Iron Horse

Iron Horse is such a great find in Royal Oak—laid-back vibe, cool industrial decor, and consistently solid food. Whether you’re stopping in for brunch, lunch, or dinner, the menu delivers. The burgers are excellent, and the portions are generous without being over the top. What really stands out is the atmosphere: welcoming without being loud, stylish without being pretentious. It’s the kind of place where you can hang out with friends or bring a date and have a great time either way. Service has always been friendly and efficient whenever I’ve been in. Definitely one of Royal Oak’s better spots for a casual but high-quality meal. Looking forward to my next visit!

Service was good until I got home and saw I got got overcharged. Will not return. Will not recommend. Hope nobody gets Taylor as their waitress. I wish I could've tipped the cook for the fantastic food instead of her. She was great till I got home and saw my receipt. My fault for not checking before signing. ALWAYS CHECK YOUR RECEIPTS!!!

This is a must stop spot, great atmosphere, Staff friendly and professional, Food is fast and delicious as well as the prices you can’t beat the price of a good Taco, Nacho or Cuban Sandwich and if that’s not what your in the mood for you could always try one of there signature pizzas…The Spicey Mexican is one of my all time favorites…

A great place to get some good food, like nachos or burritos 🌯, the wet burrito was great! But the best one was their grilled chicken taco 🌮!!! absolute perfection 🤌🏻 ambience is great, especially the tables at the window! and service was friendly and super fast 💨 Totally recommend this place

Stopped in before a concert and was pleasantly surprised. The food was delicious! The Churizo Queso, Burria Taco, and tofu tacos were all excellent.

We randomly found Iron Horse and we were very happy to find it. It's tucked between a few businesses and doesn't stand out so much from the front. But the inside is actually a decent size with numerous tables. The ambience is intimate with low lighting and comfortable seating. However, the giant screen in the front area of the bar seems a little unnecessary. The food was great, we ordered the chorizo tacos and a salad. We ended the night with delicious churros that came with caramel and strawberry sauce. It was a great night.

The service is tops. We had a few minor issues like dirty plates but the response was absolutely fantastic. She even gave my girls a churro dessert to make up for it. They went above and beyond to create a wonderful experience for my family. the tacos are amazing, angus burger was a hit, I recommend the blackened chicken quesadillas.

Awesome brunch options. Love this place and the atmosphere. If you're lucky to get prime real estate by the front window its great to just sit, eat and people watch Royal Oak visitors. Definitely recommend trying the biscuits and chorizo gravy. You won't be disappointed!

If I can give it 3.5 I would. Not a bad place for food. The vibes are very unique and nice inside. It's a dark vibe. I'm not sure what the best word is to describe it but it's good. The service is nice not over the top but very nice people and good vibes. I can only rate what I had. The Queso Dip Very good flavor and the chips were very good and well salted. They did not taste like store bought chips at all. The tacos. I had two chicken and one steak. Steak was a bit chewy and maybe a little overcooked. The chicken tacos had a sweet taste to them kinda like a bbq. I was not a huge fan of either or however it did get the job done. Chorros Chorros was the highlight of the night. Very good. Exactly what you expect. It comes with two sauces to dip in. Strawberry and caramel. It's a very good mix. Overall I would come back again to try other foods. This place has a ton of potential. People seem to love it. They just didn't hit it out the park for me. I am definitely willing go again and especially try their pizzas!

Above average selections of tacos. Good portions. Margaritas are not pre-mixed, and they use decent Tequila. Nice staff. Reasonable prices.

This place was very tasty. We went here in late August - our jeweler is down the street and we were getting our rings cleaned before our wedding. I saw Iron Horse does happy hour until 6pm and we walked in around 555pm. To her credit, the waitress let me order a happy hour drink even though it was like 6:02 p.m. by the time she came to our table - I got the Blackberry smash and it was very good. For our meals, I got a few tacos, and the best one had a layer of cheese in between bread layers; it was excellent. My now-husband got the wet burrito and also really enjoyed it. The only reason this place gets 4 stars from me and not 5 is because of the pricing - it's on par with others in the area but it was about $60 before tip for the two of us (two drinks, as my husband got an Old Fashioned, plus two meals). Also, the bathroom situation is a little odd - follow the hallway around and you'll be in the common area behind D'Amatos, and that's where the (public) bathrooms are.

