My birthday request was brunch so my husband and friends surprised me with Dandy Lion - one of my…read morefaves! Six of us met at 11:00 on a Monday and the place was comfortable packed. We had about a 5 minute wait. I LOVE their bloody Mary's and my husband loves their spicy bloody so we each had one of those. The wait staff is friendly and attentive. I loved my salmon toast. I forgot about the hash brown side - they taste fine but I'm just not huge on hash browns so I would have chosen a different side. Since it was my birthday, the waitress brought a small plate with 6 macarons - one with a candle. It was the perfect small treat to polish off our brunch! Delicious caramel and chocolate bite!

Stopped by during lunch rush and scored the last available seat at the counter. I was served by…read moreCole, who gave me excellent service and fast arriving food. I had the French Toast with the house fried chicken - delicious! Lovely Ped Mall gem with an old school diner flair!

Great joint to get breakfast brunch or lunch. My friend and I sat out in the patio. Umbrellas…read morehelped with the sunshine. The service was great. We went around lunch time on a Tuesday. My friends drink was delicious- I think it was a watermelon lemonade. I was regret not getting it but then I ordered the affogato and it was so good! Our egg meals were tasty

*CELIAC / GLUTEN FREE REVIEW…read more The owner does note that this place is not safe for those with cross contamination / celiac and unfortunately I did take the risk and don't feel great after. I got the GF pancakes and asked for them to be cooked in a separate pan, explaining I had celiac / a gluten allergy. They nodded like that was possible but I did still get sick. If you're not celiac, they're great! Lots of naturally GF options, just not GF and safe from cross-contamination. No separate fryer or cook space on the grill.

Honestly for me I prefer this place more for their breakfast than their food. They have a very good…read morebreakfast menu that I'm always willing to make a drive to this place to get it. I have never had a bad experience here and the employees are always nice and quick to get the thing you need

Absolutely best breakfast (kitchen sink omelette) in Eastern Iowa ...maybe all of Iowa. And Ben…read morewas fantastic!!! Thanks Ben, we'll be back!! Food, service and ambiance...all excellent!

I've been to Blackstone numerous times but this is the first time I've felt compelled to leave a…read morereview. The Chimichurri Steak I had last night was absolutely amazing. Steak cooked (med. rare) and seasoned perfectly and the chimichurri sauce was out of this world. The service was, and is always, really good. But that steak? Next level.

We had booked this location for a lunch after a funeral. We were to be served half of a sandwich…read moreand a salad from a very limited menu. (3 sandwich choices and 3 salad choices) Service started off good with a waitress, taking our orders and getting us drinks. Once we had placed our orders is when the problems started to happen. We brought in a group of approximately 35 to 40 people. (We had reserved a party room) Sitting at long tables with approximately with 8 people to a table. We waited and waited for our order to be taken with some tables receiving their food before we had even ordered. The waiters and waitresses slowly went from table to table taking approximately 20-30 minutes in all to take our orders. We were the last table to place our order and people were being served prior to us even ordering. We waited for over an hour and never received our food. Some people were even done at point. Needless to say, we were a little exasperated and finally asked them just to bag our food. Believe it or not, that took them another 30 minutes. In all we were there for close to two hours without being served. And when we asked our waiter, why it was taking so long he informed us that they weren't expecting our group to be so large. I think I would've preferred a simple "I'm sorry, we messed up," or even if a manager had just shown up to let us know that they had forgotten our order completely, rather than the lame excuses that they came back with. I don't know if this was just a bad day for Blackstone or if this is what can be expected from them, but our experience there was horrible. Unfortunately, as we were from out of town, we can't go back again to see if the service will be any better. I do not recommend this place. The food may be fabulous, but we'll never know. Also be forewarned if you have any complaints the management does not care.

High quality diner with swag…read more Phenomenal place. Great, top quality food and friendly staff. The Prince Chilli Chicken is fried chicken from beyond. Hot/spicy, but approachable from a Midwestern perspective. The beet salad was excellent. Super glad I ordered - everything is scratch made. (From a prior visit) Their burger is amazing. Order it. Say thank you.

Adorable restaurant on the University of Iowa campus with exposed brick walls and a masculine,…read moremodern contemporary diner feel. Food 3/5 Service 5/5 Ambiance 4/5 Croque Madame 3/5. The hollandaise sauce with jammy egg on top was fabulous, but the sandwich itself was just ok. Garganelli 2/5. I liked the mushrooms but was disappointed that this dish was rather bland, especially for this price point.

Service was too notch, coffee delicious and the inside of the restaurant was comfortable and clean…read more We stayed at an Airbnb right above the restaurant, so of course we had to check it out. I had the strawberries and cream french toast with bacon. I did not care for the bacon, it was too smoky for my taste. I would definitely come again.

Stopped in for lunch with my husband and we shared the Philly Cheesesteak sandwich with fries. The…read moresandwich was delicious and the fries were crispy and flavorful. We enjoyed our lunch and will be back for breakfast! Service was great and welcoming!!

Best breakfast in the area! We love eating here and have enjoyed each thing on the menu we have…read moretried. We love the relaxed atmosphere and great service. Everything is always as ordered. The food is genuinely top notch and at a great price. I personally love the Hemingway eggs Benedict! It is a must try!

