Wilder

We visited this restaurant during University of Iowa parents weekend. All the other places were filled so my wife thought of this place and we were willing to give it a try since we were running out of options. We both had their "Graduate" smash burger and it was a HIT. Best smash burger in Iowa City. If there is a better one, please let me know. Burger included a good tasting sauce. Meat is a bit on the greasy side, but...I still give it 5 stars. Our server seemed a bit nervous. However, our hostess was very helpful in squeezing us in even though we had no reservations. If you are in the area and what a good burger, give this place a try. A bit pricey...but burger is big and they give you plenty of chips or fries. Chips were good too. Menu is limited so do not go here if you want 20 meal options.

I wish I could add more stars…..This place is HEAVEN-SENT. I’ve been staying at the hotel for 5 nights now, and WOW, I am absolutely blown away. This is the best place in town. All of the bartenders and servers are phenomenal and exceeded all of my expectations. If you’re sitting at the bar, ask for John, he’s the best. I’ve enjoyed our conversations a ton. He’s also a very well educated bartender. The food is great, the crunchy corn salad is the best salad I’ve had in IC so far. Would 100% recommend this place. Location, decor, and patio are to-die-for:)

Mac and Shea were great servers! The steak salad was delicious. Highly recommend.

Loved our visit to Wilder! The Brussels and Iowa Gold burger were absolutely phenomenal. Our server Shea made our experience —- we had a large group that came for trivia but turned out that there’s no trivia in the summer. In addition to great service, Shea went above and beyond and led a quick trivia game just for us during our meal. It was such a memorable moment and was so appreciated! Thank you, Shea!

We had a great night here. The wine was amazing and the terrace too. Our server, Shea, was so friendly and nice. I really recommend this place.

As we learned when we visited this place, the restaurant is named after Gene Wilder, who graduated from the University of Iowa. Nice! We tried a dish of brussel sprouts served with goat cheese and honey. It's probably the best brussel sprout dish you'll ever have. My boyfriend got the Golden Ticket Burger, which he said was excellent. That burger has won prizes as the most delicious burger. It is made from wagyu beef with spices, and the patty is stuffed with cheese. Definitely rich stuff! I, on the other hand, was looking to eat something on the lighter side, and tried their crunchy corn salad - a sort of Southwest style salad with crumbled tortilla chips on top. Shea and Maddie were very helpful and friendly, everything was great and portions were generous.

Wilders is in a great location near the University of Iowa campus. I got great service from the bartender. I ordered their signature. Iowa gold burger. It was a very good burger, but like so many other good things it was too expensive. Literally I paid $29 for a burger and fries. No drink, no dessert. I left a 10% tip for the bartender because I got my meal to go and did not eat in. It was a good burger, but it was not a $29 burger and fries. This is one of those situations where if I'd paid 15 bucks I'd leave a five-star review and be a raving customer. Instead, I'm disappointed and leaving a four-star review that should probably be a three and a half.

We wanted to eat on the ped mall before we went to Filmscene for Barbie and Wilder fit the bill. This was our first time eating there and we will definitely be going back. My husband had the Wagyu burger and every part of it was just what you want in a burger. The buttery toasted bun, the sauce (mustard aioli?), the burger itself was amazing. I ordered the Forager's favorite and the tofu was nicely seasoned and it was such a big serving that I made 3 meals of it. We split the crispy onion straws and those were good, too.

Had an amazing Gruyère stuffed Wagyu hamburger with great fries! Would highly recommend.

I've eaten a lot of burgers across Iowa, but this one at The Wilder just climbed to my Top 10 list faster than I could say "extra napkins, please." I'm ready to fight anyone who disagrees--this burger is a legend. The Wilder, you've ruined me for all other burgers, and I'm not even mad about it. I'll be back tomorrow, and I'm bringing stretchy pants and a bib. Shoutout to our waiter, Chase, who was an absolute rockstar! He brought the burger with a smile that could light up the room, checked on us just the right amount, and even laughed at my terrible food puns (sorry, Chase, I couldn't resist). He made the whole experience even better, and that's saying something because this burger was already stealing the show.

One of the best burgers I've had in a while. Will be back here anytime I'm in Iowa City! Staff was so kind and welcoming!

Fantastic funky vibe, great patio, friendly service, yummy drinks. We didn't get to try the food, but the next time we're in Iowa City we're definitely going to Wilder.

Party of 3, Saturday before Easter 4:15pm. We opted for an early dinner, in case it got crowded. I ate the Iowa Gold Burger. Hands down, the best burger I've ever eaten in my life. Jalapeño ranch for the second best fries in my life. Beautiful bar and dining room. It was pretty quiet when we arrived, only one other table. This is a hidden gem in Iowa. It was a little hard to find. We parked in the parking ramp. Walked through the front doors, to the left is Wilder, to the right is a completely different food establishment. Server was fantastic, made sure we had cold water and consistently checked on our table.

Named after the actor Gene Wilder (Willy Wonka, Young Frankenstein), who went to school at the University of Iowa, Wilder has a large outside seating area with picnic-table style seating, right on the pedestrian mall, great for people-watching and pleasant to sit outside in nice weather if you don't mind sharing your table with strangers on crowded weekend nights. The interior is bizarre, even downright ugly, with a very limited menu and mediocre (at best) food.

The Gold Burger and fries were awesome. My cocktail was great as well. Waiter was upbeat. The interior and hostess need a"refresh" but the food and drinks were awesome! Cheers to the chef, waiter, and bartender!

We were offended that my 88 year old mother was carded (asked for id) to prove she was over 21 years old when she ordered a glass of wine with her dinner. also the service was extremely slow, even though it was 6:30 pm and we said we had not eaten since breakfast. The next day, when I called to ask why my mother was asked for her ID, they claimed that it is their policy to ask every single person no matter how old for their ID. I mentioned how offended we were and they didn't seem to care. They were very insincere and said sorry you were offended in a very uncaring offhanded way, but they didn't seem to mean it. As a sidenote, there was really loud ear splitting obnoxious music playing out in the street however I wasn't going to blame them for that, that part was not their fault. It is rudely asking for ID and slow service and fake apologies that make this review a one star review. We will not be eating there again.

Horrible experience for all 3 of us. Tiny menu but the waitress still couldn't answer simple questions about it. Food was mediocre and overpriced. When I asked about putting a different cheese on a burger I was told the chef would have a fit if asked for a different cheese. No option to get your burger cooked they way you want it. "It will be cooked to temperature." Their drink menu has "CANDY IS DANDY, BUT LIQUOR IS QUICKER" on it. I can't be the only one that finds this offensive. They want to make people think they are a high end restaurant, but put this on their menu. Really? They put their non-alcoholic drinks on the same page that is labeled "Cocktails" under the sub heading "School Nights". Apparently adding "Non-alcoholic" after their fufu name was too much work for them. Lots of options in Iowa City area to get better food and better service for less money. We were there at dinner time on a Saturday night. The place was 80-90% empty. We should have taken that as a sign and not sat down.

Very cute place, food was delicious. Would have liked a slightly larger menu but overall it was a great experience. A little hard to understand where to enter.

Great food, smart and fun setting, and the service was super fun and attentive. Kudos to Shea the waitress!