Dresses are on, ties are tied, and everyone’s ready for Prom. But wait! Where are we going to eat before the dance?! While it seems easy to find a good restaurant, there’s more that goes into finding the best spot. Fortunately, being so close to Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, students have a large variety of places to choose from. Many Mount Vernon students have discovered these places and have a good idea of the best ones to go to.
Pickle Palace is a restaurant that checks off a lot of boxes for the perfect prom date. Senior Bella Manternach shared that one of her favorite places to go before dances is Pickle Palace. “I really like it there because they have a great indoor scenery in case you want to take photos,” Manternach said. “They also have pretty good food in my opinion, which is always a plus.” Pickle Palace offers a large variety of food, such as soups, salads, sandwiches, mac and cheese, and a handful of delicious appetizers. Manternach also mentions that one of her favorite dishes at Pickle Palace is the green goddess bowl. The interior also has low lighting with different props and areas to take pictures, along with an easily accessible rooftop overlooking Cedar Rapids. Pickle Place is located in downtown Cedar Rapids, 19 minutes away from MVHS. As for prom dinner, Pickle Palace is a great option for students.
Another very common place for students from all schools to go is Olive Garden. “I went to Olive Garden with my friends for homecoming,” sophomore Jada Ripke said. “The food was pretty good, and I also noticed that they had plenty of seating if a big group of people came in.” The Olive Garden menu is mainly Italian dishes. Some of their most popular are their fettuccini Alfredo and lasagna. “The only thing that wasn’t my favorite about Olive Garden is the drive. For my group, we went straight to the dance from Olive Garden, and the drive isn’t very short.” Olive Garden is located in Cedar Rapids, 25 minutes away from the school.
Some students may also prefer a place that is more interactive instead of just going to eat. A great place for this would be Hibachi. Hibachi would provide a fun environment to go to with your friends. Junior Timber Scholl says that for prom 2025, she went to Hibachi with her friends. “My favorite part was definitely the food, everything tasted really good,” said Scholl. Hibachi has great Japanese food with meat, vegetables, seafood, etc. Hibachi would also be a very entertaining place to go because the chef cooks in front of you. However, depending on where you go, it can end up being fairly expensive due to paying for both food and entertainment.
Although there are many popular places to go all over, Texas Roadhouse usually tends to be the most popular. With lots of food options at an affordable price, Texas Roadhouse is a hard location to turn down. Along with their great menu, the unlimited rolls with cinnamon butter tend to be the most appealing item. “The best thing about going to Texas Roadhouse was definitely the unlimited rolls,” sophomore Grey Denes said. However, because everyone wants them, Texas Roadhouse can get busy and chaotic very fast on prom. Denes also said, “I didn’t like how busy it was because so many other people were also going for their dances.” With the big crowd, Texas Roadhouse might not be the best place to go, either, if you want to take more photos.
In an April email survey sent out to junior and senior Mount Vernon students after 2026 prom, with 26 responses, the most popular restaurant students chose this year was Napoli’s. 30.8% of students went to Napoli’s, and on average, rated it 3.875 stars based on taste. Texas Roadhouse followed with 19.2% of students eating there and was rated 4.6 stars. Next up, Cheddar’s, Uncle Sang’s, and Bluebird Cafe were tied for third place with 7.7% of students going to each. Cheddar’s was given 3.5 stars, Uncle Sang’s 5 stars, and Bluebird Cafe 4 stars. 26.9% of students decided to go somewhere else for prom dinner. Based on the ratings Mount Vernon students gave to the most common restaurants, Uncle Sang’s takes the win for taste.
There are clearly many great places to go for prom with many appealing features to all. From hibachi to Italian to a steak house, there are options for everyone to go and enjoy. As for Prom 2026, the juniors and seniors have figured out what the best places are.
