Before I came to Iowa City for a conference? i researched places to eat. This was one I wanted to go to. They're well reviewed on Yelp, which I value. My friend from work and I came here tonight. Wow. They have an informal lounge downstairs and a more formal dining room upstairs. The lounge has the same menu plus a lounge menu. So we chose more choice. The lounge was kinda dark and it's not fancy. But it's clean and open. It's fine. The server was terrific. Ash accommodated our need for separate checks (for us each to bill for our meal). She was attentive and pleasant. I asked her what she liked better between a couple of things and she gave me an honest answer. I followed her recommendation, The beet salad was lovely. the dressing had some goat cheese in it and was delicious. The fresh beets on the side really worked with the dressing. My friend got the cheese platter to start and there was lots of cheese. He loved it. He got the lounge version of the salmon, which he thought was great. I got the Artic Char, which was delicate and phenomenal. It was topped with pieces of lobster and caviar like eggs. The fish was delicate and the sauce rich, but not overpowering. It was delightful. We both loved our meals and highly recommend Orchard Green. read more

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Incredible meal at Orchard Green! While the upstairs dining area was booked for the evening, we were able to walk in and have an incredible meal in the lounge portion of the restaurant. A round of mocktails, crab cakes, and my delicious filet mignon was unbeatable. The steak was cooked perfectly and the garlic topping was the perfect touch. For desert, we shared a cheesecake and peanut butter mousse. The cheesecake was great, but the peanut butter mousse... quite literally one of the best desserts of my life! The balance of peanut butter and rich chocolate was perfect. Service was friendly and helpful, and the lounge was relaxed and comfortable. Would highly recommend Orchard Green for a nice dinner in the area! read more

Orchard Green - New American Near Me - Iowa City, Iowa

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This didn't even come up on our Yelp search, but my husband found this somehow and we came in for dinner while touring University of Iowa with our daughter and oh my gosh. Hands-down, one of the best dining experiences we've had. Amazing food and service. Sam was our server and he was a rock star!!! read more

If you're looking for a high-end meal experience in Eastern Iowa, your search is over. Last night, my wife and I enjoyed incredibly delicious appetizers and entrees and impeccable service in a gorgeous setting. To start the night, we shared the crab cake and fried oyster appetizers. They were both delightful and rich with flavor. For the main event, she had the braised duck and I had the whitefish. Both dishes were rich and complex. Portion sizes were generous. This is not an overstatement: these were two of the best meals either of us have ever had...in any city. We can't wait to return. read more

We went here for a graduation dinner and really enjoyed the experience. The building is so interesting, the service was great, and the food was delicious. It was perfect for a special occasion. read more

Excellent meal - whitefish -and great service. Beautiful spot. Will go again and again when we're in IC.

Everything about the Orchard Green was amazing! We are from California so we always check out the wine menu. Hands down one of the best wine menus we have seen outside of California. Grace was our server and she was so attentive to us and the other tables. She was on top of everything. Highly recommend. read more

First time trying Orchard Green and the food was delicious! They have a nice ambience upstairs as others have mentioned. We were a party of 4 and ordered the focaccia, walleye fish, halibut, roasted bison and the filet. I was debating between the scallops and bison and decided on the bison which was so good! It was a lot of food and I was so stuffed. The server we had was good. He was an older gentleman and he was attentive. It can get busy here but you can also make a reservation online. There is free valet parking where you drive to the back entrance and park right in front of the door and someone will come out. Apparently, they park your car where they can find a spot as well. We ended up doing street parking so you have to pay for meter unless you find free parking a few blocks away. Free parking in downtown Iowa City is harder to come by these days for those folks who are used to free parking in the outskirts of Iowa City. read more

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My wife and I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary with a dinner here along with 6 of our oldest friends, my kids and grandkids. 13 people. The staff handled us admirably, with multiple appetizers and beverages before our entrees. It was a most memorable night, in a great setting with great food and drinks. This choice was spot on! read more

My boyfriend and I came to Orchard Green for the first time to celebrate our anniversary. The food was delicious. My favorite was the escargot, it was garlicky and savory and so delicious ill be thinking it about it and want it again sometime. My boyfriend is particular about how his steak is cooked and he said it was made perfectly. read more

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Very pleasant atmosphere and some of the best food I've had it all of Iowa. Lovely place for a higher end date night.

