Spillway

The Spillway is awesome. Halfway between nowhere and the back of beyond along the Mississippi River in far Northeast Iowa lies the very small historic town of Harpers Ferry, where fishing and hunting isn’t a sport, it’s been a way of life since the beginning of time. And today, we discovered a timeless rural supper club. Read that; ‘Bar and Amazing Grill & Pizza Joint’.

The Spillway is a destination worthy of a national tour of local greats proving that home town beats big town every time. We passed by this place for years traveling on the Iowa side of the Mississippi between Lansing and Marquette. Then we see that the Spillway is a top five finalist in the Iowa Pork Producers annual best Iowa Pork Tenderloin sandwich competition.

Well, what do you do? You go see for yourself, obviously. And Spillway is a major contender.

Now, where to begin: The Spillway atmosphere is magnificent. Awesomeness as only a dark old river bar can be. You know you have struck rural gold when you walk into a dimly lit tavern and see over 25 trophy buck deer head mounts on the walls. If eating at the bar isn’t your thing, the other side of the place is a well lit dining room of the kind you only find in this region. Nothing fancy, but sufficiently functional to host the Pope to one of the best tenderloin sandwiches in Iowa.

We tried both the traditional breaded, and the no-breading grilled with various condiments. I’m a purist. Breaded, generous onions, dill pickles, and yellow mustard. My wife goes for grilled. But, we had the ultimate judge with us. My 92 year old mother. She is a breaded, tomato, lettuce, no onions, person.

We all loved our sandwiches. Yes, Spillway is a righteous competitor for the 2023 Iowa title. Mom says hers was the most tender and flavorful pork she has had in ages. And Mom is picky: well earned in her centennial decade. Spillway breading is a light golden crispy crust that reminded me of a really well done tempura, fried to tenderloin sandwich perfection.

The onion rings were equally perfect, as were the bar standard crinkle fries. I congratulate Spillway in leaving off the salt. Us older folks appreciate the lower sodium standard. Many thanks.

Beyond our target tenderloin lunch today, Spillway’s menu is something I’ll return to explore. Especially the burgers and that awesome looking thin crust pizza. Could be a national pizza destination too, but needs further research!

Value? Just look at the menu picture. Enough said.

While I can be as much a beer snob as anyone, spending stupidly for a so-called craft beer, Spillway wins the day. $1.50 PBR long necks. That’s VALUE. Say what you want about PBR, but it’s one of America’s oldest beers and what was good for my great granddad is good for me. Just go with the place and the rare moment gracing you when you find your way to Spillway.

This place has got such a friendly vibe!
And great place to grab a drink !
We got some finger food from the menu and one of our order had meat(we are vegetarians and the menu didn’t say so). The staff were so nice about it and got us a replacement dish!
Definitely recommend when your in town or on route through the town!

Great small town bar. No beer tap but they have Toppling Goliath beers on tap. Quick note to vegetarians: the broccoli cheddar bites have meat. I found out the hard way, and the manager was great about fixing it even though I didn't complain about the issue

The waitress was very nice and funny

Great food and super staff, Awesome burg and great tenderloin

My husband and I were both very impressed by our first time eating here. Our waitress was excellent. My husband ordered one of the tenderloin sandwiches that ranked in the top five in the state and he thought it was great!

Great little bar near the Mississippi river. Friendly staff, great food, cold drinks. Perfect!

Very friendly staff and a good selection of food and drinks.

Awesome pizza! The flakey crust and wide variety of toppings will have me coming back.

The burger was excellent! The bartender was quick and curtious even during a busy Hawkeye football Saturday. I'm looking forward to the broasted chicken the next time I'm in town.

Four of us drove 45 minutes from Guttenberg to try the tenderloin & fish we had heard about. We weren’t disappointed. The food, drinks & service were all great. We’ll be back.

Good size menu with lots of options. Large portions. Food hit the spot. Staff was friendly and fun. Definitely will be back when we're in the area.

Beer Battered Cod is Amazing with hash browns smothered with cheese and onions!

Excellent pizza. I was surprised how full it was on a week day. Good food and service.

I stopped at Barry's Mini Mart..The lady behind the counter was a hoot... She said that this place was great and was she right I ordered the fish sandwich it was absolutely delish hot crispy everything was fresh and tasty and tater tots were.. well out of this world.. I'll get them a 4.7 out of 5.. pop was so so but they do have it in A CAN.. I may go back just to have lunch ... Well worth the stop

Bomb dot com
Best bar in Harpers

Great food. Rustic charm of small riverside bar. Staff was attentive and prompt. Only complaint would be the size of the sodas. Very reasonably priced. Beer battered fish was delicious.

Fantastic food!!! The absolute best tenderloin we've had! The egg rolls, chicken strips and tenderloin bites are also great! Wonderful service and the owner is so personable!

Need to know where the best food in this town is? It's this place, with all the "vehicles" out front! Great bar food, fun spanking wait staff. Definitely worth a stop!

They were very busy since it was a Friday night, and we arrived right before a bus of people. Good prices and friendly!