Heirloom Salad Company

This place is amazing! I’m so fond of the food I go back a few times a week. Staff isn’t always the friendliest, but the food is always delightful and I find it to be priced right. A must try is the soup and a sandwich… MY FAVORITE PLACE TO EAT NOW!!!

Pros:
1. Really enjoy the modern décor. I would much rather sit on this side than the Java house side.
2. Speaking of the Java house side, it is connected to Java house so you can get coffee to go with the food as well.
3. The food is good. I usually go for lunch and get half a salad (always the Fiesta salad) and a half sandwich. They have a good variety of sandwiches that are served on good bread with solid fixing ingredients.
4. A great location on the north east side of the ped mall. A short walk from my office, but is still a walk which is usually what I’m looking for.
Cons:
1. One word, price. A lunch with half a salad and half a sandwich is about $ 10, which seems about $ 2 too much. For this reason I go relatively infrequently.
2. The ordering process can be confusing the first few times. There are 3 lines to order from! I tend to just pick the first one and go for it.
3. It can also get a bit busy at lunch time and can take 10 minutes or more. So make sure to plan ahead a bit to not be rushed. They do have a few pre-​made sandwiches for those in a rush.

Ate here for the first time recently. On the plus side, the broccoli /​cheese soup was tasty and a decent sized bowl was included in my combo. The «antique turkey club» sandwich, however, was disappointing. It was small and the bread completely fell apart before I was halfway through; had to finish my sandwich with a fork. The bread wasn’t particularly fresh, either. For $ 12 (with a drink), I didn’t really feel like this place is good value for the money. It was busy, though, so maybe I just got unlucky this time.

Way too much dressing ruined the salad for me. Forgot the onions in my Cobb. It must have been the kids first day on the job.
Environment is perfect for studying though!

It’s been too gosh darned hot in Iowa City lately to eat anything hot. Thankfully, enter the Heirloom Salad Company. Just the place to refreshingly fill your hungry tummy.
Hubs likes their chicken salad, which is really like a fried chicken strip salad, with parmy and veggies. But I prefer to build my salad ala carte, because like the slogan says, I like it on the side.
When you build your own, you have a choice of greens to start with. I like the spinach. But they do have others for your choosing. I like to add broccoli, corn, beets, and carrots to my salad. They have very fresh veggies with no brown on them. Now, word of warning — you only get 4 toppings, beyond that adds to your price. So, I like to also add dried cranberries, feta and walnuts. All cost extra because it’s beyond the 4.
You can also add meat, but I don’t because it’s the only part I don’t like. It’s mostly just lunch meat so it isn’t worth the added price to me. But, it’s nice to have the option.
There are many other options, like small salad with soup or sandwich, etc. But, I find the single salad to be huge and filling.
Definitely worth going to when you want something light.

Pricey but good. The salad was huge and very filling. We both got a salad and sandwich combo the sandwich was well made. I would love to see this place give a smaller portion and set a lower price point.

I eat here at least once a week. They have AMAZINGLY salads and they are HUGE! I also really love their chicken salad, you can tell the chicken is fresh and never frozen. But my absolute two favorite things are their scotcharoos and Rice Krispie treats! They are made at their bakery and NOT purchased from a supplier. They use fresh ingredients in all of their menu items and it shows!

Yay!!! Love this place
The food is always good. We live in Texas and always eat here when we visit family. We brought our 2 yr old grandchild and she ate the soup AND sandwich. We definitely were the heroes! I had the protein salad and it was great. We will be back next visit!

The Fiesta Salad and a cup of Mango Soup is my favorite lunch so far, but partly because there aren’t very many vegetarian options. why?!
I love the fiesta salad — the chipotle dressing is way too delicious, the chip strips are a perfect crunch, and the corn is always perfectly sweet. But, I talk myself out of coming here for lunch a lot of the time because this is the only vegetarian salad… well, there’s the house salad and caesar salad, but they’re too blah to count. Especially at a café that’s specifically a salad company.
I also think the menu and ordering system are confusing. I’ve asked the staff on multiple occasions how the ordering process is supposed to work and I have yet to get the same instructions from anyone.

Convenient, charming spot if you need a refreshing meal. Staff are always nice and welcoming. When I go, I usually buy a beef type sandwich, caesar salad, and jersey tomato soup. It has never disappointed me. You can also add chicken to your salad. If you do a combo meal it does not include a drink and can get up to the 10 dollar range. But to me, that is worth it to eat something fresh while suppprting local business. There is also patio seating and you can get a nice coffee at the Java House directly next door. A gem of Iowa City.

Fresh and crisp ingredients and wonderful variety! Build your own or choose from the menu. You can get your salad tossed or chopped. Definitely tasty… Perhaps a little pricey though.

