Prairie Canary Restaurant & Bar

Address:	924 Main St, Grinnell, IA 50112, USA
Phone:	+1 641-236-0205
Site:	theprairiecanary.com
Rating:	4.6
Working:	Closed 11AM–9PM 11AM–9PM 11AM–9PM 11AM–9:30PM 11AM–9:30PM 10:30AM–2PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 35

Matt Uhlman

We stopped in on a random Friday on our way to Des Moines and were glad we did! Situated on a main downtown street, this unassuming place is serving up some great stuff! Upon entering, I was struck with how great of a mix of modern and rustic. The furniture is decidedly modern trending with nice lighting and chairs, while the bar has much more seasoned feel. Downstairs is a bar with low ceilings and dim lighting - would be nice to just relax and chat over a beer. The beer list is solid, with ~15 choices. Cocktails were excellent as well with a lot of well thought out combos - all for $6. The elder flower cosmopolitan was lovely and something that both my wife and I enjoyed! With two kiddos we ended up getting a couple sandwiches and an appetizer. We had the fried Brussel sprouts to start. Awesome, in a word - its the first placed Ive had them were near to as good as my better half makes them. The grilled cheese and jam (Strawberry Rhubarb jam!) was like silly good - you bite into it and you get cheesy sweetness on some legit bread. It was the best grilled cheese Ive had in a long time. The canary burger was excellent as well. You could probably put cheese, crispy onions and an egg on a shoe and Id eat it. Very friendly and timely service as well. We were in and out in about 35 minutes on a night when they were actually pretty busy. Didnt think things like that would ever matter much, but with the kiddos, its makes a big difference! If youre in the area, you should stop in here and check it out!

Tracy McDowell

Im certain the food was above average, but that was completely overshadowed by the HORRIBLE. We were seated with menus right away, but not a single member of the waitstaff even acknowledged us until 25 minutes later and after 2 requests for service. Then we ordered drinks which we did not get and had to ask again. Drinks arrived and the waitress promptly walked away without taking our order. After another request to order, she walked by our table no less than 5 times and each time held up 3 fingers as if she would be back in 3 minutes. We finally ordered almost an hour after arriving. The Waitress was distracted and had to ask each person in our group to repeat some portion of their order because she clearly wasnt listening. The food took 25 minutes to be served during which time there was no service for drink refills (we were all drinking water and iced tea). To top it off the place was freezing. There is no reason to crank the air conditioning to a very uncomfortable level on a beautiful April day. Whether the food was great or not, we will never return.

Ty Ueda

Food was very good (highly recommend the kale salad), service was okay, but what really constitutes the 3 stars is the lighting. Ive never been to a restaurant with worse lighting. Never. Made me feel like I was sitting in a half ass converted VFW hall. It was a headache sitting at the bar: Edison bulbs hanging from the ceiling combined, daylight balanced bounced lights to the left, 42k recessed flood lights to the right, and hanging 42k opaque bulb shade lights over the bar. It doesnt take a genius to use consistent temperature lights or to section off the different varieties of lights and temperatures. Drove me literally bonkers. If youre going to try to be a "cool hip chic place" get your aesthetics on point or hire someone to do it.

Geoffrey Walter

Really good salads (Canary salad is my favorite), great fried brussels sprouts, well-prepared entrees including good burgers (two types of veggie burgers) and numerous vegetarian, vegan, and gluten option dishes. Good rotating selection of draft beers from around the country, very friendly waiting-staff. You will find something for everyone here, and it will be well-prepared. This is a good restaurant; whether you live near Grinnell or are visiting the area, make sure you eat here. You will likely become a repeat customer.

Corey Decareau

The atmosphere was great, very modern aesthetic. There was a bit of a wait for the food, but thats to be expected at 7pm. The charcuterie board was phenomenal! The main course was good, but my steak was a bit under cooked. That was no issue though, I caught my waiter and informed him, and he took 1/2 off of my entree AND had another steak grilled for me. Great alcohol selection as well. Overall it was a great experience, my girlfriend and I will definitely be going back!

Shannon Cameron

I make sure to stop here whenever I am driving across Iowa. Really great lunch food. Love their tomato soup and sandwiches. Friendly staff, large place with tons of seating. Highly suggest you avoid the fast food and travel a couple miles to eat at this great locally-owned spot. You will be happy you did!

Christopher Lee

Sometimes, your orders can take a while to come through since the place is often hopping in the evening, but the food is generally well worth it and the space is large and clean. Ive always been happy with bringing a group here.

Amanda Leach

Delicious food, I had the Kale Salad and the Sweet Potato and Black Bean burger; it did not fall short of amazing. Staff was very attentive and it seems like its a great spot for lunch AND dinner

Ryan Shibles

Food was great but maybe a bit overpriced. Service was unorganized and slow. I had to get up and ask for a refill on water and it took an hour from start to finish for a burger and soup

Erik M

Went for brunch. Very good food and polite servers. There was a moderate delay between each of the 4 of us being served, but otherwise a nice experience.

Nikunj Agarwal

The food is very good but it is pricey. However the ambience is worth the price. The service is good. Would love to go again.

Ron Eisele

Great food, atmosphere, and bartender. Ask for Tyler, hes the best. Fantastic staff and owner round out the experience.

Hayley D

Delicious. Fast. Warm. Friendly. Plus they have local fresh food and vegetarian options! Dessert was yummy as well.

Jessica Dawson

Very slow service. Not worth the price. The steak was good, but wasnt much better than a steak from Applebees

Ryan Osterbrink

Food was really good, but it server was pretty bad. With better service, this would have been a 4+!

Sugar Honey

Excellent food, excellent service, served a large party just fine, and the waiter only broke a sweat.