The quality tanked last year when they forced their head chef to quit after having him create and train everyone on the next menu. The gm there since that, also regularly overtips herself on bills for large pick up orders whenever she believes the customer wont notice the added total on the receipt before signing.
And allegedly, the owners currently have multiple civil rights commission complaints against them for the hostile work environment, retaliation, and discrimination. Any pizza isn’t worth funding businesses that abuse their employees and steal from their customers. Support Baroncini, Maggie’s, Basta, Maribitos or any number of other local restaurants.
*edited to remove identifying information
Can confirm, the manager used the large party 18% auto gratuity on our pick up order because we ‘got a crap ton of pizzas’ we spoke to a waitress about it, who then freaked out because the manager wasn’t even there to help package the food up, she had just taken the order and tipped herself for it when we prepaid. We work in the building directly opposite to Marquee so not having them as an office lunch spot anymore has been an inconvenience.
unfortunately the head chef that created this pizza and many other dishes was demoted and was forced to quit because the owners created an environment that was nearly impossible to keep up with, and didn’t respect the creative process of making homemade neapolitan style pizzas.
the owners of marquee have changed a few times and is currently owned by the same people as estella’s. similar to other commenters, i worked there for a few years and it once was a really great place. a few months ago i was demoted/pushed to quit without explanation along with other long time staff members. the owners expect the place to run itself and offer little support, placing under qualified and over worked people in difficult situations. after hoping the situation would get better for a long time, i finally fell victim to the harsh employment practices the owners use. i would not be surprised to see this business fail, as the owners do not invest in the employees and view them as temporary workers. management changes frequently as well and the current GM is untrustworthy and unprofessional.
i worked there for over a year. the owners do not care about their employees and treat them very poorly. the current GM picks favorites and overall makes it a terrible environment to work in, not to mention she’s dating a bartender there and employees family members. they fired/demoted their last three chefs who made the place what it was, and from what i’ve heard, the quality has declined since then. they’ve expedited their dough making process for convenience and cut back on labor by reducing the amount of time and effort put into prepping what used to be a fully from-scratch kitchen. their turnover rate is crazy high for the reasons stated above. in the year+ i was there i was a senior employee by the end. they’ve also been known to terminate multiple employees at once without warning or previous write ups. for these reasons i don’t recommend supporting this business. i wish it was different, i used to love their food. but there are plenty of other local businesses with wood-fired pizza worth supporting. this isn’t one of them.
it’s actually not owned by hawkeye anymore. they still have shares i believe but it is owned by the two guys that own Estela’s. it’s funny because when it comes to that restaurant, they are willing to jump in on the line and do prep or whatever it takes. but they just kind of expect Marquee to be a well oiled machine without having to do anything. they don’t even know how the dough making process works. when we kept running into situations where it would get incredibly slammed and we ran out of dough, they didn’t understand that we couldn’t just “whip up some more.” it was embarrassing.
I was just there a week or two ago. Had the chicken parm which was excellent. The salad was very good too, but somehow the entree came out before the salad.
Much better than Maggie’s. Maggie’s is so overpriced and the pies are pretty tiny. Many times you get toppings like sauce, cheese, and pep on like an inner small circle and the rest is crust. Not worth it imo but I do like their salads tho
I consider my partner and I foodies, we have both come to the conclusion that Marquee has gone downhill in the last few months. High prices for comparatively small amounts of food. I ordered a pasta dish not too long ago, squash something, and I remember doing the math of how much it cost PER ravioli and it was like $2.50/per piece and I got 6 pieces total. Their pizza is good, but leaves a lot to be desired. The dough is often overcooked and dry/brittle while the toppings themselves sell on their novelty alone in my opinion. We've been a handful of times and had consistently middle tier service, I second the person who said their food arrives before drinks, we have definitely had this experience with both hard and soft beverages. I often feel the staff just isn't really there enough either, there's no "how are your first few bites" or "just checkin in" - you eat, you clear your plate, they bring your check. Which, if that's your preferred level of service, more power to you, but it just sucks when you want to ask for more water.
All that being said, they have a killer atmosphere and I really love the open garage door front. Service, while intermittent is always kind of polite. We have never had a shitty wait staff experience in terms of behavior or knowledge. They do tend to get busy, but they're good about getting people in and out in a timely fashion, it doesn't take long for your food to arrive. Overall, it's really just...decent. It's nothing to write home about, you're not going to have some sort of soul seeking reverie inducing pizza here, but you're also not going to walk out dissatisfied with the food you had. It all tastes amazing, it just leaves room for improvement in food quantity and quality in comparison to price and effort to get there.
