Chef’s Table

Absolutely amazing food & service. Come here more than twice and they will remember you. I was o hiatus for awhile after they first opened & I always left hungry… Not the case now. Food is divine, presentation impeccable & finally fine dining service in iowa city. There’s something for every budget w/​the bistro menu. Drinks are creative & always changing w/​the season. If you haven’t been to (or back in the last year) chefs table you are seriously missing out on something very special in iowa city.

In simple words… The very best food in Iowa city.
You get what you pay for in life no exceptions and in this case it once again proves accurate…
If you are looking for 2 lbs of meat and ½ lb of salad; this is not the place for you. This is the best tasting food you can find, in a super great setting, with great service.
I have been in almost every metropolitan city in the USA and this compares to the very best; Ny, Dallas, Miami, Los Angeles, san Fransisco. Etc.
If anyone says they need more good at a lower price, they haven’t had the best.
My humble opinion.
Try the bison or the chicken and you can be the judge of it on your own. :))

This restaurant is closed as of the 18^th of July 2012. See the article above or do your homework before planning on eating here.

I think they closed.
We went there to eat tonight and it was locked with a «property for rent» sign in the window. Bummer.

Chef’s Table competes with the best you can find in major metro areas.
The wine list is world class — no kidding!
I sometimes wish there were more options to choose from, but hey — it’s Iowa City, so I understand that they need to have a plan & not over do it.
It’s a beautiful setting/​atmosphere, and if you go you will have a wonderful night!

This place is ridiculous and obviously at odds with the culture of the town. If you moved it to an actual city, where it apparently already thinks it is, it would sink immediately. But, and this is a big but, the Bistro hamburger will change your life, irrevocably. So despite the cold, douchey vibe, and the outrageous prices-​I have eaten the actual dinner menu, and it is aight-​this hamburger comes with my highest recommendations.

My favorite restaurant in Iowa City. Great ambience. Amazing food. A cheaper bistro menu with items priced from 5 to 12 dollars and them a pricier fine dining menu. Worth it every time. Service is fabulous. Food is too

Having just moved from California, I was not sure what to expect from a tasting menu in Iowa City. We were pleasantly surprised. Previous reviews mentioned that the place felt pretentious and I felt a bit of that when we first came in. However, our server was very kind and attentive. He seemed a little nervous (perhaps he was new? he kept glancing at his notes) but he double checked with the latest shipments of wine to make sure I had the absolute perfect red which, surprisingly, was not a cab. My date enjoyed the rosemary dirty martini which was definitely an interesting and delicious twist on an old classic.
We opted for the 5 course menu and the servings were very generous in size.
Foie gras torchon: This dish was delicious. I especially enjoyed the pairing with tart apples and savory mushroom duxelle.
Rabbit cassoulet: Delicious and simply seasoned.
Burgundy braised escargot: Not my favorite. It was heavy for my taste but this could be a personal preference.
Pork tenderloin: By far my favorite dish. The pork was melt-​in-​your-​mouth tender and perfectly cooked.
Cinnamon soufflé: This came with a nice surprise of chocolate syrup and while I don’t like chocolate, the soufflé was still delicious without the chocolate.
Overall, we enjoyed the experience. I think if you are a «regular» the service might be more friendly. This is typical of many restaurants and I’m always appreciative of establishments that treat you like an old friend from the moment you walk in, like the Motley Cow. These are few and far between but they’ve set my bar for service. I would consider returning to Chef’s Table for a special occasion.

Gorgeous space. Well versed staff. The cuisine, no words can describe the blend, the luxury of flavors, textures, aromatic deliciousness.
Pricey but quality has a premium.

Thank Dieu that someone finally opened a french restaurant in town. And kudos for even doing a great job at it. The food is solid, the service is good, and the décor is calm and pleasant. My only wish is that it was a tad cheaper.

A friend treated me to this once (I will have to get a big raise to pay for a meal here myself). It was one of the best meals I have ever experienced. Beautiful setting, perfect (not rushed) service. Every dish was gorgeous and delicious. A very special meal.

Based on three visits.
Pretty good but pretentious and very expensive food. Beautifully done inside. Spacious but some tables are very close. Nice and private wine room if you can get it.
Appetizers are very expensive for what you get. Most are tasty but I expected more for the price. French onion soup is outstanding, salad is ho-​hum. Entrée covers beef, chicken, fish and vegetarian option. Bison was cooked to order and was very tender. Fish was very fresh and nicely seasoned. Pretty good desert. Extensive wine list. Service is leisurely. I didn’t detect any attitudes on my visits.
Overall, pretty good food but I think you get just as good food at better price at places like One Twenty Six.

