One Twenty Six

Had a 815 reservation last night got seated in very bad chairs at 915 ordered they were already out of food and bread. foods gets FINALLY served at 950 pm .cold undercooked and so BAD looking!!! We were celebrating graduation and starving at this point… GOT up to walk out and waitress said let me go get the manager who never came over! DONT GO HERE TOTAL inept business and I would not trust the food !!

Just had dinner here and was really disappointed. First the good, service was great and the bread was served warm. Those were the only good things. To start with, my gin and tonic was watered down. The charcuterie board only had two pates on it with a mustard and jam for $ 14. That’s the worst charcuterie selection I’ve had. The gnocchi was dry and chewy. Again, the worst I’ve had but the sauce was fairly good. My husband had muscles and those were just OK. It’s safe to say we’re not coming back.

My grandson and I dined here after our annual golf outing. The atmosphere was very relaxing and quite and the service was excellent. I ordered the Lamb Ousso Bucco, my grandson went with the Étouffée and both dishes were delicious. I’d recommend it highly to anyone looking for a relaxing fine dining experience.

My wife and I put this up their with Orchard green, and Linn street café as our favorite Iowa city restaurants. Maryland crab cakes and natural beef hanger steak are both excellent. Excellent wait staff and bartender. Great place for special occasions.

Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness!
One Twenty Six blew my friends and me away with the fine dinner experience they provided for us last night.
It was a cold, windy, snowy night and One Twenty Six was warm and inviting. We came inside and were immediately greeted with a smile and seated. There were others in the restaurant, but they weren’t too busy. The restaurant itself made me feel like I was on the East Coast – in Boston or Baltimore. It is a little storefront, long and skinny, with big windows as is common out East.
Our server got us waters while we got situated (we had heavy coats and lots of layers to navigate) and took our drink order promptly upon his return.
Once we had drinks all around, along with soft warm bread, our server gave us his recommendations for appetizers and entrees, towering them for us, which I really appreciated (for example, he said he recommended entrees X, Y, & Z first, followed by A, B, & C, and he recommended M & N least). We ordered his top rated app and 2 of his top rated entrees.
I should have taken pictures of our food! It looked as beautiful as it tasted! We tried the mushroom tart appetizer, which came with a small green salad, the hangar steak, & two of us had the pork vindaloo. It all was delicious! We capped the night off with the flourless chocolate cake and… oh my gosh, I’m having a brain fart. I can’t remember what the other dessert was. I DO remember I loved it (side note: I am pausing to look up the best coffee shops in the area. Clearly I need a jolt!)
The prices are a little high, with appetizers from about $ 8 — $ 14 and entrees from $ 20 — $ 32. We wouldn’t be able to afford to come here often (not just because of the bill but also because I’d need to buy all new, larger pants from the huge, delicious meals here) but it’s a wonderful little place for a special night.

The food was reasonably tasty, but not original or well prepared enough to justify the prices. Everything relied upon a lot of butter and salt for its flavor. The service was mediocre and poorly trained. Our server was inattentive and wiped his nose with his hand before picking up our meals. Ick. Not what I would expect at this price point.

This place is awful. It has a dirty dining room, incompetent and rude servers who can’t even be bothered to bring what you ordered, non existent drink refills and absolutely horrific food. I would rather eat at a gas station.

I should know better than this. I should know better than to judge a restaurant based on lunch alone. But this is also why I don’t think that nicer restaurants should serve lunch. I think that with a lot of people, if they don’t enjoy your reasonably priced lunch, they won’t come back to give you a chance at dinner. Sadly this is my case.
I’ve tried 126 three times now. Stupidly every time for lunch. While I have heard decent/​mixed things about their dinner service, every time my lunch was disappointing to a level that it makes me hesitant to walk through the doors after 5 pm. I’m not going to dissect what worked on what dish and what didn’t. My lunches just weren’t great hands down.
Perhaps they do a decent dinner. I hope that they do. But after throwing away cash on lunch three different times, I doubt that I’ll ever find out for myself.

