The Downunder — Restaurant in West Branch

Our group of 10 arrived right at 1:00 for lunch today. The first room was totally empty. There were a couple of people at the bar, and only a few people in the back room. We placed our drink order pretty much right away. After about 10 minutes, a guy wearing an oxygen tank came up and started serving our drinks from the window. He commented during our chatter with him that he did not work there. He was just a customer helping out. We placed our food orders at about 1:20. Seven of us ordered the Bear burger basket with fries. The first 2 orders come out at about 2:15, just short of an HOUR after we ordered!!! The waitress informed the 3 members of our party that ordered burgers with no cheese, that the cook had accidentally put cheese on theirs, and asked if they wanted to take them with cheese, or remake them with no cheese. They all took them with cheese so they would not have to wait that additional time. The rest of the orders arrived VERY slowly, 2 at a time. I was one of the last 2 to be served. I got my order at 2:35, a full 20 minutes after the first orders came out!!! By the time I got mine, 1/2 of the table was finished eating. One of our members ordered the chicken strip basket. She said the chicken strips were mostly breading and the chicken was tough. Her fries were cold and hard. Another member of our group ordered the Rubin sandwich. She said that there was hardly any sauerkraut, and the corned beef was crispy around the edges, like bacon. The burgers were good, although a bit more well done than most of us liked, so a little dry, but still good. One member of our group got a panini and said it was very good, and so was the potato salad. Bottom line, we could have understood the long wait time if our large party came in and they were already busy, but with only a few other customers, it should NOT have taken us an hour to an hour & 1/2 to get our food!! Especially...

We found this restaurant doing a Google search for restaurants nearby where we were while traveling and this one had a great rating and the menu listed sounded great. It took a minute to find the entrance. Inside, its a cozy environment. The customer base that day were very vocal football fans and the IA vs IA State game was playing on the TV. It was loud. The waitress was very friendly and responsive. Unfortunately because it was so loud in there, she did not hear our order correctly and we were served sandwiches that we didn't order, but sounded close. This came after a long wait because as the waitress told us, the kitchen burned our sandwiches and she asked they be remade. We ate what we received but the fries were cold and the bun on my sandwich was too hard/over toasted, that i could not bite into it. The waitress did comp our sodas and presented us with a free appetizer coupon. Since we were traveling, we likely will not be back in that area. If we were local, we would probably go back because the BBQ cheddar burgers really sound good. But I would make sure to point to the menu...

What a hidden gem! We were on a road trip and happened upon The Downunder. The service was prompt, kind, and accurate. The server, owner, and cook all came to talk with those eating and were very kind. They clearly take pride in their service.

Their menu states NOTHING is deep fried. That's because it's AIR FRIED!! We were BEYOND excited to see that. That's a rare find. I love wings. Rarely can you find a good wing that's not deep fried, but they killed it.

I had the Maple Hot wings. Sauce was UNREAL. Brilliant blend of maple and spice. We bought the sauce to go, it was THAT good. Pumped to have some when we grill at home!

If they don't already, The Downunder needs to bottle and sell their Maple Hot sauce. They are definitely sitting on a...