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Bar La Tosca

4.0 (77 reviews)
ModerateItalian
Open 8:00 am - 9:00 pm

Bar La Tosca Photos

BAR LA TOSCA ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Quiet
Intimate
Good for groups
Dogs allowed

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Recommended Reviews - Bar La Tosca

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Tomato bisque with bread, no olive oil, a mountain of garlic in water, and a balsamic reduction.
Cheryl B.

I've driven by a few time and always see a crowd. I finally had time to stop and foot a try. I never found the right entrance but that was fine as the young waiter said you could pick up a chair and crash through the glass to find your way in if you wanted. Well I wanted but entered through the stage. I sat outside in the shade and it was very comfortable and surprisingly not that noisy with traffic, much to my delight. Weather was great! I had lovely service and although I was dressed haphazardly as I only brought winter cloths in tights and a shirt I picked up at a secondhand store as, surprise, it's hitting the high 70's today ! I ordered tomato bisque and a side of French bread. I asked for balsamic oil and was met with blank stares from the young man and his trainee but he was good and quickly asked for an explanation of what it was and after my disbelief that an Italian place didn't have it, I was served a little bowl(without oil) of a balsamic reduction. Well, that was alright for me and waited for hue bread and soup while I eavesdropped and a watch the college kids walk by. The tomato bisque with bread, no olive oil but a mountain of garlic in water, and a balsamic reduction soon was served and I did not go away hungry but everything needed tweaking! The tomato bisque was flat and needed not only pepper but salt to perk it up. A dollop of crème fresh would have helped. Lovely waiters who need to expand their horizons, well the manager and the head chef. I'm picky though and it was Sat. I shouldn't have quizzed the young sweet waiters!

tables and chairs in a restaurant - A dog is lying on a chair at a restaurant or bar, with tables, chairs, and a bar area visible in the background.
Daniel E.

A block south of Ames' CampusTown sits an Italian restaurant with a terrific menu, excellent customer service, and a spot to get away. Yes, complete with WiFi. Open for breakfast through dinner, this restaurant goes by a pair of names, Bar La Tosca and Stomping Grounds Cafe. Plenty of street parking is available, so make sure you feed the meters in front! You could walk from here to Jack Trice Stadium or Hilton Coliseum. It's ample space but could use more color and a slight tweak of added ambiance, but overall an outstanding experience. Maddie (our server) was excellent, a pleasant combination of friendly, efficiency, personality, and knowledge. I'm glad she served us and steered me to some items expertly. It opened with grilled Italian bread with roasted garlic oil, and it was delicious, toasted just right with the oil, and its content was so darn good. Could have eaten that all day! They serve Coca-Cola products, plus a full bar. Chose a BLT as my lunch option, recommended by Maddie, and she nailed it! Local bacon was tasty; greens were fresh, and tomato and mayo were added to the meal. Then, after catching up on some schedule craziness, I enjoyed a slice of yummy carrot cake that was quite good, capping off a pleasant visit. Reasonably priced on top of all of that too!

Egg bake - A baked dish featuring melted cheese, greens, and chunks of chicken or vegetables served in a black skillet, with fruit and a drink in the background.
Christine I.

Stopped in for brunch. They are now combined with stomping grounds and they've updated their interior decor. I think the ambience looks nicer and more modern. Definitely a nice change of pace style in the campus town area. I ordered a hot scarlet herbal tea. Incredibly fragrant and sweet. And I highly recommend this one. I am glad their tea is still great quality. For my brunch order I had the egg bake. It was served on a cast iron skillet and I would say it was decent. I did have hot sauce on the side with my order. I think the fruit on the side looked kinda awkward since it was a small amount served on a plate. I would definitely stop in again to try more of their pasta since I used to be a fan of that in their old location.

Calamari with jalapeno
Thai B.

We stopped in for an impromptu lunch. Great pub like atmosphere and friendly bartender, although I thought the overhead music was a little loud. Surprisingly the calamari we ordered had jalapenos in it, I have never had it served this way and we absolutely loved it. It was crispy, salty, and spicy. The aioli sauce was very good too. We also ordered the Chicken flat bread and Chicken fettuccine. The chicken on the flat bread was very flavor ful, but I personally didn't care for the big chunks of tomatoes, but my wife really enjoyed it. The chicken and mushroom fettuccine was creamy and we'll balanced. This was a great little lunch spot and worth coming back to try other menu items.

