Torte & Iron Cafe — Restaurant in Springfield

My brother and I had lunch here in July 2020 and enjoyed our meal. The Ironworks Café is part of a food court in a large hall with two-storey ceilings and lots of light from many windows — an interesting historic space in downtown Springfield. You place your order at a counter and then pick it up 15 to 20 minutes later. The wait seemed unnecessarily long, considering the very limited menu and the simplicity of the items.

There isn’t a good place to wait for your order. You have to stay close because the counter clerk doesn’t announce the completed orders in a voice audible beyond 3 feet. Everyone waiting for orders hangs around the counter in a group, which is not a good situation during a pandemic, especially considering that only half the people were wearing masks. Because it is a food court, and eventually people will be eating, I guess they figured masks aren’t required. There was no good way to protect myself by staying 6 feet away from people; you can’t go far if you want to get your food when it’s ready!

The central area is like a cafeteria with long tables that seat 10 or 12 people, and also some 2-person and 4-person tables. There were some picnic tables outdoors but it was too hot and humid on the day we visited.

Ratings: the food was tasty but expensive. $11 for a Belgian waffle topped with some fried-chicken pieces and a sauce, with an egg or slice of cheese — in a self-serve environment and not-comfortable seating. Minus 1 point for cost ratio and not-comfortable seating.

There was a constant flow of eaters through the food court, and the tables were NOT cleaned after each group vacated their table. (There was someone cleaning tables regularly, but it wasn’t enough staffing to sanitize each table after the people were finished.) Minus 1.

However, I saw a large bottle of sanitizer at the North High Brewery counter, and the very kind bartender allowed me to have some to clean our table and hands before eating.

The wait was very long. The Ironworks was steadily busy but not slammed with people. Given the lack of any good place to wait, and the awkwardness of just milling around near the counter, I found this aspect of Ironworks to be unpleasant. Minus 1.

The ambiance of the large hall is wonderful. The high ceilings, huge expanse of windows, and quaint historical vibe are very attractive. Plus 1.

This eatery is innovative, fun and fresh for the town of Springfield. Plus 1.

Overall, this café would be 4 stars in larger towns. But for Springfield, this is a TOP place for a...

I was so excited to bring my 7 year old daughter here for brunch. The posted hours say they are open until 2pm on Saturday. We got there are 12:30 and they were closed. So, we ate elsewhere and decided to try again the following Saturday. When we came back, my friend came with us as well. The staff was not friendly at all. They were actually extremely rude. Questions were answered with an attitude or not at all. I had a gift certificate for $20 and one for $5. My total was $23. They kept the difference. (I have used gift certificates at 2 other places in Cohatch, and this didn't happen.) I placed my order at 11:01 for 2 waffles. My friend ordered at 11:03. While waiting for our food, several other customers were upset over several issues. One of them being, waffles getting sat on the counter, with names being spoken softly, instead of yelled out. One waffle sat or over an hour, before the person picked it up, bc she didn't know her name had been yelled. After almost an hour, my daughters waffle came up. Initially, she waited to eat, so we could eat together, after 15 minutes, I had her go ahead. It took an hour and a half for my waffle to come out. During this time they closed and opened 3 times, turning away 15-20 customers. The food was good, but it wasn't worth it. Customers were DEFINATELY not a priority. The young lady running the register kept coming out to the dining area to flirt with a young man sitting there. Another young lady kept leaving and coming back. The young men (which I had no interactions with, seemed to be the only ones staying at their stations, to get food out. I'm extremely disappointed in the...

Fridays are my day with my 1 year old son. I work Sunday-Thursday and I’m gone by 6:30AM when that sweet boy is still sleeping. I don’t get to tell him bye and I always watch him wake up from his Camera above his crib on my phone while I’m at my desk.

Fridays are my days that’s I get to wake up with him and tell him good morning while mom works. And we get to hangout. We can never find a good breakfast option for both of us. And I think we’ve finally found it. I seen Ironworks Waffle Cafe on DoorDash and thought we try it. And let’s just say it was an absolute hit with this. The food was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. The chicken was soooo good and the waffles were fresh and so good! The syrup was out of this world. They loaded up greys waffle with strawberries and blueberries and have a huge thing of Nutella! The fries on my order were crispy and salty! I think we finally found our breakfast tradition that I get to share with my boy...