Crystal Cafe — Restaurant in Iola

Want to enjoy great homemade meals with friendly and exceptional service? You gotta stop into the Crystal Cafe in Iola, WI. They are family owned and have been in business for since 1966 and have 4 generations over that period. The pies are excellent and they served over 71,000 slices in 2024!

We were greeted by Judy (her mom started the business) and we quickly became friends. She is a hoot and loves what she does. She personally cut my slice of Coconut Cream pie and served it to me! Next we met Jennifer (Judy’s daughter). Full of life and very fun. She wired on our table and provided excellent service. No issues with the order or any of the great food. Sadie (Jennifer’s daughter) stopped by our table just to say hi and chat for a minute.

We did not get to met Olivia Jennifer’s other daughter) as she is kicking ass and serving our country in the United States Navy as an officer! Thank you for your service.

The food is fresh, hot, homemade and prepared to order. Generous portions and severed quickly. We stopped in for lunch and enjoy The Derby Burger, The Saudi-O Burger, along with a Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato Sandwich. We shared an order of homemade fries and coleslaw, both were fantastic.

The pie really is “to die for”!

If you looking for a great meal, with a nice atmosphere and a family team that loves what they do and are proud of their service and product, come and enjoy some great food and chat up the girls a bit!

We’ll be back - I still have a bout 15 other...

old lady with fake hair pony tail I dont know if owner? was so rushy and rude and inattentive to what we were saying. would not stop with the aggressiveness and talk talk talk and rude to the waiters. pushy, un professional, no tact....very forgetful and we listened how she gave instruction to others and we both said we wouldnt work with her for one day. best part of the food was the home made bread. everyone else there seemed so nice, she was just too much. felt like anxiety having her for our waitress, was not at all a calm, easy dining experience, we felt rushed and she ignores half the table, just rude and big mouth about everything right in front of people. the prices over the top wayyyyy too expensive for what it is! cant read the menu its so tiny..and hot cooa wasnt mixed at all big chunks floating in it...it was running over when set on table and just a mess! it was all too rush rush rush and her mouth did not stop! the pies, are you kidding me? we tried 4 kinds, brought home, to be fair, we tried a gamut of them. a pile of sugar and dough and half baked and barely flavor, barely filling, every single one we tossed. what a waste! never will we recommend and we will encourage our many car show huge groups to spend their money elsewhere and bring their own grills and picnics. this place not only gave you anxiety due to the fake pony tail hair lady, but had sub par food at ridiculous high prices! very disappointed....

Lackluster cream pies…

I’ve had a slice of one of their cream pies on four separate occasions, each time ending in disappointment. I know one was turtle and one was something peanut butter… these were gifted from a family member (which I greatly appreciated) so I cannot recall the exact name.

I was so excited when I first was given a slice. I’m a dessert lover like… I’ve only had a few complaints ever about something sweet, from homemade desserts to standard grocery store offerings, but that’s just the thing… they aren’t sweet! Like at all!

For a place known for their pies (and I’ll be objective here these may be their fruit pies) I would expect their cream pies to have at least some semblance of flavor, but each time I’ve had a piece of one, no flavor. Just hints of it occasionally. Just disappointment. Trust me it looks great! It looks impressive! I’ve tried to find redeeming qualities, but there pretty much any 🤷‍♀️ all the way down to the crust. The super scratchy ROUGH flavorless crust. I’ve never had a crust so poor on anything. It was a surprise.

So, if you’re happy with something about as flavorful as a cream puff (which is refreshing don’t get me wrong) then you might not be as disappointed! If it was just vanilla I could forgive it. But if you expect this to be sweet or flavorful at all… like what you imagine when you think of a flavor as typically decadent as turtle, or anything with peanut butter… try...