Ced-Rel Supper Club

We had 6:00pm reservations for a Thursday night. We were on time and the place was not busy. Took forever to get a drink order, and then when you wanted more it took 15 minutes to get another beer. I actually went up to the bar and got one. Baked shrimp appetizer was cold, lyonnaise potatoes were burnt on the outside and cold on the inside. Ribs were cold as well. Oh and I forgot we actually didn’t get our food until we were there for an hour and 45 minutes. Then when we got the exorbitant bill there was gratuity added on! I told them in no uncertain terms that a gratuity was not going to happen and neither were the rest of our group going to pay it. Don’t go there. It has obviously outlived its time. Close it down.

Old fashioned swanky place :) it is so darling in this place. Came here for a birthday dinner and they gave me a sundae. Appetizer platter had dip and crackers, pickles, onion rings, fried chicken livers. Nice accompaniment to my meal with the steak cooked properly and shrimp grilled was tasty! Quality food and a back in time atmosphere! The only complaint I have is that I could have more food from such a full stomach. Price can be a little hefty but quality is worth it.

Food was good but at times bizarre. Odd assortment of creux de te. Fried chicken livers and a sauce made from cottage cheese?!? Shrimp cocktail sauce had way too much horseradish. Then it took 45 minutes between appetizer/​salad and the main course. The waitress and bartender/​cashier both seemed to feel the wait wasn’t extraordinary. So be prepared to wait. The old supper club vibe was fun.

Evidently the negative reviews of the Ced-​Rel Supper Club were written when the club was under different management, for they certainly did not reflect our recent experience at the restaurant. Ours was a party of six celebrating the birthday of my brother-​in-​law, a long-​time resident of Cedar Rapids, and he named Ced-​Rel as his restaurant of choice. I had driven by the place for many years on old Highway 30, but had never been there before. I’m glad that he gave us the opportunity to experience an unusually fine restaurant.
Our last-​minute reservation was no problem for the staff; they had a table for six set up and waiting when we arrived. My first impression was that of a well-​established restaurant, not elegant, but solid and comfortable. Castered chairs, for example, allowed free movement at the table, and the muted atmosphere let us converse in normal tones from one end of the table to the other.
I don’t recall seeing a wine list, but the bar had no trouble filling our drink orders. With the house salad and the appetizer tray, we needed no individual appetizers. I ordered the 12-​ounce beef tenderloin, and other orders included broasted chicken, shrimp and a shrimp/​steak combo. All came in good time, allowing us to enjoy the salad and appetizer tray.
My steak was superb, a perfect medium rare. I have not had a steak that rich and tender in several years. My BW was ecstatic about her shrimp dish, and the birthday boy and others were delighted by the broasted chicken. I think we all had potatoes Lyonnaise, and that is one recipe I want to try at home. Delicious!
Our waitress, Brandee, was attentive and prompt. She answered our menu questions clearly, and checked back just often enough.
The only down side was presentation. We all agreed that the food itself was excellent, but it looked pretty spare on the plate. My wonderful steak could have benefitted by an accompaniment of a little butter or a few drops of sauce. A bit of green vegetable or flat-​leaf parsley would have set it off nicely. The other dishes were presented in a similar bare-​bones way.
In short, a solid four-​star experience. I think Unilocal would do its readers and the restaurant a great service by eliminating all reviews of the restaurant under its previous management. They no longer reflect the current quality of Ced-​Rel. We will return.

We recently dined at Ced-​Rel after learning that it is under new management. Boy are we GLAD we did! The atmosphere is still the same but the food is greatly improved. I had the beef tenderloin and it was a better quality of meat then previously served and it was cooked to perfection. Overall the attitudes of the servers was also improved and I’d sure like to see the new owner succeed as Ced-​Rel holds many great family memories for me.

Came to town to visit relatives and they all wanted to go to Ced-​Rel. OK, I’m just along for the ride, so why not. I ordered the Tenderloin steak and shrimp. The steak absolutely blew me away. It was the juiciest, tenderest, most flavorful steak I’d had since I lived in Omaha 25 years ago. I was in Iowa, so of course there should be good beef, but this was so far beyond «good beef» that much of the credit has to go to the chef. Next time I’m in Cedar Rapids, I’m definitely coming back. Highly recommended!

In need of a Gordon Ramsey visit. Ced rel is just mailing it in these days. For the prices they charge food is very mediocre.

We were served Ced-​Rels Signature Relish Tray to start and it was so not worth the trouble they went to put it together.
Salads were store bought prepackaged lettuce. But the dressings were supposed to be home-​made.
Ordered the mussels off the appetizer list for my main course. And regretted it as soon as I received them. They were tough and looked like they were sitting for a while.
Should have ordered the steak. Doh! Everyone else liked their steaks, even though they were just warm.
Bean Pot was luke warm and the baked potato didn’t even melt the butter.

I had the Living Social deal for $ 50 worth of food for $ 25. First off, if I had had to pay the full prices, I would’ve felt robbed. The menu was WAY overpriced for the quality of food.
I have to say the best part of the meal was the relish tray. Those items were all solid (even the chicken gizzards).
I had frog legs, which were pretty good. I’ve never had them before, so I have nothing to compare them to. My girlfriend had the «famous» jumbo grilled shrimp and they came to the table lukewarm or colder. She had to ask them to be heated up (probably microwaved).
The ‘bean pot’ was pretty bad. I really like baked/​brown beans but these were just gross. Also, the salads looked like they were out of a bag. I’d expect a real tossed salad at the price Ced-​Rel charges for a meal.
Considering the experience and since it’s in the middle of nowhere, I don’t think I’ll have any reason to return.