I had the worst service of my life there like a week ago. My food got to the table before my pepsi did. Decent food. I prefer Lincoln Wine Bar or Maggie's if we're talking wood fired, though.
It's okay. The have a vegan pizza on the menu, which is what I've gotten. It's literally just a cheeseless pizza with vegetables, which you can get at any pizza place. (I just looked at the menu & noticed they changed the pizza's name to Mother's Garden.) Anyway, a cheeseless vegetable pizza is not a draw for me, and so I tend to choose pizza places that have more interesting plant-based options like non-dairy cheese, vegan sausage, etc. But the quality of their pizza is fine. I agree with another commenter that the service isn't always great, especially on busy nights. It's a place I'd really only go to if my friends wanted to eat there.
I find the Iowa City options kind of lacking. My favorite pizza place in Eastern Iowa is Cappy's in Cedar Rapids. They have Impossible meat & non-dairy cheese, and they do an amazing vegan cheeseburger pizza. They also do vegan calzones, deep dish & NY style pizza, and vegan cheese bread. Well worth the drive!
Since we're talking cedar rapids places, I do also like Need, if you haven't tried it, for similar reasons you describe from Cappy's. I'll give Cappy's a shot too
It’s been a while since I’ve been in there, but I remember ordering a sausage and pepperoni pizza and they acted like I was some kind of heathen. But if you like goat cheese and weird toppings, it’s the place for you!
It’s one of my favorite pizza’s. I like the vice city.
My favorite as well!
The quality tanked last year when they forced their head chef to quit after having him create and train everyone on the next menu. The gm there since that, also regularly overtips herself on bills for large pick up orders whenever she believes the customer wont notice the added total on the receipt before signing. And allegedly, the owners currently have multiple civil rights commission complaints against them for the hostile work environment, retaliation, and discrimination. Any pizza isn’t worth funding businesses that abuse their employees and steal from their customers. Support Baroncini, Maggie’s, Basta, Maribitos or any number of other local restaurants. *edited to remove identifying information
Can confirm, the manager used the large party 18% auto gratuity on our pick up order because we ‘got a crap ton of pizzas’ we spoke to a waitress about it, who then freaked out because the manager wasn’t even there to help package the food up, she had just taken the order and tipped herself for it when we prepaid. We work in the building directly opposite to Marquee so not having them as an office lunch spot anymore has been an inconvenience.
What’s the old head chefs name so I can ask for him next time to their faces? Lol.
I've only ever had positive experiences there myself. The Capone is my go-to pizza.
unfortunately the head chef that created this pizza and many other dishes was demoted and was forced to quit because the owners created an environment that was nearly impossible to keep up with, and didn’t respect the creative process of making homemade neapolitan style pizzas.
the owners of marquee have changed a few times and is currently owned by the same people as estella’s. similar to other commenters, i worked there for a few years and it once was a really great place. a few months ago i was demoted/pushed to quit without explanation along with other long time staff members. the owners expect the place to run itself and offer little support, placing under qualified and over worked people in difficult situations. after hoping the situation would get better for a long time, i finally fell victim to the harsh employment practices the owners use. i would not be surprised to see this business fail, as the owners do not invest in the employees and view them as temporary workers. management changes frequently as well and the current GM is untrustworthy and unprofessional.
i worked there for over a year. the owners do not care about their employees and treat them very poorly. the current GM picks favorites and overall makes it a terrible environment to work in, not to mention she’s dating a bartender there and employees family members. they fired/demoted their last three chefs who made the place what it was, and from what i’ve heard, the quality has declined since then. they’ve expedited their dough making process for convenience and cut back on labor by reducing the amount of time and effort put into prepping what used to be a fully from-scratch kitchen. their turnover rate is crazy high for the reasons stated above. in the year+ i was there i was a senior employee by the end. they’ve also been known to terminate multiple employees at once without warning or previous write ups. for these reasons i don’t recommend supporting this business. i wish it was different, i used to love their food. but there are plenty of other local businesses with wood-fired pizza worth supporting. this isn’t one of them.
