30 Iowa Restaurants With Delicious Mac & Cheese [GALLERY]

Happy National Mac & Cheese Day! In honor of today's holiday (July 14th), we went on a mission to find some of the BEST mac & cheese across the state of Iowa!

According to a 2024 article from Love Food, the most delicious mac & cheese in the state of Iowa can be found at Cheese Bar in Des Moines. They say that the restaurant's "World Famous Mac," which is served in a hot, cast-iron skillet, is the best of the best.

Unfortunately for me, my two absolute favorite restaurants to order mac & cheese here in the Corridor have both closed in recent years: Vivian's Soul Food and Edison's Eatery. Luckily, there are plenty of other Iowa restaurants that serve good mac & cheese! Here are a few of my personal favorites:

Blind Pig, Cedar Rapids
Crosby's, Cedar Rapids
Raging Ryno's, Cedar Rapids
Stadium Bar & Grill, Cedar Rapids
Whiskey River Grill, Palo
Zombie Burger, Des Moines

Courtesy of reviews and recommendations on Google, here are 30 Iowa restaurants with delicious mac & cheese:

*All included restaurants have a 4.4-star rating or higher and a minimum of 100 reviews*

Iowa Restaurants With Delicious Mac & Cheese

We went on a mission to find the best mac & cheese in Iowa! Courtesy of reviews and recommendations on Google, here are some of the highly-rated Iowa restaurants with great mac & cheese (all included restaurants have a 4.4-star rating or higher and a minimum of 100 reviews):

Gallery Credit: Courtlin

30hop
- Locations in Coralville, Cedar Rapids, and Ankeny
Americana, Des Moines
- 4.4-star rating on Google (2,262 reviews)
Angry Goldfish Pub & Eatery, Des Moines
- 4.7-star rating on Google (2,555 reviews)
Beast & Bird, Vinton
- 4.8-star rating on Google (112 reviews)
Big Grove Brewery
- Locations in Solon, Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, and Des Moines
The Big Steer Restaurant & Lounge, Altoona
- 4.6-star rating on Google (1,704 reviews)
Blackstone, Iowa City
- 4.4-star rating on Google (1,274 reviews)
Bubba, Des Moines
- 4.5-star rating on Google (2,649 reviews)
Bubbies BBQ, Ankeny
- 4.7-star rating on Google (217 reviews)
Charlotte's Kitchen, Johnston
- 4.8-star rating on Google (671 reviews)
Cheese Bar, Des Moines
- 4.6-star rating on Google (892 reviews)
The Cheese Shop, Des Moines
- 4.9-star rating on Google (297 reviews)
Cornbred Barbecue, Ames
- 4.5-star rating on Google (1,467 reviews)
CR Midnight Smoker BBQ, Cedar Rapids
- 4.8-star rating on Google (130 reviews)
The Flying Elbow, Marshalltown
- 4.8-star rating on Google (617 reviews)
Hessen Haus, Des Moines
- 4.6-star rating on Google (3,372 reviews)
Hickory Park, Ames
- 4.5-star rating on Google (6,530 reviews)
Iowa Taproom, Des Moines
- 4.6-star rating on Google (3,984 reviews)
Jimmy Jack's Rib Shack, Iowa City
- 4.5-star rating on Google (1,193 reviews)
Kue'd Smokehouse, Waukee
- 4.7-star rating on Google (966 reviews)
Mac's Tavern, Davenport
- 4.6-star rating on Google (765 reviews)
Moski's BBQ, Cascade
- 4.8-star rating on Google (170 reviews)
The Pedaler's Fork, Cedar Rapids
- 4.5-star rating on Google (822 reviews)
Rodney's Kitchen, Waterloo
- 4.6-star rating on Google (417 reviews)
ReUnion Brewery
- Locations in Coralville and Iowa City
Shawnniecakes, Cedar Rapids
- 4.8-star rating on Google (125 reviews)
ShortE's BBQ, Johnston
- 4.4-sar rating on Google (444 reviews)
Smash Park, West Des Moines
- 4.6-star rating on Google (2,925 reviews)
Smokey D's BBQ, Des Moines
- 4.6-star rating on Google (5,890 reviews)
Tin Roost, North Liberty
- 4.4-star rating on Google (2,313 reviews)

All the Restaurants That Have Won Iowa's Best Pork Tenderloin Contest

The Iowa Pork Producers Association has been hosting their annual Best Breaded Pork Tenderloin Contest since 2003! Here are all of the winning restaurants that are still in business:

Gallery Credit: Courtlin

Filed Under: restaurants