Deadwood Tavern

Best Bloody Mary I’ve ever had. Can’t wait to get back to Iowa City for another one. Chooch.

This is probably not something I should reveal but I was so un-​hip as to not know what a dive bar was the first time my then girlfriend, now wife, mentioned one in Minneapolis that she had recently been to. I just nodded my head. It wasn’t rocket science to figure out what classification of bar that meant, but I had never heard the term. Sadly, this was 4 years ago.
Well, I knew «dive» bars well, I just thought they were bars. If I qualified a bar it was to call it a meat market or a bar that had live music or what have you.
But during my time in Iowa City years ago, the Deadwood was just a bar. And I mean that in the best sense of the word. For me the Deadwood is what a bar is supposed to be. To each their own.
I actually miss the smoke in the Deadwood. Other than the smoky haze that is no longer there, the bar looks the same to me as the place I drank Mountain Dew and studied looking out the window on afternoons. Or where I got hustled playing pool for the first time by a guy from Omaha (or so he said). Or where my friends wanted to go every night when they came and visited me in Iowa City and we sat and in the vinyl booths that still look the same today.
This may still be my favorite bar of all time. Since marrying my wife, we have been here twice and I can’t wait to go again. One reviewer talked about not seeing how it could be so crowded and that it is smokey and dirty. Exactly! I think she just hit on the definition of what I call a «bar.» Not disgusting mind you. But just the right amount of dirty to be full of character.

Great, clean-​smelling dive bar. What more can you want? Cash-​only. I’m told it is an institution.

My favorite bar when I went to school there. I would go in during the middle of the day and they had 25cent coffee and popcorn and you could smoke back then and so it would be a very mellow place to study during the day. At night, depending upon the music it was also a fun place to hang out. A cross between a townie bar and a student bar.

Needed to update this review as they have not had High Life on tap for a long time. Just an okay bar. Cash only, but suspiciously the prices are not low. It is quiet in the afternoons, but personally I can’t do work in a bar.

Dog friendly (December 2014) INSIDE. Not sure if it’s a seasonal thing (because who wants to drink beer outside in IA in December?) or they allow pups even in the evening when the bar is crowded though. But I can’t imagine this place being so crowded… It’s an ok bar, nothing special. Huge! But smells a bit smokey and dirty. Good place to go if you like that kind of atmosphere. But don’t expect this place to be your nice fancy bar to go for your first date (except if you have your pup with you!)

Next on our tour of the Downtown Iowa City (DIC) bar scene we happened into Deadwood Tavern that nearly 2 years prior my parents had a whooping good time (hard to visualize that but I’ll take it).
The bar area is smaller than the former bar but the non-​bar seating area is sizable and sociable. We bellied up to the bar literally and saw the 49ers game was on. I think they were playing the Saints at the time and were trailing a bit (I didn’t want to give up hope). In accordance with my hope for a «Gold Rush» (that’s what I like to call a 49er win) I ordered water this time to keep my innards and thoughts pure. Around us though, I could tell there were some 49er haters probably because earlier in the season they pounced on their local fave, The Chicago Bears. So like a guy remaining in the closet way past his formidable years, I kept my celebrations low key as not to rile up the grizzly locals.
We hung out for a while at the bar until BIL’s longtime friend came to join us then we scooted to one of the booths. From there we laughed it up going over old stories some of which I had no idea my BIL was THAT AWESOME haha. We had a great time and to think I wasn’t sure about this bar crawl thing.
Overall the bar had just the right vibe for me with exception of the 49er haters but you find those everywhere. The bartender was super cool even though I only drank water but I still sensed some mad respect somewhere in there too. I could see myself back in here maybe with my crazy parents, we shall definitely see!

A true classic of Iowa City, This is a great dive bar right off the Ped Mall in Iowa City! This is a great place to hang with friends play some pool, watch a game, play some classic rock music really loud!
You can sit both inside and out.
This is a place where the hippies hang with the skate punks and the jocks hang with the anarchist! All are welcome all enjoy cheap beer and whiskey specials!
They do have free Wi-​Fi so you can sit and have a brew and do that homework you need to get done!

It’s Just been a real good day. You passed a real big exam and this is the place to celebrate!

Really sweet place to go if you want to get your head ripped off by a hostile waitress.
Pros:
No dance floor, thus no Chad and Trixie types
Moderately priced beverages
Air hockey table
Tons of seating
Cheery smiley bartender guy
Cons:
Angry dark haired waitress
Women’s bathroom doors are forever broken
Music WAY too loud for decent conversation on weekends
Depressingly filled with Iowa City lifers
TL;DR — You’re going to come here anyway, because all of your friends are here.

Iowan bourbon? Very pleasantly surprised when I asked for it at this whiskey bar in downtown Iowa City. A bit dead (it was a Monday night, so go figure), but the staff and locals were very nice. The bourbons I had were great (Homestead is one I remember). Pretty big selection of whiskeys, so it lives up to the whiskey bar designation. Several stand-​up arcade and pinball machines.

