Iron Exchange

Stopped in here after visiting a local apple orchard. I have never been here, but was pleasantly surprised. The pretzels and beer cheese were some of the best I've had. The loaded fries was another dish worth mentioning - super tasty. Everything came out hot. My partner and friend ordered a bloody and loved it. I'm not a fan of bloodies, but this is one of the best bloodies I've ever tried.The service wasn't anything spectacular, but I care more about the quality of food. Checked all of my boxes. It's not convenient for me, but I would go again.

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 pretty good and would definitely come back if I'm looking to watch a game or am biking/hiking in the area. Very hit or miss with some stuff though. The disappointing beer and spotty service probably brings the score down a star.

The atmosphere is fun, the drinks/beer are decent, the food is hit or miss, the bartenders and staff are usually friendly. It's on our date night / happy hour rotation.

I recently visited Iron Exchange and overall, it was a decent experience. There is planets of parking and space inside that includes a bar, dining area and space in front of a stage where live music is featured. They also have a decent sized patio for when the weather is nice. The have a wide range of their own beers to choose from and that you can create your own for poor sample for $12, which was a definite plus. Their food menu was pretty extensive, offering a variety of options.The loaded tater tots we had as an appetizer were a great start to the meal. They were delicious and definitely worth trying. Amongst our group we tried two small pizzas, which were just okay, the Cubano sandwich, which was quite large and packed with meat. Unfortunately, the fish tacos were lackluster and it was odd that they didn't come with a side of chips, making the presentation look extremely bare. For $17 I expected a bit more. I also have to mention that the table service felt a bit disorganized and scattered. There were noticeable gaps in terms of being checked on by the staff which I think was a possible result of utilizing waitresses and food runners at the same table.I think that iron exchange is likely a fairly solid option when dining out in the Maple plain area, but not a place I would make a special trip in the future.

This is the third time we've visited IX in the past two years. Before this, our meals were pretty good, though I've never found a good beer here.This visit was spur-of-the-moment, driven by my wife's interest in the watermelon-feta salad. The presentation was nice, but what was supposed to be feta looked (and tasted) like shredded mozzarella. The helpful waitress asked the chef if it really was feta and the reply was that it was shaved instead of crumbled. Umm, it didn't taste like feta whatsoever and shaving feta wouldn't look like this.Our waitress asked if we wanted it remade, but with the same ingredients, what's the point? In addition, the lettuce was simply drenched in dressing, but we should have probably ordered dressing on the side. I ordered a Cubano, which was pretty good, though a bit greasy. I upgraded to onion rings, but I'm afraid that those were so greasy that I couldn't finish them (which is unheard of). The only highly-rated beer on tap is the French Toast Brown Ale, which was too sweet for my tastes I'm afraid. I was "taught" that it's sacrilege to not finish your beer, but even so I was not able to do so.In the end, I thought the service was great (attentive, fast prep, good follow-up), but the preparation left a lot to be desired and they should probably stop trying to brew their own beer.

Solid restaurant in Maple Plaine! They have live music, trivia and the restaurant is fairly large. Decent size indoor and outdoor seating. I love that they offer drinks outside of their brewed beers. Complete spirit lists as well as other domestic beers. We've tried a variety of items on the menu- but honestly have only been happy with their pizza. Their pizza is Detroit Style and comes with a side of the marinara which is so fresh and flavorful. The small is large enough for two. Staff is always friendly. Definitely would recommend calling for a reservation Friday or Saturday's

The food and vibe is great. I've been here 8-10 times and they are under staffed every time. It is currently a busy Saturday and they have one bartender and one server. It's been 45 minutes and I haven't ordered my food yet.. if you're in a hurry, go elsewhere.

My Diet Coke had the classic plastic straw (lazy/turtle killing vibe). 2.5 was bumped up to 3 due to the tiny double straws (love) in the cocktails and the cloth napkins.

We love the music at this restaurant so we have given it a few tries. Great stage, lighting and sound. Where this restaurant lacks is in service. First time we went our pizza was undercooked and doughy in the middle, second time we went we waited 30 minutes for water and an additional 30 to take our order, last time we went our food sat in the window for a long time and arrived to us cold. When I said something the waitress grabbed our plates and said nothing. After 2 hours from sitting down we finally had our food. The waitress we have had, same one each time, is not welcoming or engaging. Made us feel like she just wanted everyone out of there. I would never leave a review like this if it was not a pattern. Stick to the apps, drinks and music. Food is mediocre and usually cold for the price.

Went for lunch and had blood orange cream ale and it was excellent. Great flavor with a light finish. Ordered the buffalo chicken sandwich with the sweet potato tater tots. Also a great flavor and the tots were excellent when dipped in the honey mustard sauce. Place is clean with good service. I preface this because it was during lunch and it wasn't super busy. Multiple TVs to watch sports were spread throughout the place with great classical music overhead. Next time will try the Detroit style pizza.