Ironworks Steaks and Fine Cocktails

This was our first time at Ironworks. We recently moved to the area a year ago and never knew this hidden gem was sitting right in the heart of Tavares on Lake Dora. Michael is an AMAZING bartender and makes some pretty “dangerous” cocktails!!! Kate took exceptional care of us and was super personable and attentive. This will be one of our regular Go-To’s from now on and we were so pleased with everything all around. We had the ribeye, it was perfectly seasoned, and highly recommend it. Didn’t take foodie pics of our entree because we wanted to dive right in but took other photos from our dining experience tonight. Thank you Ironworks and especially to Michael & Kate. We will see you again soon!!!

Incredible food, outstanding service. Kristina, our server was friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable. Such a sweetheart! Michael, the chief bartender, is a master mixologist with so much restaurant and culinary experience, I look forward to his interpretation of his next set of seasonal libations. Chef Joey is a talented young artist to be taken seriously. He's so gifted, and he elevates his cuisine to such a level beyond what one would expect in this smallish central FL town, I hesitate to refer to him as "Joey". Maybe "Chef de Cuisine Joseph". Thank you for an incredible evening. We'll be back!

Great little hidden gem! Yes, the food and atmosphere are wonderful. The attentive service was the icing on the cake. Wonderful steak (preferred the ribeye over the New York Strip) and sides. We really enjoyed the creamy spinach side. The drinks were a testament to the craftsmanship of the bartender. The old fashioned hit all the right notes. Just made for a great evening! My only regret is not saving room for dessert... Perhaps next time.

The atmosphere of this place is awesome. Steampunk feel. It’s not a big place but the people are amazing. We will definitely be back. The industrial old fashioned was one of the best I’ve had. The steaks were all perfect, I also had an add on of shrimp. The desserts were amazing too. Our server was such a great person. Outgoing, fun, and so helpful.

We really enjoyed our visit! The atmosphere was incredible. The food was delicious - we both had the ribeye dinner for two! The Caesar salad was awesome - with a unique locally made dressing. But our favorite part was Lauren, who served us our drinks, food and a smile. She kept us great company and offered us amazing drink options and suggestions. Can’t wait to come back!

This place was awesome! A unique place awesome drinks, service, and most of all, food! The staff worked seamlessly together. From greetings by Cait (great hospitality and conversation), Corey our waiter (making awesome suggestions), Mike the bartender (making smoked drinks), Joey and Dennis in the kitchen preparing some of the best food I've ever had! We can't wait to go back! Such a personable experience and felt very much like this is our go-to place! Unfortunately we live 1100 miles away. Next time we are there we are going!! Thank you all for a great experience!!!

Wow! This place far exceeded our expectations. We started with the burratta and olives. Yum! The crackers were made in house and had a wonderful crunch and blend of seasonings. The burratta was soft and creamy. I contemplated over having the waygu since it was our first time there but our server Brittany sold me on it. I had a grilled ceasar salad and a loaded baked potato with it. The salad was the best I've ever had. The waygu came out perfectly. It was like butter. My husband ordered the 35 day aged ribeye. Again came out perfectly prepared and perfectly seasoned. For desert we opted for the table side cherry jubilee. Brittany did an amazing job. We will definitely be back. Thank you to all the staff who made our first experience there memorable.

Didn’t eat here, but the food looked great. We sat at the bar, and they ran out of egg whites so I told the bartender what I liked, and she made a unique drink. Was delicious! The staff were friendly and the other bartender charred a marshmallow for me to try. Will be back.

Awesome!!! Ambiance, service, and food were Top notch!! Mike, the mixologist, was great have him make something special!! I think we adopted our server Britney by the end of the night. She was not only fantastic made us feel like family!! Do not pass up on this Gem!

The food, cocktails, service and atmosphere were all wonderful. The bone in pork chop was prepared perfectly and pumpkin risotto so tasty. My husband said his chicken carbonara was great also. The portions are generous. I enjoy the fact that they change up the menu seasonally. This was our first experience here, but will definitely be back.

Despite reading mixed reviews, we decided to try this restaurant for our anniversary dinner out. I'm giving 1 star for interesting decor ... 1 star for the Caesar salad .... and 1 star for the key lime dessert. The other 2 stars were lost because of the meal. Ordered 2 "Mixed Marsala" meals At $30 each. I never knew a 4 oz filet could be so small. Two 1/4" small slices of filet = 4 oz.... I don't think so. No wonder the server didn't ask how we wanted our steak done. Ha! The dish is actually served as a paella in a bowl, which was very unexpected. Pictured it to be on a plate. The pasta overwhelmed the entire dish .... Very Long flat noodles. Most frustrating, I had to fight with the noodles to first, cut them and then search to find the actual 2 oz of chewy but tender filet and mushrooms. Way too many noodles. Sausage was marginal. Two Shrimp fine, sauce adequate. Two slices of grilled bread on top of bowl was tasteless. No bread plate so I had to put the bread on the table to get to the meal. This restaurant should simply drop this dish from the menu. I would be ashamed to offer this dish ! Extremely disappointing. At least to us. Try the restaurant once, make your own judgement ...... recommend not to order this particular dish. Some positives .... black napkins are a brilliant idea, they're actually thick paper napkins. Glass bottle of chilled water left on table. Good server. Presentation of Caesar salad fun. Amazing key lime dessert. Warm ambience. Easy music to listen to, not too loud. And Ice cream next door.

