Irises Cafe and Wine Bar

Eating here since it opened. Consistently great food and service at half nyc prices. Try the sesame encrusted tuna, my favorite. Duck is my second choice because messy to cook and never get it crispy like irises. Wine selections are broad and fairly priced.

LOVE! Amazing wine list and amazing food. We wanted to order everything! Live music on Friday was so nice and not too loud at all. Very friendly staff! Overall a lovely experience.

I have been here many times and every time I remember why I don’t frequent this restaurant. The beer is not cold. In fact I’ve seen someone come in and ask for the waitstaff to put multiple beers on ice because they were hoping to make the beer cold. The food is okay. There are a very few things I’ve seen done well consistently here one being the truffle fries and the desserts. Besides this do not count on consistency. They have an okay selection wine but not a great beer selection.
This bar is known for it’s martini but rarely are they consistent in the way they taste. For example I tried the champaign martini for the first time and it was great. I came back a second time for this very cocktail and it taste nothing like the one I had previously. I naturally assumed they mixed up my drink order but they assured me they did not. Additionally the waitstaff has forgotten my table on numerous occasions and I’m talking not checking in for 30 minutes not 10. I have had to go looking for them either for another drink or the bill.
With all of that said I do make the mistake of going back to this place from time to time because quite honestly they’re just not that many places to eat in the area.
My last note I’ll leave you with is never, never order the cheese plate. It is literally worst then one you would pick up at the grocery store.

It’s been two years since we experienced our overpriced mediocre dinner at Iris’s and a recent trip confirmed that not much has changed. The prime rib was well-​done; we requested medium rare and the grilled shrimp was burnt and dry… The wine was good. See you in another two years! Maybe.

While on a business trip to Plattsburgh wandered in to Irises because the restaurant across the street had a long wait time. So glad that we wondered in! Ordered the margherita pizza; fresh gooey mozzarella with basil and cherry tomatoes. Crisply crust — great sauce! We shared the pizza along with the Fresh Beet Salad — yum! The basil oil and balsamic reduction dressing was a great pairing! Live music topped off the evening — hope to be back next time we are in the area!

Graduation weekend. Mobbed, but we made reservations well in advance, and were seated promptly.
Any concerns we had about the crowd and impact on service were set to rest — our server was friendly and prompt, and although the food was a tad slow, it was understandable given that every seat — inside and outside — was taken.
So we ordered a nosh to start — White truffle fries, tossed with truffle oil, parmesan and fleur de sel (salt from Brittany) and an herbed aioli — these were SO good you could keep eating until you exploded.
The wine list was very solid and reasonably priced. We selected a terrific 2010 O’
Shaughnessy Howell Mountain (Napa) cabernet and then ordered our entrees to pair with the wine!
The Prime Rib was a healthy cut, done perfectly and served with a natural au jus. The roasted New Zealand rack of lamb was done to perfection, medium rare, moist and flavorful, in a port wine demi-​glacé that killed with the cabernet. The kale/​raisin/​pine-​nut side dish was tasty as well.
We thoroughly enjoyed our meal and visit.
Sadly it may be a long time before a second, as graduation eliminated a big reason for visits to Plattsburgh

Had time for lunch before needing to be at the airport. Searched Unilocal for a place to get a great burger. Noted that Iris uses locally sourced meats and to me that is a good indication of quality food.
Jennifer presented the menu and daily specials. They sounded good but I was in a burger mood. Regular burgers and lamb burger. She mentioned their lamb supplier is retiring and to try the burger before they change. Glad I did. It was incredibly tasty and messy (moist and covered with cheese, lettuce, cranberries). The sweet potato fries were also good and the wasabi dipping sauce was good.
Next time will try the regular burger, but try the lamb burger. Jennifer was helpful, food came out at a good pace and lunch was a great choice.

Great fries and everything was very fresh and thoughtfully done. One drawback for me was the wraps. They’re served on a pita and that’s not my thing.

Had a dinner here when visiting Plattsburgh. There was outside seating which was nice for the summer, but be careful of the mosquitoes.
The food overall was good. They serve hot bread with olive oil/​vinegar at the beginning which was welcomed on our table given we were starving. We ordered some appetizers and sandwiches/​burgers. The food was cooked fresh and tasted good. It could use a little more flavoring and tended to be a little bit on the bland side (not bad though).
The only complaint was that the service was extremely slow. The waitress would vanish for long periods of time, and the delay between courses was also a bit too much at times.

If you love gourmet food you won’t like this place. The décor wasn’t really nice except for all the artwork on the walls. As for the service not very fast and attentive. The salads and wine were really good, but the martini tasted like water. The risotto meatballs were horrible as for the pizza. There was no spicy oil, and the pasta had way to much parmesan. I don’t recommend this place, except for the live music and ambience.