This I personally my favorite fine dining spot in the Iowa City area. Besides getting talked out of subbing the sides of an expensive entree with the ones of another, I'd say the service is top notch. I recommend the Crab Cakes as an appetizer, the fish board as a table item, and I've tried almost every dish and swear on their Sea Scallops. With a more classic ambiance and architecture to the building it feels like you're taking a small step back in time when things were more intimate and personable. Also the owner is a big Packers fan which is a bonus for me. If this is a deal breaker for you just don't sit at the bar. The success won't be shoved in your face :) read more

Orchard Green - Stags Leap Cabernet Sauvignon with a Sea Scallops entree - New American Near Me - Iowa City, Iowa

Very nice restaurant with upgraded atmosphere, service and food. Our go to place for fine dining experience.

Boomer slop drenched in butter. Older folks that think Texas Road house is high cuisine probably go here on their anniversary to "splurge". Salty fatty dishes with no real flavor. We didn't stick around for dessert. read more

Orchard Green - Unintentional Butter soup with some spinach and asparagus swimming around - New American Near Me - Iowa City, Iowa

Enjoyable, relaxing dinner experience with very attentive service, a well crafted menu, and comfortable elegance atmosphere. We thought the focaccia appetizer and cheese board were exceptional-loaded with cheese, fresh fruit and nuts, and a great assortment of spreads. I can speak highly of the perfectly cooked and seasoned pork chop and cheesy potato side. Other guests raved about the salmon and whitefish. We finished with the crème brûlée and praised our server before we left. read more

Terrible last night. Service took two hours; many customers just walked out. Soup cold, coffe bitter. Main course fish was fine, however. But still, overall, terrible !!! read more

I'm so thankful this restaurant has weathered the economic storm these last few years. The last time I was at the Orchard was 2018 and I'm so happy to report they are going just as strong. The ambiance in the former bank, with its classic woodwork and high ceilings, is a beautiful setting for dinner. White tablecloths, professional and organized wait staff, and a robust menu are standard. Let's talk food: We had the muscles, crab cakes, chicken bucatini, and pork rib chop. My fiance inhaled the muscles (not my fav...) and said they were delicious. The crab cakes were presented beautifully and had a kick. Served on homemade guacamole it made for a fresh combination. The chicken was perfectly cooked and the mushrooms were flavorful. The sauce that was used in this dish was rich without being heavy. The pork was crusty on the exterior and full of flavor. With the University students returning for classes I suggest reservations, as well as making use of the valet service. Keep up the fantastic work Orchard Green. You are a gem in this community. read more

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great restaurant with very nice classic ambiance. all the food and drinks that our group had were excellent. service was great too. not inexpensive for Iowa City, but worth it for a very nice meal. read more

First of all the ambiance is beautiful, quiet, romantic, classy. The service was the absolute best. Ste was very helpful in choosing food, very accommodating to my needs. The food was delicious. It's my second time there and I'd go again on my next Iowa City visit read more

The first thing I noticed about this restaurant was it's beautiful interior. The seats were comfortable and the menus were cork! Our server was very kind. I order an emperyon and it was delicious. My partner also enjoyed his whisky cocktail. You should definitely get the fish platter. That was my favorite thing I ate. The focaccia bread was delicious. I did not enjoy the beet salad very much, I'd choose something else. My main meal was very yummy with shrimp and squash gnocchi. I would recommend this place. read more

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Orchard green never disappoints. The decor is nice, the food always good and it is one of the nicer area restaurants. It is quiet enough that good conversations can be had read more

The Arctic Char was on point. Great light fish and basil risotto! Was not very impressed by the lobster butternut squash bisque. The taste was phenomenal, but it was more like an amuse bouche and I found zero pieces of lobster. Rename it Butternut squash bisque and double the size and I would rate it a 5 all day long and twice on sundays!! read more

Orchard Green - Bisque - New American Near Me - Iowa City, Iowa

Ambience is always great as is the service! As usual, the food was second to none! The local lamb is always my top choice! Best place to take visiting dignitaries! Best restaurant in Iowa City! read more

Very neat building, and the seafood is great. Nice place for a date night or to bring family for a pleasant meal.

