The Cider House

This place should be called The Whiskey House or The Burger House. The wait staff is pretty laid back. For the size of the space and the amount of wait staff it feels super slow.

I really like the owners of the Cider House and am really proud they won best burger in Iowa. I’ve eaten here 6 minutes times that I recall, 4 of which I ordered a burger.
I had one delicious burger, 1 average and 2 really awful experiences that made me sick. I’m not giving up on the Cider House and want to believe and experience Iowa’s best burger. Hoping my experience was an anomaly. I am definitely a burger lover, and so hoping to enjoy The Cider House again soon.
The buffalo chicken wings and fries are delicious and have enjoyed a few fun nights with friends here.

We’d been wanting to try this place for a while and were happy to finally get a chance when we were in town. Sat on the comfortable patio on a gorgeous evening with a group of friends and our kids.
The pear cider was so smooth and sweet and easy to drink. The bacon cheeseburger was delicious and cooked perfectly medium rare. And the fries — wow, perfectly crispy just like I like them.
Really couldn’t have asked for a better evening and they didn’t rush us when we wanted to linger with friends. The kids liked their food too. Wish this was in Des Moines!

Good setting and atmosphere. Burgers and bun have good taste. Worth a visit if you are in town once. Cider beers are good there.
Burgers are 6.5 ounces. Should be a little larger to fit the buns, too many bites of bread. 12 dollars is a little a step for a burger. Potato salad was too fancy and not to my taste. Only thing on menu is the hamburgers for main dish. Wings are not worth getting.
Really a 3.5 star if that was an option, not sure I’ll be back though.

If you find yourself in Fairfeild, IA then you should find your way to the Cider House. Amazing Burgers, great local Cider. All 4 owners are there and are helpful, knowledgeable, and most important… Friendly. I will be back.

This is one of the first places I visit when in town. Every time I’ve gone I’ve had a blast. Good service, good selection, good ambiance.
If I had to say anything negative it would only be that their appetizer portions are rather small. But really, who cares when you’re surrounded by good company?
I saw that the negative reviews here focus on the size and how crowded it gets. All I can say to that is that those people are probably used to large rural bars. From my perspective this place is plenty large!

The Cider House is on the top of my list for GREAT restaurants. I’m from New England where food is expected to be top notch (Providence-​Federal Hill).
The Cider House has a very welcoming feel to the place. Not only is the food EXCELLENT– the owners are very sweet and care about their business (you will see them serving food, bartending and cooking). All the food is fresh and they make one of the best veggie burgers I’ve ever had. Their beef burgers have won awards as well. The beer is excellent (try the beer on tap that’s brewed for them).
I’m going to miss this place when I return home (wish you guys were in Providence/​Boston).
Can’t recommend this place enough!

Great Burgers and great fries. Over the years I’ve stopped ordering fries, but not here they are the best. and It’s not often that I ever talk about any restaurants dessert but I have to tell you the Cider House has one worth mentioning. It French Vanilla ice cream topped with Applewood smoked salt and a house made vanilla bourbon extract. I may have a problem. The service is amazing which gets harder and harder to say these days.
Plus dare I mention the burgers are the star of the show.

My husband and I always have a great time there. Delicious burgers that are thoughtfully prepared, and the BEST fries I’ve ever had. Amazing veggie burgers too (not usually a fan) The green beans are also excellent. It’s small and cozy in the winter, and in the warmer months there’s a great deck we love sitting on. Full bar and great margaritas!

This place is EXACTLY what this area needed. They nailed it.
From the knowledgable bartender, adorable waitresses, consistent chef etc., this place has it down. The only thing I’m worried about is that all the staff are the owners as well. If they get burnt out or want/​have to hire other people who don’t have a stake in the business, I REALLY hope they are able to find people who actually give a shit, like they do.
The food is consistently delicious, fresh and well-​made. Das Kraut is a my favorite.
The ambiance is clean, rustic, and cozy.
The bartender truly makes an effort to understand your palate an deliver a drink that you’ll love.
I cannot give enough praise to these guys. They’re doing it all right.