Rolled into Bluebird Café in North Liberty when it was packed wall-to-wall, fully expecting to grow…read moreold in the booth before my food came. Instead, my bacon cheeseburger showed up so fast I barely had time to scroll TikTok twice. Juicy, cheesy, and that bacon? Chef's kiss. Busy or not, these people know how to hustle and feed you like you're the favorite child.

Stopped in to grab a couple of coffees, a scone and a cinnamon roll. The Encounter Cafe is…read moreliterally across the street from our hotel, so this was a no-brainer if you're looking for an upgrade to the complimentary powdered eggs and overused waffle machine offered by the hotel that your staying at. The space itself is large and looks to be separated into two halves. I entered on the one side, ordered at the counter, just like you would at any coffee shop and waited. This place serves a full-service breakfast as well if you're looking for something more substantial (eggs, panini's, pancakes, etc..). I was just here picking up and bringing it back to our room. The coffees were fine, but there was only one gentleman working the counter, and he was a bit overwhelmed. He forewarned me that he had 4-5 drinks ahead of mine, so I ended up sitting there waiting for about 15 minutes for our two drinks. I wasn't pressed for time today, but if I was, this would've been an issue. I ordered a raspberry chocolate scone and a cinnamon roll. The scone was delicious. Not too sweet and was definitely made this morning. The cinnamon roll was delicious as well, but it was extremely sweet. To the point where it hurt your teeth. It would also have been better if it were warmed up. Lastly, they gave me this big cinnamon roll in a bag without any napkins or utensils?!? I had to stop at the free breakfast at our hotel to get a fork, knife and some napkins. So kind of a mixed-bag at the Encounter Cafe. I would give it another shot and try some other things, but it didn't blow me away.

I stopped here twice on a recent work trip as it was close by to the hotel I was staying in. It…read morereally lives up to the other reviews that describe it as a cozy atmosphere with fresh food. The first day I had baked oatmeal with yogurt and it was a huge portion size that was very similar to coffee cake. The next day, I ordered the avocado toast and was surprised to see it come out, layered with egg and bacon and fresh tomato. Their lattes were delicious without being overly sweet. So glad I found this place during my trip. It is worth the stop.

We really enjoyed Maxwell's at the Merrell. Both dinner and breakfast are very good. The chef is…read morewonderful. This is by far hands-down the best restaurant in Muscatine, Iowa. My travel companion had a cold and we were able to ask for a home remedy. They were gracious enough to give it to us. The home remedy is a teaspoon of cayenne pepper and a shot of milk. Ambience is clean high and priced right.

Highly recommend if you're in the area!…read more I was in Muscatine for work and we stayed at The Merrill and am so glad Maxwell's is right in the lobby. We travelled at the end of January and after a long day of travel and many delays due to heavy low fog, we were definitely excited to have a restaurant right in the hotel. There is a parking lot across the street and a parking deck behind as well so there is plenty of parking. The restaurant is located right in the lobby and also has a full bar. My coworker and I were dying for a drink and some food after a long morning. The bar has speciality cocktails, but also a full bar, wine, and beer. You can check out their speciality cocktails, wine, and beer lists on their website as well as make reservations. For food, my coworker and I decided to share a few appetizers. We ordered the Brussels Sprouts, Wings (1/2 Honey Sriracha, 1/2 Ginger Scallion), and the Baked Goat Cheese. They were all DELICIOUS! The flavors were great and the portions were as well. I've never had goat cheese before and it was so amazing I couldn't stop eating it. The sriracha wings were spicy, but not overwhelming. Later, some other people met us and we ordered the shrimp tacos which were also very good. The next morning we also had breakfast and I ordered the Omelet which comes made-to-order and you can choose 4 different additions. It also comes with potatoes. All delicious. Additionally, the service was also great as well! If I'm ever back in Muscatine I will definitely plan to return.

The food is always amazing, always fast no matter how busy, service is quick, they are very nice no…read morematter who has served us, lived in galena my whole life and never had a bad experience old owners or new. The vibe in the building is adorable, comfortable, and homey. but ALWAYS make a reservation, they're a small establishment and are very good, so a reservation is necessary. and if you are planning on eating there during the summer, make sure to make the reservation weeks in advance, they're booked quick because, well it's great, and summers busy. If you are unable to do stairs though, make sure you request the downstairs area!

Located across the river from Maine St, this quaint old house turned restaurant is worth the stop…read more There is on street and public parking available. I would recommend making reservations as it was consistently busy. We opted for seats at the bar to avoid an hour wait. This place is tiny, so it would not be ideal for large groups. It would be difficult to accommodate someone who could not navigate stairs (there are both stairs to enter as well as a staircase for most of the dining space). Servers were friendly and helpful, the right amount of attentive. The food came out quickly. They offer light lunch, brunch, breakfast fare, with specials, and baked goods from Lola. A popular special is a homemade pop tart, which has rotating flavors (today was blueberry with lemon frosting). We opted for French Toast, pork belly, and the country skillet. Everything was delicious and portions were generous. All around a great find.