Northside Bistro & Bar

Best meal ever! The lamb was incredible!
Beautiful combination of flavors and sauces!
Fantastic service as well!

Had dinner here and enjoyed the experience. Loved the eclectic menu. Sadly, they were out of the entrée we wanted (happens sometimes). Pork belly appetizer was nice but the dumplings were just ok. I ordered the Iowa Apple cocktail and was underhwlemed. It wasn’t mixed well as it was too harsh (not too strong… harsh. perhaps, overuse of bitters?) to swallow comfortably. They «fixed» it but it ended up just being ok. Will definitely visit again as the servers were great and there were other things we’d like to try on the menu.

A place with great potential. The menu is lo ambiance very nice, not too noisy. Unfortunatly, the service was very slow and uncoordinated; the third entrée served about 10 minutes after the first two were placed on the table. The flavors were very nice but the some of the food was cold, like the rice under the fish. My asparagus was excellent while my companion’s was cold.
With some fine tuning, it would deserve almost five stars.

The is one of the best restaurants in Iowa City. It is listed as American, but it is really a French/​Asian/​American fusion. If you can only eat at one restaurant in Iowa City and looking for more than the ordinary American food, North Side Bistro is your best bet.
Probably the best pork belly I’ve had anywhere. Gyoza is amazing if you like foie gras. The beef wellington is cooked to perfection and delicious.
Outside seating is great when the weather is nice. Service is friendly, but I had to wait for water refills on empty several times.

It’s very close to the campus area, you can go there without driving a car. A good place to enjoy your precious time chatting with your friends. The server their are really friendly and helpful. asked me about something to drink and showed me the new menu and most popular dishes. And they brought the dishes so quickly and very casualty. And i really like the food there, especially mussels, seafood risotto and cream brulee.

The food was fantastic, and even better was my margarita. The margarita has a «smoky» taste to it, something I’ve never experienced before. The service was rather quick, however, the environment seemed off — the quaint environment was ruined by television screens.

This is a my first time here. I came with a group of about 15 with reservations on a Sunday. The bar tender was the first to see me and he greeted me promptly. They actually had our table ready 15 minutes before our reservation.
The wine selection was pretty good. They had a page and a half for wines, a page for beers and a half page for mixed drinks. The menu selection is small but most things look super tasty.
I ordered the duck breast. It was cooked medium rare with butternut squash mash and broccolini. Super tasty! The skin was still on the duck breast so it gave it a great flavor.
My friends got the tiger shrimp pasta and the seared tuna. Pics attached.
The waitstaff was very nice and very accommodating with our large group. They had great recommendations for both wine and entrée. Recommendations included good descriptions too!
Would definitely recommend coming here for any kind of special occasion or just wanting really great food.

My S.O. and I came here for our anniversary yesterday evening and it was phenomenal! I’m so glad we got lucky for our first time here.
One of the more memorable dining experiences I’ve had in a long time. The service, ambiance, and food was absolutely perfect. The dinner menu has a bit of a modern Asian fusion hint to it and pairs well with the entrees.
For drinks we had the Thai basil bourbon and cherry mojito. Tip: skip the soy sauce/​mix that comes with the bourbon.
The pork belly for starters was just WOW. Seriously. Cooked and caramelized just right, it melts right in your mouth. For entrees, we got the crispy chicken and seared tuna on fettuccine. Beautiful sear on the tuna, but the pasta was just a tad undercooked. On the other hand, the chicken was TO DIE FOR. It laid on a bed of rice with what must be thee BEST ADOBO sauce I have ever had.
I really hope this place is here to stay because we’ll definitely be back for more. Thank you for making our special night so wonderful!

Not bad. I ordered duck breast with was cooked perfectly and the grilled broccolini was superb! My BF ordered chicken adobo. He liked it but I think it was a bit too simple. Lots of drink list. I wish they have more on the menu.

My Salad and seafood rissotto were among the best I’ve had.