This place is all hype and no bang for your buck.
First of all, the service is abysmal. Forger being greeted when you come in. Forget timely service. I think we sat right by the servers station for about 15 minutes before getting menus and drink orders.
After ordering (who doesn’t have tomatoes at a burger joint? WHO??? Basics of burgers, darlings…) we were sitting with dry glasses for another 15 minutes. By the time they asked if we were ready for another drink, we were ready to leave.
We came here twice, once before their month long vacation, and once afterwards. Terrible both times. Even for Fairfield… I am not impressed. I don’t know what’s with the month long vacations in this town but it’s definitely not helping their food or their service.
Can’t tell you how many times servers were just chilling, hanging about, a few feet away from us, with no regard to our empty glasses. You pride yourselves on cider and burgers but you have only one type of cider, and far from a smörgåsbord of choices, sides, or toppings, your selection is a far fall from the best in America. One very lucky, but very misguided selection of readers from a very small magazine made a very bad choice giving you guys the title for best burger of Iowa. Blech.

One of the best burgers I’ve ever experienced! Local fresh ingredients, beautiful cosy atmosphere, and friendly down to earth staff! Eat here!

Two couples partnered up and made this spot one to go back to. Best burger — tender, juicy, lots of options. Home made bun would make it even better but will settle for the white bread one because the burger, locally grown organic beef, is amazing. Good veggie burger, good grilled cheese, and good wings. Grilled green beans, french fries, and potato salad all up to home made par. Drinks generous and great selection. The only thing is that the space is a bit intimate/​small and can get really loud when full house. Cider on tap is like fine wine and the Clintarita (bartender and owner’s name is Clint) will definitely numb you.

I’ve had burgers all over this nation and theirs are amazing! I’d place this place on my top 3 burger choices. I definitely tasted why they won 2015 best Iowa burgers.
Only problem they have are the flys. You’ll do a lot of swatting them away, but this place is so busy it’s hard to keep the flys out with all the coming and going of customers and also the waitresses going out to the patio.
Dude did slip up and serve me a glass with lipstick on it, not even smeared like they tried to wash it, but I could see the definition on the gals wrinkles in her lips.
If they solve the fly problem with some innovation, this place could easily be a 5 star joint.
Definitely highly recommend this place!

I’m generally not very big on burger, but. Boy! Their burgers are delicious! The beef patty was tender, juicy, fresh and everything. It redefined burger for me.

We traveled miles to try the best burger in Iowa only to find they don’t open until 4:00. It would have been nice if Unilocal had the hours posted.
Hopefully we will be back this way again sometime.

Perfect burger, wings and fries. I had veggie burger. Its juicy. Everything in it is fresh and perfect — bread, veggies, pattie. They have taken much care in making them. Wings have a layer of flavor.

The Best ever period.
Before this place opened, the food scene in Fairfield had become grim. Not only does Cider House have the best burgers, the veggie burger is one of the best I’ve ever had. The fries are amazing as are the green beans. And that’s just the food.
The owners/​waitstaff remember our ‘usual’ every time and greet us like family each time we come. Small and sun-​friendly patio with umbrellas make eating al fresco a blast.
Speaking of small, this place is cozy quaint, so you better not mind bumping elbows with your neighbor. It’s all good in this small town.
Come early as this place gets slammed by 6:30. (They were voted best burger in all of Iowa, so, now they’re famous!)
The house cider is dry and subtly complex with a very mild carbonation. Their house margaritas are the best around.

Building is VERY small, but luckily features both indoor and outdoor seating. Staff was friendly and attentive. Drink list had a nice variety. The burgers were cooked to perfection! They were flavorful, juicy, and tender. We also ordered the buffalo wings as an appetizer, and they were delicious as well! We will definitely be back, and you should go to!

The staff was professional, diligent and genuine! The burger was outstanding’ you can taste the difference in the beef. It was super tender and cooked to a perfect mid rare. The cocktails were excellent I had an old fashion and Manhattan and both were superb! Thanks Clint and Hopi! Great time, food and drinks with old friends!

