Sacred Cow Tavern — Restaurant in Cedar Rapids

First and foremost, the only real downside was that it is impossible to tell if they were actually open by driving by. I had to go around the block, get out of my car and walk up to the window/door before I realized they were open. I did double check the hours online compared to posted hours and they are correct. I would definitely say to figure out a way to appear open such as an open sign. This would help with people just driving by not looking specifically for this place. Now, with that being said, I enjoyed my visit. I visited on a Monday afternoon around 330. I sat at the bar. It is a funky vibey little place by the same people who own hip-stir out in Marion which is also a nice place. It was happy hour so they had 2 for 1 beers and certain mixed drinks. They do not have any beer on tap, only canned beer and mostly domestic and local brewery stuff which is fine. The bartender was friendly and attentive though there were only 3 people at the bar. I ordered the pickle fries which were very good with a nice crispy crunchy coating and a good dipping sauce. There were a ton of fries, enough for 2 people, but one of the best things was there were no puddles of grease in the bottom of the bowl. It was a very clean deep fry. After that, I ordered the special which was a bbq chicken sandwich with one side, which I chose sidewinder fries. The bartender did mention they have excellent Mac and cheese but it was an upgrade so I chose to skip it this time. Again, the fries were excellent and another good deep fry with crispy fries and no puddles of oil/grease. The sandwich was a deep fried chicken patty tossed in bbq sauce. It was topped with bleu cheese, lettuce, pepericini peppers, and tomatoes. So right off, the sandwich was good but a bit muddled for my taste. The chicken and bbq sauce was good. The Bleu cheese got lost as did most of the sandwich in the peppers. It was a good sandwich though I wish I had gotten a burger instead as it was too much deep fried stuff for me. None of it was greasy or oily and was good, but just a bit much and a personal thing for me. The prices were not too bad and in line with most places nowadays. I would say give it a try, it is a fun and funky place and the food seems to be pretty good. I will go back again to try some of the...

My husband and I go to Sacred Cow at least weekly. We enjoy the food and the vibe generally. We seldom have the same wait staff, but until recently they’ve all been friendly. I decided to share our experience with my brother and sister in law over what I had hoped would be a very special occasion. I guess I wanted to introduce them to our place as it were. We had a miserable experience with our waitress. She was inattentive , sullen, irritable. For instance, we asked for glasses for beer, but never got them. We had to flag her down for additional drinks. She was very rude. Her non verbals were evident. It was a Sunday evening and slow, so I knew we weren’t taxing her. I felt so embarrassed in front of our company because I bragged about the place. Clearly my company wasn’t impressed. I didn’t summons a manager because we all left together and I didn’t want to embarrass my family further. Tonight we stopped again and I saw said waitress. I asked her over to our table and told her about our bad experience. I did use a cuss word, I’ll be honest, because I was angry that a special occasion had been ruined. We left but were accosted by the manager on the sidewalk outside of the restaurant. She banned us from coming back. Because I exercised my right to complain. Her excuse for the poor behavior for this waitress was that she was young. I guess youth is exempt. We spent a lot of money the day we had our dinner there …and are generous every time we eat there, but we will find another watering hole. One where we can expect decent service at. So much for exercising our right to object to rudeness. When a young person has a bad day, we’re supposed to accept the behavior…lesson learned. With so many places closing, Sacred Cow might want to use these opportunities as teaching moments instead...

Highly recommended!!! We like to try new to us places known to have good burgers, and of the three we've recently tried, this is the only one that really does. They really really are good burgers. It's rare I give 5 stars, but there is no 4.5, and this deserved better than a 4. It has pretty much everything. I can't judge the atmosphere because I never went inside. The group I was with ate on the patio. Which is the first big positive. They have a decent patio, and it was pet friendly. Their drink menu is full of options, including their own cocktails, a few of which were tried around the table, and highly praised, and they have all of the old classics. The food was great! The ONLY very minor negative thing I might have is that the meals took a while to come out - if I didn't have someplace else to be after dinner, I would have enjoyed another drink while I waited and not cared. When the food arrived, it was worth the wait. The flavor combos in everything that our group ordered were amazing. Their scoop fries are fantastic, and their house chips are amongst the best I've had. They were cooked perfectly. Crispy, with no chewy ones mixed in. The waitress was awesome. She was attentive but not hovering, appeared frequent enough to make sure nothing was ever empty, but not often enough to interrupt conversations. Overall, it was a great experience, and we already have...