Relish

Based on user review we decided to eat here when passing through town, and we were really glad we gave it a try!
Our meal started with an appetizer special or beef satay, served over mixed greens. It was nicely prepared, and reasonably priced for an appetizer.
For the main dish, we got sesame crusted chicken (a regular menu item) with baked potato and a special, cauliflower «steak». The chicken was good, and would order it again. The cauliflower «steak», which was a slice of cauliflower, breaded and fried was absolutely amazing! It was served with mac and cheese.
All their deserts are homemade. We indulged on a flourless chocolate cake that was a great way to top off the meal.
This is a «local» restaurant and it is great to see the owners take such pride in making sure our meal was perfect. A brief friendly hello from her and the chef made this dinning experience one to remember.
Oh and for anyone not sure if taking your non adventurous food friend here, you can find steaks and burgers too!
Expect to pay about 20 – 30 per person not including drinks.

Relish isn’t a bad place to go if you want to impress without killing your wallet! Most of the meals are entirely reasonable. I got a special; the Ribeye with beets, mushrooms, and a decorative slice of watermelon, for $ 22, which from what I could see was among the most expensive items on the menu! Everything else was in the $ 10 – 15 range, which isn’t too bad considering the classy nature of the place.
However, it does somewhat have the feel of being a home-​turned restaurant, so you will be in a converted space in close proximity to other diners. Possibly near cold windows (in the winter time)
My Ribeye was one of the better steaks I’ve ever had, but the other items were almost satisfactory. The artichoke and chip appetizer was unfortunately a little watery and bland, possibly due to way too much sour cream. I have to admit, I was expecting a much more powerful artichoke flavor. The soup I asked for (cup of Salmon Manhattan Chowder) was also disproportionally filled with vegetables, with nowhere near the amount of salmon or salmon flavoring I was hoping for. Let me reiterate though that the steak, mushrooms, and beets were delicious! My dining partners were also impressed with their dishes, so perhaps I just made bad choices or the food I ordered was a little off that evening.
The service was great, with college students serving us in a well-​dressed and appropriate manner. Frequent visits and interactions with the wait staff as well as the owner was well-​appreciated.
Conclusion: I’d recommend trying here at least once! It’s a neat space and the food is pretty good. You won’t be getting a huge amount for your money but the overall experience was one that I’d recommend trying. I don’t think I personally will be returning soon before trying some other restaurants in town, but again, it was worth a shot and didn’t leave me in regret.

This cute little place was recommended by a few Grinnell grads who were ecstatic for us to try the food. We arrived there around 8:00 pm, and it was a little sleepy but still very cute. Mom and I raved over the little patio surrounded by the garden — all of the flowers were in bloom and it looked stunning.
We were seated immediately, and the atmosphere was completely relaxed. While we all had our drinks, the chef came around to greet everyone and made us feel even more at home. Our waitress Nicole was amazing and referred to me by name (us Nicol (l)es gotta stick together!) and was very attentive and polite.
The food took a little while, but it was well worth the wait. I got an Icelandic cod special, Mom got the chicken Marsala, and Pete got the beef Wellington special. Everything was served perfect temperature; not painfully hot, but still steamy. My cod was fantastic, the sauce was amazing and the bok choy was perfect. For dessert we split a few, and they were all amazing. I couldn’t keep my fork out of Mom’s cheesecake.
After we had eaten, the chef came back around, and it turns out he has family in my hometown! Small world. He was very lovely and was obviously very excited to talk to all of us. The (owner?) woman who had been at the front desk came around as well, and we got to learn some of the history behind the (beautiful!!!) building.
Overall, one of the better places I’ve eaten in my lifetime. If I find myself in Grinnell again, I know where to eat.

What a gem. A beautiful flower garden provides a privacy screen for the quaint patio and leaves a lovely first impression. The dining room is warm and inviting. Though this is a white tablecloth restaurant, the vibe is unpretentious and welcoming. There is a good selection of wine and beer including local craft options. The wait staff and the proprietors went out of their way to make us (including 2 kids under 5) feel at ease. The food was delicious, healthy and fresh. We sampled the baba ganoosh, smoked trout salad, chickpea burger, cheeseburger and pasta. Good portion sizes left is feeling satisfied but not stuffed. We walked out to the sound of a duo playing live music on the lively patio. Such a lovely meal. I can’t wait until I am next in Grinnell and can go back to Relish.

The food was fresh and creative. The salad was one of the best I’ve had in some time. The staff were great! Highly recommended.

Loved this place. Very laid back and friendly. The food was so unique and delicious. I will definitely be coming back. There are several other choices that I am looking forward to trying.

Came here with a friend and her father. The restaurant has a very home like appearance with hardwood floors with tables and chairs. I didn’t see any booths and it seemed like a classy casual. They appear to carry a wide variety of wines and a decent number of beers to include local brews. They also had mixed drinks and the bartenders appeared to know what they were doing (I’m not much into mixed drinks). The staff was very attentive and very friendly. All the staff made a point of checking the tables, not just the assigned waiter. I was a bit intimidated by the menu as I didn’t recognize the food. We started with baba ghanoush on pita bread. I opted for the special, a spinach stuffed chicken breast. It was fantastic. For dessert I had the basil cheesecake that was very tasty and sampled there chocolate cake that was out of this world!