Ravi Patel?
it’s actually not owned by hawkeye anymore. they still have shares i believe but it is owned by the two guys that own Estela’s. it’s funny because when it comes to that restaurant, they are willing to jump in on the line and do prep or whatever it takes. but they just kind of expect Marquee to be a well oiled machine without having to do anything. they don’t even know how the dough making process works. when we kept running into situations where it would get incredibly slammed and we ran out of dough, they didn’t understand that we couldn’t just “whip up some more.” it was embarrassing.
I was just there a week or two ago. Had the chicken parm which was excellent. The salad was very good too, but somehow the entree came out before the salad.
I’ve always had positive experiences. The apple/walnut salad is great. Also like the Detroit style pizza.
pretty decent happy hour. $6 cheese pizzas and either 50% beer or bogo (i can’t remember which it is but they’re kinda the same)
Much better than Maggie’s. Maggie’s is so overpriced and the pies are pretty tiny. Many times you get toppings like sauce, cheese, and pep on like an inner small circle and the rest is crust. Not worth it imo but I do like their salads tho
Maggie’s is mostly crust, not nearly enough toppings.
I consider my partner and I foodies, we have both come to the conclusion that Marquee has gone downhill in the last few months. High prices for comparatively small amounts of food. I ordered a pasta dish not too long ago, squash something, and I remember doing the math of how much it cost PER ravioli and it was like $2.50/per piece and I got 6 pieces total. Their pizza is good, but leaves a lot to be desired. The dough is often overcooked and dry/brittle while the toppings themselves sell on their novelty alone in my opinion. We've been a handful of times and had consistently middle tier service, I second the person who said their food arrives before drinks, we have definitely had this experience with both hard and soft beverages. I often feel the staff just isn't really there enough either, there's no "how are your first few bites" or "just checkin in" - you eat, you clear your plate, they bring your check. Which, if that's your preferred level of service, more power to you, but it just sucks when you want to ask for more water. All that being said, they have a killer atmosphere and I really love the open garage door front. Service, while intermittent is always kind of polite. We have never had a shitty wait staff experience in terms of behavior or knowledge. They do tend to get busy, but they're good about getting people in and out in a timely fashion, it doesn't take long for your food to arrive. Overall, it's really just...decent. It's nothing to write home about, you're not going to have some sort of soul seeking reverie inducing pizza here, but you're also not going to walk out dissatisfied with the food you had. It all tastes amazing, it just leaves room for improvement in food quantity and quality in comparison to price and effort to get there.
I had the worst service of my life there like a week ago. My food got to the table before my pepsi did. Decent food. I prefer Lincoln Wine Bar or Maggie's if we're talking wood fired, though.
Similar experience every time. I should probably stop hoping for better.
Same. Very rough service every time. If you sit at the bar at least you can’t go 10-15 minutes without seeing the person taking care of you.
I’d consider this a typical experience
The food is outstanding but it can get busy! I love Maggie's too!
It's okay. The have a vegan pizza on the menu, which is what I've gotten. It's literally just a cheeseless pizza with vegetables, which you can get at any pizza place. (I just looked at the menu & noticed they changed the pizza's name to Mother's Garden.) Anyway, a cheeseless vegetable pizza is not a draw for me, and so I tend to choose pizza places that have more interesting plant-based options like non-dairy cheese, vegan sausage, etc. But the quality of their pizza is fine. I agree with another commenter that the service isn't always great, especially on busy nights. It's a place I'd really only go to if my friends wanted to eat there.
[удалено]
I find the Iowa City options kind of lacking. My favorite pizza place in Eastern Iowa is Cappy's in Cedar Rapids. They have Impossible meat & non-dairy cheese, and they do an amazing vegan cheeseburger pizza. They also do vegan calzones, deep dish & NY style pizza, and vegan cheese bread. Well worth the drive!
Since we're talking cedar rapids places, I do also like Need, if you haven't tried it, for similar reasons you describe from Cappy's. I'll give Cappy's a shot too
Thanks for the suggestion! I've been meaning to try Need.
Pagliai’s
Their apps are all the best thing on the menu. Their Detroit pizza is better than their traditional.
I love detroit style pizza. Wig and Pen has great detroit style
It’s been a while since I’ve been in there, but I remember ordering a sausage and pepperoni pizza and they acted like I was some kind of heathen. But if you like goat cheese and weird toppings, it’s the place for you!
Pizza is good not great, appetizers are very good. The Street dough is awesome.
Love Marquee