The Iron Whisk Bistro & Bar

I don't miss much about my time in SoIL but gosh I miss this brunch spot. Well worth the wait for a table, just hang out at the thrift store next door. Dutch babies are to die for. The bloody Mary's here have converted so many people, they smoke their own paprika which gives it an awesome flavor. I took so many out of town visitors here because it is actually a unique and quality place, which is quite lacking in the area generally.

its hard to find words to really explain how good this place is... i had the biscuits and gravy and homestyle dutch baby this time, but the first time i had the biscuits and gravy and angus burger with an egg. It was even better the second time than the first. It's the best breakfast spot in the entire state, and even when they're packed the wait is like 30 mins only. The food has the best flavor and texture. Everything is fresh. The atmosphere is warm and cozy, and the staff are very friendly and welcoming too. If I could rate this place 6 stars, I would... I'd rate it 500 stars. It's definitely on the more expensive side, but it's 100% worth the treat every now and then.

It is that good! Been here twice and both times were great! The service was good with attentive and friendly waitstaff. The atmosphere is fun! It’s a cozy spot with a LOT of energy from the customers and staff. It’s chic, quaint, and a bit eclectic without overplaying its hand. The food! It was really tasty and reasonably priced. Lots of flavor. A challenge is the wait. They’re that good that they attract a crowd. They do have drinks outside featuring beer, alcoholic drinks, and coffee. The patio only takes cash. So I had to skip a drink. 🙃If you plan your trip, you can check in and then hit the antique store next door or the Wine Trail Mercantile store nearby. Or stroll through both sides of the downtown. Well worth the trip and a wait.

It’s Fall tradition for us to travel to Cobden, take photos, and have brunch at The Iron Whisk. It’s quite the drive, but worth it. Mostly. Our server this morning was incredibly rude. I wondered if maybe she was just having a bad day, but after observing her at neighboring tables, I realized it was just us that she was bothered by. I’m not sure if it was because I mispronounced a menu item or that we had to actually look at our menus before ordering. We typically view menus online so that we don’t hold up the servers, but the website is just awful. It doesn’t load properly. I honestly didn’t think it would be such a big deal to just wait and look at a physical menu. But it definitely ruffled some feathers. Find a menu online and study it. Then head over to Google and enter menu names so that you pronounce them properly. Otherwise, a server might hit you with the biggest eye roll. The food was absolutely amazing as always. The Sinnerman Dutch Baby is a must-try for sure. Honestly, anything on the menu is a winner. The quality of the food is the only reason I didn’t get up and walk out. Well, that and the 1 1/2-hour drive there. If you’re a foodie with thick skin, you’ll love this place. If you’re a foodie that’s huge on customer service, you might not dig the whole mean girl vibe. I wish I could shave off more points, but the food really is that good. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Lovely little restaurant. With 2 people it was a 30-minute wait due to how few tables there were and how popular out is. There's an outdoor bar with coverage so there's plenty of seating while waiting if it's a nice day. Not much seating inside to wait. There's a little antique store next door to pass the time while waiting or stopping by after. It was worth the wait as the food was delicious. Ordered a mint lemonade and whisky mint lemonade for drinks. Tasted truly fresh! For food, we ordered the blueberry lemon Dutch baby, homestyle Dutch baby with scrambled eggs, and a side of bacon. The bacon was a bit pricey but was good, thick bacon. All the food was scrumptious. Overall, recommend if you're in town and need something for breakfast, brunch, or lunch.

Wonderful place with great food! Definitely recommend if you're in the area! I ordered a lemon lavender mimosa and a blueberry lemon Dutch baby. It looked so good that I just dug in before remembering to take a picture. My husband ordered a loaded bowl and substituted the toast for biscuits and it looked amazing, he loved it. We were stuffed when we left and hope to make it back again one day

Amazing!! If you haven’t eaten here yet, you really need to make the effort- it’s more than worth the drive! Our server was incredibly helpful and magically efficient. Food was beyond delicious! Get the Dutch Baby. You need this in your life!

