Pepper Sprout Midwest Cusine

Last night we celebrated our 42^nd anniversary with dinner at Pepper Sprout. The food was great– as usual. I had perfectly-​cooked salmon snd my wife had Chicken Piccata, which has now become a favorite! Joe’s service was professional and most obliging. G & T, wines were good, and chocolate cake w/​Fra Angelico topping delicious. We regard this locally-​owned restaurant most highly!

The atmosphere is great and service just average. Unfortunately the food disappointed all 4 at my table. My Shrimp Creole had more carrots and zucchini than rice and shrimp. My friend ordered the ravioli and it had the largest most tough Brussel sprouts I’ve ever had. None of us finished our meal and the waitress didn’t even question it. Shocked that this place has so many good reviews!

I’ve lived in Iowa all my life, and I’m having trouble remembering a better meal. I also travel frequently and have a habit of ordering Duck anywhere I can, and the fall 2015 duck dish is the best I’ve had. Amazing fall flavors and it had about twice as much meat as I’d expect for the quality and price. Maybe a touch on the sweet side, but it could have been my individual dish
I’m a pasta snob above all else, and my wife’s pasta dish was as good as anything we had on a 2 week Italian food pilgrimage last year.
The drinks are strong pours, and the staff was very fun. Easily the best few hours of our fall Mississippi getaway.

By far the best restaurant in Dubuque! Nice atmosphere, great food and drinks and friendly staff!

Best place in town for a delicious meal.
Best place in town for a great drink.
Best atmosphere.
Best bartenders.
Best service.
Best restaurant on Main st.
Best meat cuts.
Best appetizers.
Amazing deserts.
This is clearly my favorite restaurant in Dubuque.
Try it, and you’ll see why.
Meatloaf lover? Ask about the meatloaf of the month.
You’re welcome.

Kim, Pepper Sprout owner and chef, knows how much I love the cauliflower steak, and even though it’s usually on the winter menu, made it especially for me. It was DIVINE. One of he best things I’ve ever eaten. When does a chef does something especially for a customer? I love Pepper Sprout /​they have everything I love, including s great bartender who makes divine martinis and wonderful wines. Sigh.

I would highly recommend Pepper Sprout! They have a very nice wine list responsibly priced. Which pairs perfectly with the Baked Brie! It’s sooo good. The Classic Caesar salad is not classic in my book and has quite a kick to it. The Chefs Choice for the night was a cole slaw and was delightful. My choice for dinner was the Louisiana Shrimp my wife selected the Summer Primavera. Each dish was devoured without complaint.

I wanted to post a pictures of my entrée, but it was so good I couldn’t stop eating to snap a picture. They just launched their new summer menu, created by the chef/​owner and you can taste summer all over the plate. Started with a salad with feta, cucumber, onions and a delicious strawberry dressing (like I said it taste like summer!!). I decided on the pepper crusted pork tenderloin that usually comes with a side of rice, but I asked to switch to mashed potatoes (I’m sure the rice would have tasted great too). The meat is covered in reduced cherries and it literally melts in your mouth and the cherries add a nice tang to it. The veggies on the plate were well cooked but still had a little crunch to them. Is your mouth watering yet?! The owner came out to each table and checked on her customer, super sweet and she has a great sense of humor. If you are looking for an amazing restaurant in Dubuque, you have to try this place!

Dubuque is not an epicurean paradise but Pepper Sprout is a diamond in the rough. The food is generous and delicious, prepared by the chef who often greets guests at their tables. Local, seasonal ingredients are featured in a locale where there is so much abundance but not many restaurants feature that abundance. Pepper Sprout does and makes you feel at home in the Midwest.

The place has a nice atmosphere. I found the food quite tasty, and the portions filling. The staff there is excellent, they are very friendly and were very accommodating to the group I was eating with.

I forgot to write a review right after I left and now infant remember the fish I got but it was certainly very tasty.
I sat at the bar and made a good friend talking to a local banker.
The 2 reasons for not awarding 5 stars– service and mixology.
Service — I sat at the bar and literally, it took the bar tender (who may also be an owner), 10 minutes to acknowledge me or offer a menu or water. In addition, the chef brought my entrée out and when she returned a second time with someone else’s food, I gave her a compliment but she didn’t respond or acknowledge it either. Weird!
Mixology — as always, I ordered an Old Fashion and not only was the orange and cherry muddled, it also got a splash of soda. Given how simple it is to make a classic old fashion, why ruin it with soda?

We were staying at the Hotel Julien just down the street and we tried Pepper Sprout on the recommendation of a store keeper we met in Galena. She was spot on! It was a nice place. The atmosphere was nice, service was good and the food was excellent. We had some mix up with the seating but either the hostess was new or they were working through some changes but they took very good care of us. Would definitely recommend this place for a special dinner!

