Flat Iron Café

I’ve been past the Flat Iron many times, mostly to pick up my wife after events down there.
The other day, we stopped in and I was really impressed. Now, mind you, this was a week day afternoon, so there were no crowds, no craziness, just a warm afternoon by the river, and I was glad, because I got to sample the hospitality and warmth of this Cleveland institution.
The sandwiches and wraps we got were really great, as was the service and the atmosphere, which, if I didn’t know better, was some pub right out of a London street. Everything is warm and woodgrain, with a touch of the Irish influence, but the menu and the alcohol selection are diverse and tasty. There’s a few nearby lots for parking and also on the street, and as far as cost goes, I’d put it up there with most of the middle-​end places; in other words, it won’t break you to take someone special here for a bit, a brew and a bit of a getaway.
All in all, the Flat Iron DID NOT… leave me flat:)

As someone who just recently moved to Cleveland, this was the first place I went to as it is a block away from where I live. I walked in and instantly loved it. The staff was extremely friendly and welcoming, telling me all of the things I need to see and do as the new guy in town. It really shows that they appreciate their customers when they take the extra time to make you feel welcome.
As a huge fan of Irish pubs and restaurants, the Flat iron is one of the best I have been to. Although it doesn’t have the traditional Irish pub style, you know you’re in an old-​school American Irish pub, which I really like. There is always a game on TV, whether its one of the major sports, or an international game of rugby or Australian rules football. There is always something interesting to watch. The jukebox is always on unless there is a big game for one of the Cleveland teams. Definitely a great place to hang out with your friends after work or before a game.
They also provide a shuttle service to all of the home games for the Browns, Indians, or Cavaliers. The only requirement is to spend $ 8 at the bar, and who doesn’t spend at least that before going to a game?! The shuttle service runs an hour before the game and picks patrons up when the games are over. It is really convenient, helps you avoid traffic, and prevents you from having to worry about driving so you can really enjoy the game.
The food at the Flat Iron is great. I have tried most of the items on the menu, and have never been disappointed. The first thing I ever ordered was the wings. As someone from Upstate NY, my expectations weren’t very high, but they ended up being some of the best wings I have had. They are big, breaded wonderfully, and the sauces are great. The Iron Sauce is a hot, barbecue and if you want to taste it after your done eating, it leaves the flavor on your lips, which is great since it tastes delicious. The Irish dishes are amazing. The Shepherds Pie and corned beef are great. They have a great burger selection (I recommend the cajun or black and bleu burger). There are always specials and they don’t constantly repeat the same ones.
I definitely recommend the oldest Irish bar in Cleveland to anyone. If you happen to stop in, odds are I will probably be there!

Been here a few times since moving to the Flats. 9 out of 10 times the food was excellent. Normally I’d never order meatloaf (this is crazy good with homemade onion gravy and mashed potatoes) or shepherd’s pie (made with locally sourced lamb) and both were excellent. Grilled chicken sandwich (on a grill, not flat top), wings, you can’t go wrong. Seafood salad wrap? Yum. Laid back vibe and all ages here. Highly recommend.

I’m a Clevelander and this was my first time frequenting this establishment and I’m absolutely impressed! The food, the service and the atmosphere get an A+ from me! Me and my sister split the Rib and Fries appetizer and literally got full! The flavor was amazing! The ribs were tender and well seasoned; the fries were piled up in the basket. Lastly, the Homemade Guinness Ice cream (for $ 3.50) was the home run! It was delicious and we’ll definitely be back!

We just moved to Cleveland and this was our first dining adventure out. This place was recommended to us by someone and we are very happy we tried it. I got the wings in their signature iron sauce, which was phenomenal. Best wing sauce I think I have ever had. Only wish you could get the wings without the breading! My husband had a burger which he said was great as well. Wish the French fry portions were larger, but they were excellent fresh cut fries. We will return again soon. Good prices and our waitress was as nice as could be.

More than an hour for food on a Saturday night. 20 minutes for drinks.
Food was great, corn beef is worth it. Bummed they took so long because it was delicious food

Just in town for a cheer competition, staying downtown there aren’t many restaurants that are inexpensive and good for kids. The food is reasonably priced and the burgers, onion rings and clam chowder were delicious. They had live music and he was pretty good. Food comes quickly and the wait staff is very attentive. Would definitely visit again

Wow was the food amazing! We called in a to-​go order while watching the regatta on the river. The lady was very friendly. We had fish and chips– completely amazing! Huge portion, perfectly crunchy on the outside and flaky inside. We also had pierogies which were also amazing!!! Definitely homemade. I’m ruined forever with the frozen kind! My son had Mac n cheese which was also homemade. Yum! Even the fries were fresh cut and they didn’t forget the malt vinegar in the bag. I wish I didn’t live two hours away because it was really really delicious. Fair prices too.

