Absolute hidden gem in Ames. Of course the bakery is great. You can even get day old bread at a…read moresteep discount. The true discovery is that they serve an excellent lunch. Sandwiches, soups and salads. We had the Reuben and a bowl of chicken wild rice soup. They even split it for us as we shared! The coffee looked great too - lots of people carrying out. Donuts, Dutch letters and other sweets were also plentiful- we got some to take home. Will go back for sure! Very quaint and local.

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.

I looked up donut places and this lil place popped up and I was excited cus the pics of the donuts…read morein the case is what I wanted, but when we got there is it was called "River to River Bakery and Pizza". So I guess no more Brick Street Bakery? Great location. No donut cases displaying donuts. We had to ask about the donuts and it was 8am. They had the "fancy" donuts, you know the ones that people get creative with cereals and stuff. No plain every day donuts. I got the apple fritter. It had cherries in it, I didn't know that. The 2 ladies that were there were super sweet. There is some seating inside and outside. And you can see the old architecture of the building inside and out which makes it fun. They are only open 6am-2pm. Will need to go back and try their pizza as I was not impressed with the donut.

Great for a quick slice at lunchtime, or when I'm craving a good donut in the morning. They support…read morean awesome service for people, so I love to support them! They have expanded their pizza menu recently, along with other options and services AND extended their hours, so they're making it better and easier to order from them. I love to sit inside on cold days and watch people going by on the square, or sit on the patio in warmer weather and do the same.

EVENT/CUSTOM CAKE REVIEW:…read more We love Crafty's and their incredible gluten free baked goods so knew we wanted to hire them for a custom cake and cupcakes for our event! A few months prior we came by to do a cake tasting and decide on flavors every single thing was unreal it was so hard to pick! We opted for: - almond cake with buttercream frosting - chocolate cake with Bailey's Irish cream frosting - spice cake with cream cheese frosting - lemon cake with lemon cream cheese frosting I can't say enough about the quality of these cakes - nobody could believe they were gluten free!! The frosting and cakes held up outside as we served them and everyone loved each one. It was impossible to pick a favorite!

Great service, friendly staff and wonderful assortment of backed goods with many coffee, tea, and…read moreother drink selections. Especially love the Toast App to order ahead!

They have very a delicious coffee & lunch. You can order almost any latte, espresso, or coffee…read moredrink made fresh to order! In my opinion, the bakery sweets are so overly sweet they almost take your breath away. They run some great deals on soup & sandwich lunch specials so that's worth checking out!

After dress shopping our group stopped here to grab a quick lunch. I ordered the make your own and…read moremade a vegetarian sandwich. It was as expected, not bad but nothing that makes it unique. I ordered the basket expecting the classic "coffee store" chips to sadly see they were just original ruffles. As for the pickle, I expected it to be a spear and I was let down to find out it was two slices. The cookie was alright as well but nothing special. I ordered the pastries and donuts and those were pretty good. I enjoyed the mocha Bismarck donut. The lemon cream cheese pinwheel was pretty good as well but on the drier side. Overall, good for a quick bite. Staff are super nice and friendly.

I used to come all the time with my dad, he's gone now, but sometimes I need nostalgia. their…read moreFacebook page said salted carmel donut holes. I posted that I was excited since I would be driving through town. I got a Facebook message asking if he should put some back for me in case they sold out. yes please! and I'm thankful fr that because when I got there at 10am they were sold out. I also got to try the lemon ones, Salted carmel is still my favorite and they didn't disappoint. thanks for setting some back for me. my waistline doesn't thank you, but I do.

The best apple fritters I have ever had, always consistently delicious! Locally owned and will go…read moreout of his way to make you smile!

This place was super busy when I went on Saturday morning. I went through the drive window and got…read morethe campfire latte. It had a great taste and I priced as you would expect. The staff was very friendly. If I'm back in town I will definitely stop by again.

Did you know that you can get excellent drinks but also rent out the dining area of this cute…read morecoffee shop? I was invited to a bridal party that took over this quaint coffee shop on a Saturday afternoon. Since I got to help set up, I got to see how accommodating and helpful they were. The organizer of the party had permission and brought all the things that she needed. Extra tables, drinks, foods, balloons, etc. The individuals working were happy to help with anything that we needed. They took over certian drinks but also offered the regualar drinks while we were visiting. I wanted to still support them while I was there so i tried one of the drinks on the menu that was seasonal. I enjoyed the drink, location, and atmosphere. I could see that if I lived closer, I would be a regular. There is a deck area outside that is shaded and would be perfect to watch the traffic go by. You can sit inside and chat with friends or even pull up the high tops and sit and work on your laptop if needed.

Love the cozy atmosphere, and the food never disappoints. Service was great too, everyone is very…read morefriendly and accommodating! My favorite place to eat, and when my son is visiting from Oregon, it's his favorite as wellñ

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.