I dined here last year Valentine's Day there was a little hiccup where we weren't served for a long time they kind of forgot about us. But the owner made it right we got our food pro bono the food was amazing. The service was good. The environment was very nice. i'll be back in March for my birthday. read more

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What in the world is going on here? Had to make a reservation to dine at this place and were shocked at the appearance and decor once we arrived. Non-existent. Bare bones room with a creaky floor, no table cloths, flowers, candles, artwork, lamps or lighting of any kind. First they had no Sprite. "Coke or Diet Coke only" okaaay. Then we notice they are pouring our lemonade out of a Market Pantry gallon, and the Coke out of 2-liters! We proceed to attempt to order food against our better judgement and ask for the gluten-free mac and cheese which is listed on the menu. The waiter needs to check on that. Comes back to report that it is also unavailable. At that point, we walked out. read more

Ugh. This was just a horrible experience. We arrived at 6 PM and found the restaurant mostly empty. It was a Saturday night so we got to dinner a little bit earlier than normal. Although, when we went to order the waitress explained that part of the menu was prepared in one kitchen while part was prepared in a different kitchen. What? Two different kitchens prepare the food? How does that make any sense? Yet the menu has food listed from both the kitchen? When I asked her to clarify, she actually told me that there were three different kitchens. Because one of the kitchens was extremely busy that night, she could not guarantee that our food will be brought out at the same time. That was an understatement. There were two of us. Let me just say that the person I was dining with completely finished their entire meal before mine was even brought out. Did I order some extravagant dinner which would have required a large amount of prep? No. I ordered a hamburger. That's it. A hamburger. Yet it took nearly 45 minutes for this hamburger to be prepared. And, my sides were completely messed up, which by the time the waitress came back to check on our food and I pointed out the problem, I was nearly finished with my burger. Did I mention that when I asked the waitress to just cancel my order because it has taken so long she replied with much snark, "well, I told you they wouldn't come out at the same time". If you find yourself in the Iowa city area looking for a good place to eat, look somewhere else. The burger was good but did not come close to making up for the horrible experience. We will not be back. read more

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They need to hire more severs. I ordered the mixed greens salad with chicken ($16), margarita ($10),Moscow mule ($8), and creme brûlée ($8). The honey-balsamic vinaigrette was fantastic for the salad. The chicken was small and tasted weird. The marg and creme brûlée was great. The mule tasted like cologne. My friend had the pork vindaloo ($21) and that was delicious. She had the marg ($10), Dark N'Stormy ($9) and Poppy seed cake ($8), which all were good. I would recommend this place. read more

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Amazing food. Sister restaurant to the fancier one downstairs. Can order from their menu too. Casual and great service.

This trio of restaurants reminds of the famous WWE wrestler Mick Foley where he had 3 different alter egos in Dude Love, Mankind, and Cactus Jack. While reach persona had the same person behind them, they were slightly different versions. They have three different restaurants in Flight, One Twenty Six, and Moonrakers that apparently come out of the same kitchen that are slightly different from each other. Not sure why they just couldn't be one together restaurant, but each section has a different name with some of the same and some different food. The food is pretty good, I've had some things I've liked and some so so dishes. The menus have had some changes from the times I've been, so looks like you can get a few new items every now and then. They do offer a decent selection of good for all three places, should be able to find something for everyone. I don't go out of my way to come here, but when I do I'm usually content. read more