I love this place. The food is awesome and what I feel is of higher quality than most places in Iowa City. In my opinion, this is the best place to get salads and soups. There are so many options for the salads, everything is very fresh, and the portions are huge. The soups are by far the best in town. I’ve been known to make a trip out of my way to stop at Heirloom for their soup. The cheeseburger and the chicken wild rice soups are amazing, with high-​quality ingredients and savory flavors. They both include quality meats and vegetables. The broths are what really make the soups fantastic. The sandwiches have always been fresh and plentiful with excellent choices of breads. In general, it is a bit pricier than what you would expect at a Subway or maybe even Panera, but in my opinion it’s worth it.
I’m kind of surprised by the amount of negative feedback people have been giving to Heirloom about their atmosphere. The main location for Heirloom is located in DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY… a notoriously busy and bustling college location. I’ve never had any issues with staff, and the atmosphere is nothing worse than any other place in town. Even when the place is packed, I’ve always felt like the wait time and atmosphere is exactly what you’d expect in a college town. If I had to say anything negative, I would agree with most reviewers that the number of ordering lines seems to be a bit confusing when you first visit.
I suspect that I’ll always return to Heirloom because the food is that great. It doesn’t hurt that you can also get the best coffee in town right next door at their sister company, Java House. Now that they’ve opened up a new Java House/​Heirloom Salad Company in the Pappajohn Biomedical Discovery Building, I’ve gotten lucky and am now only a short walk over to get my favorite soup!

Fresh, unique soups and salads. Didn’t look at sandwich menu. I had a salad with blue and cranberries, feta, walnuts, and more with mango cilantro dressing. The salads r prepared in front of you. Also, they can add or subtract items. Highly recommend !

My friend and I were just in town for one night and were new to the area. We looked online a bit for a place to eat but couldn’t really make a decision. We walked past this cute restaurant downtown and decided almost immediately to try it.
Their combos are a great way to try two different things. It’s a little expensive, but I thought the portions and food quality were definitely up to par for the price. I got the southwest salad and the turkey avocado sandwich, both portions halved as a part of their meal combo deal. Even halved the portion sizes were great. The salad was fresh and not doused in dressing like other restaurants. The half sandwich was filled with turkey and avocado — I could barely take a full bite!
Overall, a great place for fast, fresh and healthier options for dining out.

I really want to love this place. I love the Java House next door, also owned by the Heirloom owner. I like the décor with the historic photos of Iowa City. I agree with other posters that the way you order is odd, with different lines for different kinds of food. Weird and awkward, but hey, if that’s how they do it, then, that’s how they do it.
I’ve never been very impressed with the place. It’s quite expensive for a lunch place, in a downtown chock full of interesting dining options. Yesterday, we decided to give Heirloom one more try. I ordered a half BLT, cup of soup, chips and a drink. My dining partner ordered a whole Cuban sandwich, drink and chips. The bill was $ 24.90. Pricey, yes, but no one is forcing you to eat there. What bothered me was that my companions’ whole Cuban sandwich was on at most, a 5″ long baguette cut in half with very little meat on it. The poor guy was still hungry after eating his $ 8.50 sandwich. My half BLT didn’t come out when his Cuban did. The person who brought it out said that it was burned, so they were making a new one. Well, they really may as well not have. My sandwich was on bread that would have been great, I’m sure except that it was so over-​grilled that it was difficult to eat. The 1 ½ strips of bacon (I really don’t think bacon should be a mere decoration on a BLT, but that’s just me) were burned black. The lettuce was one dark green, wilted, tough, outside leaf from a head of romaine. The chipotle mayo that was supposed to be on it was absent as was the avocado that I paid extra for. So, basically I received a burned, dry sandwich with old lettuce. I will say on one very positive note, that my soup was great. It was delicious and homemade.
I really don’t understand how this establishment stays open, except for it’s busy location in downtown Iowa City. As I said before, there are literally dozens and dozens of awesome places to eat in Iowa City. Unfortunately, in my opinion, this is not one of them. $ 25.00 is too much to spend on a less than mediocre meal and I won’t be back.

Yummy spot that’s menu reminds me of a mash-​up of Panera and Noodles and company.
I had the tortilla soup and the southwest salad. Tortilla soup was a little thinner than others that I’ve had — and I liked it that way! Nice broth and good shredded chicken. The salad had great ingredients, but the dressing was much too thick and mayo laden. Next time, I’d either it on the side or try something different.
Very cute atmosphere and aweome coffee smells coming from the Java House next door.
Bottom line, I’m sure I’ll be here again with daughter on the next college carpool run.