This is one of my favorite upscale lunch places – and it used to be a great deal as well, but the prices went up this past summer. They do great soups, sandwiches and salads – I have the shrimp po-​boy, which is not a batter fried shrimp like you would get in New Orleans (which I also love), but it is a great sandwich.

This used to be a great restaurant, but it has gradually been going down hill. We had lunch there yesterday, which moved the needle from mediocre to never again. My lunch partner ordered the vegetable salad with a side of grilled salmon, well done. First of all the greens were spoiled. The salmon arrived raw. We sent it back, emphasizing well done. It was still on the raw side when it came back. At that point we said forget the salmon, as we had to leave. Just as I was paying the bill a new piece of salmon arrived, but it was still raw. The salmon was not taken off the bill. After the first time we sent back the salmon the waiter was annoyed. When I told him it was still raw on the way out, he responded with a mocking and defiant gesture.
On the other hand, the grilled chicken sandwich was good, and the greens OK. The place was rather dirty, and the bathroom very dirty.

My wife and I dined at One Twenty Six for our anniversary, and we will never be going back. We’ve been there a number of times before, and have never been impressed with the quality of the food relative to its expense, but we thought we’d give the restaurant another try because the menu seemed enticing.
My wife’s meal was cool and undercooked when it arrived. After some hesitation, she sent it back, only to have the en croute return 10 mins later completely mushy. When the server asked how it was, my wife was honest and said it was bad. This is where the meal went from «meh» to «never again.» The server, (Aimee, if management ever reads this) said that we shouldn’t expect much, because the kitchen was busy due to graduation. Shen then took away the plate while rolling her eyes, shaking her head, and flailing her arms in disgust — all in front of me; this was infuriating! I expect better service than this at any caliber of restaurant.
The entrée was comped, which was definitely appreciated, but the server’s attitude never improved. I understand I should tip on the total price, including the comp, but the server left a note on the bill to remind me. Consequently, she got a minimal tip and a note back on the bill about her attitude; I also complained to the manager on the way out.
The server could have made a disappointing meal better, simply by having a gracious attitude. Instead, she opted for disdain and indifference. For the price of the meal, service should be much better. Like I said, never again.

I’ve been a fan of 126 for some time and go pretty regularly. The only reason I’m giving four stars is because it is a bit pricey for what you get during dinner so it’s not necessarily the best value (if that concerns you). Lunch prices, while also seemingly high when you look at the menu, are appropriate IMHO because of the quantity and quality of food you get.
I’ve had numerous soups and they’re always good. I think my favorite is the tomato bisque. I’ve gone numerous times for lunch and I only get a couple sandwiches because 1) I’m a creature of habit, and 2) the steak sandwich and the Cuban sandwich are incredible. Add the warm potato salad and you’ve got a lunch ft for a king… a very unhealthy king… but a king none the less.
For dinner, I usually go with one of the steak options — a tenderloin is always on the menu and they sometimes have beef specials (e.g. hangar). I’ve had consistently good steaks that are cooked to order and quality sides but don’t always leave their front door full. I suppose it’s all relative based on your waist size… but if I skip lunch and come in with a big appetite, I find myself convincing my wife to head to Whitey’s (not hard to do) after dinner at 126 because the portions aren’t always filling.
Overall, I really like 126 and it’s a regular in my Iowa City restaurant rotation… especially for lunch.

The food 126 and The Hearth serve to Moonrakers is amazing; however, when I book a reservation for Moonrakers 45 days in advance and call several weeks later to ask a question, and I am informed that 126 has closed it because 126 needs the seating… I am not happy. They could have at least called me to tell me they were not honoring my reservation so I didn’t waste so much time assuming I could count on them.
Great food, but don’t expect great service from management.

