This is a quaint midwestern restaurant. The food is very "homey" and definitely comforting. I went with my parents two days in a row. They LOVE this place! For my first visit, we had breakfast. Most notable was the French toast. The slices were thick and not soggy at all. So very-well done! For the second visit, we had lunch. My mother ordered the French Dip and had a side of onion rings. My dad had the chicken sandwich, and the breading was so beautifully done, and the chicken was moist and juicy. I ordered the Hot Tenderloin, and it was AMAZING (and a lot of food)! The service was prompt, and the staff was very kind and welcoming. What made my heart happy the most was how caring and loving they were to my aging parents. Thank you to everyone at Oscar's for being so wonderful to my parents. I will be more than happy to come back here with them. read more

Some of the nicest staff you'll ever encounter. Every experience is a positive one. I love the classic diner feel. Always quick to take our order, food comes out fast, and at a great price. Enjoy coming back here! read more

Awesome "homey" feel - my food was made pretty fast. Service was great. Definitely coming back next time I'm in town. The staff (both BOH and FOH) are very friendly! read more

Great food cooked perfectly, great service, and fair prices. We had a nice breakfast when it was very busy. The wait staff was slammed yet they multitasked well, checking on tables while delivering other tables food etc. Just a rock solid diner type place. No frills but very good food. Highly recommended read more

I went to Oscar's to try out their breakfast. I ordered Oscar's Muffin and it was pretty good but very buttery. I also tried their orange juice which was ok. When I first arrived, I was seated right away and the staff was nice. It was pretty busy inside and I still got my food pretty quick which was nice. The restaurant had an old style feel to it with wooden booths and tables for seating. Overall, pretty average breakfast experience. read more

Oscars - Oscar's Muffin - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Hiawatha, Iowa

Recently, (within the last week), I chose to eat lunch at Oscar's. (i.e., The last time I had ate there was before the COVID Pandemic). It seems that they are only open for breakfast and lunch, (if anyone is interested in that fact). I sat down at the counter, as most all of the table and booths were all filled with "senior" people. Might I say, maybe most ALL of them were "senior" type citizens, of which I am one. (This fact alone usually means the food there is pretty decent..!) The counter service was excellent, but I passed on the daily special, choosing to eat something else off the menu. I settled on the hot roast beef plate with mashed potatoes and gravy. It arrived in short order and it was, satisfyingly, very hot physically and appealing to look at. Nothing else came with it except a glass of ice water that I ordered. Ambiance, (as I alluded to above..), was that it was/is a "busy" place at certain times of the day, with a good number of respectful people eating there. Thus, so far, everything was looking good. Once my order came, (very quickly for a busy restaurant..!), I dug into the hot roast beef, but I was VERY disappointed. The roast beef was all THINLY sliced roast beef "deli" style sandwich meat. Furthermore, there wasn't all that much of the roast beef ON my hot plate. And what there was of it, was dehydrated around the edges of these thinly sliced meat slices, (meaning that the slices had been allowed to dry out around their edges to become a chewy meat, instead of tender meat. The gravy was fine and generous, but the mashed potato scoop had the consistency and taste of that which comes right out of a box. I had expected my order to look and be like the advertised picture of one of their luncheon hot plates, (as per one of their Internet hot plate pictures). However, I now believe THAT hot plate pic is, instead, a picture of a very thick, deep fried chicken breast that is being sold as representative of their hot plate specials. The shocker came with my bill. I was charged $12.26 for THAT deli style luncheon meat hot roast beef plate, (whose meat I expected to have to cut into bite-sized pieces before consuming it). That did not happen with this hot plate special. I paid my bill, tipped the counter waitress, and took my now boxed remains home for my cats to eat. This roast beef hot plate special could have been a far greater value if only they had used real, carved, roast beef meat. Then I wouldn't have cared soo much about the mashed potatoes... If you got there to eat, try something else from their menu than what I ordered, and see for yourself if it's tasty and a good value for your monies. read more

Great experience! Stopped for a quick breakfast on our way through town and sure glad we did! Very friendly and quick service. Food hit the spot! Will be back! read more

So this is one of the few small family owned resteraunts in this area. The food is home made, great priced and service can't be beat. Even when they are busy they have their act together. we visited another diner this weekend, was told there were two ahead of us 45 minutes and 6 people later we left mad, as they forgot about us even after reminding them. The staff at Oscar's will take your name and number and call you if there is a wait. There are so many places that try to add strange things to their menus to please the up and coming and they don't last very long. My only regret is that they aren't open for supper, but being family owned, they need time off also and with the shortage of help everywhere they (mostly family) would be working non stop. You need to try this place... you won't regret it.. Not too many places left with great service, genuine kind help and good down to earth food. read more

A real nice place to eat. Service was spot on. Best gravy and biscuits I have ever had. My eggs were cooked perfectly. The hash browns could use some flavor. otherwise highly recommended. read more

