Morning Bell Coffee Roasters claims to pour a brew that is "moderately acceptable ". I'd say it…read moregreatly exceeds expectations. I really like is a coffee shop with a cool, informal vibe that opens early. Throw in a nice window and some big ass plants and I am in! Filled with plenty of seating, a couple of outdoor tables for the nice days and some larger tables for those with actual work to do, it's easy to spend a chunk of time here. I am sure if I lived nearby, I'd be here all the time. In fact, if I was looking for a home in Ames, I'd probably just draw a circle within walking distance and start my search there. Looking to start your day in Ames with a morning pour over or simple espresso? Morning Bell is your place.

This was the first place i stopped to in town to get my coffee fix, it was excellent. The counter…read morestaff were extremely friendly and were pumped to recommend stuff for me to do in Ames. They didn't have drip coffee so i opted for an americano and it was delicious. Awesome place.

Stuck with 90 minutes between meetings in downtown Ames on a Friday afternoon, I fell into Cafe…read moreDiem on Main Street, and it was a terrific experience! It's a quiet place to get some work done (yes, they have WiFi), and their chicken salad sandwich was delicious. It was freshly made and tasty, with grapes on wheat bread. I needed about an hour of focus and productivity to accompany my lunch, and they checked every box!

This spot was bumping on a Saturday morning, can tell the locals enjoy visiting here. The drip was…read morewas excellent and the chocolate chip scone was yummy. Friendly staff behind the counter and a homey inviting environment not much to not like.

First time here and I was pleasantly surprised! I'm very picky with my coffee and this was really…read moregood! I also had a turkey club and that was really good as well! The homemade bun it was on was so yummy! My only recommendation would be that they clean better. We sat by a window and there was cob webs, bugs and dirt in the window right by our table along with a dead plant.

Really good coffee place. I took my son and he liked the cold coffee. Their scones are as good as a…read moredonut! The people working there were really nice and smiling

Best coffee & coffee drinks in town. Funky, friendly atmosphere. Friendly, funny employees. Nice…read moreselection of gently used albums & unique art.

For the music and coffee and shop local lovers. This place is cozy and always 72 degrees. It's a…read morevibe.

I had to stay in Ames for an extended period due to a family member's medical issues, and knowing…read morethis epicenter of everything was walking distance from me for the ten days comforted me and proved incredibly helpful when situations consistently arose during my stay. From really good food options to snacks and drinks to toiletry needs, Kwik Star delivers, even on a holiday like Christmas. I'm grateful for their elite customer service and cleanliness.

While I generally love KwikStar, this weekend, we had a much less than expected experience. I…read morebought the boneless chicken wings, hoping that they were awesome, like the tenders. I was sadly mistaken. I got the garlic Parmesan wings. Usually(not always), this flavor is not very spicy, which is why I order it. At this company, this flavor is moderately or very spicy. The quality of the meat isn't as good as KFC, or even KwikStar's own chicken tenders. We won't be getting these again. The staff here is awesome. The place is clean. Prices are about average for boneless wings. I also got the KitchenCravings devil egg potato salad and it was very close to how my mom made potato salad. A bit pricey, but it was worth it. Lot parking here. MarcyDiner'sTantrumScale-5/5- NoScreamingKids. On this visit only, not CyHawkApproved. I have a very upset 12 year old-he's not feeling well after eating these wings.

Amazing donuts! By far the best in Ames. I love taking family here on a weekend morning to get a…read morelittle sweet treat. Not many bakery options around and this is definitely the best I have found.

Van Hemert's Dutch Oven Bakery is a family-owned, full-line scratch bakery since 1983. This is a…read moregood check-off for visitors. We visited on a Friday afternoon around 2 pm and I was glad some of the baked goods were still available. I quickly picked up a few items: Dutch letters, almond horns, almond tarts, and blueberry filled Dutch windmills. The first three items have a strong but not overpowering almond flavor. I especially liked the almond horns which had a crunch but chewy and buttery texture. I also really liked the windmills and wished I had ordered the raspberry ones as well. It was buttery and flakey with just the right about of blueberry cream cheese filling.

Stopped in for breakfast and was very happy we did. The spinach and feta omelet was delicious,…read morepacked with spinach and topped with plenty of feta, and the fresh strawberries were a great side. And the chai latte? Creamy, perfectly foamy, and exactly what I needed to start the day. Everything was fresh, the portions were generous, and it was a great breakfast experience. Definitely a spot I'd come back to!

So this was a less than average breakfast experience. We had to be on a waitlist with about of a…read morethird of the tables being empty. I get that if you're short staffed, but having to then give out a phone number to be texted seemed like overkill. And they made the 80 year old after us do the same thing, I got the byo omelet. It was tough and over cooked. I like mine on the slightly browned country style more than a runny French style, but it was bordering burnt. My partner had even worse experience with the farmers omelet cause of the gravy tasting just bad with a glue like texture. The breakfast potatoes had a great seasoning, but were both wet and burnt. On the plus side, the coffee was fantastic. And our server was good.