We love trying new places to eat, and we had heard nothing but good things about this restaurant. We decided to make a day of adventure and started our outing here. I ordered the Cobden Cubana, and it was amazing! My husband ordered a cheeseburger and said his sandwich was very good too. We also tried the Bloody Marys—his was loaded, and mine was the regular. They were good, but the tomato flavor overshadowed the seasonings. We felt the drinks were a bit pricey, especially the loaded one, which cost $17. For that price, we expected more than just a piece of summer sausage, two pieces of cheese, a pickled okra, and an olive. The atmosphere was great; we sat at the bar and had a bird's-eye view of the employees. They worked extremely well together, demonstrating great teamwork. We will definitely be back and plan to try the Mimosas next time!

I think your Plain Jane Dutch Baby pancakes. are the best and earn an A+. Love, Ashleigh Taylor

Best food ever! There is nothing I've had from the Iron Whisk that wasn't absolutely delicious! Luckily we live close, so we order to go all the time. It is also a cool little place to dine in.

This was a Yelp suggestion. It was a good one! Breakfast all day. They specialize in Dutch babies and man are they good! We had a classic and a lemon blueberry. We also shared the notorious biscuits and gravy. So amazing! We also tried the Benny Bowl. Also amazing! You want to add the avocado and grilled tomatoes. Our service was great. There are two that serve the dining room and they made a great team! The place is small but nice. Great brunch spot! We will be back.

This place is one of our family's faves. The food is outstanding and so is the service. You will have to wait to be seated so plan on 30mins or more. The acoustics is loud so not good for dates but for friends or family and don't mind the loud conversations it is a must visit. We had a large crowd today but coffee and drink refills were plenty! My family ordered a wild whisky melt, and two Benny bowls- one with hollandaise sauce and one without but both with added avocado and grilled tomatoes. My mother in law had a homestyle Dutch baby with a skillet of biscuits and gravy. All delicious and plenty of food. Enjoy this treasure in Cobden!

This place is Amazing!! From the people who work there to the quality of the food to the atmosphere. Everything runs very efficiently!! Try the Bloody Mary with the skewer of meat cheese and okra!! To die for... The lemon curd blueberry Dutch Baby Outstanding!! We also had the Benny Bowl which comes on smashed potatoes (you can also get the Benny on a Dutch baby) Unbelievable! Our Favorite Breakfast hands down anywhere! We even came back the following weekend... as we will many times to come

Needed to find breakfast while traveling and this cute little place was just a tad out of the way, but so worth it! Great coffee. Great service. Adorable little venue and oh-so-good food. I had a yummy breakfast sandwich with eggs and tomato and avocado and red onion on a Cuban roll. My husband had one of the bowls. Highly recommend!

Self Service Small quant atmosphere Food was really good. I felt it was a slightly over priced but there is nothing else around so it has value for price

Service excellent and very accommodating. Food was delicious and exceeded expectations. Highly recommended!!

The food is farm to table, always fresh food and fruits are incorporated into breakfast and lunch meals as well as some tasty libations. The service is sometimes hectic due to the small size of the restaurant and the amount of customers trying to get in. Reservations are only for large parties so DO NOT try and go on a Saturday unless you're planning on being there when the doors open because its a nightmare. We have waited 45 minutes and still had a 30 minute wait so we went ahead to eat in Carbondale. The place is tiny and looks like they fixed up an old gas station. Water served ice cold and a carafe left. I love the food and I wish they were open more than the times they are

The food was good. Unfortunately the music was very loud, and the very small dining area was packed so the noise level was too much. The young man at the door told us we (a couple) had a 10-15 minute wait. After 45 minutes, he was still telling couples they only had a 10-15 minute wait. We were finally seated after 45 minutes, and waited another 40 for food. Definitely avoid during peak times

Small, quait, but surprisingly wonderful! I've been there twice and I will go back again. Service was spot on and the server was very pleasant. Reasonably priced and the food was delicious. Not many tables is the only bad thing but when weather permits I believe there is outdoor seating.

