Steamboat Gardens: Waterloo's Home of the Giant Pork Tenderloin

Very good food. Their special of the day was a great deal. I haven’t been here for many years and need to remember to stop here more often when I’m in the area.

I'm giving Steamboat Gardens 5 stars hands down. We tried The Barge and a Sloppy Joel. The Barge was huge, had great flavor and was fried to perfection. The Sloppy Joel was absolutely delicious, just the right amount of sweetness. We will definitely be back to try some of their great weekly specials.

Such a cool little diner / dive bar vibe!

Never had a bad experience ive been coming here since the 80s-90s family knows the owners and food comes faster than a McDonald’s

Great tenderloin and wonderful wait staff. A little loud when lunch crowd is in.

The food was amazing. So was the service. Staff is super nice. So happy that I had lunch with my bestie there. Definitely will stop in again when I'm nearby.

Been a little over 10 years since the last visit here. Our server, Kim was kind and had an upbeat, happy, and comedic attitude. She knows how to treat people and make them feel welcomed. They also had great food. My tenderloin sandwich was huge...took me a whole to eat it. Will be coming back in the future for sure.

We have visited this place a few times now as a family, but my husband has been coming here for years. They know him by name and are the friendliest people ever. It is small enough that our autistic toddler doesn't get overwhelmed with a crowd, but large enough to not feel confined. The food is great and the service is the best I've had in a long time. They actually care about their customers and your dining experience. They accommodated my toddler, who is the strangest of all, he doesn't care for fries, so they allowed him to substitute a bag of chips for his side with his kids meal. Great place to eat and have specials throughout the week, so make sure to ask what it is for the day you stop in.

Enjoyed the food. Great atmosphere. Been here a few times and always had a good experience.

Great popcorn shrimp and pork tenderloins. An overall fun experience as it hasn’t changed much since 1956.

It’s crane game may be the easiest in the state.

We read reviews on the highway and stopped in. Absolutely fantastic experience! Going from UT to WI we experienced "Iowa Ice" on hwy. 20 - wicked! To come into Steamboat Gardens and have a really nice, quality, comfort food dinner was perfect. Mark was our bartender/server and was great! Sympathetic to a couple weary travelers, he was funny, informative about the restaurant and area and "darn" good at what he does! I would highly recommend Steamboat Gardens to anyone in the area or just passing through.

Great neighborhood restaurant with a bar. One of the best pork tenderloin sandwiches I've ever had. I recommend this place.

Hasn't changed a bit still great service and great food!!

​I WANTED to be impressed by a $2 sandwich, and my mind was blown.

​Visiting on a Tuesday evening at 6:30 p.m. for their famed "Tugboat Tuesdays"—where you can grab a "tugboat," which is about a half portion of a pork tenderloin sandwich—delivers just about the right amount of food to eat.

​The place was super busy when we arrived with the parking lot almost full, though we managed to find empty space inside. It had an interesting rhythm; it felt like a crowd came out early specifically for the special and cleared out quickly by the time we finished. The atmosphere carries the heavy charm of a legacy restaurant. It’s the kind of spot you visit because your parents went there, and maybe their parents did too. It evokes a deep sense of nostalgia for those small-town establishments where the owners and staff are clearly giving it their very best, making it impossible not to want to support them when passing through town.

​To top it all off, the staff was absolutely fantastic.

​Rating & Metrics

​Overall Score: 8.2/10

​Database Rank: Ranked #26 out of 63 overall as of 9/22/26.

​Recommendation: Will definitely go back and will actively suggest this to friends.

​Food: 5/5 | Service: 5/5 | Atmosphere: 5/5

We go for the tenderloins on Tuesdays. The food is hot and tasty! Today we are going to try the potatoes with the cheese. The waitress on our last visit was friendly and welcoming.