Have always wanted to try this place and on a Saturday night after a Costco run my husband and I decided to stop here. There was a small but steady crowd throughout the night and we had top- notch service from our server- knowledgeable about the menu, attentive in the 'just right way' - carefully observing drinks and not interrupting date night more than necessary. A variety of local And other craft beers were featured although surprisingly not any from Firetrucker next door! The holiday decor was still up but even without it has a warm feel- love the various table sizes and heights and the long bar with a pretty decent offering for cocktails. While there, the bartender was experimenting with drinks and having fun. After recommendations I ordered the French dip which was phenomenal! Homemade bread, warm, generous meat and peppers and grilled onions, flavorful dip . I will say if I ordered again I would ask to have the sauce left off as I am not a fan of horseradish sauce. Still, it was tasty! Side salad as option was super fresh with mixed greens and the house creamy Italian was bursting with herby flavor. my husband had the tenderloin and while delicious- it was 'bougie' and not the traditional Midwest. It was generous and interesting as a dinner option. Would certainly return as the patio is inviting (just not in January)!' read more

TrailSide Tap - French dip - Bars Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

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It's been awhile since I've been able to Iowa and the Ankeny main Street has significantly grown! Stopped into TT for lunch and it didn't disappoint! Great casual spot to grab. Drink or some great bites! Grilled cheese and a side of tomato bisque was just perfect. Great drinks, great service! read more

TrailSide Tap - Bars Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

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Cool vibe, but mixed experience overall. Drinks came out in about 10 minutes, which was fine, but the food took 30 minutes, and the execution left a lot to be desired. The burger was undercooked, and the tenderloin had an interesting nutmeg flavor. The portion size was crazy big, but it came with a disappointingly tiny bun. On the bright side, the cauliflower wings were absolutely awesome--perfectly cooked and full of flavor. Loved the live music drifting in from next door, and the happy hour deal (25% off apps and drinks before 6 PM) was a nice bonus. Would I come back? Maybe, but only for the cauliflower wings and the vibe. read more

TrailSide Tap - Just A Burger - supposedly medium well. - Bars Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

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This was a great choice for dinner. I tried the three peppers burger and it was outstanding. Several local beers were on tap and the atmosphere was relaxed. read more

Driving 7 hours to home and saw the reviews on Yelp so thought we would stop. Arrived at 12:50 and the temperature is about 65 degrees. 9 tables on the patio had customers. We patiently waited 30 minutes for them to take our drink order- ordered our meal too since we didn't want to risk waiting another 30 minutes. Couple seated after us already had their appetizer. Service not so great. Patio is lovely with pergola and metal table & chairs. Food arrived in 20 minutes. Mine was made perfectly although served on a chipped plate (grosses me out). Husband's burger was over cooked but he said tasted good. Overall fair experience. Food was a 4 and service a 2. Main issue was staffing. Likely caught off guard for the beautiful weather in February. read more

I was excited to try this place out because I love the location near Main Street and on the High Trestle Trail. We waited a short bit to have a table outside on a beautiful evening and eventually got our drinks started. We got the crab Rangoon dip for our app and it was very tasty, took about 30 mins. For my meal I got the chicken bacon ranch flatbread which took a little over an hour to get. The pizza was good and I liked the ranch. The patio area was spacious, had good music, shuffleboard tables, and places to hang your bike. Overall, great vibe and food, but service was slow and several times people at our table had empty drinks. read more

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Nice bar & restaurant. It would be a fun place to sit outside when it's nice out. Our waitress didn't have to answer to several of our questions. She did go and find out the answers. The cheese curds were really good! We went with the marinara. The French dip was good. The Umami Crispy Pork Tenderloin was very tasty! The Three Peppers Burger was also enjoyed. The pepper jam was on the side and used more for her Brussel sprouts. The French fries were nice and crispy. One beer and sandwich was $27. Wouldn't hesitate to go here again. read more

The vibe is nice, space is fun, food is mostly good (when it's actually done well) but consistency, service and overall execution and operation leave a lot to be desired. On multiple occasions they've been unable to fulfill service due to one excuse or another. "Over an hour" for a table with a half empty dining room, "over 30 minutes to order food" despite being open. The phrase "under promise and over deliver" comes to mind, trailside has it backwards. It's a big let down when you have a craving, expect a restaurant to deliver, and they repeatedly drop the ball read more