We were here for a long weekend in a cabin nearby and stopped in for brunch. Had the power bowl with ham and the Cuban sandwich and lemon blueberry dutch baby. The food was good, the Dutch baby was flavorful but the dough was an odd texture of rubbery for us both. I'm not sure it was worth $14 maybe $8? They are really accommodating to a large bachelorette party and we're surprisingly fast at getting food out. My favorite were the roasted potatoes, they were really well done. Overall: 8/10 Cute location and plants inside the place, offerings, and good drink menu, I'd come again next time we rent a cabin. Thanks for the hospitality So ILL!

Delicious!!! We drove over an hour and waited an hour to eat here and we will definitely be going back!!! It's a must try!!

Absolute vibes. The food was definitely a 10 out of 10, I have a favorite place in my hometown and I would say it's comparable. Very friendly staff small place so definitely try to get there before nine or you might have a 30 minute plus reservation overall great experience, great service, great food, serve good drinks too.

This was a unique breakfast Dutch Baby Pancake Classic was just enough. Two eggs cooked to perfection, crispy bacon and the thin pancake were stellar. Great service and cool atmosphere.

A cute little breakfast place packed with small town charm. The service was top notch, staying in a town about 4 miles away there was no place to eat, the Iron Whisk knocked it out of the park, fantastic biscuits and gravy thick and creamy with chunks of sausage, the Dutch babies were delightful. This place rocks!

Food was great and so was service. Could use a few more vegan options but glad they had a few. They did offer Morningstar bacon as a vegan option and it is not vegan. But they tried which is better than most places. Avocados were fresh and delicious!

Located in a small town in southern Illinois, The Iron Whisk is the perfect way to start a day of hiking or wine tasting in the area. They have a variety of unique breakfast dishes, such as Dutch Babies (a fluffy pancake-type thing served in cast iron skillet), a salmon bagel loaded with toppings and a variety of breakfast bowls. Their mocha was such a treat! It's a small place and very popular, so get there early if you can and enjoy!

This is a nice quiet little restaurant to stop in and have breakfast or lunch. The space is small but the facility is definitely unique. The employees are very helpful and very nice. The food is really good and you can tell it is all made with love. I would definitely recommend having breakfast or lunch here but keep in mind space is minimal for large parties. I personally would recommend trying this place at least once and would not hesitate to eat here again in the future.

We got there at 845, not too busy at all. Service was fast and friendly. Food was hot and delicious. I loved the smashed potatoes!!! By the time we were done eating, it had become very busy and there were people waiting to be seated.

Worth making a specific trip. The dutch baby was *very* good-- delicious flavor and texture and such a huge serving! The hot tea was really good too-- they have a nice variety of specialty tea. The inside was really well-designed... modern and rustic at the same time. And the staff was warm, welcoming and a lot of fun!

I can't say enough about this place! What a great stop for breakfast and lunch. Love the quality and price of the food! Portions are great and the drinks are amazing! It's a small space so be patient!! You will have to wait. But don't worry they will call your phone when your table is ready. The food is worth the wait. It is very busy in the morning and tends to taper off around 12:30pm.

What a wonderful location for a Sunday brunch. Excellent service...super friendly! The 'Dutch baby' was delicious and the experience will bring us back again!

Be ready to wait...but it is worth it. When I go out, I want something I don't typically make at home. This menu is full of those options. And the Bloody Mary is fantastic.

I ordered takeout for breakfast as we were staying at an AIRBNB in Makanda. I had seen great reviews for this restaurant and they were spot on. I ordered a Benny bowl and my husband ordered the Notorious B&G. Both meals were excellent. I couldn't finish my Benny bowl, so I had the rest the next day for breakfast. It was just as delicious the next day. The service was very good from taking my order over the phone to picking it up. I would definitely order from here again so I can try some other items on the menu.

