Iron Exchange — Restaurant in Maple Plain

Modern brewpub and sports bar that is in a kind of remote location but I feel is worth a look if you're in the area. We want for a walk on the very nice state trails in the area and decided to stop in to try this place we'd heard a lot about. Very open and modern dining room with a smaller, dog friendly, covered patio. Everyone was very nice and we even met the chef. He was super excited to talk about the portobello sandwich I ordered. Service was kind of slow but we were the only one on the patio at opening and had to go grab our own silverware so think we where kind of forgotten.

We got a beer flight and I'll say this was probably our least favorite thing. Most of the darker beers were pretty thin and just slight variations on the same "watery" base. The cream ale was the best and was very carbonated; almost like a cream soda.

The pretzel sticks were surprisingly good. Very light and airy while still having a nice thin crust with a bit of chew. Almost like a cross between a fluffy pub style a less sweet, chewy ballpark. The beer cheese was ok but I think it suffered from the less-flavorful beer mentioned before. It needed some black pepper and hot sauce or pepper flakes to liven it up. That cherry mustard was amazing, though. I ended up eating some with a spoon. Sweet, tart, and a touch of bite. 10/10.

I was pleasantly surprised by the portobello sandwich. The bread was a very soft Italian style that wasn't quite as chewy as normal ciabatta. Like it was enriched to almost brioche level. Super good. The portobello itself was brined 2 days and cooked perfectly. Nice texture and there was plenty of it. It didn't curl up or shrink into a sad puck like a lot of places. The aioli was very flavorful as well. Side Caesar salad was tasty. Kind of a Caesar/Greek hybrid with olives, red onion, tomatoes, and croutons. Not overly dressed and flavorful.

Overall was great and would definitely come back if I'm looking to watch a game or am biking/hiking...

We come here a lot and usually love it but the last time we went we ran into a few issues. It wasn’t super busy but it took awhile to get served at the bar, which may have been because one of the bartenders had to run food from the kitchen. I’ve ordered the Steak frites three times now. First time it was sooo good so of course I craved it and came back. Second time there was so much smoked sour cream under the steak and fries that it overpowered everything and made the fries soggier. The third time I asked for the smoked sour cream on the side and it came, but was missing the chimichurri, the steak pieces were uneven and looked a bit “hacked” and there was an enormous abundance of fries which made the presentation look awful and overwhelming. $25 for a pile of fries and a semi-okay steak with a poor presentation is a lot to pay.

Giving this 4 stars (almost a 3 for the last experience) because I do LOVE the pizza, bloodies, patio space and it’s fun to have the live music, especially with no cover. Hoping for a better experience next time, but may just...

We love this place. The pizza and sandwiches are great and they have a good beer selection. We come here anytime we are in the area, but the last few times we have been noticing extra charges on the bill. Last time my daughter asked for some ranch for her fries. The server didn’t say there was an extra charge, just gladly brought it, then added $2 to our bill! This time we asked to bring our leftover pizza sauce, on the side, home with our leftover pizza. She said no problem, but then brings out a small container of sauce to take home. Thought that was nice. Enjoyed our meal until the bill came. SHE ADDED $3 to the bill for the sauce. If there is an extra charge for these little extras, fine but you should always tell us first! We might not want it if there is a charge. Lastly, they are adding an extra charge to use a credit card?? This really left us with a very bad last impression of the service here. Not good! Please inform your guests of the extra fees, don’t try to just sneak them in and nickel and dime us for a few extra...