We went to Moonrakers after hearing from some friends that the owners of 126 had opened an additional restaurant. We were quite impressed with what we found! The place is located above 126 and when you sit next to the window, it gives you a very nice view of the street and when combined with the exposed brick interior of the place, it made for quite a nice ambiance for the evening. The interior is very similar to the adjacent restaurant - Hearth, which serves similar cuisine. Our waiter was very nice, attentive and just the right amount of conversational. We joined a couple friends for dinner which meant we go to try more items! The stout beer battered onion rings were good, but not overly impressive and different from what we were expecting. They were pretty standard rings w/ decent ranch. If they just called them normal onion rings, it would have been better as our expectations were for something dark and a with some beer flavor. Our friends got the hand cut fries and they were definitely better than average with some good aoli for dippin. Between the four of us we tried a number of dishes and all were ones we'd go back for. The gnocchi was excellent! It came in a red sauce that had just a little kick to it. The shittake mushrooms and basic that danced along side the potato brilliance were just right! My better half had a pulled pork torta- basically a pork sub w/ cheese. It too was excellent with some great flavor and just the right amount of sauce. The homemade chips that is came with were an excellent addition. Our friends had a brick oven pizza- always excellent as it came from the hearth oven (we think). It's always just the right amount of done with a great thin crust and just a little bit of char. The final item we tried was the steak sandwich and all present agreed it was the best item we tried! It was a foccacia bread sandwich loaded with tons of steak and covered with cheese and carmelized onions. It was the sort of sandwich that you chew longer because it's so good and that you think about ordering a second one to take home and have later! The beer selection was solid. They had 6 or 7 draft beers and included a number of Iowa beers. They have a bottle list that included beers from a number of different regions including England and Belgium - 20 or so bottles are at your disposal, including the legendary Rochefort Trappist 8 - One of best beers you'll ever try! Wine list is also decent - plus they have good happy hour specials and wine specials on Mondays w/ dinner. Overall, moonrakers is another great addition to downtown. The ambiance is quaint and a little rustic, but in total very good, the service is solid, the drink selection excellent and the food above average. Our total came to around $40 with drinks and was well worth it. This is the sort of spot that we'll definitely be back to with food items that we'll be back for specifically. A great spot for dinner with friends, a happy hour after work or just to drop in on a Saturday evening when you're looking for something a little out of the ordinary. read more

Awful. Not only was the service incredibly slow, but my burger was raw. Not rare, raw. Purple and cold in the middle. The server said they were supposed to be "medium rare" -- fine, but this was raw meat. I sent it back to be reheated and they were actually kind enough to make me a new one, which would have been great and totally made up for the raw burger, if not for the fact that the replacement was nearly as bad as the original. I requested medium-well. Unfortunately, this new one was rare. Luckily not full-on raw this time, but it was still very bloody. Not medium-well as I had ordered. Not even medium-rare. I understand that interpretations of cook time vary, but this was fairly unambiguous. I will say that our server was accommodating and friendly. read more

Moonrakers - Moonrakers' interpretation of "medium well." - Gastropubs Near Me - Iowa City, Iowa

Solid food in a real cozy, upscale environment. The crab cake sandwich is tasty but has way too much bread. I ate it as an open face sandwich. Phenomenal hummus and a great beer selection. Dinner for 2 is about $40. read more

I have always really enjoyed the food at Moonrakers. From their delicious burgers, to some of their newish mediterranean fare, this spot offers a varied menu with plenty of options for people who might be GF or vegetarian. Most recently, we visited on a Saturday evening before trying to catch a show at the Englert. Overall, the service was friendly, and our waitress did a great job recommending some options for our GF friend. The wine and food wound up filling us up, and we had a lovely night. One thing to keep in mind when visiting is that they tend to be a tad understaffed and share a kitchen with the other connected restaurants, so the wait times for food can be a little longer than those at some other local spots - this is particularly noticeable during busy weekend hours, so just plan ahead so you don't have to rush if you have places to be. read more

Your friend says, "I just wanna get a couple of delicious beers in a relaxed atmosphere - maybe some appetizers." Enter Moonrakers. This place reminds me of a restaurant located in downtown Minneapolis or Chicago and sports the same types of menu options. With a fantastically deliberate rotating bottle selection, you would be hard pressed to drink your way through the menu's entirety before new bottles has been added. The menu features an exquisite selection of delicious and hand-prepared items that could be offered at a much more expensive price and yet, we feast like kings at a very reasonable price accompanied by incredible service. If you're thinking about the weekend, consider a res read more

Moonrakers - Wednesday you can get mad good tacos at great prices! - Gastropubs Near Me - Iowa City, Iowa

Food was amazing and ambience was great. The host/server was weird but he was a student.