Yay for date nights! Husband and I went here tonight and ordered the seafood risotto, dates wrapped in bacon, the meat and cheese plate, and a cup of soup. He ordered the manhattan and I ordered some cape cods. The drinks were on point!
Husband loved the bacon wrapped dates. Loved them. He said «wow» a few times. The bread that came with them was amazing. He snarfed down the soup and the meat and cheese plate. I helped with the bread.
I had the seafood risotto. I know good seafood, and hot damn, this was amazing. Everything was delicate, seasoned well, and melt-​in-​your-​mouth delicious. There was a wonderful pepper taste. I refused to share my scallops, and mussels. As for risotto, I’ll be honest; this was my first try at it. I loved it. The only thing I didn’t like was the carrot pieces. I love carrots, but they interfered with the texture and taste.
Finally, I have to give a shout out to the bar tender. He was impeccable, great at everything he did, and we couldn’t have received better service. Drinks well made, service prompt, and oh so nice.

This place is pretty cool. In a nice section of town with other cool places to check out like Devotay, Linn Street Café and Brix for examples. My wife and I stopped in and sat at the bar. Good drink choices. We had the bacon wrapped dates and potstickers. I liked both of them more than my wife did. The potstickers were pretty good, not great, but definitely worth ordering.
The bacon wrapped dates were great but also weird. The dates themselves were very flavorful. But they were in marinara. Which was also great as it were. But not with the dates. I didn’t understand that. Neither did my wife and that’s why I don’t think she liked them as much. I just pretended they were two separate dishes and it was all good. Bacon wrapped dates and then marinara and bread. Both great separately but I don’t think they were great together.
I would definitiely come again.

One of the first lunches served for Northside Bistro, and have been waiting for this since I work in the neighborhood. It was a beautiful sunny day and sat outside, very nice. The server was attentive and kind, tho we were the only patrons. We both had the seared tuna Hawaiian plate served with a pile of white rice and macoroi salad, mostly boring carbs in my mind. There was some spicy fresh red cabbage under the spicy tuna. Not so healthy and $ 11. The $ 3. cup of ginger carrot, coconut soup was nice. If you want meat, the choices are the tuna, hamburger or chicken. Tofu available too. I have been won over after a few lunches, one outside on the sidewalk. Love flavor of the veggie stir fry, and can add chicken.

We came across the Northside bistro after hearing about it on Unilocal.Per usual, the Unilocal sphere has uncovered another gem in the area. I dare say this is the favorite restaurant we have found this year!
Sitting across the street from Oasis and Hamburg Inn, this block has developed into quite the food paradise over the past few years.
We enjoyed some outdoor seating on a lovely spring evening. Word to the wise, if you can get there in time to get seating outside definitely do it. They have 8 or 10 tables along the street and on a nice evening there’s nothing better!
The drink menu isn’t huge but it’s solid. They had 8 good beers on tap ranging from IPAs to a dark scotch ale that was magnificent! Good wine selection and a number of excellent mixed drinks. Great way to start things off.
The food was fantastic! The appetizers are worth exploring — we got two and split an entrée and that was perfect. The mussels were boss and really the first good ones we’ve had in Iowa city — granted the last ones we had were from down the road and consisted of mussels in green pepper water. These were perfect — done by a chef from the left coast — he once again proved that when it comes to seafood the left coast is the Best Coast! The broth that consisted of butter, garlic, and a little bit of wine with some chives was fantastic and good enough to go after with a spoon when you’re done with the muscles. Next we had the pork belly and that too was simply divine. The lemon aioli with the crostini and pork belly made for some fantastic flavors playing in different parts of our mouths. If I were crostini, this is what I would want to be placed on top of me!
For the main course we shared the crispy chicken and this was where we decided Northside Bistro will be a restaurant that we frequent. We had a conversation between ourselves, some friends at a neighboring table and the waiter about how we normally don’t order chicken at a restaurant because it’s difficult to make it memorable. Stamp it, this may have been the best chicken dish I’ve ever had at a restaurant. Outside was crispy, with the inside being super tender and moist. The flavors in the chicken were fantastic and while the dish was relatively simple with carrots, onions and rice as the base, it was both nostalgic and new at the same time. The portion was large enough to split and all in all it was one of the better dishes we’ve had in a long time.
They’re still working on their dessert menu and only had one option, a butterscotch crème brûlée. We decided to forgo dessert, however we look forward to trying desserts here in the future. If they’re half as good as the appetizers and entrée, will be very pleased!
Northside Bistro is a great addition to the area and after leaving we talked about how excited we were to go back in the relatively near future. This place joined the ranks of places like Clinton Street Social Club as a place we look forward to trying more than once again in the future. It’s absolutely worth your time to go check this place out and it’s going to be fun to see them continue to develop their menu going forward. as a place we look forward to trying more than once again in the future. It’s absolutely worth your time to go check this place out and it’s going to be fun to see them continue to develop their menu going forward.