The food was delicious I had salmon.service was exceptional. The atmosphere was very calming and great to have an intimate conversation very clean . read more

We booked a reservation at Orchard Green Restaurant two weeks ago for a friend's birthday. She's a traveling nurse, so we came to surprise her in Iowa. We called around 3 PM on the day of our reservation to confirm (our reservation time was 7:30 PM) and later called back to ask if we could bring candles or if they provided them. The gentleman we spoke with, Jake, said he would inform the staff it was for a birthday and that they would have a lit candle with the dessert, which would be complimentary. When we arrived early, the valet parking was complimentary, which was nice since there wasn't much parking space. We had to wait a bit for someone to come outside, but that was fine. Once seated, it took forever for our waitress to come to our table. Another waiter took our drink orders and informed us he wasn't our waiter but was helping out with the drinks. Our waitress finally came over about 10-15 minutes later to take our food orders. The food was definitely a 10/10. I got the Filet Mignon, and it was delicious. I also had a Lemon Drop Martini, which was tasty, though I couldn't taste any alcohol in it. For dessert, I had the peanut butter mousse, and it was by far the best dessert I've ever had. Unfortunately, my friend's dessert was neither complimentary nor did it have a candle in it, despite informing our waitress it was for a birthday. Overall, while the food was fantastic, the service could use some improvement, and it was disappointing that the birthday dessert was not free nor had a candle lit as we were told it would be. Also, their menu online does not state their prices. read more

Not a great experience. Waitress messed up our drink orders several times and some entrées were overcooked.. For example, ordered a wheat beer and a dark beer showed up. When I asked if that was correct, I was told yes. Didn't taste or look anything like the wheat beers i've had over the last 30 years but let it go because friends took us out to this venue. Then some ordered the arctic char with lobster. The lobster amounted to two tiny pieces the size of two small shrimp and the artic char was dry. The customer service and food quality could use some improvement. The star rating didn't match our experience. read more

Fantastic staff, fantastic venue. Ordered a steak here and they cooked it exactly how I asked them. Can be a bit pricey but its perfect for a special date night. read more

The ambiance of this place was great! The service was also great-constant water refills and checking on us. Free valet parking was awesome. The food? Average. I started with the potato soup with Brussel sprouts, it was really good! For an entree, I had the filet with a potato cake and broccoli. The steak was over cooked and had way too much garlic on top. I ordered medium rare and it came out medium to medium well. Also the square potato cake was burned, so only half was edible. The broccoli was good though! Not sure this will be on my list to come back to while I'm traveling in the area for several weeks. I feel there are better options at the price point. read more

Orchard Green - Potato soup - New American Near Me - Iowa City, Iowa

Wow! Joined my sisters here for dinner, the one really wanted to try it. Soooooo, we went on a Monday at 6. I was early and seated right away. Very nice decor, white table cloths. I looked over the menu while waiting. Salad was a separate charge, ouch! I got Halibut for $45. My fish was two tiny pieces, literally 2 in square! A few green beans, an over cooked/burnt potato nest, a few beets that were TERRIBLE. I love beets, I tried adding salt, they were just inedible? Not sure why. We had the crab cakes for an app, super tasty, and focaccia, that was good too. Really disappointed. Wait staff was good, had to ask for water refills. read more

Orchard Green - Beautiful presentation at the table. - New American Near Me - Iowa City, Iowa

Great food, slow service. Having a long luxury meal is enjoyable but the excruciating slow service at OG comes close to ruining the experience. The staff can seem bothered to have to provide service and made minimal effort at being attentive. We've had a similar experience the last two times we have been in the restaurant. The food is extremely good but the service needs to be much better for the cost of the meal. It's really too bad read more

I'm going to apologize right from the start on this review. I'm in a little bit of a hurry. But let me just state this is the second time we've been back there and the reason we went back is because the first time was perfect. You would think you could raise perfect it's like being a 10 and trying to go to 15 but Orchard Green is that good!!!!!! I could tell you all about the food which was outstanding we had a group of four there. You can't go wrong with anything you pick from the menu. Peggy wasn't interested in dessert. Doesn't like crème brûlée. But as always her spoon was in it and she was enjoying it it cracks me up doesn't like cream Brulé but will certainly help me finish it up. But I love that girl she puts a smile on my face every day. Wow the food was great and you know how it is with the restaurant the atmosphere can make it or break it. The atmosphere definitely made it but what really really made it was the staff was great. From the being so seated at the table until it was complete. I have to apologize again, I do not recall the name of our waitress. But she was outstanding. I asked for the lady that seated us. And she came over and later and asked if there was anything wrong? I gave her a tip, and told her no everything's perfect and we were off to a great start. We as customers tend to forget how hard everybody Mac works to make it a great experience if you're not tipping the staff and tipping them generously you probably can't afford to go out. Wow, I will probably get some blowback on this. But I had a relative who believed in just tipping the minimums. Even when the staff does a great job. I believe in being generous with tips when staff is generous for their service. They don't have to be there they choose to be there and we as customers need to treat them with the awesome respect that they deserve as we were treated with awesome respect that night. As you probably have figured out I'm very fond of this business. You need to go there see it yourself. You probably should make a reservation. It'll be worth every dime thank you for putting up with my long winded review. Have a great day. read more