Another sister restaurant to 126, this one above the 126. Gourmet bar food is how I would describe the menu. However, this is no ordinary bar food. Hamburger is small but very tasty. Proscuito and Cuban sandwiches are also very tasty. Steak sandwich is similar to what they serve for lunch at 126, again very good. The house salad with "salsa verde" dressing is fantastic. Just spicy enough to excite your palate. Dinner menu is more extensive, many items from 126 and Hearth restaurants. Calamri, fries, mussels and hummus are all good. The beer selection is interesting but on the pricy side unless you come during happy hour. Also, interesting cocktail menu. One of my favorite is "Sir Hugo Drax", paying homage to the villain from Ian Flemming's James Bond novel "Moonrakers." This tasty concoction includes melon liquor. Service can vary, sometimes slow but always friendly. The basic price of the food is reasonable but can add up when you start adding extras like cheese on the burger. Overall, a very solid addition, a great place to hang out during the Hawkeye games. read more

A group of us diverted away from Formosa one night when they were particularly busy and ended up at Moonrakers at the recommendation of a friend who had been there for late night. i was impressed with the atmosphere - it's easy to feel relaxed, as the ambiance is comfortable without being run-down. The service was attentive without being overwhelming - our server was helpful with beer recommendations but didn't hover. He didn't pressure us to make decisions on what looked like a busy night for them, which we sincerely appreciated. The beer list is succinct and focused but offers something for everyone to enjoy; I had the crabcake sandwich and, although they did not spare anything on the bread portion of the sandwich (READ: way more bread than I could handle), the crabcake itself and its accompanying sour cream were savory and satisfying. You could easily get away with cutting one of the bread pieces in half and using that as sandwich structure, which would let the crabcake have a little more authority in the equation. The price points aren't unreasonable, especially when compared to sister restaurant 126 downstairs. I enjoyed a nice meal with a few drinks for around $20-25, which is well worth it for the experience, service levels, and culinary options that Moonrakers offers. read more

So glad I stopped in here! The atmosphere is great, a bit small but that is kind of what I liked about it. I had a burger and it was bursting with flavor, perfectly cooked and seasoned. Servers were great, the only reason I am not giving 5 stars is I would expect the prices to be a bit lower for a place like this, especially in Iowa City. read more

Great food at this gastropub attached to 126. Service always considerate, menu is interesting and offers good variety, quality always top notch. Had the Dutch burger with Gouda, grilled onions and bacon on fresh roll. Excellent beer selection. Really one of our goto places when visiting IC for lunch. read more

Incredible every time. Get the calamari . Get a burger med rare - you won't find one better. Falafel wrap good too . read more

Moonrakers - Break the Fast with spinach salad - Gastropubs Near Me - Iowa City, Iowa

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The quest for the best burger in town finally lead me to Moonraker's. Outstanding quality beef and ingredients. Staff is friendly and approachable. Cocktail list, while creative, is uninspiring. Beer selection is more impressive than many around the Iowa City area. All around great food and good service; highly recommended for burgers (the lamb burger is highly sought after, though, in my opinion, didn't live up to the hype). read more

Portion sizes are perfect. My boyfriend and I usually split an appetizer and get our own entree. I never leave stuffed, but I leave satisfied. Their burgers are delicious and I ordered the steak sandwich the other day, which came with chips, and it was absolutely phenomenal! I'm a little weirder out by homemade potato chips (they can easily be too greasy and get soggy) but they were also to die for. I believe they make everything in house and you can totally tell the difference between other places around town. I also love that you can dress nice or casual and not feel under or over dressed. read more

The worst service I have ever had. We saw our waitress once she when she took our order. Our hostess was high as a kite. Food was okay, fries were amazing though. Took us almost 30 min to just pay our bill. read more

Recently, I left this establishment incredibly offended. The one star rating is for the aesthetics and food variety. Other than that it was a horrible experience. For one, I asked for my burger to be prepared well done and it came out medium rare. They offered to put the served burger back on their grill or provide a partial refund for a plate essentially untouched. The most egregious part of my experience was witnessing two bar attendants making insulting and disgusting comments about non-white people. As they offer a worldly cuisine, the employees do not exhibit respect for non-white people. The manager came to the table and apologized stating he game us a discount on the uneaten burger and he could not offer anything else in regards to the racist comments made. Needless to say, I will not return. read more

