A client of mine lives here and knows I am a foodie. He had been pounding on me to come here. So after a Wabash Trace bike ride I cleaned up and stopped in.
Wednesday is Mexican night... and I love concept nights like that. You gotta roll with it so I had chicken enchiladas. The only criticism I would have is that they could have been warmed a little more. But that is where the criticism ends.
The rice was so tasty I almost ate it all... there was a lot. The corn was a nice touch, and you mix it with rice for some snap. The black refried beans were about as homemade as I could imagine. The marinate tomatoes as garnish were snappy with vinegar and out of sight delicious. The enchiladas had a wonderful rich and creamy cheese sauce on them. You could bathe in it. Really.
I also had fried pickles, which were okay. But the enchiladas plate was the star.
Decent beers on tap and excellent service round out a nice meal in Malvern... God's country... Iowa USA. Â : )
When I visit my parents in Iowa I'm always searching for new cafes or restaurants to try.
One rainy day in December my husband and I decided to take my mom for a bit of a drive to Malvern, IA to try a place we found on Facebook called Classic Cafe. I had ridden my bike through Malvern a couple of months earlier, since I was on the Trace, and remembered that Malvern's downtown was really cute and there were a couple of cool restaurants I hadn't tried.
So we made the 30-mile trip in the fog and we were not disappointed!
First of all, the atmosphere is is so rustic-cozy-cool. We were there right after Christmas, so there was a Christmas tree in the window, and the little seating area up front was adorable and the booths inside this spacious restaurant were so cozy.
And right off the bat the owner was warm and welcoming. She even told us we were a nice-smelling party/group!
My mother and I ordered a Chicken Fried Steak to split for lunch, which I would normally never order. But it was absolutely delicious. PLUS, the owner/cook split it and served it on two plates free of charge. The portions were extremely generous. Oh, and the mashed potatoes were out of this world delicious, and you can trust me on this because I am a huge fan of mashed potatoes.
The prices are extremely reasonable considering the portions are generous. The service is great, and I love that it's a family-owned and operated joint in small town Iowa. I will always bring my money to these places instead of large chain restaurants where a smaller portion of the money goes back to the town/state.
I plan on returning to Classic Cafe when we're in town next! I wish this business the best of luck!
My wife and I are always on the hunt for delicious, inexpensive home made food in the Omaha/Council Bluffs area when we visit. We don't care if we have to drive 30 miles to and from any and all small towns ... as long as we find a place that's good, affordable, and has excellent service.
And that's just what we got at Classic Cafe.
The restaurant is almost two in one. One half's a good-sized sports bar complete with HD TVs and video games. The other is a cozy little cafe with full-service coffee, tea and specialty drinks as well as the full restaurant menu.
I visited the restaurant with my wife and mother-in-law and we were the only guests there. It was sort of an off-time, as we decided to have lunch/dinner around 2 p.m. And we were starving.
The service was IMMEDIATELY friendly and attentive. I know, we were the only ones there -- what else could they do?
But other patrons did start filing in as it got to be later in the day. We ended up ordering some breaded mushrooms as an appetizer, and I got a Bacon Cheeseburger. The ladies ordered up a Chicken Fried Steak for the two of them to split.
And a big part of the 5 star rating comes in here. When the food came out, the waitress (and also the owner, I think) took the extra step of splitting their salads for them as well as their entree. They cut the steak in two, split the mashed potatoes and each of them got a helping of corn, too. I'm pretty sure they both were given full servings of mashed potatoes and corn and a little bit more salad than if they had each gotten their own.
And that's what you get when you got to a friendly, small-town restaurant.
My burger was cooked to well-done. A little more done than I prefer, but it was seasoned well and went nicely with the bacon, lettuce and tomato. I chose waffle fries with my burger and they were fresh, crisp and delicious. No extra seasoning or special sauces to dip in that some place do to gussy up fries -- these were just fresh and, well, waffled. Very good.
After we ate, we felt welcome to sit and talk for as long as we wanted. Our waitress handed off the occasional refill duties to another waitress who was equally friendly and attentive.
Hopefully the Classic Cafe, with some word of mouth, some good reviews on Yelp, and the continuation of its good food and service, will bring more guests in from other small towns as well as that big city nearby.
Worth the drive. Again and again.
Had a GREAT dinner here last night. The place looks great and the food was wonderful. We both had the special - applewood smoked prime rib with a baked potato, veggies and a roll. Wow - I have had smoked prime rib before but this was definitely a cut above. You could really taste the smoke and the sauce/gravy on the top was perfect. And to top it all off - ice cold beer for a buck!
I would suggest everyone make the short drive to Malvern and give this place a shot!
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