New menu! As always amazing meal and service! Thank you so much for taking such amazing care of us!

I always try and rate a restaurant for what it's trying to achieve, I never judge a diner against The French Laundry, and I always try to center my reviews around for what the restaurant is aiming at. All that being said, I had wanted to try this place for a long time, there are not too many higher-end restaurants in The Tavares area, so this was worth a shot. I immediately really like the decor, and figured steampunk was definitely an interesting choice, but everything in the plaza seems to be themed in some kind of steam punk vision. We were seated rapidly, and our server was very quick, friendly, and attentive I ordered the the bacon appetizer, prybar old fashioned, as well as their signature New York strip with a caesar salad and carrot cake. I tried to get everything they considered to be their signature dish to get the best feel for the place. The cocktail was excellent, mostly just an old fashioned but very well done with a large steel ball instead of ice to avoid watering it down. The main issue I had was the level of pretentiousness, and corresponding price, for many of the dishes. Their signature NY strip under a smoke cloche was good and well seasoned, but also slightly overcooked; their grilled Caesar was really fresh, but probably didn't need the grilling, the bacon and Maple appetizer was also extremely good but a messy and a pain to eat when it's hanging from a laundry line with an old pair of scissors. (Seriously, the bacon was really good and different and worth the try even with the mess). Even the bread we ordered to the table had a "butter candle" which seemed wholly unnecessary and more of an excuse to charge more for bread. It screams of recently graduated culinary student trying way too hard. Overall the food was quite good, if a little overpriced. If a little more care was placed on actually making the food rather than unnecessary bells and whistles it would probably be a little bit better experience overall. I do plan on stopping in again to try their tomahawk and hopefully get slightly better result. If you're already in the area, it's probably worth the stop if you're looking for a solid steakhouse.

Amazing food amazing bar service and great atmosphere. We arrived with a party of 14 and didn't skip a beat. Our waitress Brittany was incredible we were a rowdy bunch. Mike the bartender mixed fantastic old fashions and delicious martinis.

The interior was beautiful, so much to see! We really enjoyed our meal, the steaks were cooked to perfection and the Caesar salads were so fun and delicious! But the staff was what made it an excellent experience...The restaurant is small, so you get personal attention from the entire staff throughout your dinner, making sure you enjoy every bit of your dining experience.

We were a group of 10. Very cool place, much smaller than expected though. First, we waited probably 10 minutes to be asked about drinks, then 20+ minutes to get them. I had heard it was way overpriced...and they were right. $11 for bread and butter 'appetizer'. NOT worth it. $16 for a Tito's cocktail. Hmmmm After looking at the expensive menu, my husband and I decided on the '2 for $89' dinner. He got the porterhouse and I got the sirloin. It came with a salad and one side. The salads were excellent, thus the 3 stars. As for the rest, the sirloin was good and cooked properly. My husband's porterhouse was as thin as a 2 pancakes and overcooked. His baked potato was undercooked and my garlic mashed were nothing to write home about. Dessert...I don't know if I have ever been served a cake that dry. Save yourself the time and money.

Fantastic experience tonight in a very cool place with pretty awesome ambiance. Had a steak burger that was pretty delicious and huge with the portion of beef. Rachel provided excellent service and we will come back soon. Excellent place for steak as my buddies both had rib eyes and enjoyed

Food was really good. Chef came to say hello. Service was outstanding. Waitress Lauren was exceptional and the bar tender was on point. Ambiance was perfect. Architecture was really thought out. This place is a hidden jam. Prices are a little high but you get what you pay for. The appetizer was really good and the presentation was very creative and the taste was superb. Definitely will be back.

Amazing Food, Great Service, Perfect Cocktails all in a really nice setting. Truly enjoyed the experience.

WOW!! Best restaurant in Tavares! I came here for my birthday. It was surprisingly slow on a Wednesday. Walking into the restaurant , you can tell someone put their passion into this place! The decor is awesome, like nothing I've ever seen before. We grabbed 2 seats at the bar. We started with drinks, they were tasty and strong. The bartender is a mixologist who was working on a new concoction in front of us. It was cool to see what he was making and we got a small sample. Our appetizer was bread with a cute butter. It had a lit wick like a candle! Next I had the French onion soup, It was large and cheesy, just Delicious! For the entree we split the perfectly cooked (rare) tomahawk! The presentation alone was jaw dropping. I devoured the lobsters tail, it was juicy and flavorful. With little room left in my belly, I decided to order a slice of chocolate cake. I do not regret it. Very delicious! Even had edible glitter. They have an eye for detail in every aspect, from the decor to food presentation and drinks. I love this place it's very special. Can't forget the staff! They were friendly and tentative. We enjoyed talking with all of them who served us.

