Week 5 Review: Bluff Lake Catfish Farm, Maquoketa, IA

Week 5 Review: Bluff Lake Catfish Farm, Maquoketa, IA

This week we traveled to the middle of nowhere for one amazing catfish meal.

Family had recommended we try Bluff Lake as they have an abundance of catfish.  Bluff Lake sits just outside of the Maquoketa Cave Park in a valley and can be (was) extremely hard to find.

As you come upon Bluff Lake restaurant you are immediately wowed by the view of where the restaurant sits in the valley between two large hills/cliffs.  The restaurant has a catfish pond that can be overlooked by the outside sitting area.

This place did not take reservations so we had to put our name in when our entire party arrived.  There were lots of people waiting for seats, but luckily they had a large waiting room with a bar.  We were able to get a table surprisingly quick (about 20 minutes after we got there) for our large group of 8 people.

When we were seated in the very small dining area, our server came to our table right away.  Our server definitely looked like she was extremely busy and was ready to take our order, immediately. The majority of us ordered the all you can eat (AYCE) catfish dinner. We could get catfish fillets and whole catfish, both were fried. Our dinner came with coleslaw and waffle fries, all for $12.50.

Dinner is served! Our food came out in record time! Since most of our table got the fish dinner, we had the coleslaw, waffle fries and catfish served family style.  Let's start with the coleslaw. The coleslaw was finely chopped and had just the right amount of vinegar and sugar. It was very tasty and was exactly the kind of coleslaw I like.  The waffle fries were cooked just right, and tasted fine, but I didn't waste too much of my appetite on them.  Now for the catfish. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!  We have been waiting for 5 weeks to eat fish this good!  The catfish was lightly breaded/fried and we were able to get it in fillets and whole.  It was different for me to see a whole catfish in front of me, but it sure was good!  And what about the tartar sauce?  Well, first off, you didn't even need tartar sauce for the catfish as it was prepared perfectly, but the tartar sauce that was served was again, exactly the type I like. It had a mayo base with just the right amount of relish.  Delicious when paired with the catfish.

Our server came back periodically to check on us and refill our coleslaw and catfish plate, but didn't seem overly worried about our dining experience as she was busy with many other tables. After our table ate about about 20 + pieces of catfish (no joke), we finally were full and had just had the best catfish meal ever.  As we were leaving, the waiting room still had the same amount of people waiting as it did when we arrived. This place is popular!

Overall comments/rating: FANTASTIC meal! Catfish was cooked perfectly, coleslaw and tartar sauce were made to my exact liking, the restaurant atmosphere was full of excitement of everyone wanting to get their catfish and our service was mediocre. My only negative is that the only choice of potato that came with your meal was the waffle fries, which I am not a big fan of fries with the fish (more of baked potato gal).

With this being a fantastic tasting AYCE meal for only $12.50, I am going to give Bluff Lake Catfish Farm a 9 out of 10.  If the server would have been happier to serve us, and we could have had a different potato option it would have gotten a full 10.

If you're ever in the area, I would highly, highly suggest checking this place out. Not only is the catfish amazing, but the view surrounding the restaurant is pretty fantastic too.

http://blufflakecatfishfarm.com/