Latest reviews from Waterloo
| 36 /100 3295 UNIVERSITY AVENUE “The two redeeming qualities of this place are that it has a lot of space, and that it is cheap. LIke most other beer items in this town, it is affordable, and if the table next to you is a little annoying (happened surprisingly often) you can move elsewhere quite easily. Staff was not at all knowledgeable of the beer nor the food. Not great. Not recommended.“ |
| 58 /100 Hy Vee Wine & Spirits - Kimball (Beer Store) 2126 KIMBALL AVENUE “Typical liquor store vibe, this ones built for comfort and not for speed. The beer is in coolers along the left side as well the big beer cave in the back. Most of the beer is sixers with 20-30 bombers. They don’t have a pick six section but they do have the odd Trappist ale or latest release. the selection felt random but I did find a special release Jolly pumpkin and I thought the prices were good. (It’s hard to beat $9 wootstout.) it’s not a destination but it’s not a bad local if you just won’t a craft six pack of something.“ |
| 82 /100 2401 FALLS AVENUE “Located in a non descript building with Rudy’s Tacos on the building, this is one place with three different areas which all have this slightly ironic 60’s vibe to them. The lava lounge looks like what I imagine a tiki bar to look like. The beer hall is full of 60’s era breweriana. The beers on the other hand, with the exception of a few local and national BMC varieties, is craft like Jolly Pumpkin, To Ol, Evil Twin, and La Trappe that I didn’t expect to see at a beer bar in Waterloo, Iowa. The bottles are of similar quality. The only negative is they didn’t have a list of their bottles, but the prices were reasonable. What can I say except it’s another awesome Iowa place.“ |
| 68 /100 Hy Vee Wine & Spirits - Kimball (Beer Store) 2126 KIMBALL AVENUE “Good Selection, Good Prices, And the Beer Guy is knowledgeable, Usually staffed with younger kids, Good selection of Iowa craft beers, Would like to see some more Michigan beers, and a larger special release selection. A definite step up compared to most big groceries and so called "Beer stores"“ |
| 76 /100 2401 FALLS AVENUE “only went to rudy’s but they had some toppling goliath and peace tree on draft. Good tacos, huge portions, very creepy decor. Service was good. Based on what I saw on tap at the other spots, this seems like a chill place for some bros to hang out on at night. Plenty cheap too.“ |
| 34 /100 3295 UNIVERSITY AVENUE “Large space with tons of TV’s and an open view of the brewing equipment. Beer tastes like a second attempt at a Mr. Beer kit. Guest taps like bud and miller. Fish sandwich wasn’t bad, chips and salsa were laughable. $2 pints of bad beer and lunch for two was under $20 total, so not terribly expensive. Servers were not knowledgeable about the beer or the food menu and fit in well with the waterloo area. Can’t help that I guess. Not worth a stop.“ |
| 58 /100 LongHorn Steakhouse (Restaurant) 1425 E SAN MARNAN DR, “Decent place for a steak and a cold Sam,s after a day on the road.“ |
| 56 /100 3295 UNIVERSITY AVENUE “Fun spot - lots of TVs with sports. Food is very good. Beer flights available but the beer is pretty bad.“ |
| 34 /100 3295 UNIVERSITY AVENUE “Beer on tap was not very good, service was so-so and the food was decent. Better places to go but if watching sports it would be decent.“ |
| 30 /100 3295 UNIVERSITY AVENUE “This is a pretty bad brewpub, the staff does not seem to care about the beer when they’re serving it, but I imagine they care a lot more about the beer than those folks who are making it. I’ve basically never had anything from this brewery that wasn’t terribly flawed, most times to the point of infection. To be honest I’m not even sure why they started brewing here or what kind of draw the home made beer is to the obnoxious bar crowd downstairs, or the bud light drinking resturant crowd upstairs. The food I’ve had here has never been bad, never been great either, but most of the staff is nice enough.“ |
| 48 /100 2401 FALLS AVENUE “Small taco house - decent tacos and some choices for beer.“ |
| 68 /100 3295 UNIVERSITY AVENUE “Becks has their own brew. OK and a bit limited.
Great atmosphere for watching college or NFL Sunday games.“ |
| 56 /100 Hy Vee Wine & Spirits - Kimball (Beer Store) 2126 KIMBALL AVENUE “This store is a good option for most consumers if you want a decent selection of beer, wine and liquor.
They could use some more crafted beers and certainly lower their prices.
