Our favorite place to eat in town. Staff is always friendly. Everything on the menu is good no…read morematter what you choose

Went here on the recommendation of three locals after working a basketball game. I misheard them…read moreat first; I thought they said "Tempe" and we were looking for a Mexican restaurant. Anyhow, we arrived and elected to sit at the bar versus a booth. Took a couple minutes to get noticed and we were asked to sit at the other end of the bar due to some clutter... Prices are very reasonable at this establishment. A flight was $7.50...if you were in WDM or Waukee, you would probably be looking at double that. They also brew their own beer and cider here; I'm not sure why that's not advertised heavier. Its called the "Gamble Block Brewery". I had Fear the Beard, the Baja Lager, the Maple Pumpkin Ale, and a cinnamon apple cider. The Maple pumpkin ale was delicious--the maple definitely hit on the back end. I was not a fan of the cider--they used a rather tart apple. The Fear the Beard (comparable to Blue Moon) and the Baja lager were OK. For food, I had the chicken tender basket with a 1/2 order of Texas Fries. I actually thought the ranch seasoning detracted from this dish--the queso was quite good and the bacon was plentiful. The downside to getting "sampler" versions of items was none of the accompaniments were included. My friend who got a full order of the Texas Fries was given sour cream with his food--mine did not. Also, on the beer sampler fruit wedges are served with the full size versions but not on the flight. The chicken tenders were very good and had the right breading/chicken ratio. The buffalo sauce packed a punch but was not obnoxiously spicy. The ranch that came with it was very good and was clearly made in-house. More of a 3.5 star review.

Added to this review below 08/21/25…read more My wife and I found the hangout Diner in the last part of July. We went there for breakfast and lunch. And chosen a variety of various Foods. Now rather than make a whole bunch of reviews I'm going to try to put a lot of the things that we got into one review so here goes. Biscuits and gravy the best around. You can get a half order or a full order. You can add an egg if you like which I did. I had chicken and waffles one time. It's not always on the menu but you have to call and ask first. But it was very very good. My wife has had a full breakfast by choosing eggs bacon hash browns and all the components separately. Christy and her mother Sharon are there most of the time. They cook and also waitress. They have pancake waffles French toast all the normal breakfast items. And the mix for the pancakes and waffles is homemade not from a bag. This time for breakfast I had a breakfast burrito and had them put everything inside but no green peppers. It was large and delicious. My wife has eaten a chicken Caesar salad which she said was a delicious. They do have daily specials and you might want to call before you go in and find out what their special is for the day. Not everything is on the menu but if you ask she possibly might be able to make it for you. Now for the sweet end of it they have sticky pecan rolls cinnamon rolls that have a glaze on them sometimes they have a variety of Danish rolls. They also have ice cream by the scoop or in a bowl. It's not soft serve with scooped ice cream. They have various types of of hamburgers. All in all it's worth going in and trying it and see what you think for yourself. I highly recommend it as you see I gave five stars to the food and the atmosphere . Oh yeah coffees only $2 a cup. 08/21/25 my wife and I went in for the special of the day today. I had homemade meatloaf, garden fresh green beans and mashed potatoes and gravy. Everything was delicious. My wife had the homemade stew and a chicken Caesar salad. I tasted the chicken off of the Caesar salad and it was seasoned beautifully.

Fresh food, beautiful salads artfully prepared. I've been eating here for about 4 years now and I…read morehave never been disappointed! The chef is a great chef and he makes the most delicious meals. I never get the sense that the food is pre- manufactured. They prepare a new entree ( chef's design) almost nightly. Some really good selections! The soups are original and change frequently. This is a great place for adults to enjoy a quiet dinner. Lovely relaxing bar adjoining the dining room. The historic hotel is wonderfully decorated and maintained!! Amazing artwork and surroundings wherever you go in this restaurant and hotel You will never be disappointed by the grand design, architecture, the staff and the food. I highly recommend. Food is reasonably priced Lunch and breakfast available too Dining room closes after brunch on Sunday.

Always a great place for traditional American fare. Don't expect escargot, but good comfort food…read moreis plentiful. Their holiday buffets are very well done and well attended. Come for the hotel rooms . . . stay for the drinks in the bar !! Bowl . . . downstairs , . . but only after the cocktails so as offset the curves of the lanes.

Nice stop on bike trail! Good music and food! Fish sandwich was very good! Glad I didn't follow…read morenegative reviews!

Went here a few times and every time has been awesome, the people are friendly and the food is…read moreamazing. Usually I don't think of getting bar food, but they have jalapeño poppers here and I can find those no where else, plus the added menu selections makes this place fantastic. Also they got the slot machines, I don't use em but hey

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.

Food and decor, service was all amazing! Gluten free options were nice as well! Enjoyed all of it…read moreand will be back. Just wish the burnt ends weren't like $15 for 5 bites!

We stopped in here along our road trip and we're pleasantly surprised. We split a house salad and…read morethe pasta dish to save room for their peanut butter pie. Wow! Everything from the service to the food and the ambience was wonderful. This is definitely one of our favorite restaurants in the area and we plan to come again on our next trip through.

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!!

My how I have missed my favorite restaurant in the Midwest! This was my first time at their new…read morelocation and it did not disappoint. Chef Lynn greeted me when I walked in and took time to chat with me. Everyone and everything here is fabulous and I will be back as often as possible. The food, service and ambiance are fabulous!

We had a good experience! The restaurant was busy when we visited, but the staff handled everything…read morewith a positive attitude. Even with a full dining room, everyone was friendly and worked hard to make sure we were taken care of. However, we spent more time there than we originally planned waiting. The food was good. You could tell the kitchen and staff were doing their best to keep up with the crowd without sacrificing quality.

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.

Was nearby for an early meeting and had a gap before my next one. Decided to grab breakfast and…read morerolled the dice and just went here for a quick bite. Wow, it is a lot more than a quick breakfast at a gas station! The kitchen was complete and had a full menu offered up. It was also a commercial bakery... multiple bakers working on cinnamon rolls that looked divine! I had a breakfast quesadilla. It had real flavor in it with candied jalapeños. It was a lot but judging from all the plates I saw come out of the kitchen everything there was solid in serving size. The chai latte was good too. And the folks were nice. They definitely have loyal fans locally, folks were ordering for tailgates!

I stole some of my colleagues food it was so delectable…read more Service with a smiley face and the day was perfect for the patio dining. Great experience all around!!

Well there's a reason everyone raves about this place. I've had bits of it at the state fair and…read morewhatnot but finally drove out to visit one recent Sunday. The food, service, and ambiance were all great! Don't sleep on the smoked turkey. Apparently that's like a Texas thing, but Iowa - don't knock it til you try it! The smoked turkey is so juicy and was heaven in their Sunday breakfast burrito special! We did the ribs and brisket and both were also really amazing! Like competition winning good. I thought we'd have leftovers. We did not. We crushed everything we ordered, including an Iowa Twinkie to start (highly recommend one of those to start)! It was pretty packed on a Sunday at 1pm but we did get seated super quickly. Highly recommend!