What a great addition to Fairfield. I loved their bacon cheeseburger and their house made potato salad. There is always a crowd so be prepared to wait but there is always a nice group waiting with you. There is also a great selection of beer. The four owners seem like wonderful people. We will return.

How easy would it be to start this review by saying… «Cider House Rules»… Do you get it? It’s a joke! But actually that would be a fine fine way to start this review! Fantastic burger baskets, cool bar, nice location, out door seating, veggie options, what more could you ask for! Now I didn’t get to eat here but went to check it out the other night and it was cool! The food looked amazing! There was a 45 minute wait on a Saturday night at 7pm. The place is not huge but does have indoor/​outdoor options! The host was very nice and like I said the food looked great!
So this is a review of the appearance only and the staff! But both RULED!

It always surprises me how the bar in Fairfield is set so low that somewhere like the Cider House is 5-​star worthy on Unilocal?!
Why is it that the majority of restaurants/​bars in Fairfield think they can get away with being mediocre at best? What if the bar was set higher and «restauranteurs» knew they had to excel in one way or another?
Jefferson County Cider House is a seemingly OK idea, but lacks in execution, creativity, quality, service, etc. ad nauseam… The fact that they serve local grass-​fed (corn finished) beef is an honorable and forward-​thinking concept, but when you take that beef, undercook it (a quality Medium-​Rare burger is an art form, not just a pink piece of meat), fail to melt the cheese, and pair it with a Burger King-​style conventionally boring bun, it seems to lose its initial «magic.»
Not to mention the price! I am all about a $ 10 – 15 range burger… when it’s worth it! And I have had plenty!
Then the chicken wings… I am not sure if they are packaged-​frozen and then microwaved, or premade in-​house and then frozen and reheated? BUT, my wings were fully cooked, and COLD as ice inside! The meat close to the bone, and the marrow and bone itself were literally as cold as ice. And aren’t these BUFFALO wings? Doesn’t that imply some kind of sauce.
At least you got the Sysco Blue Cheese and celery right…
One thing I simply don’t understand is that little plastic dish with a few vinegary cucumber slices, with a handful of dry celery seeds on it? I am guessing it is supposed to be a take on pickled cucumber topping, which could be good. again, the whole execution thing.
The place is kinda cozy inside, I just wish there was anything there worth going back for! Maybe one day someone in Fairfield will get it right…
Ehhh. the fries were ok. triple-​cooked and all.

I’ve been here multiple times, the veggie burger is outstanding, but it is not even in the same galaxy as the hamburger. The hamburgers are incredible! They use all the cuts in the burger –even the fillet. Cooked medium rare is the way to go.
Get Clint cornered and you will experience the passion they all have for providing a great product.
Expect a slight wait on the weekend, but it’s worth it!
It would be completely perfect if they had a bit more noise reduction, it can get loud.

Burgers… try them ALL
Veggie Burger… holy shit do they have the recipe down.
Wings…only when your tired of their burgers awesome
Fries…triple baked, do i need to say more?
Potato salad and Greens… rotate them, their good.
Beer…FAHGETABOUTit!
House cider… start there.

My husband and I went tonite for a little St Patrick’s day celebration! This place always surprises me with the very friendly, local pub feeling. Unlike the other comment here I feel like I can go here alone and meet up with someone I know and feel comfortable. All ages and kinds of people. Really just a wonderful atmosphere with great food.

Honestly? No thanks.
I walked in here a few weeks ago with my husband and the crowd at the bar was talking with language that was not very family or girl friendly (I will just leave it at that). It was also very dark. Too dark. We walked in and talked to the owner (who was standing at said bar) about the restaurant just to see what they were all about. We were not impressed and they were not serving food at that time so we decided to leave.
All in all, if you do go to this place, go with a friend or two. I would never go alone.

Amazing food, wonderful company, and a great atmosphere! Love this place! The staff is very attentive and always have a good drink suggestions. A great new place to hang out!