The drinks are incredible :)

Irises Café was delightful. We had read the many favorable reviews and were hoping for a dinner that would be a highlight of our road trip. Irises did not disappoint.
I should say that my only apprehension going in was that I was not sure how our 7-​year-​old son would be accommodated, as the foods described in the reviews were quite «gourmet.» When we entered and the host offered a kids’ menu to us, I was relieved. Our son could choose from an upscale macaroni and cheese (three-​cheese sauce on penne), and other kid-​friendly choices. He opted for grilled jumbo shrimp (also a kids’ option) with french fries, which came with a choice of two sides, grilled asparagus, which he devoured, and an ice cream sundae.
The house salads were very fresh; we had two different vinaigrette dressings and both were quite tasty. My Mediterranean pasta with fresh spinach, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, and feta cheese was marvelous. My husband enjoyed moules et frites (mussels and fries) in buerre blanc (the chefs removed the «special» pineapple from the buerre blanc). We each ordered a wine sampler: three very generous 4-​ounce glasses for $ 10.50 (a single glass of wine was $ 8). My only complaint is that sometimes our food and drink did not come quite when they should have. The wine samplers arrived at the *end* of the salad course, our son’s main dish came well before mine and my husband’s. One of my son’s side dishes was forgotten and, come to think of it, our server nearly skipped our son (forgetting one person at a party of three?) when taking orders. We heard a couple at another table remark to their servers that it was «busy for a Monday night,» so I would forgive the shortcomings of the service and visit again if Irises’ Unilocal ratings stay consistently stellar.

*** This just in: Hungry couple arrive at Irises Café and Wine Bar and leave incredibly satisfied ***
No joke.
Yes, I reviewed this restaurant earlier this year, but given some of the reviews, I wanted to make sure our first experience wasn’t a fluke.
Spoiler: It wasn’t!
So that was a bonus, right? We also had Jennifer for our server again, which made the whole experience that much better. It was like a family reunion. Only we’re not family. So, in hindsight, the hugs were probably over the top.
Unlike the food, which was per-​fect.
Again, I had the Cajun blackened shrimp because, even though I wanted to try something else, I just couldn’t. I mean, these things are fantastic, and if you’ve had them once you want to have them a thousand times. Just not in one sitting. My wife had the nachos. Now, I’m pretty picky about nachos, and have been sorely disappointed in the past by establishments who call their nachos «loaded». Mostly because they obviously have no idea what the word loaded means. Irises on the other hand DO, and it’s not just loaded with sour cream as a cheapo way of making nachos look cool. In fact, they serve the sour cream on the side, in a dish.
Damn, why y’all gotta be so fancy?
My wife had the margherita pizza for lunch, and I had the salmon special which was to die for. In fact, oddly enough — the salmon did. Sorry salmon… but thanks. The pizza was super delicious. How super? Well, let’s just say my tastebuds were flying around the inside of my mouth with capes on. Up, up, and tastyyy.
(sorry)
When it comes to dessert, I always end up with the trio. Only because it’s the best value way of eating three different desserts without actually purchasing three different desserts.
Now, if your dining experience was based on the food alone, you’d be nodding your head in approval. But it’s not. Many a time, a fantastic meal has been ruined by terrible service. But not here. Again, Jennifer proved that personality is the magic ingredient, and even Colonel Sanders would be hard pressed with his seven secret herbs and spices to even come close to matching the personal touch she provides. Here’s a tip Colonel… you can’t.
So, there you have it. Fantastic food + fantastic staff = fantastically fantastic meal.

This is supposed to be the fanciest place in Plattsburgh, and I supposed it is. I mean, they have a wine bar, decent décor, and the waiters/​waitresses are dressed nicely, so if that’s your criteria then yea. It took awhile to get seated for no apparent reason, as there were numerous tables set and available, but that was just the beginning. The service was an absolute joke. Our waiter took forever to bring basic things out, and more or less ignored us after taking our order. We even saw him being attentive to other tables, just not ours. We were dressed fine and weren’t rude to him, so I don’t know what his problem was. At the end of the meal we wanted dessert, but he just brought us the check instead without even saying a word. He acted surprised for some reason when flagged him back down and asked him what he was doing. I don’t know if he had some problem with us, was absolutely clueless, or some permutation thereof. In the end there is no excuse for poor service. Unfortunately that wasn’t the only thing wrong here.
For a starter, I got the french onion soup; this was a very good version with the flavors being pretty on point. My father and brother got a pizza special that had a variety of different toppings that I do not recall now but didn’t sound like they’d work well together. The bigger issue was the crust, which was of the thin, unsubstantial and flavorless variety. I got a moules frites special which had the mussels come in a tomato-​red pepper sauce. The mussels were overcooked and were not fresh. The sauce they were in was muted with an unpleasant sour note to it. I was stupid not to send it back, but I was starving. The french fries were alright. My brother got a pasta dish with shrimp that had few shrimp, and my father got a lamb dish; my family wasn’t as disappointed with their entrees as I was, but they weren’t anything to write home about either. When we finally got the apple crumb and espresso we ordered, the crumb was alright but a tiny portion, and the espresso was weak. The meal wasn’t worth the price nor the aggravation.
If the above wasn’t clear enough, let me reiterate: this place sucks. The reason it exists is because it is the only upscale restaurant in town. So if you want to go on a nice date, or parents want to take their kids to a good place, they come here. And thus Irises can charge as much as it does for at best uneven food – and at worst, inedible. Next time in town, I’ll be eating anywhere but here.