The ambiance, food, and service was excellent. We were impressed with the presentation of the food and the flavors were right on. Lauren was attentive and provided a detailed breakdown of the menu. The prices were reasonable.

Treating a friend to a nice dinner as a thank you and tried Iron Works. It's new and supposed to be good. It was terrible. Ordered a couple drinks and bartender did not know how to make a Cosmo! Horrible! Then asked for a martini and it was worse. On top of that he was more interested in speaking to a couple at the bar and making his waitstaff wait for him to finish. Even if it was day 2 for him every REAL bartender knows how to make a Martini and a Cosmo (unless he poured beer at the ground round.) it's a high end restaurant, martinis are staples. It was the worse couple of drinks I ever tasted!!! Server took off the bill but the chatty bartender really ruined it making the waitstaff wait again as he told his life story to another couple! Greet the clients and do your job! Appetizers were very good Burata and a shrimp cocktail. Meals were high priced and just okay. Ribeye was extremely fatty which was disappointing. Salmon was excellent as was the meatloaf. Maybe test the bartenders before hiring as a high end restaurant you need a good bartender not a poser from The Ground Round!

Such a wonderful place. food was amazing. Best dinner we have had since moving from New York. Staff, lindsay our waitress and chef Dennis were all amazing. We will be returning. Thank you for such a great meal and experience.

Arguably one of the best steakhouses in the area. Between the table we had 3 different steaks and all were delicious and melted in your mouth, even for my friend who likes it well done lol. I do like a steak sauce with my steaks and though it didn't need any the chef made a sauce for me so delicious I started eating it from the bowl by the time I was finished. I really liked the variety of side options however I wish the creamed spinach was more spinach and less cream, but it was good. My main complaint was having to pay for the bread that, in comparison to other restaurants, should've been complimentary. Aside from those two things, my experience was rather enjoyable. I will be returning and I'm hoping to become a regular.

Lauren was outstanding as usual as a manager. Made us feel like family. Food was amazing! We had the pleasure of meeting one of the owners daughters. Down to earth and truly cared about our experience. Highly recommend them!

We asked to see the manager 5 times the food was cold one entree was sent back because itvwas the wrong pasta and upon return still hadcto ask fir sauce, the menu doesn't specify what kind of pasta it is nor does the wait staff and the manager hides when asked numerous times to speak to her patrons about the problem

Had the NY Strip. never had a NY strip 1/4 of an inch thick. 45 dollars. long horn is much better and half the price. the bride had a fillet 55 dollars. she enjoyed it. bread and butter 11 bucks. not worth it. we both has a salad to start. brought hers. by the time I got the waitress she was done seems they forgot mine. It was ok. but I don't think it's worth the price.

The restaurant is clean and nicely decorated. The service was attentive and friendly. But I found the food was nothing really special and way over priced!

My husband and I went to Iron Works a few weeks ago. I ordered a NY strip and my husband had Filet Mignon. His steak was excellent. My steak was extremely thin and really wasn't cooked rare like I ordered due to the thinness. Definitely need more staff. Appetizer took a long time. The bartender was extremely slow, I actually had to cancel my second cocktail. The waitress was attentive even though extremely busy. Don't know if I'll come back.

Great food and great unique ambiance. Tomahawk was the best I've ever had. Definitely worth the try.

Went here due to the positive reviews. The decor was really cool. I kept looking at the fireplace that was way up the wall. The bartender was attentive and I ordered the signature old fashioned. Was very good and had a steel ball to keep it cold. Cool...I ordered the NY Strip, loaded baked potato and a house salad. I asked for the salad first. Well, the salad came out first but within 2 minutes of getting my salad the steak came out to me. The steak was thin and overcooked. I like it medium and it was more medium well and hard. It was bland and had some type of greens on top of it. It was less comparable to Longhorns and way more expensive. The steak with two sides came to 50 dollars, with the 13 dollar drink and tax it was 75 dollars then a tip, it came to 95 dollars for mediocracy. The menu said it was USDA Choice but in my opinion it was USDA Select. Only worth 3 stars due to the steak. Won't be going back anytime soon.

I was so excited to eat here because the pictures I saw online and the theme was so cool. Now while the theming was very fun it made the whole restaurant very loud and hard to hear the other member of my party. While we were sat right away we were never given a drink menu even tho two separate servers said they would bring one. It took twenty minutes from the time we sat down to even get a cup of water let alone order another drink. It took another fifteen minutes for us to actually get the Pepsi and tea we ordered and our glasses sat empty for long periods throughout the meal. After finally getting to order our appetizer which was supposed to be lit on fire didn't light and was undercooked and disappointing. While other parties got their side salad before the meal itself arrived ours came at the same time as the meal. I ordered the New York which is supposed to be the signature served in a glass dome with smoke and the effect was lack luster. Both our steaks were very overcooked (we ordered medium rare and they came nearly well done). I was just so happy to have my steak after just over an hour from when I ordered that I didn't bother sending it back. The servers were very nice but overall it was a huge disappointment. I won't be coming back. I do not recommend.