I came here recently for an interview dinner and really didn’t know what to expect. I always sort of worry when American food joints in relatively small places like Iowa City get okay-​ish reviews, but my fears were unfounded. My meal here was actually quite good. I had the pork chop (over a bed of rice, beans, and carrots) which was absolutely stellar flavor-​wise, but it was a little overcooked. The hanger steak was also pretty tasty. The appetizers ranged from okay to above-​average. nothing really stood out. I had a flourless chocolate cake for dessert which was pretty good.
The restaurant itself is quite nice. Something about the building appealed to me a lot, especially how the various rooms are interconnected. It’s a bit odd, but they manage to pull off a classy feel. Unfortunately, they price their food accordingly. Had this meal not been free, I probably would’ve been less satisfied. I expect a lot when dropping $ 25 a plate in a midwestern college town, and I don’t think One Twenty Six would deliver.
Overall, I enjoyed my experience here. It’s a decent place to take a date just to try, but the pricing is fairly prohibitive to repeat business. 3.5 but rounded down due to the overcooked chop and pricing.

This was really good but I feel like the hype was that, just hype. Organic meat is not very good compared to normal meat though, lets be honest, and I would have liked the choice to have a filet that was not grass fed. The dessert was so small I wished I had ordered 2 of them.

The food was fantastic, but extremely pricy. This is a great place to take a date in downtown IC, but very painful on the wallet. The service I received for the price was pathetic. It took over 10 min to get a greeting.
I won’t be going back.
SERVICE: ¹⁄₁₀
AMBIANCE: ⁴⁄₁₀
FOOD: ⁸⁄₁₀
PRICE: ¹⁄₁₀
UNIQUENESS: ⁵⁄₁₀
OVERALL SCORE: 38
Service: Graded by the «Keep my cup full principle».
Ambiance: Pretty self-​explanatory
Food: A high food score does not always indicate it is a place for foodies. It is weighted based upon the establishment — thus bar food can receive a high score
Price: Price is graded based upon what I believe is fair value for the food you are receiving. A high score does not necessarily indicate the establishment is cheap.
Uniqueness: Higher scores indicate desire to return.

My wife and I did One Twenty Six for our anniversary, and were extremely pleased. Great atmosphere in a fun part of town, but it’s really the food that matters.
Presentation is taken into consideration which is fun. I had Shrimp Etoufee and my wife had a chicken dish (Wasn’t on the menu) that was absolutely awesome. It’s fun to eat at a restaurant with actual chefs who are playing with their menu constantly! Just a few entrees offered at all times, which to me is a sign of quality over quantity. Portions are generous which is especially nice at a restaurant of this sort. All in all I had no complaints at all, excellent service and delicious food. Strongly recommended!

Thoughtfully prepared food, very nice ambiance and great servers. My wife and I shared the beef tenderloin and the chicken breast with bacon. Both were very good. The crème brûlée’ was excellent. Beer selection was pretty decent and they made good, not great, mixed drinks.
Definitely a place to go if you have the chance!

If you go to 126 for lunch, like I often do, you need to remember some things:
1. ALL the sandwiches are oily and rich. Even the veggie ones. That’s fine. But that means that even though the potato salad and the soups are excellent side dishes, you should always order a side salad instead. I’ve tried like seven different of their sandwiches and my consistent lunch date has tried like seven others. None of them are in the habit of having very many green ingredients.
2. They do not serve bread automatically with your meal. If you get a salad (and you should sometime, since the one with goat cheese and pear is really generous and filling and seems healthy enough), then you should order a bread basket to even things out.
3. This restaurant can be unexpectedly good for a hangover. There is a distinct lack of upscale brunch places in Iowa City and you have to get creative. So do not rule out lunch at 126 as a way to fulfill that craving. They serve good coffee with steady refills, and though they don’t serve eggs, they DO have a wicked BLT and their mushroom sandwich sort of feels like an omelet without the eggs (in a good way).
4. The cuban sandwich is SO good but SO sloppy you might want to save that for times you are dining with someone you know really really well.
The only thing that takes this place down for me is the price. .. if it were cheaper I would be here once a week!

So I did not really like what I ordered but that was really due to my taste buds that evening not the actual dish. It was just a little to heavy with cream. I did like the restaurant.
The fresh bread & butter… delish, wine list… eclectic (we tried a white from Portugal that I will have to find a bottle for my collection), service on the spot and pleasant, décor… rustic with a classy feel.
I would definitely come back and I want to try their sister restaurant Hearth that is upstairs!