This place screams local diner! Has the old fashioned feel, and the food is very basic. The decor won't wow you but the service will. The food is reminiscent of the food you would make yourself at home. Not a bad thing but when I go out I expect a little something special. The menu does have a lot of options and they offer daily specials. All around you feel a sense of community and caring servers which really helps oscars out in my opinion. read more

Oscars - Gyros with Fries - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Hiawatha, Iowa

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Worst meal ever. If I could subtract stars, I would. The best part of the meal was leaving it on the table. I will say the wait staff was timely. The food was crazy salty and mostly room temperature. I won't be back and you'd do well to skip this place and eat at Casey's next door. read more

Best food and friendly staff. Everytime I stop in there the girls are smiling and the tables are clean. The French Fries are the best in town, they are addicting lol! The prices are reasonable and the food portions are large you always take some home. This is a have to stop and try place, you will be a fan too! read more

My favorite breakfast spot in town. Old time feel. Great service and classic feel and menu. Love it. Lots of regulars and very casual. Very reasonable. Highly recommend. read more

This is a family owned and operated restaurant. The services is always amazing and the food has been exceptional every time! This is my must stop every time I'm in CR. Always SUPPORT local! read more

Oscar's never disappoints. I've been coming here for years. I love to support local. I always bring out of town guests here for breakfast. Great food, great service at a great price. I had biscuits and gravy this morning and it was sooooo good. Fluffy biscuits and super, savory, delicious sausage gravy. Thank you again for another great meal with friends! read more

Oscars - Biscuits and gravy - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Hiawatha, Iowa

I worked in this area at the beginning of April when COVID-19 first hit. They were one of the only breakfast places still open at 7AM for to go. This place is fantastic! I'm back in town for work and have been here everyday for breakfast! Server knows my meal as the usual and gets my chocolate milk and water when she see's me walk in. I would highly recommend this place! read more

Oscars - Booth dividers - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Hiawatha, Iowa

I eat here when I'm in town for the Sweetgrass festival in September. Family run. Attentive, hard working staff. Food is Diner food with really good Greek food! Lots of regulars. read more

I was coming to Oscars for years the coffee and service are good but the food is meh! I was in last week and I got an extra egg and an extra slice ( not order) of toast. The eggs were burnt I mean all brown! Not a good characteristic of an over easy egg. It was gross, and if you do t tell them crispy on the hash browns you will not get much if any brown. Lastly I was charged 1.95 for a piece of toast, so much for being a regular. read more

This restaurant is next to one of my fave cupcake places, and I finally talked Hubs in to check it out. Best thing I can say was breakfast was cheap and the service was fast and friendly. Unfortunately, the food was disappointing. The coffee was probably the best part of the breakfast. It was solid diner coffee. No frills needed. The service was prompt. We only had to wait a few minutes to be seated even though the place was packed. Packed with seniors, but still packed. The senior support is good to see because that usually means cheap eats, and I would agree that breakfast was economical. But cheap is not my motivator for breakfast...good eggs are. These eggs were overcooked, tough and rubbery. Just disappointing, and setting the tone for a blah meal. The bacon was a little overcooked, but that doesn't phase me. I can enjoy meteorite with the best of them. I can't say I will take the drive there again. Just not memorable enough, even with the kind waitress. read more

It's funny how you can drive by a place for years and realize that you have never eaten there. So today the husband and I decided that we would stop by and have breakfast. I'm glad we did! Decor: Nothing to write home about. We actually sat at the counter because it was so busy, so our view was of the kitchen window and the service area. These were both very clean and multiple times I saw servers and the owners/cooks cleaning Food: I had the eggs and ham and the husband had steak and eggs. Both were good sized portions, especially the hash browns. Everything was delicious. I was really wishing I had tried a waffle, they looked amazing...Next time for sure. Service: Very busy and yet the service was the best I have had in a while. I managed restaurants for a number of years and I would have killed for employees like these. Friendly and hard working! . I was very impressed by the one young server/daughter who was always busy and keeping things stocked as she went. What an amazing server she was. I did give four stars since this was our first time. But I will be back and I don't think I'll be disappointed. read more

This is one of those local, close to home places that I really hoped would be outstanding, unfortunately it isn't. Located in a strip mall type building next to Casey's, it's pretty vanilla inside which is fine because I didn't come for the atmosphere. The service was mediocre as was the quality of the food. I would put this restaurant just a notch above McDonald's. In all honesty, I don't see myself going back anytime soon. read more

My wife and I ate breakfast here yesterday morning. The food was perfect! Best coffee and pancakes I've ever had in a restaurant (I'm 60 years old)! My wife had the eggs and country ham. Don't let any one tell you ham is ham, I say BS. Iowa farmers produce the best tasting ham in the US. We know, we travel 95% of the year, live in hotels, and eat out every day. The service was excellent too. No problem giving 5 stars. read more

