I really wanted to like this place as it's new to Ankeny and a local small business but I have to say my first time here was underwhelming.
We were seated quickly at 5:45. Two other tables in the place were occupied. Host came and gave us waters/silverware. We didn't see a server for 15 minutes while the host came by again gave us some bread. We let him know we were ready to place a drink/app order. He said he was just the host, he'd go look for our server and also apologized for the wait because they were slammed. No other tables had filled other than the 2 that were occupied when we came in. There was an uninterested bartender, or rather just a guy standing on the other side of the bar because he didn't do anything the whole time we were there.
Our server came over after another 5 minutes and took our drink/app order. While waiting for our drinks, the table behind us complained about their steak & said it was inedible and the server brought the owner out who offered them half off their bill & gave them free desserts. When our drinks finally came (40 minutes later), we said we were ready to place our entree order. She took our order, seemed unenthused & said "it will be awhile for the garlic knots, we are super busy, so... sorry." Still only 3 occupied tables.
The garlic knots came out & they were the same bread as the ones that came out for free in the beginning. Would have been good to know before we paid extra for them as the appetizer. They were good and buttery. The side salads were rather boring, romaine lettuce & cucumbers and an underwhelming amount of croutons. The ranch for the salad was quite good. Our entrees came out an hour after ordering. My husband ordered the lasagna & said it tasted good but it was more like a baked pasta with thick layer of cheese, then a layer of lasagna noodle on top of a pasta-sauce soup. I ordered the chicken parm. Presentation was not good. Not enough sauce, too much cheese. Chicken was breaded well but I barely got to it. Taste was not very flavorful. I didn't dislike it but I won't be desperate to eat it again. We had to ask for refills every time we needed one.
Didn't complain but we did ask for our check right away, the owner came over apologizing for the wait and offered us a free dessert. She was very nice and apologetic & we felt bad. We chose a cannoli and it was delicious. The owner told us she makes the cannoli filling herself and it was so good!! The entire meal took a little over 2 hours & we're not sure if we'll be back, but if we were it would be for the owner's cannolis & not for dinner. I hope it was just an off night & might suggest hiring better staff if it wasn't. read more