The Iowa Cafe

Wonderful breakfast we loved it! Will return for sure. Homemade Corned Beef Hash & he had an omelet… Yummy!

Unless your over 60 don’t go, waited to be seated, people got seated in front of us. Order food came out bland and tasteless. When we got the bill it was someone else’s bill, finally got ours and it still didn’t seem right. Finally just paid and left to get out of there. Won’t be back.

Ok… so I’m sad for the 3 stars because of the potential of this place. We were greeted immediately and sat down at a nice booth. We put in our drink order right away but this is where the promptness ended. Like, slam on the brakes ended. Ridiculously ended. Tyler was the server and was very sweet. We ordered an iced t, a milkshake and a cocktail so we weren’t surprised by the wait until it was literally 30 minutes later when we got them. We asked a couple times where our drinks were and he just kept saying «one sec». Our food came out before our drinks. We had the split pea soup, which was delicious, a fried pork tenderloin sandwich and it was plenty to share and corned beef and hash. All came out as ordered and nice and hot. Still, no drinks. Im getting super irritated at this point but Tyler was really trying and the other server on was absolutely no help. Its a small café style place and if there was teamwork in place, I feel like they would be more successful at making things run more smoothly. She just kept yelling at him to get his food out of the window etc… I would hate working with her as she just helped in his getting futher behind which as you can guess, is horrible for business. We also ordered a piece of the cyclone pie with cherries and peaches and vanilla ice cream. Very good and not too hot. The bill for all that was 42 bucks so not bad on that, either. All in all, I would check this place out again.

We started out intending to go to the local IHOP but they had a line out the door. We came across Iowa Café right across the street and decided to give it a try. It was a good choice. We walked in and it was packed. We were seated within a couple minutes. All of us ordered an omelette. It came with potatoes and choice of bread.
I chose an English muffin. They advertise «fluffy» omelette’s. It was delicious and filling. Didn’t finish everything because I didn’t want to be stuffed. The staff is friendly. Service was good. I even enjoyed watching the football game that was on the huge tv right in front of us. I would recommend for breakfast. We all enjoyed our food.

Decided to try out this place for breakfast. Going in we were greeted immediately and taken to a booth. It’s definitely old and outdated but it’s clean. Our food was good but the iced tea is not brewed it’s from the fountain. The biggest complaint I had was the price. $ 28 for 2 diner quality breakfasts. I had corned beef hash and tea, my husband got French toast with bacon and coffee and OJ.

I thought I would give this place a try regardless of the reviews I have read, I live right around the corner from this spot and I will say there are a bunch of great breakfast spots in the area so you really need to step it up to compete.
The service was good, and when you walk in you get a nice mid west diner vibe. But aside from that I didn’t really enjoy anything. One of my pet peeves is not brewing your own ice tea, ice tea from a fountain is terrible, which is what I got from here. I ordered the country fried steak with eggs and country fries (crispy). The country fried steak seemed to be pre frozen and the gravy was so salty I wasn’t able to eat it. I don’t think food is made from scratch at all. The potatoes were just sliced and deep fried which were fine but not crispy like I ordered.
Overall they need to really work on the food, unless I hear they do a overhaul on the menu I don’t think I would come back which is too bad because the atmosphere is somewhere I could definitely see myself hanging out for a bit in the morning to do some work.

Great atmosphere and good classic breakfast food! Love the Iowa vibe. Brings me back home to sit at a counter and sip coffee from an Iowa Hawkeyes mug.

Had pork chops dry over cooked briquettes pkg gravy left nasty taste in mouth, not good

First visit, lunch time April 21, 2015. The place was busy, about 70% full.
Let me first say this about the resturant, the dining area is exceptionally clean and well maintained. Not very fancy but spotless clean.
I ordered the loose-​meat sandwich (aka Maid-​Rite, authentic Marshalltown Iowa), fries and lemonade. The fries were plain but hot. The bun was soft and nice, the meat was dry dry dry and a bit over cooked. The sandwich is served plain, which is not authentic Taylor’s. Iowa Café’s is like a sloppy joe sandwich without anything added to the beef.
Even the mustard and ketchup at the table couldn’t help it. The beef was decent, tasted like actual beef, give ‘em credit for that.
Service was excellent, I tipped well. Patrons and staff were friendly, 100% family atmosphere.
Total for sandwich, fries, and a drink with tip was $ 13
Would I go back? Perhaps, but I’d never order that sandwich again. I saw others eating huge portions seated at other tables, my lunch didn’t meet that description.
Easy access, plenty of free parking.