Really enjoyed our time at moonrakers. We were able to get a table for 8 on a game night at a reasonable time. The food was delicious. Highly recommend the lamb burger. The mussels were also a nice app. Cute ambiance and good food. Would go back! read more

I liked the small grown up feel but the menu is not very diverse. Gastropubs usually have unique or exciting offerings, I wasn't really excited about trying their pizza, burgers or salads. Their "charcuterie" was supermarket salami and faux foie gras- nice try. And their "artichoke" is actually a salad with three pieces of canned artichoke hearts, ugh. Two stars for the waiter who couldn't do his job right and forgot to include some items on our bill! read more

One of my favorite hidden spots in Iowa City. Their lamb burger is phenomenal. Service is kind of slow however.

Moonrakers is one of my favorite places in Iowa City, because of the atmosphere, the sensibilities of the menu, and because it has the best burger in town. (And, yes, I've been to Short's; it doesn't stack up.) The atmosphere is relaxed and casual but with a touch of class. Along with a number of Iowa made beers on tap, the menu features locally sourced food and freshly prepared ingredients. One can really taste this, especially in the burgers which are wonderfully flavorful and in my experience excellently prepared. I like rare burgers, and when I order that at Moonrakers I get it. The fries are yummy, too. As a few others have mentioned, the service *can* be a bit spotty and the music unfortunately loud. And I've been there before when the staff is more interested in cranking the music and chatting with each other rather than taking care of customers; thus my 4-star rating. Almost every place in Iowa City - certainly at this price point - can be like this, so I take it with a grain of salt. Overall this is a really good place for great food in a laid-back but fashionable atmosphere for dinner out. They also have good lunch specials, so it's a nice place if you want something out of the usual. read more

Four of us went there after a show to get a bite and have a couple of drinks. The food and drinks were good. We were the only people in the place except some employees at the bar. It was only about 10, they close at 11, but it was quite clear they wanted us to go. In the empty restaurant they started playing the music exceeding loud so we had to raise our voices to be heard. The type and volume of the music made me think that they were getting ready for the late night crowd but they close at 11. The music seemed more suited for a busy nightclub than an empty restaurant. The music was 'nigga, blah, blah, nigga, blah, blah'. After several of these songs at an extremely loud volume we concluded this must be the get the f**k out music. So we got the f**k out and won't be going back. read more

A group of about 10 of my friends and I came here to celebrate some birthdays and we were seated at the very back of the restaurant. Surprisingly, the restaurant itself is very large with ample seating. We were seated in a very private area where we were waited on by very friendly waiters. The menu has a nice selection of dishes that all sounded delicious. My friend and I split a crab cake sandwich, hand-cut fries, and samosas. The crab cake sandwich was good but a bit disappointing because for about $13, it was rather small. The hand-cut fries were nice and crispy and so were the samosas. The samosas with cilantro chutney was probably my favorite thing that I ordered. The thing that I appreciated the most was that despite being a large group that was secluded in the back, the waiter was on top of his game. He made sure that our glasses were always full and that we had everything we needed to enjoy our meal. Since it was my two friend's birthday that night, they received a nice complimentary creme brulee. Overall, I enjoyed my time here and would probably come back just to drink some wine and eat samosas. read more

