Machine Shed Restaurant

This is a great family restaurant with many delicious home food offerings. One of the dishes I had was the chicken fried chicken with gravy. The carrots were a bit too over cooked, but that was fine. The chicken was on point and I loved it.
I had the pork chops here last time and once again they were spot on.

We went on memorial day at 3 in the afternoon. Waitress was good. We waited for our meal a little longer than we should have. Food was ok. The gravy on our food had a film on it when it arrived from sitting out so long. This used to be our favorite place to eat about 5 years ago. This is our third time back in three years. It has went downhill alot in five years time. Our kids won’t go with us back. It will be a long time before we decide to try it again.

We stopped for breakfast on our way out of town. We had a party if 8, several were children. They were quick to get a table ready, brought coffee right away, and read our signals that we wanted to order and eat quickly so we could get on the road. Farmers daughter was plenty of food, skillet was hearty and good, not outstanding. Food took a little longer than expected so the server brought a cinn roll for us to share and keep the kids occupied. Nice gesture. Reliable stop and good for big groups with a menu to serve everyone.

Delicious American comfort food– Iowa style! I was quite satisfied with my appetizer of fried mushrooms and entrée of pot roast. My guests enjoyed their pork tenderloin and chicken-​fried steak.
I’ve read some of the other reviews for the Machine Shed, and it is a little like Cracker Barrel. However, it’s better than Cracker Barrel, because unlike CB the food is much less salty and the gift shop features gifts that aren’t made in China.

I never had a meal here that made me want to go back. Pops loves this place and I end up there every so often. I think the place is a bit over rated. Had the Covered Bridge deli carved sandwich, not so sure it was cooked or carved in DeMo. It was OK but, like I said not going back for an other. Pops enjoyed the brisket sandwich and loved it. He says their slaw is the best. Must be a generational thing cuz there were a lot of older people in there on my last visit. Bland food at higher then should be prices.
The store front is really cool and full of over priced nick nacks and such. I always like looking at all the stuff they pack in there. It gives you something to do while you wait for a table. Am I going back? More then likely, gunna love it probably not… Things we do for family.

In Iowa on business and thought this place would be great to try. Like others have said reminds me of Cracker Barrel but a fun place for country cookin and relaxed atmosphere.

So disappointed! I had eaten at a Machine Shed near Minneapolis and had a great experience but this visit has soured me on the chain. We were driving through on I-​35 and I researched and thought this would be a great quick stop.
We arrived a little after 3 which was apparently shift change and it took about 20 minutes to finally get seated. There was a lot of commotion about servers getting ready and discussions about notifying the hostesses. We should have walked out the moment we were handed a pager at 3:10 in the afternoon. The manager didn’t seem concerned at all when I asked home much longer at about the 15 minute mark. Another chance to escape missed.
We finally got seated, (in an empty dining room) our server was fine and our food came out in a reasonable amount of time. My husband ordered the pork tenderloin sandwich which he said was «fine». I ordered the smoked prime rib which was one of the main reasons I picked the restaurant. It was one of the worst prime ribs I’ve ever had. The only smoke favor was at the very edge and the meat tasted like it had been boiled.
Hopefully this is not a typical experience at this location but I am a little miffed that we wasted almost 2 hours on a mediocre meal.

The breakfast buffet is 12.79 per person and doesn’t include drinks. Cheesy potatoes, bacon, waffles, an omelette bar, salmon, biscuits gravy, etc. I’m glad I tried it and it had some solid breakfast staples, but nothing was blow me out of the park amazing. Traditional breakfast fare, worth going to once, don’t think I would come back again for the buffet though. Really nice servers.

One of my favorite places for prime rib! They recently remodeled and the interior is much classier. Love the family style bread, cottage cheese, veggies prior to the actual meal. Always get great service. If you are a member of living history farm and have the card, you can get 10% off purchases to include the meal!