I was going to give this the 4 star stamp of approval, but then the dessert came and my date liked it so much it set the tone for the rest of the night. I’m just sayin’… 5 stars for getting her in the mood. That extra shot of jameson didn’t hurt my chances either. JAME-​O!
Match dot com is a supremo resource for the ladies. The women I meet from there are usually more willing than most to have a good time right off the bat.
So i took my date to Chef’s Table the other night even though I bet she would’ve been fine with something cheaper. Most of these women on match dot com are just happy to be out of the house and to have some company. Loneliness will make you glad to have a taco as long as a man is sitting across from you. Can I get an AMEN ladies? You know I’m right.
We sat at the bar, because even though I decided to impress mi nueva mujer, I wasn’t about to break the bank. I strive to be a player, not a payer. A man must have his code.
This place has the best burger in town. Don’t give me that monkey business about shorts burger and shoeshine or whatever. Those burgers are so stanky poo-​poo that I still haven’t written my review about them. The CT burger is heaven in meat form. Me and my match dot com hottie boom bottie split one, and we both had taste bud orgasms.
Next we gotdown to beezneez with french onion soup (off the hee-​zee) and some diver scallops (bada boom bada bing bada bing bing bing bong). Had me doing the milli vanilli dance it was so good. Ba-​ba-​ba-​ba, ba-​ba-​ba-​ba baby, don’t forget my scallops! [milli vanilli kickstep]
Our bartender had a mysterious look to him. He could’ve been Iranian, he could’ve been Turkish. My lady said he was handsome, but whatever, I don’t judge other men. He had a block head. I’ll leave it at that. He gave up A-​1 service though. I give him 5 stars for the attention and drinks, 1 star for the blockhead. Okay, I’m just playerhating because my lady thought he was attractive. I’m only human.
Pain perdu and crème brûlée for dessert. So good I licked my bowl clean.
Girl you know it’s true, oooh oooh ooooooooh, I love Chef’s Table.

Two words: buffalo tenderloin. Absolutely delicious and it would have been the complete meal had the service been better. I will let that slide though because this dish was absolutely delicious. I came to Iowa City for an interview and all along the interview trail, the Hawkeyes did it best choosing this restaurant for applicants. Great food and will definitely come back to this restaurant for this dish specifically.

i wrote this review from my experience some time ago, i’ve been told the staffing has since changed.
i ate at chef’s table four times, first time i thought the appetizers were amazing, but entrée wasn’t as good as i hoped, i had two glasses of wine, good experience.
i went there again the second and third time, really love the scallops entrée, wine is great as usual. at the end of my third visit i asked the waitress what i needed to do to reserve the private room, she told me i needed to do the chef’s 5 course dinner, so i said sure why not and signed up.
i was excited on my fourth visit to eat in the private room with the 5 course dinner, but this pretentious waitress/​manager? called stephanie (in her 30s) told me the private room is full and will seat me in the main dining room instead so i thought okay bummer but i made reservation for the private room and brought a cute date?! i went along anyway because i really wanted to try this 5 course meal.
Stephanie was really impatient when i asked what she suggested for wine pairing and after all the hype i’ve been telling my date (who writes restaurant reviews for chicago tribune) of how great this place is it was a total let down and i look like an idiot for bringing her to chef’s table in the first place.
we had half glass of wine each for each of the dinner courses, the food was good, but it wasn’t amazing by any means. everything is quality but the food was a bit blend.
at the end of the meal i got my bill it was $ 480, after tip it was $ 580 for two people. i guess the meal was more expensive than i thought. but then i looked at the bill more carefully this stephanie chick billed me full bottles of each of my courses, and my date and i only had a half glass full each. so i asked stephanie what happened to the rest of my wine? she said «it’s gone sorry» …so, what did happen to my wine? shouldn’t i be charged for 2 glasses for each course instead of a whole bottle?
i was ripped off, but i didnt’ want to make a scene in front of my date. there are so many better places in iowa city that you can spend $ 580 for two people and have as much wine and food as you want with equal quality and better tasting food.
i have always been a fan of the owner/​chef here, i’ve enjoyed his creations since he worked at takanami and followed him when he opened chef’s table, but after this last experience it was beyond disappointing.
so for $ 580 you can invite 5 beautiful dates, wine and dine at 126(better food & wine than chef’s table and no stephanie!), lynn street café, devotay, or motley cow, have your grill table at 3 samurai or konomi, eat amazing hand made pasta at givanni’s or enjoy great steak and seafood at joseph’s steakhouse. (texas roadhouse in coralville is pretty sweet too!) just about anything upscale in iowa city is better than chef’s table. for those of you that want to try an amazing restaurant (bring your own bottle) outside of iowa city, check out lincoln café in Mt Vernon, you will not be disappointed!
for a restaurant at this level & price, chef’s table deserves 1 star compared to it’s peers. simply because the value is not there. the service could be better, and customers shouldn’t ever have to pay to deal with pretentious restaurant workers.
it’s also quite sad that there is no one answering the phone when you call, everything goes to voice mail, the message actually asks you to leave a message with the date and time and number of party member you want to make reservations for and then they will call you back to let you know if it’s available. LOL? is the voice message at chef’s table a joke? grade F, for failure.

