Emil’s Hideaway

Stellar food and service. Great for lunch or a dinner date. Keep in mind that they have dimmed lighting no matter what time of day but that won’t deter you from enjoying your meal anyway. Drinks are also on the expensive side.

This is the classic «out of sight, out of mind» place. Its in a terrible location behind the Home Depot off of First Ave. But they’re working hard to make it work. I’ve been there twice now and both times we were very happy with our food. The service was much better than average for the area. The staff was very helpful, friendly and attentive.

Place is a hideaway. I guess it used to be a strip club? Not much to do in Cedar Rapids but we took a chance.
It was nice and clean inside and the staff was very friendly. Had the Rachael sandwich with fries. Turkey was fresh and the bread was great. Also had the stuffed mushrooms which were outstanding.

Didn’t even know that this place existed… glad to have found it!
Started off with the stuffed mushrooms that were some of the best I’ve ever had. Next was the Cuban Sandwich… a little upscale version that was delicious! A bit of smokiness to the pork and ham pushed it over the top.

Finally found a place that knows how to cook. Everytime Every plate. Hands down. New favorite place to eat. Prices are perfect. The sandwiches that we have tried have been perfect. Looking forward to coming back.

It’s not fancy, but pleasant. Typical (maybe better than average) bar & grill fare. Very good value (a large draft craft beer for under $ 4). Parking tight even at 6 pm.

Stopped in for lunch. The wait staff is friendly and attentive. The food is just good. It is pretty much standard fare. Don’t get me wrong, I will absolutely go back and I encourage others to go. But if you’re looking for that wow factor you may not find it here.

Went in for a family dinner tonight. Everyone got a variety of dishes from Reuben Pizza, to various sandwiches and the Hideaway Pasta. All the food was well liked and tasted good (didn’t hear anyone complain about anything). Star dish I would have to say was the Hideaway Pasta. I don’t get pasta ever as I’m not a fan but I stole a few bites from my daughters plate and I was wanting to order my own. Great flavor and very addicting. Service was great and very pleasant (Madison was our server). Would definitely come again. Oh yeah… you need to try the Redneck Nachos!

One of my favorite restaurants in town. I like to go from 4 – 6 during happy hour as they have ½ price apps and drink specials. Their redneck nachos and spicy rangoons are awesome.

Wonderful service here on multiple occasions. Their cheese bread is really good, kinda like a pizza with the sauce on the side! Really crisp and thin! The emils favorite pasta was really good, but extremely heavy/​rich, so you can definitely split it with people or take more than half home. We did have an issue with my boyfriends club sandwich being really soggy, so we asked for it to be toasted a little more and the waitress was really nice about it. Service was very prompt on refreshing our drinks and making sure food was okay.

This is now one of my favorite restaurants in Cedar Rapids. My grandfather and I have gone out every other week for the last three years looking for the best restaurant in town and we think we have found it at Emil’s Hideaway. They serve the best Patty Melt in Cedar Rapids. Could compete with the one they use to serve at Elmcrest Country Club. Philly was great too! Well seasoned and perfect balance of flavors. Macaroni and cheese was good, thick on the cheese. Potato fries are thin, but not shoe string — good.
The atmosphere is darker, yet lighting is well placed at each table, so easy to see one’s food and others sitting at the table. Walls are red or cream colored with black colored booths, high tables and chairs.
Excellent service from hospitality at the door to our friendly and knowledgeable waitress Danielle, to quick and hot service of our meal.
Bathrooms were clean with pleasant smelling soap.
Only weakness is the lack of parking and as mentioned in reviews the difficulty in finding the location. But when location is everything in business, you know you’ve found a great restaurant when the parking lot is full even though it is hard to find.

We go to Emil’s on a regular basis as part of our Friday Date Night rotation. Emil’s is always a fall back choice when we don’t know where to go for dinner. Consistent food only had one entrée that I didn’t care for and I don’t even remember what it was… We always appreciate having a happy hour and take advantage of that when we go there. Best starter is the Dynamite Shrimp, which you can get for half price at happy hour. Good atmosphere, weird but adequate parking. Location is strange but accessible. I would recommend for a medium priced dinner or lunch.

This is my very picky fiancé’s favorite spot. He always gets the tenderloin and fried pickle chips and is always a happy camper. I have tried lots of the sandwiches and other things and I’m always impressed! Even when the restaurant is busy we always get exceptional help and the food comes quickly.

Great environment. Food used to be great but seems to be getting worse although the selection is still good. Service was excellent and have never had issues with it.

Chill atmosphere and decent food. I was cold where I was sitting and the service was a little slow coming to get our order, but after that the food was decent. I had the lobster Mac and cheese and my fiancé had a BBQ sandwich. I’d give both ⁸⁄₁₀. Overall it was a good experience and we will probably go back sometime.

Cool atmosphere, great beer selection, prices are great and oh yeah, the sandwiches are freaking amazing!

This place has a good vibe, slightly upscale and also laid back. Semi formal yet has a pool table and sports on tv. They were out of both cuts of steak :-(but the Thai style mahi mahi was excellent as was the service from the lovely bartender. Definitely recommend and will return.

The food is always great, love the apple jack cheese sticks. While I’ve never had one, the group I’m usually with really likes their Grapevine signature cocktail when its made correctly. But It seems no 2 bartenders make it the same, some sweet, some sour, some missing alcohol.

Always great food and great service! The Hawkeye sandwich is awesome and also the smothered chicken. Had the ruben pizza and it was super good too!

Only a hideaway in that it’s behind a Taco John’s and a secondhand sports equipment store… otherwise that space is strange.
The entire space is almost completely open, with a few smaller ‘walls’ outlining the seating/​dining area, with a large open space between these seating areas and the large, mid-​tall bar area. Any customer at the bar can see any other customer in the entire place, from seats to the bathroom and everywhere in-​between. Negative points there.
Beer selection, on tap and in bottler/​can is decent. Once upon a time it would have been above par, but most places today have ⁹⁄₁₀ the same selection and usually lower prices. Some craft brews, all on offer in a tall 22oz pour, but the selection and service gets a ‘meh’.
I had the spicey chicken rangoons (⁷⁄₁₀) and the ‘Hawkeye’ sandwich, which was served on Texas Toast instead of the Sourdough the menu stated. Overall the sandwich was tasty, but the Texas toast was soggy/​mushy and gave the whole thing a doughy texture. great potential here, awful execution as it stands. I visited on a saturday morning and the staff was attentive if overly relaxed (multiple employees were sitting at the bar nearby, horseplay and gossip in the air) with multiple TVs playing the game (Iowa Hawkeyes FTW!).
A little separation of bar/​seating areas would do wonders for the overall ‘theme’ of a hideaway, and some way to fill the massive empty space between the two would do wonders. lighting was right for the most part, but the inclusion of some cheap video games and the associated children running around killed the overall vibe. Great potential, poor execution as it stands. 2 ½ stars, honestly. Price was a bit high for overall quality and service.