Iowa City Yacht Club

Stopped after dinner for beer and to catch a game. Perfect place for this. Quiet bar compared to most in the area. Good service from both bartenders, Ezra and Emily.

I go to yacht club to see a variety of bands and acts. The staff obviously love their jobs and the atmosphere is always fun. Great place for dancing and meeting friends.

This is a rad two story bar, with bars up and down!
Downstairs is where the music happens and it’s loud, divey, and fun just how I dig it!
The bartenders are fantastic. The guy running to door taking ID’s was a sweet heart. Simon the sound man was incredible! Making a concrete basement venue sound like an underground Carnegie Hall!
I have been here a few times to play and a few times to watch! Shows go on most nights of the week and they cater to all styles of music!
Some of the site lines in the bar are not great, with giant structure bricks blocking the view of the stage, BUT they have put little shelves on them so you do have a place to set your beer! Give and Get!
Great Prices, killer staff, if you are into dive bar music venues. Check this one off the list!

The Iowa City Yacht Club is an essential staple to the Iowa City Downtown scene. Offering more of an alternative selection of bands to come through and play, they have good prices, great service and a newly added menu of sandwiches that won’t disappoint. If you like Bob Marley instead of Bruno Mars, this spot is for you.

Who would expect something so cool in Iowa City? Laid back basement lounge/​bar.

Great place to watch some shows.
Old building with nice yacht club tiled entry way in DT IC near the Englert theatre and clock tower parking ramp.
The lil’ person (cant remember his name) is a great guy that will let take your cover (if there is one depending on the night) and let you enter the lower lair.
Its a basement party and laid back and great place to grab a drink and relax and enjoy the show.
I believe Mon night is Blues night and Tues is Jazz night with open jam sessions.
Lots of good bands from all genres play here.
Small stage with all the water pipes and everything else to contend with up there too. just adds to the ambience.
Head back to the black light and tripping walk to the restrooms (watch doing this if you’re wasted, or fun to watch others).
Drinks are decent prices from other DT IC bars.

This place was pretty cool. Drinks were cheap and good, which are my favorite attributes for bars.

If you like a chill environment with some nice music, Yacht Club is great… except for the big party night on Saturday, which is pretty nice, too!

Many, many moons ago, when one of my best friends and I were going through Iowa City, we took a stroll around the university and came across a Victorian-​lookin’ house. There a little person (as in Little People, Big World-​type little person) sportin’ a mohawk sitting on the front porch, playing with a cute little puppy. Naturally, I stopped to play with said cute little puppy.
Him: Hey, do you guys know about the show here tonight?
Me: Nope, is it a house party or something?
Him: Nope, this is a show venue, The Yatch Club. Show starts at 9, $ 7, 19+.
Then he randomly, jokingly added, «Do you wanna keep my puppy? He’s kind of a pain in the ass».
It took all my might to resist taking that cute little puppy.
My friend and I came back to the Yatch Club just in time for the show. The show took place in the basement, and it was dark and there was a bar and there was some semblance of a stage. It turns out that a folksy, blue grass-​ish band from San Francisco was playing. And they were amazing! A bunch of hippies came out and straight up lit a bowl in the middle of the crowd and danced, while others sat back with their beers and watched. I ended up dancing with the hippies later on and it was awesome! I totally got a contact high that night.
Who knew I could have so much fun in Iowa???