Always a great place to eat and start the wine trail!! Service is spot on and food is awesome

3rd or 4th time here and it has been delicious every time! I've had the Dutch baby once and it was good, but The Trainwreck has swooned me over-- if you like savory-sweet combos this one is for you. They have lots of drink options as well. My roommate got a hot mocha with Ghirardelli chocolate (not pictured) and said it was delicious. Great service, just be warned it is usually very busy on the weekends so you'll probably end up waiting a bit especially with larger groups. Such a gem in Southern Illinois.

Egg sandwich very good due to excellent bun. Potatoes weird but ok. Would have preferred hash browns or cottage fries. Cold from door opening. Price double to our regular Sunday outing.

Have been here multiple times and could not be happier. Have enjoyed everything from the Bloody Mary's to the biscuits and gravy. This past Thursday I had the best plate of biscuits and gravy. Honestly can't believe how good it was which lead me to make this review. Will absolutely continue to frequent the iron whisk.

Small town feel with big city taste the menu is basic items but turned up 100% nothing but quality service was good

I absolutely love this place you have to try the Dutch baby the Sinnerman is phenomenal!! Actually, everything we've tried so far has been great! Highly recommend!

If you come in on Sunday or during rush hour, be prepared to wait at least an hour. It is well worth the wait. I haven't ordered anything I didn't love. The Holly Golighty sandwich has become my go-to. Vegetarian friendly. Service is excellent. The parking lot is tiny, but there is public parking across the street.

After hiking the Little Grand Canyon Trail we continued on the winding path through the forest and came across this cute little restaurant. Because of Covid, there is a bunch of shaded outdoor seating. The menu is a bit limited...I really wanted to try a Dutch baby and they only had mini ones on the menu so that is what I ordered. Granted it was a mini so it did not quite fill me up as a full meal but it still tasted delicious. Bathrooms were very clean and well decorated. Service was good and very friendly. Beware - cash only!

Home sweet home. Oh southern Illinois has come A LONG WAY BUDDY. I remember when this cute place opened. Very open minded, and young hipster place for being in Cobden. It's nothing like Fuzzys. I remember when this place opened and I was SOOOO EXCITED. It was so good and was the best place around that had cool new options that most places don't offer. Made me feel young and "in the know". The inside is small, but they do well with what they have. Very minimalist like. Service used to be much better, during my most recent visit my waitress was decent (brunette). My partner and I ordered the loaded bowl. I added avocado to mine and with sausage. My partner decided to go with the loaded bowl with bacon. Upon arrival this supposed "LOADED" bowl had one piece of bacon and one piece of sausage. For the price, and the amount of food they give you, it has drastically changed. I would say it with Covid I understand raising menu prices and expenses in products going up, but some things are just unacceptable. I will probably only return to have a Dutch baby, those are hard to come by LOL The table next to us ordered cheeseburgers, I couldn't help but notice and gave their plates a good lil ol looksi - and the meat was a healthy portion there. So if I did come again, and was not in the mood for something sweet, I might try a sandwich. GREAT FOR VEGAN AND VEGETARIANS. I would say they should give their customers 2 PIECES of meat or lower the price.

This is a great place to eat. The food was wonderful. Our group had the Cuban o, whiskey melt, Benny bowl and the lemon blueberry. All great. Service is exceptional

This is a really good restaurant. In a little converted gas station, they really care about the quality of the food. Try their cocktails, the bloody mary looks fantastic across the room, and even better on your table! :) I haven't had anything that isn't good, just a matter of what you are in the mood for. Dutch Baby in sweet or savory form, American breakfast, and burger are really good, but they really shine in their specials and weird stuff. Some hash variety or other special (check the chalkboard) have been fantastic. If you aren't there early, you are going to wait in line, but there is an antique mall next door, chat with the other people in line or just walk around town, while you wait. As another reviewer said, they just get it. Every restaurant should be like this.

We arrived for our very first visit and we had a short wait to be seated. This is understandable due to the small seating area and the time of day, Sunday for breakfast. After sitting down the vibe was upbeat and the service staff was friendly. The place was packed, but clean and the décor is modern and neat. Ordered one of the bowls of potatoes, biscuit, eggs, bacon, and gravy with a bloody Mary on the side. The drink was great, the food was awesome, and the service... top notch. Our whole table was pleased with their meals and we will absolutely return.

