The Encounter Cafe

This place has expanded and now boasts a bakery. Stopped here for a quick bite. Ordered a breakfast sandwich. First time that I had a breakfast sandwich. The egg, sausage patty, and cheese on a croissant. The place was quite busy so I went to the bakery and ordered a cinnamon roll while I waited for my sandwich. Cinnamon roll was very good. My sandwich came and it reminded me of the type I have gotten at Casey's. Just a convenience store quality sandwich. Nothing special. For the price I was expecting better. Very thin piece of sausage. Probably the frozen kind. Hardly tasted it.
Overall I like this place. The food generally is very good. This sandwich needs work. It gets very busy. Plan on not getting your food very quickly.
Clean restrooms.
Friendly and helpful staff.

Encounter Café is literally the love of my life. I am about to graduate from U of I, so I figured now is the time to write this review finally. There is nothing here I would not give five stars. The food: outstanding. Literally everything on the menu.
The atmosphere: warm, welcoming, and joyous
The prices: very reasonable
The people: honestly the best part. The owners and employees are some of the best people I have ever known and that really really makes the experience.
Encounter has held so many memories for me over the years from studying for hours, meeting with friends, bringing in family from out of town, or just having an amazing meal.
The only 'downside' may be that they are very popular, so wait times can be around 30 minutes for food, but that has never been a problem when I bring work to do or good company to pass the time. If you don't stop in here at least once in your life, you are missing out.
To finish: order the half stack of pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream. This meal got me through 4 years of college and I would take their batter recipe with me when I leave if I could!

Very friendly, spacious, clean and fresh. The food was presented in an exquisite manner & tasted delightful! I visited with my teenagers (boy & girl) who thought the place “looked fancy.” The orange juice is freshly squeezed and made my taste buds dance. This is a must visit establishment! Priced just right - in fact they should be charging more. We will be back again!

The Encounter Cafe was the perfect spot for brunch. It had a nice selection of menu items and drinks! The atmosphere was in between restaurant and coffee shop. All the staff was observant and kind.

Phenomenal!!! Wonderful service. Clean restaurant. Cafe Mocha was the best one I’ve ever had! It was so creamy and the flavor was perfect. Food was also just right. Will be going again soon!!!

Lovely place. Quaint and delicious!! Really enjoyed the skillet breakfast and later returned for their home made pretzels. Yum!!

Best breakfast, lunch, brunch, Cafe, all of it in the area. Lovely atmosphere, feels comfy and at home. Staff is the best and nicest. And food, top top-notch. I'm still dreaming about the Baked Oatmeal.

One of the best coffee based drinks in Iowa city! Absolutely yummy and creamy! Great muffins as well! Location and vibe of the place is top end as well. Don’t bother with Starbucks when you’re by downtown!

I had the Chicken, bacon, avocado panini which was delicious. Took 30 minutes to get to my table. Then I had a cinnamon roll and it was so good.

Great place with great food and staff. I had the best vanilla cappuccino here. Will definitely come back.