Went here again and it was still so good!! Quick drinks and your food comes out quick. Got the steak burrito again and it was delicious like previous times! Currently they are doing fun seasonal winter cocktails

Never been here before, thought we give it a try. Amazing food, server was awesome but one thing that could've been better was the temperature of the restaurant. Nicely decorated for the holiday but it was freezing!!! Would definitely go there again, just dress a little warmer. As you can see in the food pics, it was delicious!

I love the medieval and chill vibe of Iron Horse. This is one of my hidden gems of Royal Oak. The staff was cool and attentive and the food was very good. I have been here numerous times and ordered almost everything from their diverse menu (tons of options). The Esquites was especially good. Drinks were good as well.

The food was good and my very picky brother-in-law liked it so much, he wanted to go back again.

Fun place to enjoy great drinks & you can tell it's popular with the locals as many regulars go there. They have a happy hour ~$9 margaritas, I got the jalapeño one- very good! Our favorite drink is the Evel Fashioned tho! (The $3 tofu taco was only so-so btw) but they have some nice HH specials but we didn't get to try the other food. They have a small (but nice) bar and often have the windows open so you can be inside but enjoy the outside. In addition, they have about 4 or 5 outdoor tables with umbrellas so you enjoy some patio seating too. It's right next door to the Royal Oak Music Theater so a pre-show drink is a great idea! Also, the 2 free hour parking in the parking structures is also nice. Enjoy!

My friends and I were able to sit outside on a beautiful summer evening at iron horse. It was a weekday and they weren't very busy and service was fast. I really liked the birria taco (comes with dipping sauce) and the server was nice to remove the spice from the blackened fish so that it wasn't too hot. The margaritas were strong. Their guacamole was also tasty.

We had a wonderful dinner here having bowls of wonderful tortilla soup, great queso dip, and an excellent side salad with a yummy homemade dressing. Drink was a jalapeno margarita and service was wonderful! Looking forward to going back again.

Yummy food and great cocktails. Mostly came here to drink, but I really enjoyed their salad and esquites. Quaint spot so we made a reservation, always a good call these days. Service was good. Would definitely return to try tacos.

We stopped in for a fast drink ahead of our concert at Royal Oak Music Theatre. Got a quick seat, got a great bourbon mule and we were on our way! Staff is super friendly and responsive. We would certainly darken their door again - give them a try!

I feel like this place is slept on. Sat on the patio and it's a great location/vibe. Really really recommend the quesadilla. Our server was also super sweet and nice. Can't say anything bad about this place and is a great option if you're looking to chill and take your time.

Standard bar Mexican, but the happy hour until 6 is fantastic. We got every single food item, drinks (the Kentucky blackberry mule is yummy; bottled beer for $3!) and then as more people came, shared a platter of nachos that were filling. We had a great service though, loved having the corner seating area. The route to the restrooms is longer than you'd expect but it's shared with other businesses. They're really nice though!

Great meal...great service!! Got here at 6:00 on a Wednesday and had no wait. They have a good cocktail menu...and a good menu of beers. I just had the house Chardonnay, which was excellent. We both had fajitas...one chicken and one steak. Both meats were cooked to perfection. Absolutely delicious. And they give you a nice plate of good rice and beans, another plate of tomato, cheese and lettuce and 4 warm tortillas. If you ordered extra tortillas..you might even be able to split one order! Service was excellent...attentive, friendly and knowledgeable. I'll definitely be back here!!

Ambiance was good, just a little dark. The service ok, I will say our waiter seemed a little distracted and was maybe not as attentive despite it not being a super busy night. However he gave a great recommendation on drinks! The food here was truly the star! The salsa had some really amazing earthy tones and the guac had the right combination of flavors. I do wish it had more lime and onions for a crunch though. The enchiladas were amazing! This is not the typical fast food type Mexican place but has a great chef who can cook and really bring out Mexican flavors in their cooking!