The four of us were really looking forward to our first dinner here. After asking the server about the bison stew special, three of us ordered it because it sounded great. The other entrée ordered was a spicy Italian pasta dish. While what we were served looked great, the bison meat was difficult to cut with a steak knife let alone to chew. We brought this to the attention of the server who just stared at us blankly. Not wanting to spoil our night out, we didn’t make a fuss where we should have sent the three dinners back. We then ordered after dinner port (without finishing our entrees) and were surprised that the server came back with only one serving of port telling us «that’s all that was left».

Hands down the best place in Dubuque, highly recommend.

Best restaurant in Dubuque!!!

In town for an event, first time visitor, probably the only time I will get to Dubuque. This place was heavily recommended by the proprietor of the B&B where I stayed. It was pretty good, but had an ambiance that reminded me of places I visited in the NYC area in the late ‘70s. I arrived early and had prompt and friendly service and enjoyed my meal. Salad and bread were nothing special. Can’t comment on the regional menu because I had a steak, which was cooked perfectly medium rare. Seems to be more of a wine place but had a decent selection of craft beers in bottles. If they asked me, I would replace the Tiffany-​esque candle holders with something else from the dollar store, and put fresh flowers in the vases. But this place is definitely worth a visit and I would try it again if I ever make it back to town.

First time at Pepper Sprout and it was amazing! The salads were really good to start us off. I had the Mac and Cheese — huge portion. I was full after eating about ¹⁄₃ of it but it was so good, I pushed on and ate the whole thing. My husband had the ribeye and he said it was the best he has ever had. Then we splurged and split the cheesecake … yum, yum. From out of town, but will definitely go back when in the area.

Don’t come in here expecting fast service! Place looked nice on the inside, but even at night it was a little too dark in there. Staff was friendly, but the service was slow. I will take that as it is a limited menu and I don’t think they have to cook it as it comes in.
We had the deconstructed jalapeño popper dip as an appetizer. It came with some pretzel style bread sticks to dip in there. To me there wasn’t a lot of flavor with this, but it was ok. It needed more jalapeño in there, there was no bite at all.
I had their Caesar salad with my meal, not much to mess up here, but they do ask if you want anchovies on your salad (I declined).
My main meal was the Grilled New Zealand Lamb Chops. They were grilled and tasted really good. They almost fell off the bone. My meal also came with sour cream mashed potatoes and a vegetable medley and they were both excellent.
I was happy with this restaurant and I will return again if I am back in the area.

Upon walking into what seemed like a narrow, small restaurant, you are greeted with a small bar to the right and hostess stand straight ahead. The main restaurant seating is behind the hostess stand and is larger than anticipated.
We had a small group that came here for dinner on a Thursday night. We did not have a reservation and this seemed to be fine as we were seating right away. There were quite a few people in the restaurant with only a few empty tables. We were given menus to peruse and soon our waitress was there. We had to ask for a wine menu which I was surprised they had not given us one initially. Their house bottles of wine were $ 20 so we decided to split one.
Looking at the menu, we found some unique American cuisine which was rather intriguing. We decided to start with the Bleu Cheese, Cheese Cake. When it came to our table, it didn’t look like I had envisioned. Not that it was a bad thing as the appetizer was warm and delicious. It did not have a strong bleu cheese or beets flavor so it was rather enjoyable.
For the main course I chose the special which was a Walleye encrusted with walnuts, covered in a sauce with (she said crab) but I believe it was crawfish. A choice of salad or soup comes with it and I opted for the salad. The salad of course came out first and it had a very nice Basil Vinaigrette. They also brought out bread which was ok. When our main dishes came out, they were HUGE portions (especially after the appetizer, salad and bread). The fish took up the entire length of the plate. The fish was rather enjoyable and had a slight spice to from the sauce. The only disappointment in this dish was that the green beans were not cooked enough and thus were very crisp. I was unable to eat all of my meal.
The girls wanted to split a dessert so we had the chocolate mousse. It was light and airy as mousse should be. I only had a couple small spoonfuls but did enjoy it.
Since there were so many interesting items on the menu and it was convienant to the hotels, if I am in Dubuque again, I would probably stop in.

We searched on Unilocal for a new restaurant in Dubuque, and, once again, Unilocal came through. I would agree that this is the best restaurant in Dubuque, at least that we’ve found. We’ve had good meals in other places, but this one is the best. The service is fast, efficient, and the servers are very knowledgeable about the daily menu offerings. The chef stopped by to chat ingredients. The bartender came to the table to make an alternate wine suggestion, with a free taste. Everyone in the restaurant worked to make the visit enjoyable.
We loved it so much that, five days later, we were back again, to try some of what we missed the first time. And, once again, we were bowled over by the service and food.
This restaurant is not pretentious, but a genuinely good taste of seasonal local offerings, worthy of five stars.