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!

Small place, had the volcano bowl as a take out meal. It was so fresh and delicious. You can…read moreask for brown or white rice and whatever topping you like. The bowl is rather large, so choose the medium bowlif you aren't famished. I didn't realize till I was heading out that they offer bobba tea as well. I will make sure to go back another time to try the bobba.

We were looking for something quick to eat at the playground while our toddler played before…read moredriving back to Des Moines. This came up on Yelp and our family loves poke so we went for it. First of all, just the 3 protein bowl is definitely big enough to split between two or maybe even three people. I selected shrimp, salmon, and spicy salmon with almost all the free veggie toppings, mixed rice, and spicy Mayo and eel. I do think they made a mistake and accidentally put the soy ginger sauce on it instead (?) as there was no eel sauce. However it was a small mistake and the food was still really delicious. I also ordered a jasmine mango tea. It was alright and the toppings were generous (lots of popping boba and mango slices) but the tea was super bitter like it had been oversteeped. Either way the poke was really delicious better than anything else we have tried in Des Moines. We will definitely try to order again if we come to the area in the future.

We always try to eat here when we are in town to visit family. The menu is quite good but the…read morespecials are usually even better. We had the Baja Shrimp Taco special last Wed and restaurant week started so we had the entire Thai tasting menu on Friday. It was fabulous - please check it out. It is Midwest hot, not Thai hot. Staff is always great. We almost always end with carrot cake - I had ZoeBakes carrot cake in the Twin Cities and it was not anywhere close to as tasty as The Cafe's version. I would agree with some other posts that the lighting in some areas makes it very hard to read the menus or see your food. Updated lighting would be helpful. We try to come early and get a spot near the windows so that we can see better.

We are from out of town and met friends from out of state in Ames for a wedding for early Sunday…read morebreakfast. The menu was "brunch"-- had some al a cart items but everything was about $17. They had a larger menu starting at 10 AM-- opened at 7:00. Good coffee, good food, (pepper bacon was'superb') great service, pleasant atmosphere. Good choice.

Great place if you need a quick, grab and go breakfast. The biscuit sandwiches are amazing. The…read morehomemade biscuits are to die for! Sit down breakfast is available, too. You can't leave without trying the fresh, homemade scones.

The Filling Station is a gas station, an extra stocked convenience store, a breakfast/lunch food…read morecounter, and a tables inside and out to enjoy your refreshments and the view. Gayle and I stopped in today after reading about it within some "48 hours in Ames" article. I ordered a brisket grilled cheese sandwich, while Gayle chose a similar one with blackberry flavoring. We split a can of Guinness off the convenience store fridge, and then sat outside for our street and car wash view. We had nice shade on a not too hot day and took the opportunity to hang out bit after we finished our meal. This was a tasty and pleasant experience of good value overall.

We stopped here for lunch when in Ames for a concert. It came recommended by a coworker and our…read morewhole group enjoyed our experience. Amongst our group we ordered the Long Island ice tea, nerds flavored Long Island ice tea, bloody marry and some martinis. We also ordered lunch and everyone seemed really pleased with their food. They were super busy but did a great job accommodating our group of 8. Glad we popped in during our time in Ames.

5 trips to Brazil were amazing so it was great to be at this bar for lunch and dinner. In Ames this…read moreis the # 1 place to be by far. Soccer. World Cup. Academia. Global travelers. Great staff. Feijoada is needed. I look forward to returning.

Had dinner here on a Tuesday evening while in town for a conference. I partnered up with another…read moreconference attendee and we came here for dinner. The menu had a diversity of options with both bistro and full size options. We both settled on the Main St. chicken dish on recommendation from the waitress along with swapping the rice for mashed potatoes. Great suggestion. My conference mate asked to have her mushrooms removed and I asked to have the tomatoes removed. Although we both ordered the same meal, the presentation looked different for each of us and hit the spot for our tastebuds. Mine seemed more like a chicken marsala while hers was a tomato sauce. Either way we both enjoyed our meals. We both also had dessert - I had the delicious chocolate cake with raspberry sauce. Honestly there was too much sauce but the cake was still delicious! My conference mate had the peanut pie and it was divine - imagine a Reese cup with an Oreo crust. If I'm ever back in Ames this will definitely be on my return list!!

Came here on company dinner and we had a great time. Food was decent and I enjoyed my carbonara,…read morehuge portion. The French onion soup was just ok but everyone enjoyed the peanut butter pie. Very good ambiance for group dining and the service was great.

For starters, the staff is great! They were patient and extremely kind. They all had smiles on…read moretheir faces and were quite happy :) They're all very fast, but very efficient. Our food was delicious!!! The portion sizes for the price is perfect and the ingredients are FRESH! Everything tasted wonderful and it wasn't too much. We also got a smoothie, which was SO GOOD! It was very well blended and somehow stayed blended? Lol. Other places tend to half a** blend things and they wind up separating, but that was not the case here thankfully. It was also packed with flavor. They even have kid friendly options on the menu, too. Inside is more on the "intimate" side. It's small, but not cramped. The decor is upbeat and it's delightfully bright. It was a bit "noisy", but they blend smoothies, so ‍ lol. We didn't mind because it wasn't too loud; we still had a normal level of conversation without having to yell. I'd say it was an average noise level; not too loud and definitely not irritating. Overall, this is definitely a fantastic lunch spot! We will be going back to try more of their menu :)

I usually have great experiences at this location, but at the latest I was disappointed. I spent…read more$15 on a full meal, and every ingredient fell short of the regular proportion. I received a couple spoonfuls of corn, a paper-thin quesadilla, and my salsa was missing. I know working food service is difficult, but at the end of the day people are paying for food and you are providing it. Please train your workers better. :)

I love Wheatsfield, as it provides terrific food and lifestyle options without compromising my…read moreoverall experience. The overall vibe of the place is calming, which helps me in these hectic times. Private parking lot, great layout, helpful staff who know their store. Excellent produce. Terrific deli and meat market. Numerous options that you cannot obtain in most store. Located just West of downtown Ames. I try to stop here every time that I am in Ames, as I find items that I cannot get elsewhere, and they add to my quality of life. Some interesting food options always intrigue me too!

Great selection of natural foods. Pricey, but not more so than other natursl foods groceties. A…read moremembership helps. Good downtown location with plenty of parking. The employees are always helpful and very friendly.