I love the look of this place. More importantly however, this restaurant is overrated. I guess I’m a little picky, so here’s my opinion: their soup of the day was Chicken noodle soup, which was hardly edible. I poured water in my soup to make it taste better. It actually worked, even though I got a cold soup, at least the soup was more palatable. Their onion rings were hard to eat since they were served shattered into crumbs, but at least I enjoyed whatever bites I could pick up with my fingers and put in my hungry mouth. Burnt ends were good at first but after a few more bites, its heavy flavor & saltiness got to me. I was sad since I was looking forward to these the most. Nothing I ate or tasted off of what others ordered was memorable in a good way.
(Also, «always good service» as written by a reviewer is an extreme exaggeration. I wasn’t going to comment on service because we went when it was busy, but because there is some false information on here, I’ll add some insight. We didn’t have enough silverware & napkins which we had to remind the waitress twice. She didn’t notice that there were only 2 glasses for a table of 4. It was a busy night so we gave her slack since we didn’t mind sharing drinks & napkins with each other.)

This is cracker barrel for sure. It has the same country shop and the similar country feel. They even have free tractor rides during certain hours. They had a tv going with farmer ads but it seemed it was mostly of john deere :) All the waitresses wore overhauls and plaid shirts. The food is a little more expensive and it serves more lunch and dinner options than cracker. My coworkers and I liked it. I had the 14 oz sirloin steak and it was nicely done. It is by no means comparable to a steak house but it was pretty good. The sweet potato fries had some cinnamon sugar which I liked. A good experience that you have to try to get the true Iowa experience.

I think this is one of my favorite spots!
I would give 5 stars to this place, but since it is on the higher price range, 4 is my rating.
DELICIOUS food.
That’s it!
My entire family really loves going on Sundays, we love the bread, the cole slaw, the steaks, the desserts, EVERYTHING!
A must go in Iowa!

Don’t get me wrong, I love this place. But I can’t give it a 5-​star rating when the food quality doesn’t stack up. It’s like comparing McDonalds to Morton’s Steakhouse… they each do what they do well, but you just can’t give them the same rating.
As soon as my plane landed and my colleague picked me up, this is where we head. Every trip, I try and get one meal in here. The décor is based on the farming culture of Iowa and I love the uniforms the staff wears… blue overalls.
I had the Plowmans Meatloaf. It is a thick slab of meatloaf on toasted bread with mashed potatoes and onion rings on top… sooooooooo good. Portion sizes are huge and the staff is very pleasant and attentive.
Just a nice place.

They have the best in buffet for breakfast and also the cinnamon rolls are gigantic. We took advantage of a tractor ride through the field it was wonderful. I love how they take such good care of you in there you have to come try em out all different kinds of foods. I feel their breakfast buffet is the best but that’s just because I love breakfast!!!

When in Des Moines, you must try the machine shed. A recently redecorated restaurant that epitomizes Iowa farm food.
Since a junior rebranding and redecorating, their menu and service has seen a change also. Now offering a few more modern takes on farm food, the machine shed still has you’re old favorites, and some of the best pork loin you’ll ever find.
It is my husbands favorite place to stop in dsm because of the amazing food, fun service, large portions (& cottage cheese!), and fair prices.

It’s like a Cracker Barrel.
First, this guy that I went on a trip with and I had to come out here to stay at hotel next door for a night and we were thinking, what on earth? Why are we out here?
I still ask that question today, but we went and checked this place out because it was legitimately the only place to get food.
We get in there around 8:45 (closes at 10) and some of the waitresses that weren’t even our waitresses seem to have an attitude about it. Now don’t get me wrong, I understand that it’s frustrating when people walk in at the last minute. However, we had an hour and 15 minutes, so like drop your attitude.
Anyway, our personal waitress was real friendly. We ordered a burger and fries with soup. We didn’t really think anything of it, but then she brings out a bowl of slaw, cottage cheese and bread with butter for their free appetizers. Our minds were blown, we were not expecting that.
It’s kind of cool that we drink out of mason jars here, because that is a good feeling, because back at home we sometimes drink out of mason jars.
It seems kind of neat that there is a small little bar on the otherside of this place with the little general store in the middle.
The place was affordable and good, but I’m not really sure if it’s something that is really on the list of my priorities if I return to Des Moines.