Boxed Cavetteli!!! Never!!! - A bowl containing cooked pasta with dark sauce, possibly with cheese and toppings, served in a restaurant setting.
SS D.

Looking at pictures of your Dishes your Cavetteli looks like it's dried pasta out of a box! Just FYI a true Italian restaurant will use homemade fresh cavatelli or at least frozen cavatelli noodles that were made with ricotta and flour - NOT OUT OF A BOX - trust me (I'm Italian) change your cavatelli noodle. Some pasta absolutely cannot be used from dry! Check, is your gnocchi dry or fresh frozen? Then same with Cavetteli. Just some friendly advice.

Slight disappointment on the seafood amount in the ciopinno but flavor of broth was good. Could honestly just come here for the antipasta

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9 months ago

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1 year ago

I ate breakfast here on Thursday, Feb 27. The bill we signed including tip was 53 dollars, they charged our credit card 73 dollars.

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5 years ago

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1 year ago

Great food and location near campus. We make it a habit to stop in 1-2x/wk. Italian food is good. Staff is consistently excellent.

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10 years ago

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7 years ago

The best (and only good) Italian food in Ames. Great drinks. Mellow atmosphere. Great for lunch or dinner.

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Awesome place that really surprised. Clearly a farm to table concept with a varied but overwhelming…read moremenu. Came in on a weeknight with coworkers and received good service and fantastic food. Nice drink menu (I enjoyed their take on the old fashioned) with cocktails and a nice craft beer selection. Everyone loved their food, from the barley soup to the ravioli, burger, Brussels salad, and the salmon I got. Hidden gem perhaps was their incredible dessert selection. The cherry tart was a pleasant surprise and the salted caramel chocolate cake will def fix a choc craving. Would gladly come back.

Provisions Lot F in Ames…read more If you like fresh baked breads and bomb desserts, along with amazing food, head to Provisions if you're in the area. Pork Belly app: thick cut pork belly in lettuce cups, topped with sweet thai glaze, pickled carrots, onions, celery, mint, thai basil, cilantro, scallions and crushed peanuts. A tad sweet for me but overall this was a great app. Slice of Sourdough: delish. Chicken Japchae: since my mom has celiac disease, we were very excited to see this on their menu - dining out with her can be a challenge. Especially at a place specializing in breads! The only unfortunate part about this dish is (I think) they forgot they already salted the chicken and salted it again...and then again. I'm not one to say something is too salty, I love my sodium but this was mouth-puckering salty. Inedible, actually, but the noodle dish itself was SO GOOD that she set the chicken aside and ate the entree. NY Strip Steak: perfectly med-rare, served with a garlic-rosemary potato pavé (like a potato casserole of sorts), roasted broccolini and a house steak sauce that was similar to a demi glaze. Not a bite left - no leftovers with this one. I ate the whole dang thing. Myself. And I have zero regrets. Crème Brûlée: I also couldn't leave without ordering a crème brûlée because there are some really bad ones out there. This did not disappoint. I also took home a Dubai Chocolate tort, Raspberry Crumble and a Flourless Chocolate cake. ZERO regrets but if you love Dubai chocolate then you know there are some discusting renditions of this in the market. However, the Dubai chocolate tort at Provisions Lot F is . I can't even describe how delicious this was and is worth the drive to Ames just for this dessert. If you're north of DSM for a game or whatever, I highly recommend Provisions! I'm already scheming a way to get back there...soon!

The Great Plains Sauce & Dough - New Orleans crust pepperoni pizza

The Great Plains Sauce & Dough

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To start out... I'm not a local, I come to Ames once a month for work and love to try new bars and…read morerestaurants.. Figured I'd give this place a try! The feel and ambiance... mixed with a touch of nostalgic. Upon entering you are greeted with tables and chairs inches from the door. We thought that we entered from the side door. There was no host stand or sign stating that you should order in the back at the kitchen. We were confused. During our meal the radio was playing, and not nice music but a crude talk show that happened to be talking about someone getting a Brazilian wax... You'd think the place could pay for Spotify or music without ads... The booths were a tad old and crusty - But I suppose that's where the nostalgia comes in. The food... much to be desired. It was all cheap just okay. Everything lacked flavor. Nothing to write home about. The salads were massive and a great bargain. The cheese bread was disappointing, it was just melted cheese on a sub bun with store bought sauce. For a location called sauce and dough company. This was expected to be a highlight, but ended up being something that could easily be made at home. The pizza was decent, but confusing at best. For someone's first time, I'd expect there to be signs or mentions that the honey should go on the crust... I only found that out after once I read reviews. The crust was dry and lacked flavor without the honey or other seasoning... Am I the only one that thinks that you should not need honey to make pizza palatable. Also, if you add honey you add 70 cals each tablespoon. I know I didn't come to eat healthy but also... Everyone is right, so many toppings and cheese. But again, lacks flavor. The prices... very reasonable. We got two large salads, two beers, an app and a large pizza for $50. Very reasonable. Overall, I won't be back but am glad I at least tried an Ames staple.