Oscar's Family Restaurant? More like Oscar's Senior Citizen Restaurant. All jokes aside, I was very impressed with my waitress. She was extremely hardworking, and despite the fact that the place was packed (it was a Sunday morning), we got our food at a relatively decent time. The food, however, was a bit disappointing. I got a Western Omelet and hash browns. The omelet was gross, to say the least. The ingredients all looked and tasted like they came straight out of a can. Even a heavy coating of Tabasco couldn't improve the taste. The hash browns were good, nice and crispy on the top. Overall, I was impressed with the service. My food was about what you would expect from a quiet, little joint like Oscar's. This breakfast spot resembles just another run-of-the-mill family restaurant. read more

Oscars is a fairly good family run restaurant. The waitresses and waiters are very kind, though can be WAY to chatty. The food that I have had there has been either really good or really poor. The club sandwich is so bland and basic that it's something that you could make at home. The bacon cheeseburger is pretty good and is my most frequent order. One time the bacon on the burger came cold which is unacceptable, especially since the restaurant wasn't busy at all and the cooks had plenty of time to make the food as good as possible. Besides that one mess up, the food is fairly consistent. Oscars is nothing special, but its half bad at all. read more

Excellent breakfast! Definitely will be back, especially now that I see they serve crinkle cut French Fries. Clean and cozy place with an outstanding wait staff. A must if you are a local or just passing through. read more

My wife ordered a Patty Melt, these are supposed to be made on Rye bread, with Swiss cheese, and grilled onions, ALL STANDARD. But Oscars makes it on wheat or white bread, with American cheese. Yup you can pay an up charge to get it made correctly. $0.99 for Swiss, $0.75 for Rye, and $0.75 for grilled onions. So $2.50 more gets it made better, but still bland, as the Rye bread is not a Caraway rye. So a lunch sandwich was ~$11.80. No sides. I had a western omelet. I like that it does not come with potatoes. They don't salt the food, and this is good for blood pressure reasons. It's just too bland. I probably eat there once a year, and the food is always on the bland/blander side of flavor. read more

I decided to try this place, because I figured that a place this crowded would probably be good. It turns out that there is an alternate way to have a crowded restaurant. It seems like the keys are to be on the exact opposite side of town from the good breakfast places, and be really slow at turning tables. I sat down at the counter with my son. It's easier than waiting for a table with a four year-old. After what seemed like a really long time, especially since we were seated right next to the register, and very close to the service window, a waitress asked whether anyone had gotten us drinks. I told her that our drink orders hadn't been taken. She apologized, and took the order for a Coke and a chocolate milk, which she brought promptly. I drank my soda pretty quickly. When the waitress refilled it, I took one sip, and realized it was diet. I took another sip to make sure and slid the glass to the edge of the counter to signal that I was done with it. I didn't expect that to be noticed, especially given how busy the waitstaff seemed, and the fact that it wasn't noticed isn't something that would affect my thoughts on the restaurant. (As far as I could see, the restaurant had two dedicated back of house staff, four dedicated front of house staff, and one staff member who seemed to fill the roles of hostess, and buss person. I have no idea whether that is understaffed for this size of a restaurant, or whether they are just inefficient. So, I'm simply saying that the staff was busy.) Anyway, when I was able to get a waitress' attention, I asked if I could have a regular Coke, as the one I was given was a diet. The waitress apologized, and brought me a regular Coke. At this point, I would hope that the fact that I don't like diet would be evident. My next refill was a diet. I just drank it, because I need my caffeine, and I had been in this Dystopian nightmare for far too long to wait even longer for another dose. When I finished that soda, I was given another refill of diet. I actually made eye contact with the waitress as she was pouring it from the diet fountain. By this point, you're probably wondering why I'm drinking four sodas with breakfast. I'll sum it up in the words of the perfect stranger who was sitting next to me at the counter. As he left, he said "I think they forgot about you. I already finished my breakfast." So, that should let you know hoe long "short order" cookery takes at Oscar's. Now, in general. I enjoy restaurants. So, while I admittedly don't do well with waiting for a table, I'm usually ambivalent towards waiting for my meal. The exception is when I am listening to constant shop talk from the waitstaff. I get that you're going to hear some when you sit at the counter, and I'm fine with that. That's the trade-off of sitting at the counter. When my four year-old points to my plate and says "Daddy, is that for table 13?," I feel like the complaints about the hostess, and the customer who wants a to-go container for three hash browns. and all of the other nonsense, have gone over the limit, though. I'm pretty sure that I have written over 400 reviews on this site, and I am absolutely sure that I have never written this much before I have even mentioned the food. I ordered corned beef hash with scrambled eggs for myself, and the children's pancakes with sausage. I didn't try the sausage, but did eat my meal, and try my son's pancakes. The corned beef hash was very good. That, and the fact that the waitress actually knew to ask my son whether he wanted his sausage like hamburgers, or hot dogs, are the only reason that I clicked the second star, instead of going with the single star that you're required to give. I have no idea what breakfast places do to scrambled eggs to make them so fluffy. If I did, I wouldn't pay restaurants to make them for me. Apparently, Oscar's doesn't know, either. Their scrambled eggs were like when I crack eggs on a cast iron pan, and push them around with a spatula to scramble them, because I know my son will change his mind about wanting them if I take more than 30 seconds. The pancakes were super dense, too. When kids' menu food is bland, I usually assume that's by design, but I doubt Oscar's is making pancake batter differently for the kids' pancakes. So, by this point, the last thing for them to screw up was cashing me out. I'm not sure who it was, but one of the servers had put one of those plastic valets down on the counter in front of me with a receipt and a $5.00 tip. In case you don't spend a lot of time at restaurants, this is going to give every member of the waitstaff the impression that I have paid for my meal, and am just lingering, when I hadn't even been presented with my bill. Thankfully, my waitress eventually realized this, and I handed her my debit card before she could even put my bill on the counter. Seconds later, I was walking out the door triumphantly, like a paroled convict who had just been given his release. read more