These Brussels have been sent to earth from heaving. Folks I cannot stress this enough if you come here and do not get the Brussels you are missing out. read more

TrailSide Tap - Gotta have a beverage. Tellurium is always a solid option. - Bars Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

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Great patio, breakfast burger was delicious. Our server was attentive and friendly. Busy and a lot of action with the trails on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Plenty of space. read more

Trailside is one of my go to spots whenever friends are visiting, or I am craving a great lunch. The pork tenderloin is incredible, and I often get the salmon bowl. The servers are all so sweet, and the patio is great during warmer weather. read more

Nice place by the bike trail. Good service & good food. Hubby had a beer & liked it. We shared a trail side burger & fries & I got a side salad. Nice salad with good variety of greens. Friend liked her chicken bacon ranch & her hubby enjoyed his all American burger. Place is clean & bar-ish. Neighbor had a steak with carrots on top & it looked delicious!! He gobbled it redownload. read more

TrailSide Tap - Trailside Burger & tasty fries! - Bars Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

Horrible experience after having a few decent experiences. Tonight was so off putting and left such a horrible taste in my mouth that I left without taking a single bite of my food. And will never return again. Tonight, we entered in rear entry on north end of building by patio. Place was a bit busy. We sat near back on a two-person, high-top--placed my larger purse on the table and waited for service. Bartender (white, female, 30s maybe with shorter black hair) came with waters and menus. She came back a few minutes later and proceeded to awkwardly look under the table and when she noticed I was confused, said she was looking for hooks for my bag, but, since there were none, she offered to set my bag on the chair behind me, specifically saying, "No one ever sits here anyways". We ordered and thanked her. Surprisingly the food came out pretty quick-- Manager (blond, probably 50s, white, male) brought out food to our table. He walked away, but, quickly walked back and asked if it was my purse. I stated "yes", to which he replied something along the lines of, 'it can't go here, we have to keep this open for people' and proceeded to grab my purse and attempt to put it on the FLOOR OF THE BAR. I even stated the bartender put it there for me, but he was not having it. So, I grabbed my purse swiftly and was made to feel entirely uncomfortable about the situation. My partner had attempted to eat the French dip to which he stated was far inferior to the one at The Clipper. He then requested the check, to which I responded with clear discontent about paying for that service, but he insisted. The manager and bartender then proceeded to chat about us for a few minutes and then the bartender brought us the full bill and just said, "Sorry". Honestly--there are waaaaay better options in close proximity. Save yourself a misogynistic, douchebag experience with that horrible, vile manager and choose somewhere with better food AND service!!!! read more

The food was fabulous. The meat on the French Dip was trimmed perfectly, and was tender. Service was great- the host, server and a gentlemen I take to be a manger, were all pleasant and attentive. The floor plan is open, but not loud, so we could have our own conversation without hearing everyone else's. Definitely worth the short jaunt west if you are passing through Ankeney! read more

4.0* (out of 5) Food: 4* Atmosphere: 5* Value: 3* Service: 4* 01/22/2023 We stopped here for lunch while in the area as we had stopped before but hadn't eaten - just had taps. An initial disappointment was learning that they no longer were a part of the Pub Pass in 2023 (as they were in 2022), so we wouldn't be able to enjoy a complimentary tap. Even without the Pub Pass, we ordered a Bloody Mary (see picture) and Tip the Cow w/ Vanilla (see picture) as a starter...and enjoyed both of them a lot. For our meals, my wife ordered the Steak Sandwich (see picture) and I ordered the Cubano (see picture). My wife enjoyed the cheesy Steak Sandwich and having just returned from Tampa and some great Cuban sandwiches, this one here in Ankeny held its own - quite authentic with the pork, mustard and great bread. Maybe the best part though was the french fries - I really liked the thick, crunchy coating and they were fried to perfection (see picture). While I found it to be a bit on the pricey side with $16 sandwiches, the food taste and quality were good and worthy of a recommendation. If you found this review helpful, please show your appreciation with a Like or a Follow. read more