Astonishingly terrible. Used a living social coupon – first things first, and take heed – when a suposedly good restaurant gives you $ 50 to spend for $ 25 (living social keeps that entire $ 25) there’s probably a reason. The ribeye was gray, meaning they cooked it on a cold flat top – no delicious broiled or grill taste. No seasoning either. They offered steak sauce – no good steakhouse should do that. I had to use some just to choke it down – it was amazingly grissleized. My throat hurt like hell trying to swallow. NOT PRIME OR CHOICE BEEF if you ask me. Somebody needs to report this place to the BetterBusinessBureau because the quality of meat is definitely a lie. The filet mignion looked like a $ 4 piece of bacon wrapped sirloin crap you get at Hyvee. Bar none – the worse steak i have ever had – and i’ve had some bad ones. STAY AWAY PLEASE.

Sorry Ced-​Rel, but you are going downhill. Went this weekend. I forgot how bad it was last time. But even after a few years, it is the same complaints. Ordered the Ribeye. Over cooked, hard to cut and eat and no flavor. What is up with you and baked potatos. As with all the times I have been at Ced Rel, the potato was old and cold. Gross. The waitress was rude, but we actually didn’t mind that because she was, at least, entertaining, so we could ignore for a moment how bad the food was and SO EXPENSIVE. Shame on you.

The Ced-​Rel Supper Club tag line is «The Taste you will Remember». Oh Yes, I will remember NOT to go back to the Ced-​Rel. Now, Jeff and I have had a few meals at Ced-​Rel in the past and thought them to serve quality food. Tonight was not their best offering.
I made a reservation for my husband and myself for 7:00pm on a Friday night. When we arrived we were seated immediately. We were disappointed by the meager beer and wine list. So we ordered Sam Adams Oktoberfest as it was the best of the poor choices. Our server returned to tell us that they were out of that beer. We then ordered a glass of low quality Riesling. The server quickly brought us the signature Ced-​Rel relish tray. This sampling was a huge disappointment. First of all, the Deep Fried Chicken livers were so overcooked that they were dry and rubbery. My husband commented that there was no longer any cheese on the platter and that he was sure that there were 4 onion rings and not two on the platter. Our server did not appear to take our dinner order until the we had finished with the relish tray. I finally ordered the Half Beef Tenderloin (rare) and Shrimp ($ 28) and Jeff ordered a Beef tenderloin (rare) and Shrimp ($ 40). Along with our proteins they throw in a bland salad (iceberg lettuce mix) a spud, doughy undercooked white rolls, and a crock of the worst baked beans I have ever sampled. The beans tasted like a can of Van Kamps with a cup of brown sugar thrown in.
Our steaks and shrimp arrived and I was unhappy to see my steak was grey and cold to the touch. No crust or caramelization had taken place and Jeff commented that it looked like it had been briefly steamed. I cut into my steak and it was raw. Not rare, but totally raw. Those of you who have been following my blog know that I am a rare steak lover. I have even enjoyed Steak Tartare and Carpaccio from time to time. But this was a cold, grey, unacceptable piece of meat with NO seasoning. Jeff’s steak wasn’t much better so we sent them back to the kitchen for some proper preparation. When the steaks returned, they looked better, but were still not cooked or seasoned properly. I believe the cut of meat was quality, it was just not prepared properly and had no flavor.
See the following web site for tips on how to properly cook a steak to the correct doneness.
Our server apologized for our steaks and sent the manager over to apologize more and she removed the price of my steak from the total meal cost. The bill still came to around $ 85 bucks including tip. I can’t remember when I have paid so much for such a mediocre meal. I sadly must award the Ced-​Rel 2 stars for the big shrimp and friendly staff.

Jeff Selzer, head chef and owner, has done an excellent job keeping up Ced-Rel’s long tradition of handcut prime steaks, HUGE jumbo shrimp and quality seafood. He also added a number of creations of his own that are worth the drive — just about 5 minutes west of Stoney Point Road & 16^th Ave SW in Cedar Rapids. My wife loves the relish tray that comes with every meal. It’s served on a multi-​tiered platter and includes veggies & dip, onion rings, crackers, chicken gizzards, meatballs and more. The famous horseshoe bar is a great place to hangout before dinner now that the state smoking ban kicked in. Take a trip back in time at a historical Supper Club that has changed very little in nearly 70 years of operation.

Supper Clubs have a sort of nostalgic feeling about them; I always feel like I’m living out an episode of Mad Men.
Ced-​Rel is a restaurant that my grandmother visited regularly as a child so it’s been around the block… has a bit of a grandma’s basement smell to it sometimes… I choose to ignore this and instead enjoy the food, awesome old-​school moon shaped bar and the leather booths and chairs in the dining room.
I love the simplicity of the menu: steaks, seafood, ribs, fried chicken with a few «specialty dishes» (chicken livers anyone?). Salad, rolls, relish tray complete with onion rings, chicken livers and meatballs, your choice of potato, plus a baked bean pot are all included with the price of the meal.
I love the fact that it is kind of a «destination spot» as it is definitely in the middle of nowhere past Cedar Rapids on Hwy 30.

Kind of out in the middle of nowhere. Good steaks and food.