Super busy on a Sunday morning. The service was fast and the place was clean. Food was your typical diner food. I will be back. read more

This place is wonderful! Exactly what you want in a diner. I had eggs and hashbrowns, both of which were super delicious! The coffee was also excellent. The staff were warm and friendly, and the whole place has a happy, welcoming atmosphere. I will absolutely return. Highly recommend! read more

The best place in town! I have never had a meal that wasn't fantastic The best omlets in town! And the service is amazing. Family owned and operated. read more

Don't get ripped off here. We asked to substitute pancakes for toast (to which they agreed for an extra charge) so we expected an upcharge. Did not expect to be charged full price for another meal ($5.50 for 2 little pancakes). They said, when we challenged the bill, that they don't substitute. Wish they had made that clear when we specifically asked. Food is average. Will not go back. read more

Good, affordable food. The waffle I had was light and fluffy. The service was good and attentive even though there was only one waitress. The coffee could have been better.. It was kind of standard diner coffee. Overall it was a good breakfast and good value read more

Oscar's is our go-to place for breakfast in the Cedar Rapids area. Great service and food. The dining area is recently remodeled. For breakfast the George's Skillet is excellent. For lunch the Gyros are great - just tell them to hold the lettuce because Gyros just shouldn't ever have lettuce added. read more

We have eaten at Oscars over the years and have been very satisfied with the service and quality of the food. Every one is very friendly and helpful. Don't expect gourmet food , but expect to have a good meal in pleasant surroundings read more

Great place for breakfast and lunch. Their service is great and food is dynamite. They are very good at getting you in and out without standing over you to get you out... Neat place! I recommend this establishment to anyone asking for a nice and warm experience...There isn't a finer family ran business in town. George and his angels are all so great! read more

I love the family atmosphere and eat here often with my coworkers. They have the best crinkle cut fries! The tenderloin is always a good pick but I would recommend just about anything on the menu. Plus they have breakfast all day. Can't beat that. read more

Busy Sunday and group of 7 ate 6-9-2019 and 1st 'greeting' was hearing waitress say "sit HERE" to 4 elderly women after they stated they were a group of four! We all looked at each other, obviously! Then, after we were seated we were asked if anyone wanted anything other than water to drink, the 16 year old ONLY responded no thank you and she said GOOD and left the table (as if he spoke for the entire table--hardly appropriate and certainly rude but exactly how this restaurant is and what we've heard about it--that it's family owned and lots of yelling, rude etc and we got to experience it our entire meal and the food well nothing good. My husband's mushrooms were from a can and not drained or drained so poorly the water ran on his plate making his omelet gross. Kids think pancakes are good regardless and don't care about their food; the 10 year old thought his were nasty!!! Save yourself and help a family that wants to be in business and help our community and treat people with respect and kindness and eat good food by going elsewhere!!! This was ridiculous. Without drinks just water it came to $51 and it was hard to tip---one was really earned and it's hard to hear people be treated the way these people treat people. Why is this place so busy??? That's what we don't understand! We won't be going back! We've been here four times over the years and it's never improved but it's gotten worse each time. This was the last time!! read more

On the way to Rochester mn from Peoria il we stopped at Oscars and were met with a friendly staff and a great meal. We took some pie with us to eat later at the motel. We plan to stop on our home read more

Friendly service. Decent food. A variety on the menu. Not a bad place to stop if you're traveling on 380 and wanna quick place to sit down stop and eat. read more

We have had lunches here for many years and have never been disappointed with their food and service. Definitely an excellent place to dine. read more