I have been going here for over 12 years now and every time I come in there's a warmth that you can feel. The service, the food, the conversations, this is a community staple of Ankeny!! I was having breakfast at the counter talking about Omaha and the history of this restaurant, just enjoying the conversation. This restaurant is an extension of my family! Thank you so much for all that you do! Bill Cagno read more

Ankeny Cafe - Breakfast! Eggs, Bacon, Toast, Hashbrowns! Oh yeah! - Cafes Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

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Omg..soooo good! The staff are so friendly and don't rich you to eat and go even if they are busy!, prices are affordable too

Definitely a local treasure! Grandmas make the pies which look fabulous! My patty melt was perfect! We will make this a regular stop!

Service with a smile ,is an understatement. The food was excellent and big portions at a very reasonable price. We will definitely be back next time we are in town. read more

Great service, good food , very reasonable cost, no frills diner setting for breakfasts

Amazing local diner ran by a great family. The new owners are working so hard to preserve the family vibe that Dean and Brandi served all of these years and are doing a great job. Heidi, her mom and daughters have really hit the ground running. I highly recommend the biscuits and gravy! My breakfast date really enjoyed their breakfast as well. Special shout out to the customers that let me take their photos at the stools . I am looking forward to coming back with my husband! read more

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Great old school diner. Eggs over medium, perfect, great hash browns and bacon as well. Friendly service. read more

Ankeny Cafe - Great old school place. - Cafes Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

Delicious small town diner in the middle of Ankeny. Breakfast standards - pancakes, eggs, sausage - were great.

This place is a GEM! Excellent breakfast! Service superb! These gals run their butts off! So glad to see they're now serving LUNCH!!!! If it's anything like their breakfast... will be awesome! The pie is 10-10! read more

The Biscuits and Gravy are the best in town. The Cafe is family owned and operated by a wonderful family that make you feel part of the family. If you enjoy a family friendly environment and home cooking, I would say stop in for breakfast during the week. You won't regret it! read more

A neighborhood gem. For out of town visitors it is a little touch of home! Every time I come to the fair this is my go to diner for breakfast. read more

Great "small town" cafe feel. Good food and great service. We enjoyed our traditional American breakfast there.

The thing is Des Moines is not known as a culinary Mecca but it's getting better. The late Anthony Bourdain who is no doubt idolized by many of us is quoted as saying... "Good food and good eating are about the risks" All to often it's not the 5 star or the new "hip" small plate restaurants that set the bar for what a truly great meal is but rather it's the Mom and Pops, the hole in the wall, no bullshit joints that truly offer both the risk and the reward. I'll take an overweight elderly woman wearing a hairnet (think Chris Farley as the lunch lady) or a scruffy, tatted line cook with blood shot eyes who smells of cheap whiskey, cigarettes and strippers over a celebrated chef to prepare my meal any day of the week. Especially breakfast. Ankeny café is such a place. Pictures of James Dean on the wall, the U-shaped counter surrounded by stools and they only serve breakfast. You're not going to find eggs Benedict, eggs Woodhouse for you Archer fans or the ultimate hangover cure, a Croque-Madame at the Ankeny Cafe. What you will find is old school, world class service from folks who geniuinely seem happy to see you whether you are a regular or not. I am not a regular but I was impressed when obvious regulars would walk in, be greeted by name and asked if they wanted their regular all before they had even made it over to their seats of choice. I ordered the Country breakfast which consisted of 2 eggs to order, hash browns, chicken fried steak and toast. I choose eggs over easy and white bread because I don't believe in wheat bread and let's be honest, there are few things as delicious in this world as a warm, runny egg yolk. They even have a vegetarian option for all you pale, pasty, weak blooded folks out there. I'm an asshole when it comes to eggs and honestly believe no one can cook eggs better then me, not even Nova, god bless her little black heart. Scrambled, poached, basted, or over easy, my egg game is on. In my mind the over easy egg is the bar. If you can perfectly nail an over easy eggs, I'll be your fan for life. Surprisingly though few people can pull it off. One second to short on the flip back and you've got whites that are still a little runny around the yolks which is disgusting and an afront to all things eggalicious. One second to long before the flip back and you start to cook the yolk which is a culinary sin of biblical proportions. Nova says "Eggs are delicate. If you can make an egg every which way correctly you can rule the world." and the crazy broad is right. So, to put your mind at ease and answer the question that's bugging your right now. Did they get it right? Almost and I mean by seconds. One little stringy piece of uncooked white egg snot is all that remained. Not enough to make me go Gordon Ramsey on them but enough to make me pull out my pocket torch and finish cooking that tiny part right on the plate. It was as close as anyone has come in a long, long time and close enough that I give em a pass. The hashbrowns were delicious as was the gravy that partially covered them as it did the chicken fried steak. The chicken fried steak was mediocre. Obviously frozen and processed but any issues were hidden by the gravy. It was good enough that I ate it all. This is not the best breakfast I've ever had but they score high in service, speed, dive-e-ness and overall the food was pretty tasty. Yes, I'm allowed to make up words and there is nothing you can do about it. This is one of those places that all the old retired dudes come to. Meet up to talk about Politics, world events and bitch about their wives and ungrateful children. I like this place. Food alone, I give em 3 stars. Throw in the friendliness of the staff and the parade of characters that come and go, 4 stars. read more

