The Weather Vane Cafe

This place definitely deserves a five star. No complaints at all. Awesome environment, fantastic food, and a lot of grub for your money!

Nice décor, barn wood doors, great service. Food was delicious! We would come back. Tried Mexican skillet, cinnamon french toast, fried egg-​white, bacon, garbage omelet. Highly recommend the Mexican skillet and French toast.
Make it an area visit — go to the local lake beach for a swim.

Was ready for a good old fashioned diner in a small town. The food was about as expected. Like I would make at home. I had the Ham and Cheese sandwich. Grilled cheese with Ham. It was good. Fries were home cut skins on. They had an issue with their fryer and the place was clouded in fryer smoke. Not a bad place. Kind of quaint. I would say good for medium to small groups. maybe 10 max.

Perfect café. It’s the quaintest café you ever did see. You’re on your way through iowa and hungry. Fast food? Gas station junk food? No way! Stop at a local iowa café like this and get some good grub. It’s a basic greasy spoon with great specials and good value portions. It’s not gourmet so leave your snobbishness in the car and get a hot beef sandwich. I’m glad I stopped and I’ll be back.

Great small-​town atmosphere, fabulous French fries and killer rhubarb-​gooseberry pie. Well worth the 5 min detour from the highway. In case you’re wondering, it’s 972.

They make a great breakfast. Just don’t order the steak and eggs! I made that mistake one day. I asked for my steak to be med-​rare. It came out raw! I asked for it to be refired and med-​rare. I heard the cook yelling about it, and I quote, «If he wants it cooked more, I’ll show him!» Sure enough, it came out cooked well beyond well done. Followed by the cook to ask how it was. I explained how I wanted it done, and the next one came out still frozen in the middle. Yes, they use frozen steaks. I glanced over at the serving window and there she was with a smirk on her face. So I told the waitress that the choice was up to the cook, «She can either get the order correct, or I’ll keep sending it back. And at $ 10 a plate, I can wait as long as she can.» I was told that I due to the steak being frozen, they couldn’t get it perfect. So I left hungry, and they were out $ 40 in food.

This small town café is neat looking with friendly staff and customers. One morning I was thinking: biscuits and gravy… called everyplace within 30 miles of Anita and nobody had this breakfast staple. Guess the masses nearby just don’t crave good ‘ol sausage gravy. The Weather Vane serves it and it was awesome, I’ll be back soon.

Had a great breakfast here on a road trip. Nice crispy bacon, seasoned potatoes (SeaPots on the menu), good service. Nice small-​town Iowa appeal.

As the Director of the Route 6 Tourist Association, I travel across Iowa quite often, and always keep my eye out for locally owned places to eat along the way. If I really enjoy the ambiance and food, I will make them a stop on our classic car tours. The M & I (Melva and Ivyn) Weather Vane Café has both of these in spades. We brought a group of 20+ people in last month, and everyone really enjoyed both the food and the friendly service here. I had the Denver Omelet, and it was one of the best I’ve had. Eggs were nice and tender, and just the right amount of ham and peppers. The atmosphere is retro chic, with one area of the building in an 1800’s era café, while the dining area we sat in was an old time gas station canopy, where there were once gas pumps. Not only do you enjoy good food and service here, but you get it in a unique atmosphere. On top of that, because you are doing business with a locally owned establishment, the money stays local, benefitting the economy. You won’t get any of that from a chain restaurant. The chains have nothing on this place! Anita, Iowa is located on IA Highway 83, which is Historic Route 6, and part of the original White Pole Road. The two lane drive to get here is relaxing and scenic. Hop in your car, take a fun road trip, and enjoy!

Very, very friendly service.
Good breakfast. I had bacon and eggs. Hard to mess that up.
I get the feeling this place isn’t a «everything’s fresh and made from scratch» small town restaurant, but it didn’t negatively impact our meal. Very busy with locals, and we were happy to stop in and have a meal.
Just wish the cinnamon rolls they offered were made from scratch.

My husband and I stopped here for breakfast on our way through the area.
My rave is that this place has CHARACTER! It’s in a cool old building in the heart of Anita and this diner is very much what I would refer to as «small town Iowa» (though this place may be a bit cooler).
However, the food is pretty typical. Don’t let the menu prices from their website fool you; pancakes are no longer $ 1.25 each, but $ 2, and no longer is coffee $ 0.75… it’s a bit over $ 1 now. I’m guessing the prices increased due to new owners. My pancake was a bit underdone (white), the coffee was okay and the slab of ham I ordered was good. The seasoned potatoes were fine… but not worth the $ 2. Their food is nothing to write home about, but they do make their pies and biscuits from scratch.
Our server was so, so nice. Excellent service.
This place is pretty close to I-​80 so if you plan on passing through I would recommend it for its retro appeal (not the food).