Iron Horse was a part of a relaxing Sunday morning in Royal Oak. We were seated quickly and service was great. Our original table was toward the back and rather dark, but we were able to move near the storefront windows with no problem. I was excited to try their chilaquiles, which were very good, and my boyfriend had the wet burrito. We were both pleasantly full. If you're looking for a brunch spot in Royal Oak, definitely check this out.

Nice little corner spot! Low lights, big screen for games and a chill vibe throughout. The service was good, waiter was quirky but cool. Food was delicious! I wish the esquites was warm. It's a cold dip appetizer; it's good but I think could be better. The tacos were yummy, I had shrimp and chicken. Tasty!! The queso was okay, I've had better. My friends has the rice they liked it. Now the drinks were I had a strawberry margarita oh we and a purple gang! Delicious!! Overall we were all pleased. Nice spot!

The food at Iron Horse is hands down some of the best Mexican food you'll find in Royal Oak. Every dish we sampled from chips and guac to Mexican pizzas to beef and shrimp tacos was absolutely divine. Knowing we had a birthday in the group they even treated us to some complimentary churros to end on a sweeter note. Full selection of Mexican favorites like margaritas and beer as well. The interior is dimly lit if you're away from the windows. Street parking and garage parking is within walkable distance (and the first two hours are free). Venture off of Main Street and give Iron Horse a go!

I was invited to dinner here to get to know a few people I would be working with. The restaurant itself was fine - kind of dark for my liking, but overall not bad. I liked the big wooden tables we were seated at and our chairs were comfortable. The service was ok, nothing spectacular, nothing terrible...although for as slow as it was, it was a bit annoying that our food and drinks ordered at the same time kept coming out separately. A variety of cocktails were ordered and everybody seemed to like them. The cheese bread appetizer was really good - the garlic cream cheese was tasty! The chips, salsa, guacamole and queso were pretty standard. I was a bit underwhelmed with my food. I ordered the wet burrito. It came out with the second serving of dinners and the queso was hardly warm to the point it was starting to coagulate- it was just sticky instead of melted. I got the idea it sat there getting cold while the first half of the food was being served. The ingredients IN the burrito were really good, however the NOT hot queso coupled with the refried beans in the burrito made it too sticky and dry of a texture for me to even enjoy. To really enjoy it, I think that it needs to be served HOT, with HOT queso, on a heated plate, not lukewarm on a room temperature plate. Several people tried the fish tacos and were surprised at how spicy they were, but most seemed to enjoy them. Overall, it was ok, but I likely won't return.

This place was great! I had the angry ginger to drink. Just the right amount of bite to the drink. My friend and I split esquites to start. So delicious! Generous portion of chips and dip. I had the steak & cheese burrito which was large and tasted so good. Definitely had plenty of leftovers. I'll be back for sure. Loved the vibe of the whole place

Small place but decent service. Nice waiters. Food need more seasoning in my opinion but alas.

Meh.. Bad so called Mexican food.. even for bar food standards.. below average service.. way too expensive... Went here on the Woodward dream cruise day. There was hardly any customers in the place. We were party of 8. He seemed surprised to see so many people. Lol The chips and salsa. Was bland and tasteless. Old chips..lacking crispness.. We ordered every possible vegetarian item in the menu., non of them tasted good.. either tasted stale or tasted bad.. None of them tasted fresh.. I was looking forward to the tofu taco. Which turned out to be the worst dish of all. :( The service was very slow. Not very attentive Never ever! Plenty of paid street parking right in front..

