Heirloom Salad Co. - Downtown

I doordashed a breakfast sandwich on a bagel and got it on a biscuit. I also ordered tomato soup and got a completely different soup. This has happened multiple times when I order delivery and 50% of the time I receive the wrong items it’s like a gamble. I’m not sure if this means they are out of the item (in which they should have the delivery driver call me) or if they simply gave me the wrong item but it is extremely frustrating.

I love their southwestern melt - it’s excellent. But the management and people are a disaster! I’m not sure how they get away with it. I guess being the only “hip coffee shop” in a small city like Iowa City positions them profitably - but they are careless with orders and lack complete accountability. They systematically keep mistakes with the orders (not caring about the additions/deletions that I make to my order), skipping whole items that I order, giving me random items instead… I kept my peace because what I got was edible and the ordeal of correcting my order or getting refund never seemed to be worth it…

Today morning however, I kept on ordering on Doordash and the drivers kept on saying that my order was not ready, was cancelled, or some weird non-sense. When I call, a confident lady tells me a different story - that no driver was there to pick up the order! This kept on happening over and over again over a 2hr period! I guess something snapped in me and I just wanted to get my sandwich!

The folks working there, seriously need training on how to operate a business. They are incompetent, unprofessional - possibly they need to go back to high school and complete their GEDs or something because I don’t understand how else people can work at this place. The management needs to go and really work somewhere to see how such businesses should truly operate.

They give Iowa City a horrible reputation for allowing such businesses to operate and possibly even be successful.

I really want to like Heirloom, I really do. It has all the makings of a cute cafe with really good food. They have big windows which let the natural light in and are connected to a coffee shop giving it homey vibes. It has a cute name and logo. They have sandwiches, salads, and soups and unique options at that. However, the food at Heirloom left me wanting more. More warmth, more satisfaction.

I ordered the Turkey and Avocado sandwich which was cold. It was good but I felt like I could have easily made a comparable sandwich at home. There just wasn't anything that wowed me about the flavor. I also had the Heirloom chili which was good (not very bean-heavy) and I found myself dipping the sandwich in the chili to give it the extra something it needed.

I also nibbled on my sister's Philly cheesesteak sandwich (needed a spicy element or the chili to dip into) and my mom's custom salad (nothing special). I rarely get sandwiches out because they are almost always disappointing and this confirmed that.

The most annoying part was that the people doing the chopped salads were making so much noise. We couldn't hear ourselves talk from across the restaurant. There has to be a quieter way for them to chop those salads.

If I come back to Iowa city, I don't think I'll be coming back to Heirloom.

Heirloom used to be a lot better but it’s definitely slipping. I ordered a chicken Caesar salad and was really disappointed to see only a couple pieces of chicken, spoiled lettuce (like actually brown), and a dressing that didn’t resemble or taste like Caesar dressing at all. I ended up having a few bites and throwing it away which sucked because the half salad was $9.

Ordered a large salad, paid for a large salad, and got a small. The greens were clearly about 2 - 2.5 inches below the brim of the bowl.

I also had to coach the gal mixing my Harvest Fruit and Nut Salad on which ingredients belonged in the bowl, as she forgot to include certain elements.

I've never written a review but I'm hoping the owner sees this. I've been eating here since they opened over 10 years ago and the quality has continuously gone down hill over the last couple years. Without fail, modifications are ignored. I'm sick of paying for avocado I don't get and for salad bowls to be 2/3 full when I'm paying $12 or more. I'm hoping the new reno will help solve some of these issues but time will tell. I work downtown and it's hard to find a large healthy salad for lunch with a variety of options, so maybe they're resting on the monopoly they have on the current lunch market downtown, idk. I would like to keep coming here and supporting local, but the last dozen times I've gone, something always goes wrong. I would recommend not using the online ordering as the employees usually ignore any mods you make.

Quality of restaurant has been consistently going down. I used to eat here all the time but the last 2 or 3 experiences eating here has been bad. The last order I ordered over Chomp was a Protein Greens salad. The salad was completely inedible. I'd say a 1/4th of the greens were wilted. I ordered it with olive oil and lemon juice and the lemon juice wasn't on the salad. The chicken tasted and smelled like it had been microwaved in a plastic bag. The greens themselves had a dirty quality to them like they hadn't been washed.

I used to cook for years so I know how things can get. But there are signs of laziness and lack of care all over this salad.

I recommend eating somewhere else for the time being. I don't know what has happened but this it's almost like this place is a completely different business.

May have been the best salad that I ever had. The carrot and cilantro soup was bright and flavorful. Line was long and they only had one cashier. Bit of a wait but once they start on your order it is quick. But I was there at peak lunchtime hours. Seems to be an independent , superior version of Panera. I plan on going back for dinnertime.

To start off, the employees were GREAT. It's a very poorly run establishment. I pre-ordered on the website early in the morning for an afternoon pick up. I double-checked to make sure I put the correct time, especially since I requested a later time and the website says they don't open until 10. When I arrived, my order was nowhere to be found. The employees apologized saying that it was made at 7:30 a.m. They made my order quickly, were perfectly pleasant, and I was out the door. The food was good but overpriced. Other things I noticed were that some employees' hair wasn't properly secured, their personal drinks were on the prep counters, as well as their phones. I don't blame the employees for the missteps. They legitimately probably didn't know what they were doing was wrong. If I could go back and give 100% of my money straight to the employees, I would. They deserve it more than the company does.
--And to update, the owner of the company sought me out by email, attacking me and blaming the poor experience on me. Complete with my receipt, full name, and phone number.

Slow service but friendly service. The food was OK at best. It was a little dirty but not horrible.