4/14/26 3:15 p.m…read more Online Order for Pick Up Food: We were very excited to try the food here, but we weren't too impressed, unfortunately. We ordered a Caesar Wrap w/chicken, Chicken Pesto w/no cherry tomatoes, Firehouse Chimichurri w/steak and no cherry tomatoes, Chocolate Smoothie, and Farmer's Punch. For starters, all of the produce was fresh and crisp (which is always a plus), but you can tell that meat is not their forte. The chicken tasted as if it were precooked, frozen chicken (not saying that's a bad thing, just didn't seem as if it was freshly cooked), and the steak was full of almost inedible gristle. The overall flavor of the food was pretty lackluster as well, besides on the Chicken Pesto; the balsamic vinaigrette was very overpowering. The Caesar Wrap was large, but the sandwiches were quite small portion-wise. The Chocolate Smoothie tasted more like a green smoothie with chocolate protein powder, and we had a really hard time keeping it mixed; sadly, we didn't finish it :( The Farmer's Punch, on the other hand, was really good! Service: The service wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. The person who greeted us was friendly, but not particularly social, if that makes sense? It almost seemed as if they didn't have enough time for us. They were polite and quick with getting our order to us, though. Ambiance: Inside is quite small and not meant for a dine-in experience; there are no tables at all. This is definitely a pick-up/to-go/drive-through type of establishment. It's kept very clean, though, from what we could see.

Seriously what a fun concept! They grow the lettuce for the salads right where they make the salads…read morelove it! How cool!! They only negative... is its a bit of a small salad for $10. The bowl was quite small... I had to add to it once I got home to make a full meal.

Back at the $40 January mug update. The customer service at this location is amazing…read more They told me how long to steap the tea for best flavor before I even asked. That is the first time. It's even the first time someone gave me the right answer. This is the best Jade Mint Green Tea that I have had this month.

This is a Starbucks location located INSIDE of a Hy-Vee! The page doesn't show that anywhere, so I…read morewant to make sure you know! :) When looking at the front side of the building, the Starbucks is located closer to the right-hand side near the deli area and AWAY from the wine and spirits part of the building. As for the location itself, it's one of my favorites. Unlike a lot of in-store Starbucks locations (like in Target or Hy-Vee), this one isn't actually in its own segregated area. It has a tiny spot that it "has", but it's only a couple feet away from the actual aisles themselves. It gives a really neat feeling to it, but at the same time, it also cuts away from the actual "room" of the store. That means there are only two tables, with two chairs each, in the area, and it can be hard to get a full-sized Hy-Vee cart around here. It doesn't really seem like this location was designed for you to "sit and chat" like most Starbucks. That being said, this is still one of my favorites. I love being able to stop into Hy-Vee, get groceries, and have my Starbucks ready to go. When lines are short in Hy-Vee and I only have a few items to buy, I'll even come order my drink here, go check out, and they'll have my drink ready for me when I'm done checking out. There usually isn't much of a wait to get your drink, but usually there are only two people working, so if there's a random rush of people for some reason, they can get a bit backlogged. I've never had much of an issue, though. I came around here often enough that the staff actually remembered my name and my drink. Most of the staff has moved on from then, but they still will give me a smile and a wave if I walk by. My drink is always very similar - even if different baristas make it. At other locations, I usually have a bit of variance in the taste, but I can always expect it to taste correctly and to be made well when I shop here. I don't think I've ever had an issue with the taste of my drink here, and I've ordered here hundreds of times. (It might have hit the thousands, honestly, over the last five years?) As a random note, this location seems to have a wider range of teas than some of the other locations in Ames. This location used to have a lot of rewards programs including one that worked with the Fuel Saver card or a punch card. Both rewards programs have been ceased. I'm really sad as it was part of what made this location so much fun to go to. Notes: You could potentially use the Hy-Vee deli area seating as seating for chilling and lounging though I'm unsure how orthodox that would be. Hy-Vee has bike parking outside. Hy-vee also has outdoor benches and tables that are out year-round that are rarely busy, so you could definitely use that as a lounging area to talk with someone while drinking your coffee. Final thoughts: I love this location. It's always clean, and while it doesn't have much room to chill or lounge, the employees have always been super friendly, and I love that I can count on them to get my drink right every time. Not only that, but it's great to pick up my coffee after my shopping. I'm sad they don't have the rewards programs anymore, but it's still a great location.

Our first time in Ames Iowa. As an Iowa Hawkeyes fan... even though we were Hawkeye fans they were…read moreso nice and just so accepting and caring. Our server, he was so funny. The food is such good quality for that price. It's nice and quiet here early in the morning. The perfect place to sip some coffee and eat some pancakes. 10000000/5 I would definitely recommend!

1) The place wasn't clean. Tables were unbussed. And they weren't very busy…read more 2) I was charged an exorbitant amount for 2 extra eggs with my order of scrambled eggs - more than double the cost of an order of eggs. When I asked the cook/mgr about it, he told me snappily, "Because that's a NON-STANDARD menu item!" 3) The reputedly wonderful pancakes, aside from being big, weren't anything but ordinary. I make better at home. 4) There were rats in the pile of trash by their back door where we parked.