We decided to stop in Iowa City because I noticed it was a college town. In general, college towns have the food and drink establishments that I like in addition to funky clothing stores and a nice vibe :)
It had been a long day driving and we were about 3 – 4 hours from our destination and this place saved me from having to eat crappy food on the road. I had run out of the healthy food I packed for the 24 hour drive and was so thankful to see fresh salad choices like field greens, spinach, romaine, and baby kale. Then the toppings were plentiful and right up my alley.
The workers there were very attentive and did not work like they were stoned; perhaps I was lucky? Either way I enjoyed my salad and didn’t have to finish my drive with a heavy, nasty feeling in my belly.
We came back on our way home but I got a burger elsewhere in town because I was craving protein. If we ever come back I will visit!

I’ve been here several times and I still haven’t gotten used to the ridiculous ordering system they have in place. They have multiple lines for different types of food and they’re oriented in a way that forces you to read the menu at an awkward angle, from a distance, if you don’t yet want to step in line. In addition to that, for some reason the restaurant has a very distinctive and unappetizing smell that sits somewhere between the scent of sawdust and soldering fumes. Is it enough to drive me out of the restaurant immediately? Not at all, but it never fails to dampen my appetite a little, so I prefer to get my food to go and walk next-​door to eat it at Java House.
Now, onto the food: everything I’ve had here so far has been, for the most part, fairly good. Their breakfast sandwiches are what you’d expect and not too greasy, so in the morning they’re definitely satisfying, especially on a croissant. Their sandwiches are right on par — my favorite being the chicken salad sandwich — and can be ordered with some delicious spreads, including chipotle mayonnaise and avocado spread. Ironically enough, their salads are really quite average and can get far more expensive than they deserve to be.
All said and done, I might give this place 4 stars if I could stand dining in, but for non-​sub sandwiches this isn’t a bad place to get take-​out from in Iowa City.

I’m not sure why I tried this place again, to be honest. I just ordered a ‘full’ ham sandwich, not warmed up, to go. After getting down to my office to eat, I discovered I had a warm ‘half’ turkey sandwich instead. More annoying than getting the wrong sandwich is the fact that I paid for twice the amount of food than I received. Plus, the incorrect sandwich wasn’t even very good (who heats up a sandwich with the lettuce/​spinach already on it? I guess someone that likes slimy, limp produce. What kind of mayo are you using? It tasted kind of funky). So even if I had the time to trek back up to the store, I concluded that it wasn’t worth my time to most likely receive a different, if correct, mediocre sandwich.
Normally, service isn’t that important to me if the food is of good quality or special in some way, but here the bad service + mediocre food + high prices = the last time I visit.

Every time I try to go to this place, I find that I can’t get what I want. Invariably, they’ve either taken what I wanted to order off the menu, or just randomly stopped serving it by the personal fiat of some stoned employee. (On that latter point: dudes. I’m from California. I get it. You’re trying to create an atmosphere, you tell your staff there’s a two-​doobie minimum to start their shift. It’s cool. But dude, you gotta maintain.)
Today’s experience was typical. I walk in. There’s one person ahead of me in line. (This place is always empty, probably because it’s designed to make customers unhappy and have the overwhelming urge to flee.) It’s 10:45am, and I’m there to order a salad and a breakfast sandwich. The menu says breakfast sandwiches are available until 11.
First, I stand around for a minute trying to figure out which line to stand in. You see, they have three, or maybe four. I can’t really tell. There are a bunch of ropes strewn around the place, with signs saying «sandwiches» and «pasta» and «salad.» Apparently they have a different line for each menu item, despite the fact that the place has probably never been crowded since the day it opens. Being there to order both a breakfast sandwich and a salad, I wonder: «do I have to stand in all the lines? Perhaps at once?»
Eventually I spot a new sign (because obviously they didn’t have enough before) saying «breakfast sandwiches.» It’s on the little gap in the ropes leading directly to the cash register. It’s also where the only other person is. So I go stand there. Seems as good as any option.
The person ahead of me pays with a hundred. They give her her change. She leaves. I stand around for another five minutes while two stoners behind the counter have a very lethargic discussion as to what to do about the fact that the cash register doesn’t have much change anymore. They eventually decide to do nothing. Then they deign to turn their attention to me. I order a breakfast sandwich.
They say I can’t have one. They stopped serving breakfast sandwiches at 10:30 today. Unavoidably reminded of the last time I was there, when I showed up half an hour before closing and was informed that they’d already decided to stop serving pasta, I involuntarily spat out «I’m done with this place» and walked out.
I then went to the wedge, where they happily sold me both salad and a breakfast, out of one line, by employees who did not look like they had consumed marijuana before beginning work.
I just pray that this place isn’t being subsidized by the well-​earned profits of java house, the well-​run branch of their business. Because if it isn’t, it will doubtless go bankrupt within a couple more months after driving all their customers away, and then maybe it’ll be replaced by something not comparable to a flight of root canals.