Came for admitted students weekend at Grinnell College and arrived quite late on Saturday night. Though the kitchen had just closed, they offered to provide soups, salads and such. The baba ganoush was amazing! We have traveled and lived throughout the Middle East and I can say this was some of the best we’ve tasted. The hummus was quite good as well. We also had bruschetta, which was excellent. The bartender was knowledgable and provided good recommendations. We also ordered the navy bean soup and small Greek salads. By this time we were already well satisfied, but had heard the desserts were very good. My daughter ordered the chocolate oblivion and I had the cheesecake. My husband had the sampler. The chocolate oblivion was AMAZING! The baklava was also excellent. In glad we didn’t skip them! We will definitely be back over the next four years!

Didn’t appear to know what they were doing. High priced, but stain on table cloth, no one at host stand, and no one waited on us after we were finally seated and given menus. Had to walk out — and I can’t recall having done that in years– if ever.
Also, rude quirks to menu like bread and butter priced a la carte. Also advertised local foods, but had unsustainable seafood on special.

Yesterday I played a show at Grinnell College and it was a blast! They also ran and got food for all the bands and staff, so that was really nice. They decided to hit up Relish with it’s multiple options for Vegan, Veggies, Meat Eaters, and Gluten Free-​ers!
Lots of great looking stuff on the menu from Salmon, to burgers, to samosas.
I was not that hungry so I got a couple Samosas, and they were awesome and un-​like any I have ever had before! They were shaped more like CALZONES but had that great samosas flavor and were crispy yet, also doughy just how I like them!
My friend got a burger with sides of Fries and Veggie of the day! It look awesome! I was impressed by the amount of food they prepared so quickly for all involved (at least 20 orders of food)! Great work Relish, good choices, fast service, and a unique flair to some classic ethnic foods. If I’m back in Grinnell I will stop in the actual restarant next time!

Food was excellent, I had sea scallop, very well seasoned and juicy, my friends had lamb chop and blue cheese sauce beef Wellington, they all finish their plates and appraised the food. The dessert was impressive too. I also liked the arts on the wall. Service was friendly.

Excellent local food and drink. Friendly service. We were thrilled to find this place on our visit to Grinnell. Relish would be a great addition to any neighborhood.

Best restaurant in Grinnell hands down. I had the baba ganoush, tomato basil soup, and a mahi special. It came with a cabbage side which I was wary of, but it was cooked perfectly.
The servers were super nice and the chef came out to say hi to everyone.
Nice quaint house makes the dining experience homey.
Will definitely come here next time I’m in town.

For the longest time, I did not even know this place was a restaurant. The restaurant is situated in a cute yellow house with flowers and shrubbery growing all around the house. I have only had their vegetarian options on the lunch menu, but they are all fairly good. Everything is good. I especially love their grilled eggplant sandwich with peppers. It is so fresh and guilt-​free. They serve all their sandwiches with potato medallions, which are sliced baked potatoes which are healthy and delicious. Everything is great, but the flavors tend to be a bit on the plain side.
I am in love with their Greek salad though! I cannot say enough about it. I wasn’t expecting much, and I definitely wasn’t expecting to be blown away. I generally don’t get too excited about Greek salads. Their usually what I order when I feel guilty about eating an entire cake the night before and am in my trying to be healthy phase. Still, I absolutely love the flavors in their Greek salad. They put anchovies on their salad, which added the perfect amount of salt to the salad. Their kalamata olives went perfectly with the greens and light dressing. This thing is absolutely perfection! I ordered a side of bread they make in-​house, and that was warm and hearty.
So nice to find a place that sticks to the basics so well. None of their food is heavily spiced and nicely emphasizes the quality of their ingredients, which is mainly locally bought.

In Grinnell on business, Relish was recommended to me by the person I’m visiting here. I stopped by at 8pm on a Wednesday, and they were basically empty, with a group of young folk sitting outside waiting for live music at 9pm, and one couple eating inside. Rather than intruding on the couple’s space, I ate at the bar area in the front room.
It was a little warm (no a/​c I think, or they had turned it off) and strangely quite (no music for ambiance), and sadly they had closed the full kitchen early because they were so slow. This is completely understandable on a Wednesday in late-​May once all the college kids have gone home, but it made me sad!
They had an abbreviated menu of a few apps and salads and some sandwiches. I ordered the turkey-​bacon wrapped dates and the burger. They were both absolutely excellent. The only lacking element was that I asked for a side salad instead of chips and while I got charged a few bucks extra, it wasn’t much of a salad, and the recommended house parmesan dressing was relatively tasteless (mostly oil). However, the dates were amazing (I ate every single one by myself!) and the burger was delicious and perfectly cooked.
I was excited to hear they were still serving dessert as well. Their options sounded great, and I chose the cheesecake to go. Haven’t eaten it yet. Looking forward to it!
My server was extremely sweet and helpful, and just FYI, google maps couldn’t get the address for this place quite right — it’s at the corner of Park St + 4^th.