This isn’t a huge store by any means, be is adequate for most needs.“ |
| 86 /100 2401 FALLS AVENUE “I can’t believe I forgot to rate this place! I unfortunately didn’t go here until my last semester at UNI and I already miss it! The ambiance and decor are quite nice - slightly dim at night with a vintage red decor and cool chairs and couches to relax on and a somewhat sophisticated crowd away from campus. The service is always outstanding. The bartender is quick, friendly, conversational, and great. The selection is the best in the area, and if you know Iowa, especially CF/WL, then it’s great to get some craft beers and Belgians in town on tap! The only food available is from Rudy’s tacos next door in the little strip area, which is nothing special but good. The mixed drink prices are ridiculously cheap for their quality. Overall, a great place, and if I’m ever in CF/WL again, I will be going here.“ |
| 48 /100 3295 UNIVERSITY AVENUE “Ohhhh boy. I went to UNI for my Masters and immediately found this place with great disappointment. The ambiance is typical sports bar (that’s expected if you know the area and the name), the service is fine - typical waitresses, and the food is alright - burgers and bar food, not bad (best burger in town supposedly). The beer selection is awful, toting mainly their beers and a list of macros. Their beers are not good... simply not good at all. I wasn’t impressed with any of them, a few were okay, and most were absolutely on the bad side. The beers are extremely overpriced for what they are, and the food is overpriced for bar food even though it’s decent. I only went to this place once or twice and never went back in my entire 2 year stint at UNI. ’nuff said.“ |
| 90 /100 2401 FALLS AVENUE “UPDATE: Now the best place in Iowa to get a beer.
These are three businesses in the same hallway of the same mini-mall under the same ownership/management. Put basically you can take your drink from one place to another with ease. The place started as a taco joint, then they added a cocktail lounge (lava lounge) I’m not sure when good beer started being served at these places but it’s been there as long as I’ve been going. Within the last few weeks they’ve taken over a former sewing machine store and built a beautiful bar called the Beer Hall specifically catering to good beer. All three of these places are awesome, the decor is stunning and interesting in all three raging from Mexican, tiki, and retro beer decor respectively. Rudy’s is one of the best places to eat in the area boasting some of the best Mexican food I’ve ever had made almost exclusively from local ingredients, they’ve got six taps and a decent enough bottle list. Don’t forget to check out the hot sauce store. The lava lounge specializes in classic cocktails and good whiskey but has six taps that always include Guinness Draught and St Bernardus abt 12, the other four rotate with usually one other Belgian and other micros, the bottle list at this place fluxuates between good and awesome. The beer hall is the newest edition with six taps and one cooler filled exclusively with very good beer, and one cooler filled with hamms, schlitz, Pabst, Old Style and beers like that.
I should mention that the prices at all three places are as fair, honest, and affordable as they get, and that the bartenders are among the kindest I have ever met.
“ |
| 48 /100 2401 FALLS AVENUE “I was at this place and did enjoy the atmosphere as it a nice little place. They do have an ok selection of beers, better than most bars in the area.“ |
| 48 /100 3295 UNIVERSITY AVENUE “Ah, the name alone made me think that this was going to be a bad brewpub. The sportsbar atmosphere is pretty lame and pretty much what you would expect. The beers I tried had no major flaws, they were just boring. This is just an ok brewpub, but considering the overall quality of brewpubs in Iowa, its not bad.“ |
| 42 /100 3295 UNIVERSITY AVENUE “I prefer the downstairs area as oppossed to being upstairs because there is pool and darts. The beer here is okay but nothing special. You can order a flight of beer for a good price but they usually only have one good beer and maybe a couple that are decent, but it doesn’t appear that they put too much into making their beer. The food is great and not too expensive but the service can be hit and miss and the bartender the last time I was there knew nothing about the beer or any other beer. If you’re in the area and you’re hungry this is a good place to stop in and check out but nothing worth going out of your way to see.“ |
| 80 /100 2401 FALLS AVENUE “Just visited this when I was back in January. Very laid back setting and the bartender was nice. They had St. Bernardus Abt on tap along with some Rogue and a few others and they had a variety of selections in bottles including Rochefort Trappistes 10 and some Bell’s. Just around the corner (in the same building) is Rudy’s Tacos which is outstanding.
2/2/12: Updated rating after Rudy’s Tacos was added to Lava Lounge.“ |
| 38 /100 3295 UNIVERSITY AVENUE “The beer was marginal. primarily this was a smoke-filled sportsbar with the emphasis on television. Don’t go out of your way to find this one.“ |
| 84 /100 2401 FALLS AVENUE “My local watering hole, since it’s right down the street from my place..