Being the oldest Irish pub in Cleveland, I had high hopes. The interior gives a nice feel with wood work/​exposed brick and the drink selection is great, but I don’t think I would go there being hungry ever again unless I wanted to eat nothing aside from bar food. I ordered the perch platter and seeing as how the menu states it has been on the menu since 1910 – I expected it to be 100% perfected (I mean, they have had over 100 years to do so) and boy was I wrong!!! It was the worst perch I have ever had & I am a frequent perch orderer. The taste was all off and I felt like I was eating cod. Gross! I was not the only one, my fiancée could barely choke down one piece of it and we were splitting the dish. I don’t know if we had a bad batch or what but not only did it not taste good, my stomach was off for the rest of the night :(Next time, I will opt for fried pickles or the french onion soup.

Oldest Irish pub in Cleveland… Nice folks working. Amazing food! Highly recommend this place!

This place is wonderful! I came here a few months ago with my parents, who wanted a low key restaurant with good, reasonably priced food instead of the typical restaurants you would find in the nearby area, the Warehouse District. We came on a Saturday in the afternoon and there were only a few patrons. Our server was knowledgable about the menu and the surrounding area. The clam chowder soup and the fish and chips were delicious! The burgers were also good! I (and my parents do too, although they are from out of state) plan on returning!

I would come for the food any day, but on a sports day this place is fantastic. Easy walk to Browns, Indians or Cavs games, or take the shuttle they offer for Browns or Cavs. Friendly, fast service with fantastic Burgers and Fish. Looking forward to trying more from their menu. Had a great time there yesterday before and after a Browns game. Keep up the great work FIC!

One of the best kept secrets in Cleveland. You can sit on the tables outside and see the very location that started Cleveland. You can tell from the first step inside that it has been well visited through out Clevelands history. The food is really authentic to real Irish food. They also have a bus to downtown. The wait staff has usually always let our dogs sit outside with us which is great.

If you love horrible service, watery pasta, and flavorless food, this is the place for you.

Had lunch yesterday with my 11 year old grandson while visiting Cleveland Aquarium… everything ok but just that-​ok Irish pub… I had southwest corn chowder that was spicy good but boring. Grandson had nachos, which has great cheese and average salsa. I thought draft beer choices were limited for an Irish pub. I had the shephard’ s pie. Ground lamb was bland, and topped with shredded cheese, so dish did not seem authentic, like we have had at the Pilot House in Kingston, ON. Old brick building very cool, with outdoor seating.
Service was great. Pricing fair.

Went there for lunch and started with the house made root beer. The kids loved it. The fish tacos were a good size for lunch and very tasty. The prime rib sandwich melted in your mouth, I would put their sandwich meat above any that I have had in recent years. My wife got the corned beef and it was delicious as well.

Come on, Flat Iron! You lost two stars! We went with 15 coworkers. We had a reservation and scheduled the transport. They picked us up and the driver was nice. They seated us at two tables. One table got their order taken in a timely manner. The other waited… and waited… and waited… There was a disagreement over who was in charge of our table. It was an hour before we got our food. The other table was already finished with their meal before we got our… It was completely unacceptable. This is a favorite among our coworkers but we won’t be returning again. One coworker felt her French onion soup was terribly watered down and didn’t finish it… Ew.

The Flat Iron is one of the few surviving long-​time bars or cafes in the Flats (and it’s both). I don’t recall it being «Irish» in my younger days, but it’s within sight of the Potato Famine memorial (that Celtic Cross you see by the replica of the Lorenzo Carter cabin), not far from «The Angle» (the historic Irish settlement area), and also not far from where my Irish great-​grandfather had a bar in the days before the Flat Iron existed.
The Flat Iron used to more of a classic dark, bar-​like place, but now has an open, loft-​ish set-​up and makes a nice impression on a warm spring day, although it lacks the kind of character it once had. The clientele has always been diverse – judges, businessmen, and longshoreman in my memory and on this visit, it included bikers on Harleys, wide-​eyed middle aged suburbanites who probably are amazed they don’t get mugged downtown (a rare event even in the bad old days), and fratboy junior business types who probably live in nearby condos.
The service was quick. The fries were first rate (a blessing in a world where they often are not). The burgers were fine – cooked to order with good quality beef and toppings but not memorable. Looking at other reviews, I wonder why anyone would order the French onion soup (something that’s often awful in actual French places) or even the wings (usually industrial chicken with supermarket sauce that reminds me why my parents’ childhood poverty stigmatized wings for us).
So.not a gourmet place and one whose conventional décor may disappoint those who’ve heard how legendary it is, but a really a nice place for Saturday afternoon people watching and probably a good lunch spot during the week. The Guiness is on tap, so I’m sure evenings and Irish music work well here, too.