This review is only for the drinks, not the food. Will update with a food review once we try it.
We stopped in during the downpour this evening. It’s hard to believe this is the former space that held the Haunted Bookstore. The interior is very nice, exposed brick and wood and all very rustic and cozy – i.e., ambiance that Iowa City needs. I tried both the Northside Manhattan and the Cucumber Green Tea. The Manhattan was better, though I appreciate the intriguing recipe behind the latter drink. My wife had the blackberry martini, which tasted delicious.
Customer service was good, atmosphere is nice, and the drinks are swell. We were tempted to try some food, but found the options to be a bit lacking or expensive. Nothing really in the way of small plates that we found personally appealing, but perhaps the menu will rotate with the seasons. The entrees are a bit steeply priced for happy hour dining, but that’s fairly typical of most IC restaurants. The key is if they can execute while charging high dollar (and many places in IC can’t but still do anyway).
Given the success of the drinks we’ll return for a proper dinner to check out how they do a larger meal. We’re hopeful that this place can become a new option in the Iowa City restaurant rotation.

The place was nice from the inside, my friend and I sat outside, I would give the service 5 stars, the waiter was very pleased to take our orders, offered some suggestions and gave us details about the menu.
The menu was interesting I would describe it as American with Japanese kick.
I ordered medium rare Kobe Beef Burger, the entrees comes with mixed green salad, I chose soy balsamic, it was very good dressing and fresh greens. It took some time to get the burger, the Brioche bun was flavorful, I chose Italian truffle cheese to go with the burger, it was also very good. My only let down was the burger patty, it was very well done, had some scorch from one side, I noticed it when one bite was overwhelming bitter that invaded my mouth and made me sad. That one tiny piece of meat ruined my meal, which was a let down.
I would given it 5 stars specially for the amazing service they have only if that burger was cooked perfectly, what a bummer.
I will try another item on the menu next time and maybe I’ll get better luck than the last one with perfectly good cooked meat! Please don’t burn it this time!

Swung by tonight around 9pm and ate at the bar. Bartender Joe took care of everything. Drinks were great and the food was fantastic.
Pork belly appetizer was the star of the show. Phenomenal.
Balsamic soy vinaigrette on the salad that came with the entrée was awesome.
Crispy chicken entrée was good. Well seasoned, piping hot, and tasty. I would’ve liked it even more had I not just been blown away by the pork belly.
Ambiance is nice, food is good, staff is great. Well worth a visit.

This place is a winner and is a nice addition to the Iowa City food scene. They have a very small menu and seem to be on the Asian fusion side, but not 100%. They do have some other style dishes that aren’t fusion, they are all good though and it will be interesting to see what else is put on the menu as this place strikes me as a place that will rotate dishes.
I started off with the rice cakes, this is a nice appetizer but totally not worth $ 8 for rice, sauce, and seaweed. I then got a salad with house dressing and topped with fresh pepper which was a nice salad blend. For the entrée I got the Chilean sea bass that came with asparagus. It was really good and would want this dish again. I did try a few nibbles off of other peoples plates as any good foodie should do. The crispy chicken was excellent and done perfect for pieces of chicken breast. Also the ramen style noodles where great too.
This place is still pretty new but the first impression was a great one. I hope the prices stay reasonable here in the future. Other than that dinner was great and look forward to trying more.

