The Fireside Tavern brings upscale Italian, shareable steaks to downtown Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS — When one door closes, another one opens.

Shortly after Bari Italian closed earlier this year, a new option for Italian has opened downtown, right across the river.

The Fireside Tavern, opened in February, showcases an up-and-coming chef’s talents as new restaurateur Mandy Gaud rapidly expands her portfolio. The latest opening comes within three months of launching casual Aether Social Club in Iowa City and upscale American restaurant CityWalk in Cedar Rapids.

Find high-end steaks, ravioli made from scratch and elevated Italian American comforts served in a style Chef Ryan Baker hopes will embed into downtown Cedar Rapids’ scene of serious players like Cobble Hill and Black Sheep.

“I’d like to be a place people think about when they come down here,” Baker said. “We’re different than pub food, and everything seems to be shifting to pub food.”

The concept

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Inside the space previously rented by Chophouse Downtown, Chef Baker returns to his former stomping grounds with a new vision and freedom he wasn’t afforded in the kitchen under past bosses.

He has a few skills and a few elements he wants to harness in the new concept, where exposed brick walls are now romantically lit by strings of Edison bulbs.

“We were going to go with more of a tavern, casual kind of bar feel, but that’s not how it’s been perceived and how it’s been received,” he said. “Everyone is expecting it to be way classier. It’s quickly gone into much more of an upscale Italian (direction.)”

After getting the inside scoop about Bari’s closure, he knew downtown would need something Italian to fill the void. Thanks to his experience working on First Street SE, he also knew the new restaurant needed a certain volume of orders to make the concept sustainable.

What’s cooking

Fresh-made ravioli and semolina pasta have quickly become Chef Baker’s specialty — and a signature that can be whipped up quickly during the dinner rush for diners heading off to a Paramount show.

His rotating stuffed ravioli specials have a lot of versatility, too. Asiago parmesan and spinach, morel mushrooms, swordfish, quail and pork belly bacon have graced tables in the restaurant’s first few weeks.

The menu features a build-your-own pasta page with a choice of linguine, cavatappi, bucatini or pappardelle. Starting at $20, pasta lovers can smother their noodles in the usuals, like Alfredo and vodka sauce, or unique and rich options like lobster butter and basil pesto. Top it with chicken, Bolognese, pork belly bacon, seared scallops, smoked salmon or sirloin.

The chicken parmesan sandwich and a side salad at the fireside Tavern in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Friday, March 28, 2025. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)

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Focaccia bread and marinara sauce at the fireside Tavern in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Friday, March 28, 2025. The house-made bread is complimentary with every entree served with balsamic vinegar and olive oil, guests have the option to upgrade to any other sauce. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)

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Fettuccine alfredo at the fireside Tavern in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Friday, March 28, 2025. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)

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And if that’s not enough, you can add on eggplant parm, among other options.

Carbohydrate lovers, be advised: each table is served free focaccia bread, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. For $1, you can upgrade the dipping sauce of marinara.

“We go through 300 pounds of flour a week on the free focaccia,” Baker said.

If you’re on the search for protein more than carbs, the restaurant doubles as a carnivore’s dream. And, if you’re dining with one or more other people, it may not break the bank.

“I try to offer steak in a way that’s not accessible at most (restaurants,) a little different from your Texas Roadhouse,” Baker said. “Everything is hand cut here in house, done by me and that cleaver right there.”

High-end steaks like the 20-ounce porterhouse and boneless rib-eye are served tavern style on cutting boards — meant to be shared. Each steak comes with a complimentary vegetable medley of smoked yellow squash, green squash, carrots and eggplant.

For $9, you can add a shareable side of fries that are soaked, starched, dried and steamed before being fried and tossed in a garlic and Romano seasoning. Other sides include a garden salad and garlic mashed potatoes, ranging from $10 to $15.

For a date, that brings the price of Fireside’s most expensive steak down to around $40 a person — less than some of its smaller steak entrées.

And, true to the tavern name, a variety of options offer even more bang for your buck.

The oversize chicken Parmesan sandwich is bigger than some pork tenderloins, without sacrificing quality. The cottage pie serves an alternate to the shepherd’s pie, swapping lamb for beef.

Have a drink

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Bar manager Josh O’Connell, whose loyalists have followed him here from his stints at Pickle Palace and the now-closed Rodina, is trying a few new things.

Here, the cocktail menu’s primary through-line taps into fresh juices, house-made syrups like raspberry and strawberry, and more advanced techniques than what the average bar employs.

“I’m trying to do something vastly different than the rest of the places I’ve done,” he said.

The Coco Dream, for example, uses an Aperol vodka fat-washed with coconut oil, softening the Aperol’s bitterness. Shaken with orange juice and served with a toasted coconut rim, it allows a tropical aura to shine through, no matter the weather outside the restaurant’s window.

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The technique, which came on the bartending scene about 10 years ago, is most popularly used with bacon fat in Old Fashioned cocktails.

“The alcohol is going to absorb whatever capacity it has for fat. We get a very nice coconut flavor in the cocktail, and it washes out some flavors of the Aperol,” O’Connell said.

The Midwest Cruise Ship, a popular seller, repurposes a New York City tiki bar recipe with Cruzan rum, mango, papaya, lime, ginger and Angostura bitters.

From the food to the drinks, The Fireside Tavern manages to feature unique offerings that do not sacrifice quality for novelty.

Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.

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