Ankeny Cafe - Cafes Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

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Just ate breakfast there....great food & service. So sorry to hear they have sold and next week is their last week! I will miss eating there on my trips to Ankeny. read more

Great place to have breakfast and great place to socialize. Staff are great people and engage with their customers. Always a big crowd.

We stopped in for breakfast after the Ankeny Farmer's Market. You know the place is good when it's packed! I must say Love the old school diner vibe!!! You can either do bar/counter style seating or booths. Our waitress was so sweet! Our waitress made sure our coffee/drinks were never even below half full! Which they do have good coffee. I ordered the Country breakfast-hash browns, eggs, gravy and country fried steak. Wow! Some of the best gravy I have ever had! The country fried steak was perfectly cooked and delicious! I just wish the hash browns could have been a tad Crispier! But that's personal preference. My Hubby ordered cinnamon French toast. I stole a bite and wow! Delicious!!! Prices are super reasonable! Most everything is under $10. Definitely will be back! This is such a almost hidden gem! read more

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We visited arpund 945am on a saturday. It was pretty busy but we got a table right away. It looks like an old diner theme. The staff is very nice and attentive. They were serving both lunch and breakfast. Thats very convenient! I ordered the combo platter and my son had the chilli dog. He also ordered a vanilla milk shake. Everything was awesome! The chilli on the hot dog was tasty. The gravy on my hashbrown and sausages really hit the spot. I would definitely like to try the other menu items! read more

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Finally got a chance to stop by here. They are only open in the am hours. The food was good, prices were right and the service was great. Can't wait to stop by again. read more

This place used to have great breakfasts, but last two visits yield otherwise. One time I ordered omlet and wheat toast. Never received my toast. The omlet was awful. They are now using canned mushrooms in the omlets. Nasty and disgusting. Today we had ham and eggs. Ham was awful. Tasted like it may have come from bad pork. Just off. I wont go back. read more

I love the small diner feel. Very friendly staff, excellent food and service. Will be going back!

A great local cafe for whatever occasions. I've been coming here since I moved to Ankeny. The menu is small, mostly breakfast items (eggs, bacon, pancakes, ....), burgers and sandwiches for lunch. Most meals are under 10. Service is good. i heard it's always packed in the weekend so get there early. These guys do breakfast right. read more

THE place in Ankeny for breakfast. I've been coming here for almost 20 years. A bit of throwback nostalgia, mixed with genuinely friendly staff that dish out quality food. Simple and traditional menu, with daily specials. Coffee cup never reaches the bottom. You won't regret a visit! read more

My sister and I had high hopes for our first visit to a recommended eatery. We were both disappointed in the quality of our dishes. I ordered the veggie platter. Potatoes, mushrooms, green peppers, onions, scrambled eggs, cheese and toast. Must say was happy with choices of toast. I chose sour dough which was a great decision. I asked for Jalapeños to be added to my dish and salsa on the side. Plate came with a layer of cubed fried potatoes with cheese and the scrambled eggs Potatoes did not taste fresh, so guessed they might have been parboiled and cubed to prep for frying. Mushrooms were canned. Barely found the onions but the green peppers were fresh! The eggs appeared to have been cooked as a large flat sheet and "grid" cut before being added to my plate. Nothing fluffy about them and over cooked. The dis was saved by the jalapeño slices and salsa. Sour dough toast was awesome! Coffee was good which is a plus. And service was good. Friendly with the right amount of attention. Not sure we will try again but the French Toast looked great! And, indeed very friendly atmosphere! Saw many patrons greeting and chatting with each other. read more