Northside Cafe

Wwwaaayyy over priced… they actually have a $ 15 burger and $ 13 bowl of soup. They also have a very limited menu that is full of nothing but mediocre sandwiches so come prepared to eat a sandwich as they pretty much make up the entire menu. The prices are ridiculous at this place. Newsflash to the owners… this is Winterset IA, not New York City. I guess they got that message when composing the menu but forgot once they got to setting the prices.

Fun find in Winterset! Interesting location on the town square and equally interesting history of the restaurant… hello Clint Eastwood! Three out of the four of us had the daily special… chicken and noodles over mashed taters… was good. The fourth member of our party had the pork tenderloin sandwich and omg that’s what I’ll be ordering the next time I’m visiting! Also tried the apple and blueberry cobbler with the picket fence creamery ice cream… awesome! I love eating at an establishment that uses local products and this place does just that. Great little find!

We have been here about 10 times over the past few years, and the quality of food keeps sliding downhill. We heard that there are new owners and now we know why the food quality dopped. While it is quant that only goes so far. We have their specials, and have found out that they are not special.
We don’t go here anymore.

This is my favorite place to eat in my hometown of Winterset. It’s existed since way before I was born, but recently came under new management and was recently redone. It’s a cool little spot with some good local history. Most of the time my food here has been good, but I’ve only ordered a couple of things on the menu the countless times that I’ve been here. I have seen some bad dishes of food with other people though, and I know that, at least when I was still living in Winterset, food could be pretty inconsistent from day to day. I will always love this place, but they also recently gutted the breakfast menu and removed a lot of items, including the French toast that my life revolved around. If you’re in the area, definitely go here. Coolest place to eat in the county if you ask me.

Had the Chicken Pesto Sandwich. The flavor of the chicken with the pesto sauce was scrumptious. Also had the Homemade Apple Crisp with ice cream … Wow !

The place is cute, the servers nice and the local wines and beers– delicious. The rest… I know you don’t order certain meals from cafes. It just isn’t their forte. However, specials, I am always comfortable ordering specials. We had the shrimp scampi. It came with the shrimp in a literal pool of butter. We also ordered the kale/​bacon pasta. Another special. It was super oily (butter I think) and the garlic is going to stay with me for a very long time. I like garlic, but this was super overkill. Then we tried a piece of pie as that was recommended on all of the reviews. We got the chocolate pumpkin pie. It was absolutely tasteless. A true bummer. I think if you go, get a sandwich and drinks. Then, I think it could be good.

Food was excellent with very large servings. We will detour on future trips just to experience the homemade pies that are cut in sixths and at least an 1.5 in. Thick… absolutely the only place where pies are like grandma use to make.

We were so glad to have stopped at this little gem while we were touring the bridges. It’s an authentic café with a tin ceiling and the original bar. I can’t remember what anyone else in my party got but I ordered the Muffuletta on the advice of the waitress. It is the chef’s specialty and man was it special. The marinated olive spread is the chef’s own recipe, made from scratch. The sandwich is so intensely olive-​y and really too big to eat more than half. We finished with the blueberry crisp, which was good but needed some lemon zest and a creamier ice cream. I will tell you that we waited a pretty long time for our order but we were not in a hurry so it worked out for us. You should keep it in mind, however. Also, the staff were very friendly and engaging. It was a fun lunch.

Great local place with home style food and awesome service! The chicken cordon blue sandwich is amazing and the breakfast is super good as well!

This downtown café was suggested for me to try from a woman at the Chamber of Commerce. You would almost say, «figures» but no this is a real find. Winterset has some attractions but is not what we call a touristy town with a lot of silly businesses.
This is a serious food place that is equal in quality to the foody joints in larger cities.
The list of daily specials is long and there is plenty of variety on the main menu. I was waited on immediately and served a hot fresh salmon & pesto sandwich on soft bun with a heaping bowl of slaw in ten minutes. The coffee is fresh and delicious and seems to be a private roast.
The booths are old fashioned tall wood and the seats are wearing thin and lumpy with duct tape patches, adds to the atmosphere I suppose. I sat facing the large front windows watching the world slowly moving by through the colorful neon sign.
This is a warm and friendly place to sit and contemplate life. If I lived anywhere near Winterset I would gladly return.

Wonderful place! The atmosphere is nice and the people super friendly. The patty melt is one of the best I’ve had!!! Homemade ranch dressing gets two thumbs up! A must visit in Winterset!

I don’t give a lot of five stars but this one was well deserved. John Wayne’s chili was excellent, just right spice wise, with giant chunks of beef and no beans. I also had their daily special… a wilted kale salad. With the exception of a salad I had as part of a $ 100 dinner in New Orleans once this was probably the best salad I’ve ever eaten. Service at lunch time was fast and friendly. If I get over that way again I’ll eat here again and try something different. I don’t see how you could go wrong with anything on the menu.

You just can’t go wrong here. I have had almost everything on the menu and it has all been well prepared, great flavor and always has that little extra to let you know that this is not your average small town restaurant. Incredible tenderloin!

A friend of mine promised I would enjoy this place, so during a weekend visit we made our way to Winterset to see the bridges and to eat some good breakfast.
The North Side Café, of ‘The Bridges of Madison County’ fame, is located on the town square, a very cool part of town. We selected our own seat upon entering, and were tended to fairly quickly.
I ordered the Farmer’s Skillet (and uploaded a photo). Though they don’t offer egg substitute, they do offer egg whites at no extra charge. I substituted toast for a pancake and at an extra charge. My dish was served nice and warm. The skillet was tasty, but just a little greasy. And I didn’t notice until I began eating my pancake that it was wheat and not the blueberry I had ordered, a disappointment for a pancake connoisseur. My fault for not requesting a swap. Price was $ 8.50. Not great value, but not terrible. I did finish my plate. I also ordered a $ 3.50 slice of peach pie, made in-​house, to go.
Our server was nice and helpful and offered service at an average pace. Ambience was cool, very old-​school. Experience was nice. Next time around, though, I may give another place a try.

A local icon, my wife sat at the same stool as Clint Eastwood did during filming of Bridges of Madison County.
Food wise, it is solid downhome cookin’! A must see!

Stopped in for a quick lunch and the food and service were excellent! Had a pastrami rueben that was very tasty and loved the old town café feel to the place.

For a small town café they have a nice menu. Had the Alfredo fettuccine and it was good. Clean place and bathrooms too. Plus this is where you get to see where Clit Eastwood sat w Meryl Streep.

My family ate here during the winter on a Sunday noon. We just beat the after Church rush. We did the bridge tour that day and wanted to eat at the same place from the movie. The food was good, we had the open face beef sandwich and tenderloin, but my sister’s turkey was not so good. It has been updated since the movie, and looks good. We loved the stop and looking at the dinner and comparing it to the movie.

Cute and quaint. Really decent food for the middle of nowhere America. The pork tenderloin sammich was juicy and crispy, corn chowder was nicely flavored and perfect for lunch. Get the coconut cake, it’s pretty darn delish!
Super friendly staff and nicely priced!

Your good olé small town café… to the hilt. The food is not anything to write home about… it is frozen food cooked up when you order it. It has the old yellow and red ketchup plastic bottles on the tables in the booths. The people were great… along with the décor that has not changed since it was opened years ago.
I have now been there a couple of times. It is worth stopping if only for old times sake. I loved the old clock that had «flip» style advertisements as it still works! I love antiques… so, this was extra cool.