Giddy up... iron horse was a fabulous pre- concert treat! Despite frequenting Royal oak over the past 2 decades i surprisingly had never given this place a try until last night. Made a reservation for 6 people at 6pm to grab some grub. We had 2 people in our party with multiple food allergies and our server was so awesome and reassuring that the grills had been cleaned before the preparation of our meals. I had the Steak taco- excellent flavor, the blackened fish taco- also good but not the best fish taco I've had and the birria taco - I had never had this before and the flavors were like a little sassy salsa dance party in my mouth! Others in the group got the blackened chicken quesadilla, a salad with tofu, enchiladas, and beef tacos. Clean plate club all around! Oh and the spicy marg was just how I like it- spicy, strong and not overly sweetened with premade marg mix. Would definitely come back!

BEST BRUNCH! We came here for brunch on Sunday because it was the only place in town that was open and had power. It turned out to be a highlight of our trip! The service was amazing and very helpful. The brunch though....omggg you guys was SO good! (See pictures posted of what we ordered!) I recommend starting with the Mexican Iced Coffee. I wasn't sure if it had alcohol in it because the description didn't say for sure but IT DOES. I ordered the Brioche French Toast which was very filling. I wish it had more fruit toppings but it was still very good! Another person really enjoyed the Steak and Egg Tacos. Very cool atmosphere. Large portions. Friendly staff. I recommend trying this place out for brunch!

After acquiring Downtown Dollars, we gave them a shot. We enjoyed adult beverages and dinners and were pleased with the experience. She had cosmo, and I had had the Mexican Mule. Both drinks were prepared well, but I prefer a Moscow Mule vs the Mexican. No concern, more of a preference. We shared chips and salsa, highly recommend the chili lime chips! We each enjoyed the chicken tortilla soup, which was great, what you would expect. We each enjoyed tacos. I had the brisket taco, which was ok...thought it tasted a bit plain. Will definitely give the chorizo taco a try, next time!

Love this joint! Great service, cool vibes, reasonable brunch prices and cheap mimosas - what's not to like?

I love Iron Horse! I had a great vibe and the food is so reasonably priced compared to similar restaurants in the area! It is great for a date if just catching up with friends. They don't have a ton of seating so on the weekends it is best to get a reservation.

Grabbed a seat in the window before the concert Friday. They were busy but we nabbed a reservation while parking up the street. I had the Taco salad and found it phenomenal! I couldn't finish it. My wife had a shrimp and a chicken Taco. Both were excellent she says... Service was ok, they were packed, of course. I can't say much about the ambiance being in the very front. We could've done without whoever was in line wearing a gallon of perfume. Yuck! We'll happily return.

After living in Michigan for over 3 years, I finally found myself at Iron Horse a few weeks ago, and now I know that I have been missing out!! Iron Horse is a cool bar/ restaurant that is anything but imposing from the facade, but inside is actually very modern, and refined looking. There's a full bar, as well as a fair amount of tables (I believe one of the tables is community style seating as well). The location of Iron Horse is just off of the main area of Royal Oak, so it's easy to see how you could miss it! However, the upside is that Iron Horse would make for a great date spot. The drinks are done well, and the staff accommodates what you're looking for in addition to their list of brews/ mixed drinks. The food is also quite solid, and the menu has items for most people. I found that it was a healthy amount of food for the price, and everyone in my group was stuffed at the end of the night. Keto / Low-Carb Folks: there are a few options you can play with/ modify out here. I chose to go the Fajitas route, the Chicken Fajitas are seasoned amazingly, and with all of the sides, provides a size-able meal. Do be careful about the sauces, as some of them are quite deceptively sweet, and others that you'd expect to be sweet are not. Overall, if you're in Royal Oak, and looking for a chill, cool place to kick it, look no further than Iron Horse!

A great place to get some good food, like nachos or burritos , the wet burrito was great! But the best one was their grilled chicken taco !!! absolute perfection ambience is great, especially the tables at the window! Service was friendly and super fast Totally recommend this place

The food was really good, I got the salad, blackened fish taco and the carnitas. Good place to eat in the bar area, would definitely go back

