Iowa City Update! Where to Eat. What to Do in 36 Hours.

A weekend here is a terrific way to enjoy the best of what the city has to offer. Here's a curated 36-hour itinerary, including my top picks on where to dine.

UPDATED June 8, 2025. Since I wrote this piece in 2023, I’ve revisited Iowa City quite a few times. One restaurant I previously mentioned closed, the other has slipped into the sub-par, so I have amended this piece to reflect new findings.

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Sometime in this century, Iowa City grew up, maturing from fun college town to that, plus a worldly small city. Any food-lover should make the trip. Add some cultural attractions between meals, and Iowa City makes for a great food-focused weekend getaway.

Here are my top recommendations for a 36-hour trip.

Friday Night: Dinner at The Webster

Driving time is less than 2 hours from Des Moines. Check into a downtown hotel and commit yourself to a “walking-city” getaway. There’s so much to do in the area that it’s entirely possible to leave your car parked all weekend. (Except for my recommended Cedar Rapids Saturday-night foray, of course!)

My favorite hotel: Element by Westin (314 S Clinton St.; 319-248-7900). I like the mini-kitchen (even if you don’t plan to cook, it’s always nice to have a wet bar), the sleek, clean-lined furnishings, and the pleasant upper-level outdoor patio with fire pits and soft seating. I’ve also stayed at Graduate Hotel (210 S Dubuque St., 319-337-4058), which is fun in a whimsical, ultra-casual, college-town-goofy way.

• Tip: If you get stuck in Coralville, don’t despair. There’s a neo-downtown area with a beautiful Von Maur store, as well as the Iowa River Landing Sculpture Walk and the adjacent Iowa River Landing Wetland Park, where elevated walkways cross through an aquatic plant and wildlife habitat near the Iowa River. Iowa City is minutes away.

Dinner: The Webster (202 N Linn St.; 319-800-0720): This is the jewel in downtown’s culinary crown and a main reason you’ve come to Iowa City. I wrote about it extensively in 2023, and have dined twice since then, but here’s the elevator speech: Chef-owner Sam Gelman has served in top kitchen roles for world-renowned chefs and restaurateurs, including Momofuko sensation David Chang. The Iowa City native crosses this worldly expertise and ambition with local ingredients and sensibilities, and the results bring beautifully crafted (yet never overly precious) food. Better yet, the service matches the kitchen’s ambitions. Read my full report.

After dinner, if you’re craving another drink, take in the view from the Vue Rooftop (328 S Clinton St.; 319-519-4650), on the 11th floor of the Hilton Garden Inn (which is next door to the Element).

Saturday Morning

Rise and Shine and Eat: The Element serves fresh, contemporary, and complimentary breakfast—complete with a short-order cook who will whip up the day’s breakfast special or eggs your way.

Free is hard to beat, but if you are staying at the Graduate or another hotel sans free breakfast, check out Cortado (26 S Clinton St.; 319-519-2340). This Mediterranean/Middle Eastern coffeehouse/cafe crafts lovely espresso drinks and also serves pastries, breakfast sandwiches, avocado toast, an Israeli breakfast omelet, and shakshuka. (Don’t hold off until Sunday to dine here—they’ll be closed.)

Take a Morning Walk: Wander around the river, over to the handsome new Hancher Auditorium, around the old stone boathouse, and across bridges.

Saturday Afternoon

Lunch: Since you really should eat at Cobble Hill tonight, I don’t recommend overdoing it at lunch. Head to downtown’s gourmet grocery-cafe, Bread Garden Market (225 S Linn St.; 319-354-4246). They’re a little like a Gateway Market Café and a very small-scale Cheese Bar rolled into one. While you can find quality deli and specialty grilled sandwiches, I suggest opting for a cheese/charcuterie board and picking up a few items from the solid salad bar. I tend to always get a cappucino brownie here. Split it. Four ways. Dine outside if it’s nice!

Culture in the Afternoon: A few can’t-miss attractions:

• Iowa’ City’s Literary Walk: Along and around Iowa Avenue, look for bronze panels embedded in the sidewalk. Each offers a passage from a featured author’s work and explains ties to the state. These panels are connected by a series of famous quotes on writing and literature by luminaries from Mae West (“Keep a diary, and someday it will keep you”), to Friedrich Nietzsche (“Creation . . . a great redemption from suffering”). It’s a fitting site for a city that’s home to the world-renown Iowa Writers’ Workshop.

• Prairie Lights Bookstore (15 S Dubuque St., 319-337-2681): Every book-lover needs to spend a stretch of time at this Iowa City icon. I love its well-worn creakiness and slightly funky vibe—as well as its extensive poetry section.

The Stanley Museum of Art. The perfect size of museum for a pleasant afternoon visit.

• The Stanley Museum of Art (160 W Burlington St., 319-335-1727): The flood of 2008 chased the The U of I Museum of Art from its longtime home near the river. In 2022, it was reborn into a compelling, all-new building on Burlington Street. This is my kind of museum—more art oasis than cultural citadel, yet airy and spacious enough to let your mind wander well beyond its usual confines. Entry is free, by the way.

Saturday Evening

Cobble Hill in Cedar Rapids. On par with The Webster.

While you’re in the area, give yourself a one-two punch of the best restuarants in Iowa. You’ve been to the Webster; now, less than 30 mintues from downtown Iowa City is Cobble Hill in downtown Cedar Rapids, the only Iowa restaurant to snag a James Beard nomination in this year’s Best Chef—Midwest category for 2025. I dined there late May 2025, and found it to be right on par with The Webster. See my full review.

Sunday

Again, if you’re staying at the Element, you’ll get breakfast. Otherwise, head to a diner or coffeehouse for something quick and none to heavy—you don’t want to overdo it, because brunch/lunch is on the horizon (you’ll see!). Get some coffee and a house-baked cinnamon roll at the Dandy Lion luncheonette (111 S Dubuque St.; 319 358-6400) or coffee and a bagel or breakfast pastry at Tru Coffee (87 N Linn St.; no phone listed). Enjoy a walk around Iowa City on the quiet Sunday morning until it’s time to check out of your hotel and head to . . .

On the way home, swing by Barrett’s Café. A great way to ease out of your Iowa City weekend. Photo at right is of the French dip, with kale and pickled onions.

Brunch or Lunch: Barrett’s (3242 Crosspark Rd., Coralville; 319-626-2227). Conveniently, this new bakery/deli/cafe is (almost) on your way home. As you head west out of town, take a slight detour toward North Liberty for a noontime meal in this entirely uplifting spot. The spacious rooms are blessed with loads of natural light and judiciously decorated with retro details showcased in clean, contemporary ways. Outdoor seating overlooks a field with trees beyond. It’s just such a pleasant place to eat.

We visited shortly after the place debuted, and found the food to be highly satisfying. For a midweek noontime visit, we enjoyed a gratifying rotisserie chicken sandwich and a pot-roast/French dip sandwich for lunch, and especially appreciated the fresh, homemade appeal of the bread (brioche for the former, a French roll for the latter). On a Sunday visit, however, I’d definitely go for the breakfast/brunch items.

Head home and start planning your next trip to Iowa City. There are certainly other restaurants in town worth visiting, but I’ve narrowed the focus to the best I’ve personally tried in recent months.

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