Cedar Rapids. My grandfather and I have gone out every other week for the last three years looking for the best restaurant in town and we think we have found it at Emil's Hideaway. They serve the best Patty Melt in Cedar Rapids. Could compete with the one they use to serve at Elmcrest Country Club. Philly was great too! Well seasoned and perfect balance of flavors. Macaroni and cheese was good, thick on the cheese. Potato fries are thin, but not shoe string - good. The atmosphere is darker, yet lighting is well placed at each table, so easy to see one's food and others sitting at the table. Walls are red or cream colored with black colored booths, high tables and chairs. Excellent service from hospitality at the door to our friendly and knowledgeable waitress Danielle, to quick and hot service of our meal. Bathrooms were clean with pleasant smelling soap. Only weakness is the lack of parking and as mentioned in reviews the difficulty in finding the location. But when location is everything in business, you know you've found a great restaurant when the parking lot is full even though it is hard to find. read more

Very nice atmosphere & food was delicious! We were huge fans of Emil's Deli on C Ave and this includes some of the favorites from there and adds a whole new dimenson! Very nice and we will go back and will recommend Emil's Hideaway to our friends! read more

Great burgers! It had been a while since I had been here, and they have really updated the interior. It's definitely the best place in CR to get some good bar food. read more

Good pizza! except it wasnt the one we ordered. Nice list of beers, cept they didnt have the one i wanted. fail. but nice place for older/non-college aged folks read more

Great food in a subdued atmosphere. Had the Asian shrimp salad and broccoli cheese soup. Salad had all kinds of interesuing crunchy fresh veggies, wonton strips and housemade sesame ginger dressing. Soup was rich and cheesey. read more

I would rate this lower but the food was good. Person who greeted us when we asked for a table for 5 said it would be a bit And walked away. Got a table. VERY loud environment. App took 25 mins to come and food took another 30 mins. Slow!!!! Food was good. Asked waitress what she would recommend and she said he didn't really have a strong choice. Couldn't give you her name because she never told us. Bench where we sat had cracked seat covers. Good food. Slow service. Lower level ambiance. read more

Good Lobster Mac & Cheese. Nice date place and fairly quiet. Never had a dinner I didn't like.

Quiet away from main stream congestion. Great food and drinks reasonable priced. Friendly fast service that accommodate to the needs of their clientele. This place was recommended by friends to try and it was well worth it. read more

Always great food and great service! The Hawkeye sandwich is awesome and also the smothered chicken. Had the ruben pizza and it was super good too!! read more

Very good! Unique choices. Friendly staff and nice atmosphere. We had the rangoons, the grape and Gorgonzola pizza, French dip and blt and everyone loved it! Will definitely come back! read more

This is the classic "out of sight, out of mind" place. Its in a terrible location behind the Home Depot off of First Ave. But they're working hard to make it work. I've been there twice now and both times we were very happy with our food. The service was much better than average for the area. The staff was very helpful, friendly and attentive. read more

We have visited Emil's a few times now, and still enjoy it. Some of our favorites so far have been the pizzas. The Wonton pizza and taco are real standouts. The Wonton pizza really takes all those Asian flavors that already work well together and elevates it in pizza form. Both in flavor and texture. Very cool. And the taco pizza is always loaded!!! I mean, we all have been there. Grabbing some tacos at your local Mexican taco truck, filling it with all the fixins and then you realize it's way to big close up, and it's going be a mess to eat.........but it's worth it! You get same feeling from their taco pizza. All the fixins piled high on top, yeah it's a mess to eat but it's goooood! I like the atmosphere too. Kinda like the living room in your grandparents basement. It just has a private yet comfortable and relaxing feeling. We really enjoy it and always look forward to going for a visit. read more

Why is it so hard to get water? The food was great. I had the cuban and the bread was soft, meat and cheese thick and flavors were perfect. My brother had the reuben and he said it was delicious. Our problem came down to the service: The restaurant was fairly busy, but there was no wait and a few open tables. We were seated right away, but watched our waitress run by and flail around for 20 minutes before she even greeted us at the table. And 'greet' is a stretch. She asked for our order without so much as an apology or acknowledgement of our long wait. It was awkward. My bro and I ordered waters to start as we were dying of thirst before we even got there. We also ordered the Nutty Russian and Hive cocktails along with our entrees. We watched our waitress seemingly have trouble, we could see her having a meltdown about something and we could also see our drinks: prepared at the bar waiting to be served for about 10 minutes. But finally got our cocktails: very strong and different, and really tasty. A bit too strong to drink without water... ...which we were still waiting for. Only after 45 minutes we were able to flag her down and ask for waters, which finally came after our food arrived. It made for an unpleasant dining experience, especially because we saw other tables around us with different waitresses giving good service...and other people got waters and *gasp* even drink refills! If we had been greeted and served properly and promptly we would have ordered an appetizer to start and another round of cocktails to finish, but as it was we just wanted to eat and leave. I don't know if I'll ever return. read more