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Trailside is one of the best restaurants in the greater Des Moines area. Food and service is always on point read more

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Super good, unique food here. I had the Ribeye (pork), with sweet potato puree and blueberry reduction. Highly recommend. We also had the crab Rangoon dip and recommend that as well. Taylor, our server was awesome. Kudos Trailside Tap read more

was visiting some friends in Ankeny and we wanted to find a good lunch spot. The weather was perfect and we wanted to sit outside. We opted for the Trailside Tap. First off, I LOVE what Ankeny is doing in this uptown neighborhood. Cute storefronts, plenty of options to shop, eat, and drink. I really liked this outdoor patio. There was a bar area, TVs, plenty of seating, even some shuffle ball courts. The downside was that my furry friend wasn't welcome to join so she had to stay in the car. **Don't come for me, we took her out for a walk in the shade partway through the meal and had it running with the air on as well.** :) this brunch burger looked awfully tasty with the everything bagel. The burger initially came out a little underdone, but the staff was happy to accommodate. The french fries were deliciously crispy and honestly, I was a little envious of this BLT. The sourdough, bacon, and fresh tomato, looked pretty much like summertime on a plate. However, I thought that my mediterranean grain bowl was exactly what I wanted. It was very flavorful, it had contrasting textures, was nutrient packed, and just the right portion. It came with kale, quinoa, kamut, feta, grape tomato, edamame, crispy chickpea, and a tahini lemon dressing. I added a salmon fillet and it was cooked perfectly. I didn't realize that they only were doing the brunch menu on the weekend and was a little sad that I couldn't order the seared shrimp lettuce wraps I had my hopes on when I looked at the menu. Maybe next time! read more

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I have had Trailside Tap on my list to visit for a few years now. However, I am surprisingly disappointed. My fiancé and I visited on a Friday night about 5:45. There was no wait and we got sat right away. Upon arrival to our table; the table was super sticky & there was actually a half dead fly caught between the drink menu/food menu. We ordered cocktails; it seemed that the bar had anywhere from 4-6 bar staff behind at any given time I looked over. The problem was there was 1 girl working the well making all the drinks for the entire restaurant & the full patio. It was at least a 10-15 minute wait for drinks from the bar each time. It was not efficient. At one point we got served cocktails in the wrong glassware & the server said "sorry, a lot of the glasses were breaking". We waited almost an hour for a raw burger & extremely sad crab cakes. The flavor of the crab cakes was good but they were dry. The "greens" they were served on were also dry. Come to find out after I moved the very sad thin crab cakes the sauce for them was hidden completely under the greens. Poor plating quite honestly. My fiancé ordered a burger cooked medium rare but it was 100% raw. For an $18 burger it was a huge disappointment. The BBQ beans are ironically served in a crock; however they were luke warm at best. If they had stuck the crocks in the oven & served the beans up in a warm crock it would have made a difference. Overall; I do not recommend the food. The cocktails were good; but served in the wrong glassware. The servers did not bus their own tables. Rather the host did it. I find this to be odd as I served for many years & never had the host bus my tables. I just hope they tip out the host at the end of the evening. It was not wildly crowded; not every table was occupied. The food menu was on the smaller side; I'd have taken that as a sign their dishes were all on point. This was not the case. Our server tried & she was friendly. There was a couple sat down behind us; they got water and menu's. They actually got up and left the restaurant. Sad to say I do not think we will visit again. read more

We sat outside in the amazing patio area. Ordered a bunch of appetizers to share... Great cauliflower wings!!!

Food is great service is great and atmosphere is welcoming! Will definitely come back to this place again!!