We stopped in for breakfast after an event in Des Moines (couldn’t face another «free breakfast» at the Comfort Suites). We were surprised/​dismayed to find out that their big draw on Sunday is the breakfast buffet… from which we had just fled! Oh, well, that explained the steady stream of families with small children filing in.
The waitstaff is not tuned in to waiting tables at the time of the morning, so you might have a little wait for menus, etc, but once you are on their radar, you get good service, And the food is adequate, too, if you like lots of it. We ordered off the menu, and spent a little less than what the buffet would have cost. I’m kind of boring at breakfast. The waitress kept asking «No butter? No sugar? No milk with your oatmeal? Are you sure?»
We had gotten there early enough to avoid the crowd that was waiting when we left. If you’re looking for value for a family meal, this may be the place.
But, wait! Sunday is NOT the time for breakfast. No oatmeal, buffet only. No grits or cereal on buffet, only fried stuff. Lots of fried stuff and meat. Yes, you’ll get your money’s worth. No, it isn’t worth the stop.
This is seriously one step up from driving by and having it shoveled into your mouth from the curb. Maybe that’s what they are working up to.
He liked his chop, however. And the omelet lady is darling.
Ok, I do get a little cranky when I don’t get my oatmeal. But… don’t advertise a breakfast if you don’t serve one!

Now a new tradition when in Des Moines, this place is fantastic. The service is great and the food is even better. I had the double pork chop and was ridiculous. Succulent and flavorful, this thing was huge. So big I had for breakfast the next morning and Still couldn’t finish. The side of corn and wild rice was also wonderful. Do yourself a favor and stop in this great establishment.

I absolutely love coming to the machine shed. There is a reason why this place is always reviewed on tv. This is a down home family restaurant with a wonderful store that fulfills all your country/​bacon needs. They even have free tractor rides!
I’ve tried the chicken pot pie during their Sunday lunch and it was delightful. Crispy crust with a delicious filling. Note the filling a little runny. Our meal came with cottage cheese, coleslaw, pumpkin bread and French bread. The food was yummy and the service was excellent. I recommend coming here!

First off, everyone saying this place appearance wise is like a Cracker Barrel, they are absolutely right. There is a farm/​country theme going on here and includes a small gift shop in the front of the store. We came in a group of 5 and we were hungry and ready to eat.
The staff members were all friendly and provided excellent service throughout our time here. We started with «Dang! Root beer» which I believe is their signature drink, it was very good. You can also purchase this in their gift shop. We also had some lemonade which was good, nothing spectacular.
I didn’t know this before ordering a ton of food, but your server brings you complimentary bread and pumpkin bread along with cottage cheese, Cole slaw, and butter, all unlimited. Everything I just mentioned was very tasty and one of the highlights of the meal!
Now for the main dinner, I ordered the Shed appetizer sampler and picked 4 different appetizers. We got the burnt ends, shrimp basket, brisket stuffed potato skins, and beer cheese pretzels. The shrimp and potato skins were good and the other items were okay. Portion wise this appetizer was only enough for the 5 people to sample every item with one standard bite. So if you like something, you best order the full order for everyone to share .
One of our friends got the fried chicken dinner with mashed potatoes which I did not try, but it looked good. Another friend got the chicken fried steak with sweet potato fries. These were very tasty and good. The third friend ordered the brisket dinner I believe, it was okay, nothing exciting. My fiancé ordered the homemade chicken pot pie and it was good, but a bit salty, which kept it from being great. I got the prime rib steak because they only have it Saturday night and that was the night we came. It was okay I would say, I asked for medium rare, but I swear it was definitely a bit past medium.
Overall, good experience and I will want to return for the breakfast buffet I hear so much about!