The Brown Bottle, Waterloo IA

The food was unsavory. The place is pretentious, but it is pseudo italian. Out of 6 meals we ordered only one was Ok. Worst "italian" restourant in last 4 years.

If you have not eaten at the BROWN BOTTLE yet, you are missing something wonderful. Just go, you will be glad you did. Relaxing, dimly lit ambiance in the dining room. Friendly staff, delicious food, reasonable prices. Start to finish they will not disappoint. Attention to detail is superb even on my to-go order. French bread, crispy and chewy with lots of butter in foil bag, mixed green salad with red onions and cucumber in separate container, meal in separate to-go container (the meal was enough for a late night snack or lunch tomorrow). This family owned restaurant is iconic in the Cedar Valley and will be for years.

Great personality, terrible service, took two hours plus, dirty dishes sat on the table, deserts were mixed up, refill not filled and if we had not walked up for our check, would still be sitting there!

My family ate here for my grandparents 60 wedding anniversary! 19 out of 25 people became ill within the next 12 hours with Norovirus. The Iowa Department of Health inspected and found numerous violations. I became severely ill from the Norovirus and lost 25 pounds. EAT HERE AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Dee who was our waitress really went the extra mile to make sure what i ordered did not have olive oil in it due to my olive intolerance. And was very helpful but not overly intrusive. Food and service was excellent. Thanks for the awesome anniversary dinner.

First off Alexis was a phenomenal bartender and will excel in her position. I ordered the bruschetta and the house special pizza. Both good but wouldn't order them again.

Just finished having take out and it was excellent the only thing missing was the best strawberry daiquiri's in waterloo. I've never had a bad meal there and the take out held up to their fine standards. Definitely looking forward to coming back

Boring food that is just cooked poorly. Get the salmon, or just about anything, and you'll see what I mean. The atmosphere is kitschy, but the people running the place seem to think it's very high class. It's a casual dining place run by some very confused people who think it's worthy of charging $100 a plate, but don't because no one in the area could afford it. And so they look down on everyone who eats there. I really don't get it, but there it is. Waterloo is a strange town.

This was the WORST restaurant experience I’ve ever had in Waterloo. When my food came back not cleaned properly, they comped my check $4.00. The owner told me if I didn’t like it, to not tip my waiter. I will never spend my money here again. If the owner can’t figure it out, I can’t imagine how it is for the employees.

This. This is something that has been missing in my world for so many years. I can’t even express how wonderful this was. The food was beyond amazing but to be able to have a meal with my love listening to Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole and Dean Martin.all of a sudden I hear my dad. “Listen to the music Renee isn’t it great? ” My dad loved the finer things in life and having a meal to good music, with great ambiance took the cake.
The cake, is in Waterloo, with these people. The service, atmosphere and food were top notch. We have dined many places and this is thee place to be.

We used to go here a lot, and loved it. I'm not sure if it is pandemic related, or a change in management, but things are not the same. Multiple items have changed so much that they aren't even close to what they were, and not in a good way. Definitely not worth the price they are charging.

Only been there once so far but ordered one of their pizzas and it was very very good! IMHO it surpasses the OP by quite a bit, and I'm a Midwest pizza reviewer, I know pizzas!

The food is excellent! We were celebrating my husband's birthday and the service was so far beyond terrible the experience was ruined. The manager was very nice and we hope to give it another try with a different server.

A great romantic date place. The lights are dimmed and has a very calming environment. Delicous food and definitely would recommend the desserts and the seafood lasagna

Perfect for our date night. Just what you want for a relaxing dinner out with your sweetheart. Friendly, welcoming, smiles all around from staff. Food was outstanding. We had the baked feta, yummy. The freshly baked bread was steaming hot out of the oven. I had canelloni, my wife had spaghetti. Both were superb. The canelloni had so much flavor. I've never had anything like it. We'll definitely be back.

Always a favorite of ours for 47 years. Service is excellent. Our meals are always delicious. Tonight was no exception. Our hearts are filled with love.

Loved the atmosphere and the service great and food was very good. They have a cool subtle bar in the corner which gives a laid back feeling to the place. A nice place to have a drink and reset yourself.

I got great service from Noah at the bar to end the evening. The manicotti was amazing and the mushrooms as an appetizer were amazing. It's classic Italian with a modern spin. Best I've had.