This is a townie bar, don’t expect anything exciting here; however, they serve the BEST bloody mary in town. The beef jerky costs extra but it is well worth the money. I usually get two pieces. The beef jerky is local, from Riverside, IA. This is not exactly a place I’d ‘party’ but it’s a good change of scenery from all the other bars in Iowa City. This bar is CASH ONLY. the ATM machine inside is a rip off, make sure you get cash elsewhere before you visit Deadwood.

Let me preface this by saying I would give most bars in downtown IC a 1 or 2 star rating. The atmosphere is a little more quiet and «weird» compared to the college crowd you see at the other bars. They usually have one or 2 good microbrews on tap that aren’t too terribly expensive, and you don’t get the shouting cavemen you usually see in Brother’s or Sports Column. Give it a try if you aren’t into the college scene.

The only Iowa City bar for afternoon writing, reading, and drinking. Best mix of townies and university folk. Hang by yourself, get raging drunk, pick someone up (or not) and actually talk to people.

Michael P. said, «D-​wood really makes you realize when a place is seemingly good or actually good — and this bar is the former.» Totally.
I spend a lot of time at Deadwood, mostly to meet friends who are already there. It’s the biggest «townie» bar in Iowa City, in that it attracts a lot of droogs and drop-​out types. My theory is that Deadwood has become an Iowa City in-​joke — regulars feel cool for frequenting it because the rough atmosphere and lack of dance floor dissuades most undergrads from entering. It’s also a reliable bar to visit on a weekday night since it’s almost never empty.
Deadwood does have a nice layout (lots of space) and a great jukebox. There are two pool tables, pinball machines, a photo booth, and darts in the back, so you definitely won’t die of boredom. As far as drinks go, I enjoy the homemade whiskey sours. But the beer selection is subpar for Iowa City. They have some decent bottles, but the tap beer is all high-​margin domestics. And despite having a dive bar selection, nothing is particularly cheap here, except maybe whatever is on special.
What really irks me about the Wood is the consistently bad service I’ve gotten here. I’ve been flat out ignored by bartenders for as long as ten minutes at the bar, when it isn’t even busy. And if you stay til close, you WILL be rudely kicked out, and it’ll be earlier than you expect. My friends and I have been kicked out as early as 1:20, while in the middle of a game of pool. Maybe the bad attitude is part of the mystique, but I’m just not into it.
Lord knows I’ll be back. But I can’t say I’m particularly glad about it.

Lots of space, decent music, rail drinks that won’t peel paint off the wall if applied, and best of all the staff was friendly and they weren’t participating in the seemingly downtown-​wide practice of instating a ridiculous cover charge just because it was a game day.
Interesting mix of clientele from sloshy undergrads to middle-​aged women in head-​to-​toe yellow (visors included!) to the occasional hipster. They were the only establishment I visited over the weekend where I had a positive experience. Way to go, Deadwood.

Not particularly clean. Lots of odd and unattractive people. Sometimes surly bartenders.
It’s one of the best bars in Iowa City. One of a kind.

Sorry to knock it, but D-​wood really makes you realize when a place is seemingly good or actually good — and this bar is the former.
I’m not a world traveler, but I’ve been at bars for closing time in Cali, Montana, Chicago, NYC, etc. NEVER have I seen a ruder batch of bartenders. The last two times I gave these people my money, the eve finishes with a last call, and 5 min later the tenders hop on a loudspeaker telling everyone to «Finish your God-D@#$!# drinks and get the F#%@ out. Get the F*!$# out now!»
Last Sunday the female bartender was snappy and impatient when I was ordering my drinks. I know she/​they probably have to deal with drunken college students on a day to day basis, but I’m not one of them. It makes me sad that I actually tipped her, thinking maybe she was just having a bad night — until she was screaming at my friends and I to «Get the F&@% out, A$$H*!&$!»
For a place with a job requirement of being total jerks, I’m surprised they’re still in business. At least now I know and will never make the mistake of giving them my money again.

My first Deadwood experience was when this thirst parlor was located along the Clinton Street trailers (think urban renewal) and at a legal drinking age of 18. It was also a bar that engineers frequented and we loved offering to show off our slide rule calculations to any reasonably good looking River City coed in tied back hair and glasses.
I have returned to the «new» Deadwood on occasion and have enjoyed this brief Dive Bar experience. I also go to Joe’s as that’s where my Father and my Uncle drank when they attended the University of Iowa. it’s all part of my occasional desire to return, revisit, and learn from my past. And since Gayle and my son want no part of these University-​based trips down memory lane, sometimes it is a good thing to share a drink here with Hawkeye friends of new and old.

We went here on 2 seperate occaisons.
The first one was on a regular warm saturday night after a hawkeye game. And was pretty empty, we were able to get our drinks and a table in 1 fell swoop.
But the 2^nd time was Halloween night, standardly a busy bar night. But I’ve never sat at a bar so long and been ignored. Then when the bartender did finally take our order she finished filling the other ones in her head then started to fill other orders she got. promptly skipping our order. Based on this experience alone I will not be returning to this bar, and if I do it’ll be because I’m simply taking a tour of the bars again like we did that night.