Foodie Garage Eatery — Restaurant in Dubuque

This place is truly a hidden gem of Dubuque! We're visiting Dubuque for a few months, and really love finding the local flavors of anywhere we've travelled.

First off, everything about this place screams, "the locals eat here." The off-the-beaten-path location, the limited parking, the "sit down, shut up, and eat" kind of signs decorating the place... This place isn't a flashy tourist restaurant, and I love that. First off, after you read all the "whatchu lookin at" signs, the "Please Seat Yourself" sign lets you know it's time to get serious and sit down. Service in this place is top notch, which is uncharacteristic of the obligatory Help Wanted sign on the door (like you see everywhere else these days). Drinks were constantly topped off, our kids were served food first, and everything was on the table WAY faster than anticipated. All that was done with a smile. Management in this place is doing it right.

The experience doesn't stop there. My made-to-order burger (Under The Sea Burger) was basically a work of art. Every ingredient seemed like it was thoughtfully placed on the bun... All sitting atop a mound of perfectly seasoned sweet potato fries. I was only able to eat a few because my kiddos destroyed them! I WILL be ordering a second portion on my next trip. My wife's wrapped club sandwich was no less carefully crafted. If we were allowed only one complaint, it'd be that the size of this wrap and mayo decoratively drizzled on the outside made it hard to tackle with two hands... Yes, use both hands on these wraps! Kids' meals (Griddled Cheese and Chicken Tenders) had obvious signs of being prepared by someone who cared.

The check came, and for someone who knows that "good food ain't cheap, or fast" I was shocked when I peered into that little black notebook. I had to make sure that nothing was left off the tab. It wasn't "cheap," per se, but it was VERY affordable considering the quality WE were afforded by the wait staff and the kitchen. My only hope is that this place goes the distance. Great food, great service, and a fun little atmosphere. We will see you...

Tried out a new local establishment and I was excited when I saw they had Club Sandwiches. Atmosphere seemed nice; apparent was fairly new as wait staff, we had, although very nice lacked knowledge of menu and wait experience. We went at 11:45 on Saturday ordered my Club and soon after was told they were out of turkey, I asked for the menu again to change my order. I was very surprised that management would allow the kitchen to “run out” of turkey considering they had a handful of items on the menu that had turkey (wraps, clubs, sandwiches) and on a Saturday early lunch. Before I had time to place a 2nd order the waitress brought my husbands order and me a “club” with no turkey...... so a plain ham sandwich. I told her I didn’t order that & she said well they made it so I just said ok. It probably wouldn’t have been 1/2 bad if in place of the missing turkey they would have put another piece of ham instead of 1/2 head of lettuce. I basically had a lettuce sandwich & ate not even 1/2 of it. I wasn’t asked about it by the waitress or even asked if I wanted a refill on the1thing I did finish (my soda). When we were charged full price & my husband inquired the owner came over. We tried to explain “their” mistake but she was not very customer oriented for a new business owner especially sine this was their error. She rudely scoffed and walked away stating they would write it off. SERIOUSLY, the sandwich was $6 so I hardly think we were trying to get away with anything. I really hope they get more organized and learn how to treat patrons. We go to lunch every week and are looking for another breakfast restaurant but it will be awhile before...

Everything started out strong. Drink order taken fast and came out quick, food order in immediately after. Our server was on top of the fact the item I wanted was insanely spicy and made sure to ask if I was okay with things hotter than ghost peppers. They suggested a different burger that was still spicy but wouldn’t melt my face off. Good idea.

Every burger (seriously about 45 different burger options) could have a veggie patty or chicken breast to substitute the beef if you desired. I think that’s excellent. I happen to like a veggie burger, but please keep the bacon on it 🤣.

Our orders came out fast and almost correct. Not a big deal. I asked for regular fries, got sweet potato fries instead. Can’t really complain because they were actually the best ones I’ve ever had. My mom asked for no side and it still came with the default of potato chips. Oh well.

This review sounds nice, why three stars?

While we were enjoying our food and raving about how good it was, the pest control guy came in and sprayed for bugs less than 20 ft from our table. I get this has to happen and it may not indicate a gross place…….but while we’re eating? We were then so focused on him, watching where he sprayed on the floor that we then started seeing how dirty it was in there. The floor was littered with crushed food and old, crumpled napkins.

While taking in the messy floor, we started to be able to smell the fumes from the spray and then the cook came out front with his messy towel tucked in his belt covered in blood from the burgers and grease from other things.

Come on folks…..does this scream, “Please eat...