We came on a Saturday night after they had been open a few weeks First, we had to change our reservation (didn’t need it yet, think they’re still getting going – it was full on a Saturday but had some open tables) twice, but they were super nice about it.
I’d describe the vibe as upscale casual and not pretentious, which is the magical venn diagram of what I look for in a restaurant if I’m springing for a babysitter. They’re playing a fun mix of music, it feels kind of minimalist décor with big windows facing the street and a big bar in the middle.
I am pregnant and couldn’t have any cocktails (boo) but my husband tried the whiskey smash with fresh mint, a beer (he likes sours and they had a good one!), and a smoked margarita (stole a sip of this one and I really liked it.) Nice cocktail menu and wine list.
Our server was attentive and good and knew all about all the cocktails and all the food, and everything came out at a good having-​a-​nice-​dinner-​not-​too-​fast-​just-​right pace. We tried the pork belly and pot stickers appetizers and loved them both. LOVED them. Maybe favorite pork belly I’ve ever tried. I had seafood risotto and loved it – all fresh, lots of fish. My husband had a chicken dish I tried and really liked too. Only sad thing was they’re still working on their dessert menu, but better to make them really good when you’ve just opened.
I wish I remembered the descriptions of all the food and the other stuff on the menu we didn’t get to order better since I’m the second reviewer… will have to update!
I’m giving 5 stars because I like to give 5 stars when you do the thing you’re aiming to do just right, whether you’re the taco cart guy or the super fancy steakhouse or the the lovely new bistro with a thoughtful menu and good cocktails and good servers.

I showed up on day four of operation with seven other diners in my group, and this place is promising. Northside Bistro opened up on March 30, 2015. The menu has interesting dishes that were delicious, although they are lacking a «well-​thought-​out vegetarian option,» as one of my pescatarian companions mentioned.
The salad before dinner consisted of various greens, which I’m told included butter lettuce and frisee, and was enormous. The dressing was sweet and savory, somewhat reminiscent of teriyaki. The only addition besides greens were tomatoes, which were fresh and tasty. A nice addition could have been mandarin or blood oranges, which could have contrasted the dressing nicely.
The ramen is close to authentic, with the right amount of fat in the broth. Pork belly was used instead of leaner cuts of meat, which is the only thing that differs from the ramen I’ve seen elsewhere.
The crispy chicken has two chicken breasts cooked just right which has been (probably) pan fried such that the skin is crispy. The adobo sauce was sweet and savory. It was garnished with daikon sprouts.
All of the dishes were plated in a creative and tasteful way.
The beer tap selection is modest in selection, but each brew is an excellent choice and the prices are cheap. For $ 4 you can enjoy an Exile Beatnik Sour on-​tap. Stone All-​Day-​IPA is also on tap for the same price.
The ambience is trendy or «upscale rustic» as my girlfriend put it, and for now it’s pretty quiet. The music selection was modern and cool, and included Belle and Sebastian, Iron & Wine, Two Door Cinema Club, and Kavinsky at a reasonable level that facilitated conversation across a table of eight.
The waitstaff was attentive and very friendly. For example, during a conversation about how to pronounce «pecan,» we were trying to remember the movie Reindeer Games and who was in it, the waiter knew Charlize Theron starred, which gave us all a good laugh.
The kitchen seems to be getting the kinks worked out. It took about 45 minutes to receive our entrees from the time of ordering, but Basta takes just as long in my experience. One quote from my dinner companions was they were «quite on top of things.»
CONS: No vegetarian entrée. Kitchen was a bit slow.
PROS: Great service, delicious food, cheap craft brews.
I’ll be back!