Dig! The boyf and I were in Iowa City for the weekend and found this place around the corner from our hotel. The food is great, and it's a fun space. Sit by the window if you can. Fish and Chips - SO SO GOOD. Really, it was awesome. It's listed as an appetizer, but it's more than enough for an entree (and it's only $8.50). 4 pieces of fish and a giant mound of delicious hand-cut fries (the thin kind...like frites). The tartar sauce is really good, and normally tartar sauce isn't worthy of much individual notice lol. Wood-Fired Pepperoni Pizza - Yessssss. Perfect. $9!? That's crazypants cheap. House-Made Gnocchi (with fresh marinara, spinach, mushroom, and Asiago) - Good, but I don't think it was worth $18. The gnocchi themselves are excellent. The sauce is a solid marinara, but like...it's just marinara, you know? Big pile of what I believe was watercress on top, which was a nice touch. The portion is pretty small though. Not entree size at all. Luckily we were just sharing a bunch of stuff, because if I would have gotten that as my only food, I would not have been happy. Flourless chocolate torte - Good, but nothing special. Beer - The two beers the boyf tried were okay, but he was taking a chance on stuff he hadn't had before. I'm sure the draft selection rotates anyway. Service - The service was excellent. Our waiter was warm and helpful, and the hostess and bartender were also very friendly. We came after happy hour, but I saw the sign for happy hour specials, and it seems like a pretty great deal. $3 wells, $4 martinis and specialty drinks, and then $2 off beer. Maybe I'm just used to Chicago prices, but that seems dirt cheap, especially for a place with great ambiance. read more

Ended up here after taking friends to Hudson's and being embarrassed. This was my 2nd chance from my friends that I could take us out for a good hamburger. Best burger in town, you can tell it's house ground when you're eating it. Get your elbows up because it's going to leak some juice, it's just that well executed. It's the only place i've been to in town that consistently just cooks a perfect medium-rare hamburger. Every. Single. Time. It's always on point! Oh, and they start at a very reasonable $9 for hamburger and fries! Have also had the Blue Crab Gnocchi (their entrees come directly off of their sister restaurant One Twenty Six), and while not super loaded with crab, the crab flavor is very pronounced and the gnocchi well made. Rich dish, well worth the $21! read more

I love the upstairs rustic atmosphere of Moonrakers. Our waiter was prompt and eager to answer questions. (I tend to ask a lot of questions about preferences and comparisons). The cocktail menu was poor, unless your a gin drinker. The beer list was very good however. My husband ordered the Cuban and raved numerous times. The homemade salad dressing on his side salad was delish. Absolutely wonderful. I ordered the lamb shank and risotto on a whim. I didn't like it. Not because of it's preparation. It was uncomfortable to my palette. We will be back soon. read more

I love the feel of this place! And the staff is amazing and then you top that off with great food and you have a winning combination! They have delicious burgers, always cooked to perfection, flavorful and juicy! read more

Moonrakers is without a doubt one of the nicest joints I have been to in Iowa City. Great cocktail list and the food is very good and the presentation is phenomenal. It's a nice place for dinner on a Friday or Saturday night. It's a must try. read more

Best burger that I've had in Iowa city, better than shorts. Good drinks as well. Definitely a hidden gem of Iowa city.

I'm a big fan of burgers, and the Mediterranean lamb was a new spin on it for me. The mint sauce really brought it together, and I'm definitely coming back to try some other options. I wish the side options were a bit more interesting, maybe some sweet potato fries as an option, but perhaps I've been spoiled by living in NC where that's pretty common. Interestingly, you can also order food from the other two restaurants that are under the same roof. Altogether two thumbs up. Would definitely return. read more

Incredible place! My friends and I like to come here for appetizers and drinks.

I've only been here for their late night happy hour, and it's was pretty good. They have some interesting signature cocktails that are worth a try. I really like the idea of a happy hour late at night, but in practice it was less exciting than I expected. Definitely doing at least once though. read more

Went on a Saturday afternoon and was pleasantly surprised. Had the chicken gyro and it was delicious! Their unique drinks are also very tasty! Employees were very nice and patient. Hung out watching sports and sipping on drinks for the afternoon. read more

Food was great. Atmosphere needs some work. Made a reservation with open table and there wasn't really a hostess to confirm this. It wasn't a problem, there were lots of open tables. No music. Came because they had football on, they did but no sound. Only talking from various tables. Added to the chaos. Maybe they were short staffed? Would come again, would just adjust my expectations read more

Their fish tacos are sooooo good! I wish I could've gone back the next night to get them again! The fish was grilled, not fried, and their homemade spicy salsa was the bomb. read more

This is literally the best burger place in Iowa City. A hidden gem. Their Meyers burger is made using local grass fed beef and cooked to perfection every time. Plus they have yummy vegetarian options. Awesome specialty drinks with a speakeasy atmosphere. Highly recommend! read more