Looking to break out onto the restaurant and bar scene, Scout’s Honor is brand new a pizza joint that replaced Player’s Sports Bar & Grill in downtown Iowa City. They acquired the lease from the Corridor Entertainment Group, which also runs Studio 13 in Iowa City and Basix in Cedar Rapids. In partnership with its sister bar Camp, Scouts Honor is looking to bring the camping vibe to downtown and serve up some good pizza while doing it. The manager and staff are friendly and continually working to improve the customer experience as they find their footing, having only opened on November 23^rd of last year. The layout is open and spacious, yet also cozy, with warm lighting and intimate seating areas around the edge of the restaurant. The center of the restaurant is taken up by a circle bar with a solid wooden bartop and plenty of seating. Additionally, there’s another room with further seating towards the back of the restaurant. There are TVs dotted around the restaurant so that you can always keep an eye on whatever game is going on, giving Scout’s a bit of a sports bar vibe as well.

I had originally walked into Scout’s purely on a whim with little expectations, and it impressed me immediately with the food and overall atmosphere of the place. Months later, Scout’s is still a work in progress, but the setup they have could translate very well to a game day environment in Iowa City if they lean into the sports bar side of things, and the food is good to boot. I wasn’t sure what to expect from them concerning whiskey, but they seem to have a very solid base to begin with and that they can grow from if they want to as they find more success. Here’s what they have to start with:

Variety: Bourbon, Rye, Scotch, Irish, Canadian

Range: Average. 15 Bottles. They currently have the bare minimum in Rye and Irish but have a decent selection of bourbon. They do have both a blended Scotch and a single malt, which is a great starting point for a brand new place. The manager I talked with, Rachel, said they are hoping to expand their selection as they grow and find out more what customers want and are asking for.

Price Point: $5 to $8 depending on the pour. Quite affordable, which is nice to see from a newer place. They don’t have any whiskey or spirit menu to speak of, but everything is on display behind the bar. On one side of the bar they have all the whiskey, and on the other are their other spirits, so make sure to sit on the whiskey side if you don’t want to be asking about what bottles they have.

Wells: They use Mr. Boston as their well whiskey, but also will pour a “well bourbon” if asked as Jack or Jim Beam. All well pours are $5.

Top Shelf Selection: None. Their best bottles as of right now are Templeton Rye and Glenfiddich 12.

Grade: C

Overall Thoughts: My initial impression of the place when I first went was that it reminded me of Buffalo Wild Wings, but with pizza as the main entry instead of wings. And despite the camping theme, I hope they lean into that sports bar vibe, because I think that’s how they could find a real niche in Iowa City. The whiskey selection is nothing to write home about, but I think it’s a solid start for a brand new restaurant. They cover their bases well and have at least one bottle of whatever type of whiskey your typical patron would want. And while Rachel did say that they want to expand their selection eventually, it’s clear that whiskey is not very high on the list of priorities to improve upon, which is perfectly fine for what they are trying to do in Iowa City. They’ll probably remain a solid C and be a fun spot to watch a game and grab some great artisan pizza. 

Post Script: This is being posted a day late due to me traveling over the weekend. I’ll be back to posting on Sunday night for next week’s blog.