This seems like your average local pizza place but what's special about it is the honey crust…read morecombo! The workers are kind and it's a casual spot where you order at the counter and take it to a table to eat.

Cornbred - Burnt ends.

Cornbred

(323 reviews)

$$

Went here for lunch with the family, this place has a lovely charm - and was at one point a train…read moredepot. Our server was attentive, and it was quiet enough to have a pleasant conversation over lunch. Three of our table had the daily special - a ribeye sandwich with caramelized onions, lettuce, tomato, their version of sweet and saucy steak sauce. Everyone enjoyed it - and I stole a few fries which were golden crisp and perfectly seasoned. I was assured their fries are consistently delicious. I had pork shoulder with two sides, i went with hallelujah potatoes (cheesy potato casserole) and cornbread pudding. The pork was melt in your mouth tender, perfect with the sweet and sassy bbq sauce. Each plate comes with some pickle slices and pickled onions, the onions were nice - i gave my pickles away as i am not a savory pickle girl. The hallelujah potatoes were cheesy, creamy and crunchy (topping) and the cornbread pudding tasty. The lemonade was recommended to me and it was well done - tart and sweet. Overall if I had more time in town I would definitely come back.

Just some suggestions for future guests. Please ask first if guests want to be seated on patio. We…read morewere taken outside on patio, granted the plastic sheets were down, but it was a cool, rainy day. We were told the heaters would be turned on. They weren't. We asked to be moved inside and a they moved us to the loudest part, next to bathrooms and opening to patio, so still cool. Waitress had no time for us, maybe because we were asked to be moved. Idk. Food was good. If the name of your restaurant is "cornbred" you would think your meat dish would come with a piece of cornbread. Instead you have to order it as an appetizer which are muffins. How about one little muffin person placed on the table. I would also maybe include a side with your meal (maybe less meat) to accommodate for the side. Just suggestions. It is a cute place though.

Stomping Grounds - Curried Chicken Salad

Stomping Grounds

(162 reviews)

$$

I've driven by a few time and always see a crowd. I finally had time to stop and foot a try. I…read morenever found the right entrance but that was fine as the young waiter said you could pick up a chair and crash through the glass to find your way in if you wanted. Well I wanted but entered through the stage. I sat outside in the shade and it was very comfortable and surprisingly not that noisy with traffic, much to my delight. Weather was great! I had lovely service and although I was dressed haphazardly as I only brought winter cloths in tights and a shirt I picked up at a secondhand store as, surprise, it's hitting the high 70's today ! I ordered tomato bisque and a side of French bread. I asked for balsamic oil and was met with blank stares from the young man and his trainee but he was good and quickly asked for an explanation of what it was and after my disbelief that an Italian place didn't have it, I was served a little bowl(without oil) of a balsamic reduction. Well, that was alright for me and waited for hue bread and soup while I eavesdropped and a watch the college kids walk by. The tomato bisque with bread, olive oil, a mountain of garlic and a balsamic reduction soon was served and I did not go away hungry!! Lovely place!

My friend and I came here for brunch and were not disappointed. We sat on the patio and enjoyed the…read morenice weather. I had the gnocchi which was very tasty. The sauce is creamy and rich and I savored every bite. I also had a vanilla laté which came in a fun mug that seems hand crafted. My friend enjoyed the BLT and her matcha laté as well. Our waitress was very kind and attentive. Very sweet girl who is newer and doing a fantastic job. There were so many great things on the menu and will definitely come back and try another dish. The photos on Yelp seem to be for a previous business. Unfortunately I did not snap any photos while I was there but here is a few shots of the dinner menu.

Bar La Tosca - italian - Updated May 2026

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