This is my very picky fiancé's favorite spot. He always gets the tenderloin and fried pickle chips and is always a happy camper. I have tried lots of the sandwiches and other things and I'm always impressed! Even when the restaurant is busy we always get exceptional help and the food comes quickly. read more

Wonderful service here on multiple occasions. Their cheese bread is really good, kinda like a pizza with the sauce on the side! Really crisp and thin! The emils favorite pasta was really good, but extremely heavy/rich, so you can definitely split it with people or take more than half home. We did have an issue with my boyfriends club sandwich being really soggy, so we asked for it to be toasted a little more and the waitress was really nice about it. Service was very prompt on refreshing our drinks and making sure food was okay. read more

Stellar food and service. Great for lunch or a dinner date. Keep in mind that they have dimmed lighting no matter what time of day but that won't deter you from enjoying your meal anyway. Drinks are also on the expensive side. read more

We started with the stuffed mushrooms which were super yummy! I had the shrimp Rangoon pizza, unique and tasty. But it lacked shrimp. My friend had a pasta which was okay, a little to cheesy for my taste. Cute place an beyond excellent customer service!! I will be back. read more

We go to Emil's on a regular basis as part of our Friday Date Night rotation. Emil's is always a fall back choice when we don't know where to go for dinner. Consistent food only had one entree that I didn't care for and I don't even remember what it was... We always appreciate having a happy hour and take advantage of that when we go there. Best starter is the Dynamite Shrimp, which you can get for half price at happy hour. Good atmosphere, weird but adequate parking. Location is strange but accessible. I would recommend for a medium priced dinner or lunch. read more

I've gone a couple of times to Emil's and I have to say that the food and service is usually wonderful. Sometimes you can get the occasionally forgetful waitress but they are all very friendly. The food is always a treat with the unique selection of appetiters and sandwiches. They also have very delicious pizza options. The last time I went I got an off menu item that a friend recommended which was a chicken bacon ranch pizza and they need to make this part of the final menu, it is just that delicious! Overall I'd give them 4 stars for excellent quality food and friendly service. read more

Why Emil's is truly hidden away. The food is well worth the effort to find it. I travel to Cedar Rapids for work and stay downtown yet still drive to Emil's to get the food. OMG the Cuban sandwich! Get the extra pickles. Great service read more

Came with high expectations after reading all the other reviews. Italian beef and Reuben weren't as good as we hoped. Nice atmosphere, good service, nice menu, average food. Would probably go back and try some other things on the menu. read more

Not very good at all. I had the Philly, which was small and not much tastier than a Subway sandwich. My wife got a rare filet, and she complained it had a sour flavor and couldn't eat it. We asked for a refund and got it. The staff was pretty young and tended to hang around the hostess station talking. The young lady answering the phone was polite, but answered the phone with her name, not the name of the restaurant. I thought I had called the wrong number. Pretty decor, but otherwise not a very good experience. Will steer clear in the future. read more

4 stars here... They missed the fifth star for service... After finding this hideaway we had trouble finding parking, which is a good sign. Got in quickly though for how busy it was. Started our night with the Redneck Nachos which were amazing. The cheese sauce had a little hint of spice, fries were great and the pulled pork was flavorful and tasted like it had been slow cooked all day. I ordered the Rachel and it came out piping hot! The turkey was great and the coleslaw added an interesting touch to the sandwich. I was excited for the Apple Jack cheese that was on numerous items on the menu, but the slaw overpowered the sandwich a bit. It was a heavy sandwich so if you get appetizers this would be fine to split. The service lost their star because there were about 3 times that we sat with EMPTY glasses, one of my biggest pet peeves. After sitting about 6 minutes without drinks we had to flag the waitress down... The atmosphere was great because there was such a mixed crowd! This just showed that everyone that tries this place comes back for more!!! Can't wait for our second visit when we try the pizza!!! read more

One of my favorite restaurants in town. I like to go from 4-6 during happy hour as they have 1/2 price apps and drink specials. Their redneck nachos and spicy rangoons are awesome. read more

Honestly the best food I've ever had in Cedar Rapids. I went in on a Wednesday night around 9:00 pm and was promptly greeted and seated. The server was awesome. I order a buffalo chicken pizza (which I do not recommend) and i didn't like it. They gave me a cheese pizza instead and it was one of the best pizzas I've ever eaten and definitely the best I've ever had in Iowa. Keep up the good work and thanks for making my night special! read more