Huge fan of this place. Great live bands and awesome happy hour specials. They are always happy to hold any fantasy football drafts upstairs but call ahead. The menu has a good selection and the food has always been good. I say leave work at 5 & instead of sitting in traffic downtown… pull in here and have a pint or four

I have been coming to the FIC for YEARS. They are one of the few remaining establishments from the glory days of the Flats.
The food is good, the bartenders fun, the atmosphere 100% Cleveland, and the beer cold. What more could you ask for?

I’m not sure why I never reviewed FIC years ago. This bar has always been one of my low key favorites before a show at Jacob’s Pavillion. The drinks are cheap and are served by friendly staff. Parking right across the street is 1.25 $ for the night. What can get any better? Well, Flat Iron has a very cozy vibe and is never filled with flats rats, shooters people, or strip club patrons. It’s one of the best kept secrets in the Flats. The food is standard. If you stick to the basics like a cheeseburger or the rueben then you’ll be fine. The french fries are always served hot and crisp with a little grease (delicious grease) dripping from them. Oh and a shot of jack daniels is $ 3

This place is great. The bartenders are wonderful. Always remember names and very friendly. My «usual» Chardonnay is pretty much waiting for me by the time my coat is off.
I absolutely LOVE their Whiskey Island burger. I’ll get it to go once in a while (even though I wish I could eat it every day!!). They messed up my order once and accidently gave me a Mushroom and Swiss burger. I was pretty bummed, until I took a bite and realized it was ALMOST just as delish as the Whiskey Island.
Bonus they have PhotoHunt!

Ate there Monday, Dec 17^th. Husband ordered ribs… OMG! Delightful! The onion rings were amazing! Burger was good, not great. Loved the pasta salad!
Sodas are $ 2.50, a bit high, ber was cheaper. Service was good, friendly, quick with the refills. Will I return? You betcha, only I will come with friends, place is good enough to share the love.

This is in regards to «renting» the upstairs room, not the downstairs restaurant or bar.
In the past three months, two of my friends have rented out the upstairs. It’s a great open room with bright green carpeting, a dance floor, bathrooms and a bar. The best thing about it is that you can rent it out for free, the worst thing is that all those extras add up.
We’ve had a DJ both times and 1 or two bartenders. The service was great, but the food is a bit spotty. Don’t order the pizza (worst in town!) or anything not on the menu. My one friend had a Mexican themed party and wanted a nacho bar. They had great chips and toppings but the nacho cheese was a large salad bowl filled with cold gelatinous crap. She’d also asked for bottle service — two bottles of Cake Vodka. At the end of the night, expecting to pay for two $ 75 a bottles, she was given a $ 500 shot bill. Surprise!
Overall, I think it’s a great venue — especially for bachelor parties since Diamonds is right across the street. Just know what you’re ordering in terms of food and alcohol and it will be a great night!

The oldest standing Irish bar in Cleveland and I had never been there? Oh, this had to change, and it had to change now.
For some reason, I wasn’t expecting much from Flat Iron. Maybe it’s because I used to drive past it all the time and it looked empty inside. Little did I know that this place is one of those «Cleveland Gems» that sticks around forever. Why? Because it’s good. Simple and true.
You walk into this place and you can sense the history of the Cleveland Irish. It’s covered ceiling to floor in Ireland’s colors, flags, emblems, you name it. Hello, St. Patrick’s Day, 365 days a year! The location lends for a pretty small space, but nothing that’s bothersome. Plus, let’s face it. Flat Iron is one of the only good things left in the Flats these days.
My first impression couldn’t have been better. I stopped by on a Saturday afternoon after checking out the youth regatta in town. I don’t think they were expecting the crowd of families that came through, since I only noticed one bartender and one server. These guys absolutely busted their asses making everyone happy. You would never know they were under-​staffed. On top of that, the bartender was also serving tables and didn’t skip a beat. I would have been one crabby gal if I were in his shoes, but he wore a big smile.
The food was very tasty. Typical of your Irish pub grub, but it fulfilled my craving for something artery-​clogging good! In fact, everyone around us seemed to be enjoying their food too. I’d love to go back and try some other things on the menu. Honestly, you can’t ever have too many places to find legitimate pub grub. Especially when it’s good, simple and Irish!