Black Sheep Social Club
| Address: | 600 1st St SE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52401, USA |
| Phone: | +1 319-200-7070 |
| Site: | iamtheblacksheep.com |
| Rating: | 4.5 |
| Working: | 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–1AM 11AM–1AM Closed |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 6
DO
docv73
First timer. Atmosphere:. My wife and I went tonight. The atmosphere was relaxing and enjoyable. There was background music, loud enough to notice, once in a while, but not loud enough to drown out conversation or normal restaurant din. Drinks: Their cocktails were made very well - flavorful, tasted like they were supposed to instead of flavored alcohol. We both had the Black Limeade, which was sweeter than I expected, but delicious and refreshing, my wife also had an I Remember My First Drink, which she liked, but she liked the Black Limeade better. Dinner and appetizers: The food was excellent. My wife had the pork chop, I had the lamb chops. We also had duck fries as an appetizer - which were OUTSTANDING. We did not do desert, instead we had a second drink and moved to the patio. Thats where it fell from 5 starts, and it fell hard. Patio area:. There was limited table seating - which is fine - but the other options were "couches" that were outdoor furniture, made from heavy duty plastic. THEY WERE TERRIBLY UNCOMFORTABLE!!!!! If you plan to sit on the patio get a table, if no table is available, dont go. The patio furniture needs to be replaced!!!!!!! Cost:. More than Olive Garden by about 20-25%, but worth every penny. Its a higher end restaurant, with higher end dishes, obviously prepared by a better quality chef. At Olive Garden, my wife and I usually spend about $60, for drinks, appetizer, and dinner, and another $20ish of we both have dessert or if we have more than one drink (not including tip) less than that if we have their cheaper meals, sometimes as low as $50. Tonight we spent $96 (not counting the tip), with two drinks each. The mixed cocktails were about $8 each, and I had one 2 finger pour of Dalwhinnie 15 scotch for $12, so about 30% of the ticket was drinks ($96 ticket without the tip, $36 of which was drinks, so prices are nice restaurant prices, but not going to break your bank - highschool kids on prom dates be warned, this is not high-school date night prices, but the special occasions like prom might be ok, but it will cost you!). Non alcoholic drinks, or beer would save some money - my wife also had a rum and coke, paied separately later, which was only $5 - about the same price as any bar. The dinners were mostly low to mid twenties, with a couple under $20 and a few over $30. The portions were generous, but not overly so - about like yourd get at home. There was also a lower priced section of sandwiches and burgers - they looked fabulous, they were big, and smelled great, but we went looking for a nicer meal, but that is another place to save a few dollars compared to what we spent. Overall: An excellent restaurant, well worth the trip, and we look forward to going again, but... REPLACE THAT OUTDOOR FURNITURE PLEASE!!!
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Holly Langenburg
We were in the area from Minneapolis for a memorial and chose this place because of its walkable location from our hotel and overall the appearance and decor was nice. However it stops there as the food is completely inedible. How does one mess up duck fat fries?! It seems like an oxymoron. Over salted and loaded with too many toppings. A basket of solid fries cooked in duck fat and lightly salted will sell itself all day and everyday but sadly these fries were not those. The fish nuggets were tender and flakey but it stops there. The coating was cloyingly sweet from their secret ingredient which is Capn Crunch cereal. I get that they wanted to incorporate a local product, which in this case, was Capn crunch cereal by Quaker Oats which has a huge factory in Cedar Rapids. It doesnt work though a simple breading would deliver on these fish nuggets. Less trying to be creative and just cook when you dont have real skills. The smoked fish appetizer which Im normally a fan of smoked fish things was a weird consistency and left a chemical aftertaste and the chips are too delicate for such a sturdy dip. Like mussels? Dont get them here unless you like frozen New Zealand mussels that have beards larger than Santa Claus left on them. *Sigh* I dont even want to discuss those shellacked chicken wings. Ive never left wings on a plate before. I guess there is a first time for everything such as writing this review. Our food was so awful not one thing out of the seven items we ordered was edible and that was what prompted me to write my first review.
J.
J. R. Skola
Its really yet to been seen how the rating for Black Sheep Social Club should end up. It is a new establishment in Cedar Rapids and is clearly still working out some of their process. The drinks were great; everyone in our group agreed. They did take a while to arrive, but as they are relatively involved to create, I think that is reasonable. Food was not as straight forward. The filet was great, but really expensive at $35; no salad either. They were out of the lamb chops which several of us were hoping to try. The vegetarian of the group got the veggie burger, and wasnt thrilled with it. We also got the pork belly and scallops which unfortunately came out cold. The atmosphere and ambiance was great! Top notch styling and finishes. We will return in a few months to re-evaluate the review; hopefully, to add it to our normal rotation of excellent restaurants.
JA
Janie Corey
Service was attentive and informative. Beautiful interior and worth a visit just for that. My sister is a vegan and got the vegan burger. Somewhere I had read a complaint about how the vegan patty "fell apart," but she pointed out thats how they often are since theres no animal fat holding them together, and shes had many like that. I had a regular burger and requested that it be cooked well-done, which it was perfectly -- no pink and not overcooked. I definitely will return as I want to try other menu items. If you "like" their Facebook page, you can get notifications of their specials as they do add unique menu items AND have guest chefs. This is a welcome addition to the downtown Cedar Rapids restaurant scene. If you are watching $$$, then try them for lunch. But I do want to splurge on a dinner sometime in the future as the entrees look delicious.
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Thomas Wolfe
What a wonderful addition to Cedar Rapids! My wife and I have now gone twice, both on busy weekends. Both visits we were: *Greeted instantly *Seated within a reasonable time *Wait staff was attentive, prompt and delivered our orders quickly *Food twice - excellent presentation, speed and was delicious! *Cardinal Rule of dining - check on your guests a few minutes after food delivery to ensure it is to their satisfaction. They nailed this both times and I find this lacking lately in other restaurants *Wait staff is on it! I cant stress this enough. Management is on their game *Bathrooms were clean and stocked - even on a busy Friday night. This is our new favorite place and Ive been raving about it to friends. Keep it up and thank you for the excellent service!
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Jason Knauff
Stopped in for dinner at the bar by myself. The staff was friendly and knowledgeable and attentive in all the correct yet not overbearing ways they should be. The Capn Crunch Walleye fritters were spot on. The Bison Reuben was also tasty and very flavorful. However the only reason this review is a 4 instead of 5 stars is because, for a Reuben sandwich, I was expecting more meat... a lot more. Im not one to complain about portion sizes, but I actually had to open my sandwich to make sure there was meat in it. Underwhelming, but easily correctable. I would pay more for it too. Otherwise, I thoroughly enjoyed my dining experience and will definitely dine here again the next time Im in town.