Alright place. Came here with my family and they thought it was mediocre.

Take this comment for whatever it means to you, but Irises is the one spot that I can walk into and completely forget I’m in Plattsburgh. As a transplant from Boston, it’s easy for me to think I’m still home if I don’t look out the window. Love the wine, the fabulous menu (interesting/​eclectic and tasty — big fan of the warm goat cheese salad with walnuts, apples and olives, amazing dressing), and the jazz music playing overhead. The service has been great every time I’ve been there, and hands down it’s my favorite spot in this town to have either drinks and apps or a nice dinner.

Got a fancy date and want to impress her?
That’s the only reason I would advocate going to Irises.
The food is really expensive and not worth the investment. They do have a very nice interior, live music and wonderful wait staff however.
They also do a martini special which is a good reason to go, for a couple of drinks and music. But I’d recommend eating elsewhere or padding your wallet.

We very much enjoyed lunch in Irises. The salads were delicious and the service was marvelous. The restaurant itself was nicely decorated and clean.
We would be very happy to visit again, when in the area.

If you need to impress a date or are just craving a good glass of wine, you can’t go wrong with Irises. The food is good, the martinis better and the jazz band the best.
Food:
I’ve been going to Irises since I was a toddler, so it holds a special place in my heart, sure. But over Thanksgiving this year, the fam and I stopped in. First, I have to say this about Irises: they really try, they do. This is the North Country, so not everything is on par (if at all) with New York City, but this if fine dining the P-​burgh area… even if there are paper sheets over the white linen table cloths.
But Irises falls victim to the trying-​too-​hard plight. Everything from their specials to their salads sound so complex and delicious, but it tends to come out on the wrong of complicated. When you read if off the menu or hear your waiter tell you the specials, it all sounds good, if a bit much. To the untrained ear it sounds like a sweet serenade, but Irises often attempts to be overly elaborate in their flavor palates. While sometimes they pull it off, they can fall flat.
That is not to say their food is bad by any stretch though. Veal demi glacé may seem to be on every one of your dishes, they make it well. The meats are always cooked to perfection and they make a damn good mirepoix (that seems to be better than the escargot, honestly). One thing that really shines is the wine list. It’s on the smaller side (not for the North Country though), but it has some very good wines. Particularly the Marquis de Riscal 2004, a rioja which I love.
Most recently, I had the linguini alfredo with chicken which was very cheesy and thick, but good. There was also a crab cake dinner ordered, which was very hefty. It was crispy, and not very crabby, but needed spice. The filet bordelaise was also on our table, and the steak was very good. Even the sauce wasn’t so bad, although I would have preferred a drier red wine.
Venue:
Irises has been open as long as I can remember, originally just as a simple café. But in 2005 they expanded, opening up the Burgundy Room a banquet for catering and events. They revamped their image a bit and made a separate formal dining area and a more casual, lounge-​like wine bar area.
Without taking the ferry over to Burlington, Irises is one of the fanciest restaurant you can go to in Plattsburgh. The walls and carpeting need some updating, and the tables would seem more elegant without the white paper sheet on top, but it’s nice. If a little stuffy, but the exposed brick walls really add a nice touch. During the summer they have an outdoor patio and will get local bands and singers to come entertain.
Often they do drink and dinner specials for reduced prices, and they get live jazz in there pretty often (the band was better than the singer that night though). The crowd is often pretty mellow (assuming the NYC gays don’t sit next to you – it was a ball though), and of an older age set than most. Carol, the owner, has really tried to make Irises a classy joint, and if you need to impress a date or celebrate a birthday, this is where you should go.

I visited here last Friday with my bf who was in town because my co-​worker highly recommended it. To start it was a nice space, we arrived around 9 o’clock and a live band was setting up in the bar area. I decided to try a martini since that is what they were known for, I think I got a pomegranate one based on the recommendation of the waitress, she came out with the martini glass and the tumbler filled with another drink so that was a pretty good deal for the price of the drink.
We decided to try the foie gras/​duck confit appetizer and were extremely disappointed. The portion size was huge and normally that is a good thing but for something as rich as foie gras it was a bit overwhelming, and I am not sure about the shredded pieces of duck confit randomly found inside the dish, it was on some kind of a polenta cake which was a strange mix. I would not recommend getting this appetizer.
On to dinner, my bf got the halibut special and I got the vegetarian dinner sampler. His halibut was cooked perfectly, it was extremely moist and seasoned perfectly. My dish was not as great as his but that was in part because I found a hair in the brie puff pastry. I let the waitress know and she apologized profusely and took the dish off the bill and offered us free dessert which is where the 4^th star came in, that was great service. The chef even saw us out and asked if we were ok because he felt terrible about it, that’s a pretty classy move and shows how much he takes pride in his food.
All in all it was a pricey evening out for Plattsburgh the halibut dish was $ 27 which I feel could have been a bit cheaper because its halibut after all but I would definitely recommend Irises and would visit again to sample a few other items off their interesting menu.