Nice place with an impressive wine collection. A group of us got to sit in the cellar, very well taken care of by a attentive waiters. The food was good but not great. Nicely presented, a typical French portion but pretty much forgettable.

Excellent food! Probably the best in Iowa City/​Coralville. One of the most expensive restaurants as well.

i have to say, this is one of the top spots to have a great meal in Iowa City. after reading the other reviews, i was expecting a mediocre interiors. while not the of the highest design inside, we felt the ambiance was just right.
on to the food. this place is called chef’s table because you have the option of asking the staff to customize your courses. so for about $ 60/​person (it was a special occasion), we had champagne, 2 full glasses of wine and port wine. just after our 3^rd course and figuring that we were done, out came a 4^th plate. it was amazing service, unlike some ratings on Chowhound, the bread was great.
if you call 2 weeks in advance, you can discuss with the chef what your palette is, they can get all the right ingredients squared away so your meal will be catered exactly to you. well, i’ve yet to try that, but it sounds good.

This place is so pretentious. But I’d be willing to forgive a bit of pretension, if accompanied by otherwise impeccable service, and exceptionally good food. Sadly, the chefs table here falls a bit short. I knew we were in trouble when the waiter – Dwight Schrute – presented us with the «bread course». long story short: my food was bad! but i’m a vegetarian. The other entrees were good but small (very small). and dessert was nothing to write home about. C’est la vie, chefs table. I give you another few months before another type of «table» moves in…

For my birthday this year (the big three-​o) we went out to one of Iowa City’s finer dining establishments. After several days of burritos and noodle bowls I was ready for something a little more upscale, and Chefs Table in downtown Iowa City sounded like a great place to celebrate.
The restaurant is recently opened and proclaims a French bistro menu (though not yet available online.) While the restaurant front is clean and small, upon entering, a cavernous and elegantly decorated space draws you in. The high industrial ceiling is painted black, and the modern minimalist lighting adds a surprisingly pleasant aura. A winding path leads to the back of the restaurant, and is lined with neat tables and enormous fashion plate paintings.
I often think that a sign of a good restaurant is the quality of the bread they serve. At Chefs Table they make fresh rolls in a variety of delicious flavors (mushroom, rosemary, sage, and some outstanding cheese puffs.) We started with a nice glass of Moet champagne paired with a really impressive cheese course. The plate included a soft triple cream, a pecorino, and a fantastic sharp truffle cheese that I have not tasted before. Each cheese was paired with homemade sweet/​savory chutney’s.
The menu did not include a vegetarian entrée. Instead the chef himself came out to talk with us and planned a dish around our interests and requests. The resulting dish was impressively plated — several fresh vegetables served over delicious squares of cheesy polenta. I (not being vegetarian) went with the scallops and mini short rib raviolis. The plate included numerous ingredients — wild mushrooms, asparagus, roasted parsnips and potatoes, and a sprinkling of fresh herbs. All the ingredients came together very nicely and made for a very impressive meal. Each entrée included a salad or the onion soup (served with a really really tasty cheesy toast.)
For dessert we had the rhubarb strawbery compote with genoise cake and crème fraîche ice cream with basil. This was one of the highlights of our meal. It was like strawberry shortcake done French style (really really delicious!)
All in all, the meal was excellent. Our only qualm may have been the slow kitchen. Service was great, but the place was packed. The kitchen may need some time to maximize its efficiency — especially considering every dish has an unusually large number of ingredients. Despite being one of the more upscale restaurants in town, our bill in the end was quite reasonable — certainly less than any nice restaurant back in Boston. Champagne, appetizers, entrees and dessert all came to slightly under $ 80 for two. We will certainly be back again!