Housed   in an old, historic Victorian on the corner of 4th and Park in Grinnell, the Café Phoenix offers fine dining in the evenings, lunch weekdays, and a full-service coffee bar and market from 10 am every morning but Sunday, when we open at 4 pm. Our emphasis is on Mediterranean cuisine, but we love to play around with other culinary concepts. We pride ourselves on preparing virtually everything on site, including those items featured in the market.

Our Name   is a reference to the legendary bird: When our lease was lost at the restaurant's predecessor, the Last Egyptian, the future seemed to be up in flames. Some of our loyal customers refused to accept such an option, and put their money where their mouths (& stomachs!) were. Hence, the restaurant was reborn as the Phoenix. We have grown quite a bit since that day in 1995 when we opened the Café Phoenix, adding the patio, second-floor "party" rooms, coffee bar, and wine shop before expanding our kitchen and storage space and, finally, remodeling our former living quarters into the Inn. We are still a "customer-owned," family-run, small business establishment.

Our Pledge   is to prepare the finest and freshest of foods and to serve them with loving care. We buy as much as we can locally, from produce and herbs to meat. We try to be responsive to our customers' needs, whether it's a request for no dairy in the food or extra pillows on the bed. Just ask!

The Restaurant   is open for dinner seven days a week from 5:00 PM Typically, we are open for lunch on Monday - Friday only, starting at 11:00 am, but call us for hours and reservations, or if you'd like to make arrangements for us to be open for you at an otherwise unscheduled time.

Our Inn   includes three charming rooms, two of them suites, each with its own distinct set of antique furniture pieces and architectural details. One and three-quarter baths and a comfortable lounge area round out the amenities. If you decide to stay, complementary scones or other pastries, coffee, tea and juice will be available to help you start your day. Should you desire something more substantial, that can be arranged for a group for an additional charge. The inn is available by reservation (or come for dinner and stay through breakfast). Rates are $55 for a single room and $65 for a double room. Please call 641.236.3657 for reservations.  <images of inn>

From time to time   we host special events: art openings, live music, special dinners or classes, poetry or book readings. Let us know your suggestions, or if you'd like to be put on our mailing list and notified of any future events.

Catering   at our place or yours. Dinner for two? Birthday party for 20? Wedding reception for 300? No job is too big or too small. We've catered the above and many other events like them. We'll be happy to furnish references.

Market   is a great place to shop: Fresh fish, bread, desserts and partially prepared appetizer and menu items are among the foods available in the market. Specialty items can be ordered in advance. In addition to food, coffee and wine, we also have some souvenir and gift items available for purchase. Here are just a few of the possibilities you can take out through the market:  

Coffee Bar   Come try our diverse selections of coffee -- regular or decaf, espresso, cappuccino, Turkish coffee, or latte. See our beverage menu. Scones and other goodies are also available. 

Wine Shop  Our wine shop features over 150 different wines, with the majority reasonably priced in the range of $10 to $20 a bottle. Although most of the wines are from California or the Mediterranean area, we carry some very nice Australian, South American and South African wines as well. Our main interests are to serve our customers as a responsive retail outlet while showcasing the smaller, independent vineyards which we think provide a "good value" product. To these ends, we welcome your requests for a particular wine. We will try to find it, and either stock it for you or special order it. We will continue to showcase a new "non-wine list" vineyard every month or so by making a variety of their wines available by the glass. You are also always welcome to browse through the wine shop before dinner to pick out a wine. We charge only a $5.00 corking fee (in addition to the retail price) for any wine from our shop. If you've tried something on our wine list that you would like to take home, we will sell you a bottle at 25% off the list price. People who like to stock up on variety of wines for their own cellars can take advantage of our "buy it by the case" 10% discount, whether they want to try 12 different bottles or 12 of the same wine. (Not for use with any other special offer or discount.) See our wine list.

Bookstore our new bookstore is an annex of the Prairie Lights bookstore of Iowa City. Come browse our selection of books and also special order books.

Art Gallery   The Phoenix Café and Inn continues our tradition of providing exhibit space for artists. Currently, we have on consignment two watercolors by Alex McKibbin and gas and wood-fired decorative pieces by Simon Levin interspersed with the semi-permanent collection.

Alex McKibbin's work has been shown in hundreds of exhibitions, received numerous awards and honors, and is included in public and corporate collections and many watercolor and drawing volumes. For further information on Alex's work, contact Bobbie McKibbin or let us know of your interest.

Simon Levin is a Grinnell graduate whose work has been displayed here since '98. A work, similar to the piece in our entryway, was commissioned for the new art building on Grinnell's campus.

The semi-permanent display includes watercolors, pastels, oils, photographs and prints by Iowa artists Miriam Andes, Jill Schrift, Jack Robertson, & Bobbie McKibbin. Other Grinnell College graduates Lari Gibbons ('93), Zachary Steven ('95), Tim Johnson-Aramaki & Jeremy Lundquist ('99), and Judy Garland (00) & Mattie Johnson ('01). It also contains some early works by Chicago artist Anne Farley Gaines and Tim Speer's print, The Last Egyptian, the inspiration for the restaurant of the same name. The artwork is for sale, please don't hesitate to inquire if you are interested in a particular piece.