Prairie Canary Restaurant & Bar

Visited on 1/5/24 between 6:05pm-6:45pm. This is the only "fine dining" established for the mid-sized town of Grinnell. Basic/bare-bones atmosphere/lightly furnished but nothing bad about it. Menu prices are on the low end compared to other visited "fine dining" establishments. Had their Bacon Jam Burger w/ fries & 1 beer. Total came to near $20. Service was friendly and prompt. Only approx. 7-15 other patrons (with a seating capacity of at least 50) during my time. Sounds like when it comes to booth seating that are reserved they hold it the entire time until the party shows up, instead of having reservation time windows. Only con I had was when asked on how I wanted my burger done, stated medium well and it was abnormally pink inside.

Stopped here for mother's day brunch as part of our road trip. The restaurant reminded me of the weathervane in Neenah Wisconsin... Comfortable, classy, and clean with a wide variety of food choices. Everything about the Prairie Canary was excellent... though reservations are recommended, we were able to get seated quickly. Our waitress is from Belgium and a Grinnel College student. Very very friendly and Johnny on the spot when it comes to service and refilling my coffee (by the way, their coffee was fresh, not bitter, and had a nice creamy texture to it to it). Of course I had my usual Eggs Benedict but their Mothers Day special was served with asparagus and truffled hash browns. Brian tried something new. An open-faced dish of avocado, goat cheese, heirloom tomatoes, and eggs on homemade bread.

They were very busy but service was still great! We had the fried brussel sprouts and lettuce wraps for starters. The lettuce wraps were our least favorite part of the meal, they were just okay. The brussels are definitely a shared starter as it's a larger portion and delicious. We had steak de burgo and the Iowa Chop for our entrees. Both came with garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus. I like my steak medium rare, and they nailed it! That doesn't always happen. I also had the apple salad... loved it! For dessert we had crème brûlée and mixed berry shortcake. They were a great finish to a wonderful meal!

Amazing dinner and cocktails in a cool modern setting with excellent service! Really enjoyed the Aviation and Basil Drop cocktails. Our two appetizers, Brussels and Spinach Artichoke dip were wonderful and the entrees and dessert were great. Highly recommend!

AMAZING!!! Service was prompt, super friendly and inviting. I can’t say enough good things about this place. The NY Strip was the best I’ve ever had, and I eat a lot of steak. Check this place out, you won’t be disappointed.