Entirely retro theme, with old records, funky 70’s furniture, and a completely psychodelic atmosphere. At night, all the lights are turned off except some retro lamps and chandeliers...and it’s hard to appreciate how cool this place really is without seeing it for yourself.
The jukebox has a great selection (and is 100% free, might I add), so there are always some cool tunes playing.
Their beer on-tap changes very often (Samichlaus & St. Bernardus Tripel were new tonight when I stopped in...) seems like every time I stop in there, they have at least one or two kegs of something completely new and unique to the area. As far as European beer goes, there is no better bar in the area. They have a good selection of Belgian bottles and usually even some relatively unique brews on-tap.. (eg: Piraat Triple IPA, Fuller’s London Pride, & Alpha King - "Summer ’05"). 10/20/05 Update: St. Bernardus abt 12, Golden Draak, Tripel Karmeliet, Delirium Tremens, and Abbaye Des Rocs Triple Impériale added to the lineup for fall.
It’s somewhat off-the-beaten-path, but a bar well worth seeking out.“ |
| 32 /100 3295 UNIVERSITY AVENUE “I saw this the first time and saw a macro haven with a homebrew title to make it seem exotic, and I was right. The beer is cheap, but ok, served all in mugs and lemons in the hefeweizens. Meant to get people drunk for cheap, this place had bar tenders that didn’t know jack. I looked around at this place and left, it was meant for non-beer beer drinkers.“ |
| 78 /100 2401 FALLS AVENUE “I thought the food was mediocre, something nice to try..but not over the top-made by amatures who don’t know how to blend flavors.
The beer is ok, more often then not if the beer isn’t high in alcohol content it will be a little soured like the English Aged beer I had with the meal was a little off, but you could see how it would’ve been great a year ago.
The atmosphere is a bit snobby and there is many snobby people that drink because it’s cool and don’t know what they’re drinking more often than not. They also have the older gentlemen who keep ordering the grain belts like they used to 20 years ago.
Overall I don’t visit unless I have some BAs around me and have an extra $5 for something good, but chances are I have had it.“ |
| 88 /100 2401 FALLS AVENUE “I absolutely love this place. Always have 3 to 5 Belgian beers on tap at all times. Doug the bartender that served us was extremely friendly and competent. Not only is this great beer oasis, but there is Rudy’s Taco in the same building. All the furnishing are art deco with Formica that you remember your family or grandparents having in their kitchen. It is also a good place to take kids, since there is plenty for them to look at. They have probably 200 Mexican puppets hanging from the ceiling. The place also has a very relaxed, family feel to it. The food is great with most of the produce is locally grown. We love this place so much, that we regularly drive 60+ miles to eat and drink here. Clearly the best beer bar in Iowa.“ |
| 20 /100 3295 UNIVERSITY AVENUE “Beer was not good, not interesting and not particularly well made. An extract brewery if I had to guess and the servers were flaky college girls who were trying, but wouldn’t make it at most real restaurants. Maybe I’m being too harsh, since Waterloo is not a beer mecca, but let’s just say I wouldn’t go back. Why try to brew your own beer if its not good and the locals drink macrobrews there anyway?“ |
| 66 /100 2401 FALLS AVENUE “As a guy who frequented this establishment during my days in Davenport, Ia, Rudy’s always had great food and great atmosphere. Never went there myself when they were serving alcohol. Always too late for that. If you are in this area. Chicken enchiladads and the cheese fries will jam enough cholesterol into your body to break up any hangover you might have experienced from a night of Pub pounding. Should list this as it is known. Rudy’s Taco’s anybody from Iowa will know what you’re talking about say that instead of the Lava Lounge.“ |
| 100 /100 2401 FALLS AVENUE “Yes I do like this particular establishment. Free tortilla chips and salsa, right next door to a fantastic taco shop, free jukebox with great music. The beer selection is always rotating and they always have something new. Full selection of beer from belgium, england, scotland, germany, anywhere. The staff is very knowledgeable, and happy to help, and if you are not in the mood for beer, you can choose from an excellent selection of fine liquor. Very unique decorations as well. Like nothing I have seen anywhere else. Still my favorite bar in the world. Not in Davenport, IA.
Went back here in 2012, it appears as if it has expanded and now includes a second bar. I will continue to remember it as it was 10+ years ago: a tiny bar, full of quirky weird stuff and a great jukebox, and friendly/knowledgeable bartenders, like when I was in college.“ |