For those of you looking for a diner with Mid-​West prices, portions and hospitality, this is it! I went there not knowing what to expect and found the plates to be packed to the edges, the service to be just enough without being pushy or disruptive and the check to be well within reason! I will definitely e returning in the near future.

The food here was good and not that bad on price. The place was clean and the staff was nice. I would go back again.

Great food and usually great service. But Friday nights during winter visitor season they are understaffed. The ladies do as well as can be expected, but I’ve never seen owners or management here when things are hopping and they need help. We’ve been here for breakfast and it’s busy then, too… people are going to start leaving if they have to wait too long.

Nothing offensive against older people however when I walked in and it looks like a nursing home scene I should have gotten a clue about the food. Bland, powdered mashed potatoes and gravy, undercooked — doughy dinner roll and canned gravy… I’ll pass.

I came here with a group of 17 people for lunch. We got there at 11:45am. We asked for 2 – 3 minutes to decide on our orders. The waitress did not come back for about 20 min. We had to flag down a different waitress to get help. After placing our orders, it took over an hour until the food started coming out. During this whole time, our waitress did not once come to our table. No updates on the order, no apologies for the delay. There was no apology at all during the whole visit. Other patrons came in and left before our food even came. I have never experienced such slow service before. The second set of patrons were waiting a long time too as everyone was waiting for our order to be completed. The food was good, but not worth the wait.
I would have understood if the service was just a little slow, but it was REALLY slow and receiving no feedback over the course of an hour and no apology whatsoever prohibits me from giving more than one star.

Reminded me of home. Good food. Service was a little slow but in the Midwest people don’t rush so gave you even more that Midwest experience.

The Iowa Café isn’t amazing, but it’s a decent choice for breakfast in Northeast Mesa.
I’m not a huge breakfast fan in general, but I do enjoy their biscuits and gravy. They’re about as close to homemade as possible. The menu seems pretty typically Midwestern. Portions are large and the fare is very hearty.
Service is pretty hit and miss. During the winter it’s packed with snowbirds-​but what isn’t in this neighborhood?- and wait times can be lengthy.

Went out for breakfast on a Sunday morning and decided to give the Iowa café another try. We were sat and ignored. Other patrons came in, sat, water and drinks served and still no one came by. We waited ten minutes and walked out. Done with this place.

Everything from the service to the food is spectacular!!! The wait staff make you feel like family and the food is like mom cooked it with love, but even better. Seriously THE BEST Biscuts and cinnamon roll I’ve EVER had. I’m a super picky eater and breakfast is my favorite meal so the fact that I love this place says a lot. Don’t miss out on this place and if you get the cinnamon roll top it with nuts and raisins… you will not be disappointed! Don’t let the décor and simple building fool you! It may not be as fancy as Over Easy or decorated like Hen House, but it’s soooo much better than both! So what are you waiting for? Get your Iowa Café on people!
BTW, for those that can’t stand public bathrooms, like me, you will be impressed with this one. The sink in the bathroom is beautiful and everything is very clean! :)

The kids convinced me to come back here to get the pie that they have been craving and I wasn’t wanting to go after the last visit but I did. Very glad that I did. The pie is amazing and the breakfast was also fantastic. I don’t know what happened but I have to say it was all as good as we experienced at the old location. You must have the pie regardless of when you visit. Pie is good for breakfast, lunch or dinner here.

Im dining in the restaurant as we speak– note to self– don’t come here again.
When you walk in it’s confusing– everyone is cramped into the front or in a little door entrance
It took the server 10 minutes to approach our table and take our order
Food took 20 – 25 min to get to us, I ordered the biscuits and gravy and clearly the gravy was from a can with about 2 specs of sausage in it. I sent it back and they offered me some more toast or home fries. No thanks.
Price seems kind of high for a breakfast place especially since the food sucks. 8.00 for biscuits and gravy with toast and hash browns.
Go somewhere else before your disappointed like I am.