John Wilson
Was referred to SpoCo by some locals and Iowa alums and it didn’t disappoint. Bartenders were excellent and conversational on an early Friday evening. It was a great space to get some drinks before a dinner reservation.
… moreAscended Electronics
We love SPOCO, great place to work while grabbing drinks and food.
… moreKyle Freres
Before I start this review, I want to state that I have been in the service industry for over 5 years.
Now for the positives, the venue has a rather large space (compared to the competing bars). They also have rather affordable beverages.
Moving to negatives (which is why they are rated 1 star). The service was absolutely atrocious. I went to the bar and informed the bartender that I had 6 drinks to order. He said that’s an overload and would need two trips to complete the order. So I gave him my order and he brings me three drinks and a tab at $27 which was the total for the 6 drink order. I proceed to wait roughly 30 minutes while he looks me dead in the eyes and does nothing about the remaining 3 drinks he did not provide. Then he tried to take the ticket for the full order before I was given the drinks (I did not sign it and grabbed it out of his hands). Also, while I was waiting for the proper service I was looking for there was another employee (apparently a manager from the information I was provided by another employee) who further exemplifies why the establishment deserves a low rating. There was a polite and nice young lady next to me who ordered a round for her group and asked for salt to pair with her order. The employee, Male, at the main bar, who wore a black hat backwards, long black hair, and was roughly 27 years old proceeded to grab the salt shaker and slammed it in the young girls face and had a negative posture and attitude towards all the guests. I also noticed him spit in a drink for another guest which really left a foul taste in my mouth.
Overall, I would say this bar could do so much better with the facility they have. The employees were awful and besides the door men and shot girls this place we a true mess.
… moreFredy Portillo
The door staff is terrible. They need to get trained and learn how to do their job better. The other night I was planing to go In to have a good night with some friends and I literally got denied with my real ID. I am very upset because most people that go there are Freshmen with actual fakes and they never get denied. I was also not mad because I did not get in, I was upset because the door staff don’t know what a real ID looks like. I’m basically 24 years old and the bouncer “JT Cooley” refused to let me in even after showing him a second proof of identification. He was rude and unprofessional. I wish the manager was there so they could see how terrible their staff is. I want to give zero starts but that was not an option. Never going back there, specially if people like him work there. Terrible experience, I would not recommend this bar to anyone.
… moreJosh E.
Why read about the Hawkeyes when you can watch them here?!
… moreParas Gaur
I have just moved to Iowa city I went to this place, it was around 1:30 AM and I asked for two tequila shots, I was planning to invite either bartender or someone at the bar but I received just tequila shots when I asked the Bartender about Lemon and Salt, he said he don’t have after that I asked can I have vodka instead of it and he quickly asked the security and told them to throw me out of the place. He would have asked me to pay for tequila or would have asked me to leave on my own or would have simply talked about it if there was any other problem. This was so rude, I am not sure this is how they behave in Iowa city with all guests. I have traveled to over 20 countries but never observed such a behavior. The bartender need to learn how to behave with the guests.
… moreJessica Ellerby
Danny was an amazing bartender!! Made a personal connection for my friend’s 21st birthday and served everyone in the group with great hospitality! Will definitely be returning for future events because of our service!
… moreScott Starkweather
Food was good! Never sat so long in my life waiting for our food. We sat in there for two hours. They knew Ragbrai was coming and it wasn’t even packed. First time in years I have been disappointed with a food establishment. Food was also cold and one member received his meal 20 minutes after the first one received his.
… moreDoug Samuel
A real dump. There only claim to fame is very cheap pitchers of low quality beer. It’s dirty, smells, and is in disrepair. The lower walls are falling away from the bathroom allowing you to see into the basement. Server was friendly, but I’d go anywhere else than here.
… moreC. Burke
I’d stray far away onto the other various bars around Iowa City. The bartenders are rude and hold a demeanor that deters the average bar-go-er away from said-establishment. If you want drink specials head elsewhere, otherwise you will (most likely) have to deal with the behaviors of ‘college students’ who don’t care. Ideally you might end up here based on the recommendation of a friend who was a former Hawkeye. Besides that, head to a different bar, as there are plenty others that take better care of their customers. The middle-eastern bartender is incredibly hostile to guests, as I’ve seen/witnessed.
… more