We came here on a whim on Sunday for Brunch. The place we originally planned was out of power, along with SO MANY other restaurants / business in this area. We were happy to see this one was still open and operating just fine. The restaurant had a Mexican feel, so most of the Brunch items were American breakfast options, with a Mexican flare. Came here with the party of 6. When we got here, we were one of the first ones in, but by the time we left, this place was completely full. They have a small bar, but it looked really cool and was the first thing you saw on your way in. We started off with drinks. We had a mix of OJs, mimosas, regular coffee, and their cocktail coffee (which seemed to have a cream liqueur). I got an OJ and the Cocktail coffee. The OJ seemed to be fresh squeezed, super sweet and refreshing. The coffee cocktail was super good as well, where you could barely even taste the liqueur. I got the Chorizo biscuits & gravy, which came with made to order eggs. My order didn't turn out at all like what I had expected. When I see Chorizo biscuits & gravy, I think normal B&Gs, but with Chorizo instead of normal sausage, where there is actual gravy, and its thicker and creamy. This was not the case. The meal came out with 2 full biscuits, with Chorizo meat spread over the biscuits. There was literally no gravy at all. Like I said, not at all what I expected. Since there wasn't any gravy, the biscuits seemed dry when it was just paired with meat. Very odd. As far as the eggs go, I ordered them scrambled with cheese. I got scrambled eggs with no cheese. It also came with a side of bacon (or sausage). I ended up mixing the eggs and the Chorizo together, and eating it that way, leaving the biscuits behind. (rather than ordering something new, waiting, and holding the other 5 people in my party up, as we were headed home to Indianapolis after). My BF got the steak & egg tacos, which came with potatoes. His meal was really good, based on what he said and the bite I tried. He got his eggs scrambled. The skillet- like fried potatoes were also good and I know there wasn't any of those left. There were 2 tacos total, which was more than enough for him. Wait staff was very kind, helpful, and fast. We had our waiter that took orders and another gentleman that helped with drinks and clearing plates. Both were nice gentlemen! If I was ever in the area again, I would for sure come back here again, but I would not order the B&Gs again (reasoning for the 4 star review, instead of 5).

My wife and I really like Iron Horse. It isn't big but the service is always good, the drinks are on point, and the food is solid if not spectacular. Drink favorites are the margarita, the evel fashioned and the angry ginger. I usually get the tacos or chicken enchiladas. Again good just not jaw dropping. My wife got the tamales last stop and enjoyed them. Iron Horse is a cool spot. It just feels really hip without being too hipster. You can usually get a table without much of a wait and if you do have to wait their really good bar will keep you properly hydrated. If you haven't been to Iron Horse, plan a stop.

Good food, excellent service and the ambience was superb! I've eaten there a number of times, and I've never been disappointed.

Great food. Great service. Great price. Would recommend to anyone dining in Royal Oak.

I've been to Iron Horse a few times, the latest one being this past weekend, and I almost always feel the same way about it: The food and drinks are good, but the service isn't. The food menu is small but there are good options for all types of palates, mostly focusing on Mexican-ish dishes and pizzas. They have a nice selection of beer and wine, but I strongly recommend trying their cocktails -- their bartenders really know what they're doing. But the service is always a bit off. Wrong orders taken/delivered, slowness, splitting bills the wrong way, mischarging items, etc. All are common here, and we had literally all of those things happen this past weekend. It's a bummer because this place would be one of my go-to's if the service was a bit better -- instead, it's just a place I visit maybe once every six months or so.

The place is cute but the food is not Mexican, it's more like an Americanized sloppy version. I ordered the chicken burrito that was covered in cheese sauce . It gave me food poisoning and I'm 100% sure it was that burrito that made me sick because it was the only thing I ate. So gross! I definitely won't be going back.

I got to enjoy the steak and Eggs Taco's for Brunch on a Sunday. Delicious and will definitely return.

A decent spot but every time I leave I'm kind of wanting more out of this place. I'll start with the good: Brunch is delicious, the esquites are really good and filling, and their pizza is actually I think very good...not something you'd think of immediately for a Mexican spot. I'm a fan of the wet burrito for dinner. They've got a very nice beer, wine, and cocktail list also. For those who hunt down Pappy Van Winkle they offer a wide range of different ages if you're into washing your Mexican down with an expensive and hard to find bourbon! The just ok: In my opinion it's fairly expensive especially if you're drinking. Parking is also a real challenge so I would recommend taking a lyft if you can. Welcome to Royal Joke! It's a fairly small spot and the bar seating is a very tight squeeze so it tends to fill up fairly quickly.