Such a great meal and awesome menu! The menu is full of delicious and unique combinations. I couldn't decide between the bagel and lox, or the lox of love salad. I went with the salad and was not disappointed. Good amount of mixed greens and lox, cucumber, tomato, dill (which added such a great taste), and capers. I left the red onions off, and opted for the balsamic vinaigrette (which had a nice sweetness to it) on the side. Hubs had the Cubano with a side of chips. The chips were so crunchy and thick--just like I like them! We also each had a loaded Bloody Mary with cucumber vodka and they were fantastic! We went at lunch time on a Friday and waited about 25 minutes; it was totally worth it! I'll be back to try one of their many dishes with Hollandaise. Gave it a 4 stars because hubs asked for the mustard on the side of his sandwich. They did give him mustard on the side, but there was also still mustard ON the sandwich. And the side mustard was simple yellow mustard, but the mustard on the sandwich was their "6-pepper mustard." So different mustards even. They were so busy and by the time we got our food we needed to eat quickly, so he just ate it. This is a slight concern because they may do this to a customer who really does have a good allergy or sensitivity.

Cool place for our Sunday brunch. Had no idea where we were and found this pace. Nice trendy atmosphere and unique menue.

Wonderful food! Small place so sometimes a wait but it's worth it for the food! Drinks look delicious but I haven't experience one of those yet.

This place is a local treasure. They serve real food, rather than processed, which is rare these days. Tremendous effort was put into the quality of the menu. Service is excellent, and everything is spotlessly clean.

The Iron Whisk was pretty amazing! They made a special vegetarian plate for me that was quite impressive. It's awesome to have another great breakfast place in Sothern Illinois. I'm definitely adding this restaurant to my short list.

We came in for brunch and we're not disappointed. I ordered the baby Benny and my boyfriend ordered the classic bowl. Both were amazing and filling. my boyfriend got 2 bloody Mary's and he loved them. We would definitely return, it was a great experience. Staff was friendly, especially the bartender, she was awesome!

I loved this restaurant!! The train wreck breakfast sandwich was amazing and I loved the service and the restaurant was clean and hospitable! I will definitely be back.

I give this business two stars because I'm all about local businesses trying. Gotta say the food was pretty mediocre but at least it was expensive. The host was thoroughly behind the power curve when it came to seating. People standing outside and in, but at least there were six tables empty for :10 minutes. The waitress was horribly inattentive and task saturated. I really wanted to like this place but just can't do it again. $50+ lesson breakfast for two.

We love the Iron Whisk! We drive from Paducah about every other Sunday for brunch. Dutch Babies are phenomenal, the Notorious B&G is the best biscuits and gravy I've ever had, and they have a wonderful selection of cocktails and mimosas! Great environment and the servers are very nice! I've recommended this place to way too many people.

Their food and the ambience background is very calming. I love it there. Their service is great for the majority of the ppl but for me, as a person of a disability. They had to huddle together to decide who to send to my table because my friends and I were communicating sign language. Being treated like that is completely ignorant and rude. Then again that's everywhere. Background and food are simply the best.

The food was great. I had the loaded bowl and it was fantastic and super filling. A lot of food for the cost. The menu was a good size also. They had sandwiches and breakfast foods, and quite a few different kinds of drinks. I would definitely come back to eat here.

The best biscuits and gravy in the Southern Illinois region. I love the food here. It's always fresh and delicious. The Dutch baby's are a treat, especially with the homemade lemon curd. I always like to pick up a cornflake cookie as well when they have them. The service is great; most of the servers know me by name because I am lucky enough to be able to walk over to pick up breakfast. It is a really cute, small restaurant. On the weekends, there is likely a wait. I often suggest to folks to go Thursday or Friday mornings to get to eat without the crowds. Love supporting Cobden eateries.