Once again in IC and decided to treat the family to dining at Orchard Green. From the front door valet to the final bill, this establishment is a win-win. Had the spicy pork belly appetizer and it did not disappoint - definitely a different take on a traditional type of dish. The Arctic Char is one of my favorites and was excellent as usual. The rest of the family went for the cowboy steak, jerk chicken and the walleye with chocolate torte for dessert. Definitely a must when in town! read more

I never understand how I sometimes forget to say something. This is the only restaurant I will eat when in Iowa city. I've never had anything not good. Tonight is Moroccan clam chowder, cumin, saffron and cilantro. Potato crusted flounder. This restaurant deserves you come as many times as it takes to try everything. Then repeat read more

If you're in the mood for a happy hour cocktail definitely check out the lounge on a Tues or Wed night. I think all weekdays have a $2 off glasses of wine special (and beer special) til 6pm but on Tues and Wed nights there are around 14 specially cocktails priced at $5 each all night which I think is an excellent deal! Their "hot and filthy" cocktail is a take on the dirty martini with a spicy twist! I appreciated the garnish of two large olives and a pickled pepper. Their Negroni is also delicious. I'll definitely be back to try more! There's a separate lounge menu with lower priced food items in comparison to the upstairs/main dining room menu but you can also order from the main menu while in the lounge. The charcuterie board was excellent for sharing. Our service was also excellent and we were there for over 3 hrs! Enjoy! read more

Orchard Green - One side of the specialty cocktail menu. Each are $5 each on Tues and Wed nights, all night! - New American Near Me - Iowa City, Iowa

I want to responsibly mention that it's been quite awhile since I've been to Orchard Green, and that was my first experience. Even so, I've been fortunate to eat at some of the finest restaurants in America and in western Europe and Orchard Green is right out there with the finest cuisine available. I also found my server to be completely charming and gentlemanly, and the ambience to be truly beautiful. I am a great fan of quiet dining, and having made an early reservation it was heaven for me. There is construction now nearby which makes driving there complicated, so, make sure that your GPS points out to you the fact that there is Construction and make time to walk there and park a bit at a distance, if there's someone who is handicapped with respect to walking it might be a bit challenging to get there unless somebody drove up to the Restaurant, and or be in touch with the restaurant as to the best way to proceed. I am very relieved to see that the restaurant does seem to be open in spite of this hindrance to people arriving at the front door of the restaurant, especially because I have family member coming into town and it would be a lovely place for a family dinner. I am completely open to an even would advise whoever reviews my review to check in with the restaurant as to the current status of the transportation situation around Orchard Green . Truly exquisite food, people! Elisa Maria Francesca read more

Good food, good service, great ambiance. There are certainly cheaper places to eat but this was worth it.

There is a lovely dining room upstairs with white tablecloths. Since I was eating alone and dressed casually, I opted for the lounge downstairs. It was lovely and quiet, no blaring tv! Good place for a romantic dinner. The Caesar salad was delicious (with the perfectly balanced traditional Caesar dressing with anchovies. It had just the right amount of kick to it. For dinner I had the crab cakes which were very unusual and excellent. They were real crab without all the excess filling, set on a beautiful display (and flavor) of sauce and mashed avocado. Just a little tang and scrumptious. These 2 items were a perfect amount of good for late evening dining. The wine selection was pretty good and limited for by the glass. And she directed me to the perfect pairing with my entree. Loved it all and would return again! read more

Delicious food, lots of dairy free and vegetarian options! Great place for celebrations

Fabulous place - staff, service & food are remarkable! Everything is top notch - try a seafood theme start with the smoked fish board & then any fish entree will make your night! read more