Brunch time! We came on a Saturday at 10 when they opened, so we were seated and served quickly! The front of the restaurant has more lighting than the back. The menu had me wanting to order definitely more than one item but I went with the C H I L A Q U I L E S ! It's like a mix of Mexican breakfast + nachos + enchiladas! 2 fried eggs, on top a pile of corn tortilla chips, flavorful beans, chorizo, queso, and pico! I loved it! Definitely a shareable item as I took half of mine home! I would 100% come back with friends in the future as everyone was happy with their meal and service.

We didn't even know this place exists when a friend suggested it for dinner, but I'm glad they did. We stopped in on a cold winter night and our group of six was seated in a perfectly cozy table in the back corner of the restaurant. Here's what we had heard going in: the menu had a mix of Mexican and pizza (which seemed odd, but intriguing) and a good selection of craft cocktails. I'm usually a beer guy, but I decided to try the blackberry bourbon mule (I'm getting the exact name wrong)...and it was great! For our food selections, we started with a couple of appetizers that our waitress recommended - the esquites was outstanding. We ordered a wide range of entrees - enchiladas, tamales and burritos. They all looked great and everyone really enjoyed them. Beyond all of that, the place just has a great vibe. Cool atmosphere, including the giant photo of Evel Knieval on the wall, and the staff was very friendly. At one point, one of the owners came over to check on us and ended up chatting for a while...he couldn't have been nicer! It all added up to a great evening!

Good tocos , good drinks , nice place . Good service , a little wait on the food but it worth it . I would definitely some back again.

Pretty good food. The margs were only ok. The staff is very nice. I'll definitely go there again but I will probably get a different drink

Should out to Aaron M for HORRIBLE SERVICE at Iron Horse. 6 of us dined at Iron Horse last night between 4:45 and 5:45. There were hardly any other patrons in there during that timeframe, so it was not busy or crowded. From the very first words spoken by Aaron we could tell he had a huge chip on his shoulder and a major attitude. Aaron was never friendly or shared any knowledge of the menu or drinks with us and it got to a point where we were afraid to ask a question, because every question we asked him he had a snarky response and literally every single interaction he had with us he was extremely rude. It's been a while since I've had a server that was such an a** like Aaron was, so it was disappointing, because while we enjoyed the food and cocktails, the ambience Aaron created made us all extremely uncomfortable. And he was so busy snapping at us and not listening to us that he even got one of the orders wrong! If we hadn't had to be somewhere at 6, we would have pulled the manager aside and given them feedback in that moment. Our group has a huge amount of respect and understanding of servers, especially over the past couple of years, but this was a whole other level of rudeness any of us had experienced. We will not be returning to this place.

This was a nice casual place with a cool atmosphere. Cocktails were good food was pretty good service was great. We both got the tacos. They were good without being memorable but I'd be willing to go back and try some other things on the menu.

I am vegetarian and originally from Southern California so I am very used to eating Mexican food. This place was excellent. Very accomodating. They do use chicken broth in the rice & queso. So beware of that. They allowed us to switch out the queso and instead use black beans. Got the Esquites & tofu fajitas. AMAZING. The ambiance was fantastic. The wait is usually very long, but went on a Wednesday at 8:30pm and was seated right away for a party of 2.

Visited this restaurant during the Royal Oak Arts, Eats and Beats weekend. Wasn't initially sure if what to expect but upon entering a young lady staff member was very friendly so we opted to dine there. The server was also very friendly as he was very accommodating throughout our dining experience. My spouse orders their cheese bread which was very good and I had their chicken burrito, also very good. Would definitely visit this restaurant again based on friendliness of staff and quality of food.

The hot chicken sliders are to die for!!! Great atmosphere and the drinks are delicious. Not terribly strong.