What a cool place! Tons of outside seating with a shuffle board court included! I thought the service was friendly and attentive, and I loved the food I ordered! I will be back! read more

TrailSide Tap - Trailside Burger - Bars Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

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When I'm anywhere near Ankeny, I make it a point to enjoy a few pints at Firetrucker Brewery. I usually bring a Jimmy John's sandwich with me, as Firetrucker only occasionally has a food truck outside. After the beer is poured, you'll find me in their separate "dining" area (away from the bar) enjoying my Lunch. This time around (several days ago), I forgot the sandwich. So I asked the Firetrucker Bar Keep for options, and she immediately directed me over the the Trailside Tab. Trailside Tap is maybe a quarter of a block away, so of course the walk was easy. My stroll also reminded me of the interesting mini-downtown area that is located in back and a block down from both Firetrucker and the Trailside Tap. Once inside, I was immediately greeting and provided some nice sandwich options, which was technically their brunch time. The guy at the front was very nice and professional, and in a short while, my generous cheeseburger and fries were ready to go. It was all delicious and made my Firetrucker stay a 2 beer experience (2 Alarm Red and Pumper Truck). My order was a little on the pricey side, but I found it to be a good value overall. For future reference, I need to pay a visit to TrailSide Tap on its own sit down merits. They have a large and handsome dining room with nice nature light. There's a bar along the far wall, and a good draft beer selection, which might even include some Firetrucker selections. The place threw off a comfortable, hang out for awhile vibe that would most probably make for a memorable meal. read more

The food was outstanding especially the Zesty Brussel Sprouts. The waitress was very pleasant and attentive. The ambience was also good considering the place is very open and it was not at a busy time. read more

Attentive service, some fun and inventive menu options (we had Nashville Hot buttered popcorn), decent cocktails. Cute little place.

Had the Trailside burger. Sweet onion Mayo and havarti was great. Not much bacon though. Brioche was light and soft. Had vegetables and high were carrots, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower sautéed salt/pepper was told. Very good and liked this option without an up-charge. Neighbors had the cheese curds, looked good, came stacked in a bowl with an aioli? Drizzled over them. They also had the Brussel sprouts. Not as many to see well. Good beer selection, check out on Untappd. 16 draft beers and none of the common domestics. Will be back for HH. Big patio during the warmer months, needed as is a smaller space. Was here previously and had a brunch birria burrito. Really good, house fries are good. Pancakes and eggs, standard and kid approved. Sausage was undercooked. read more

TrailSide Tap - Trail side burger with vegetable side - Bars Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

A gastronomic delight! The ambiance is perfect for date night or an intimate dining experience with a friend. My sister and I decided to try three veggie- friendly appetizers that were absolutely fantastic paired with a lavender lemonade cocktail, all 20% off for happy hour. The side of skin-on fries was crispy and perfectly seasoned. Our server was fast and very upbeat. Overall a wonderful dining experience! read more

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Our #1 place to go in Ankeny. They always have an interesting menu! My favorite is the brunch. I also love their Tamarind Marg! If you want a real chef, you have to try this place. It will not disappoint. read more

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Salmon sandwich was great and was a good portion. Chicken sandwich was very small compared to the bun. Would pick the burger next time. Bartenders were great and beer was cold and good variety's. read more

TrailSide Tap - Crispy Chicken Bacon Ranch - Bars Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

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The atmosphere was fun & lively. The live music was great coming from the outdoor patio. Bartenders are friendly, fast and mix a great drink. The TrailSide burger is a must! The chef's cooked it to perfection, it's delicious! When in Ankeny, go to the TrailSide tap, you won't regret it. read more

TrailSide Tap - Trailside Burger - Bars Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

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Service was great! We were there at 2pm Friday. Late lunch. At 2:06 I asked if I could still get the lunch portion. Server asked "chef", now 2:10 and lunch menu is only until 2pm. Chef said no. Wow! That's a great business plan! read more

Great apps and burgers! Service was wonderful too! Would definitely recommend this place!

This was a really fun spot. Parking lot was kind of small and tight. We came for brunch and had a pretty good variety. The place seemed to be pretty filled up. The one turn off we had was that there was a couple smooshed flies eye level to the window like inched from us eating. We were sitting right next to it which was really unappealing. A small issue but definitely a turn off. The food and service was great overall though. Would probably want to try again, and not sit next to the window filled with fly guts ‍ read more

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Seriously my favorite breakfast place in the area (coming from a local). The chef is amazingly creative so there's always fun things on the menu. Drinks are yummy too and simple twists on the classics. I truly love it here! (as you can probably conclude from the many pictures) I enjoy going here anytime I have a brunch hankering. The dinner is great too! Service is always excellent especially considering how busy the restaurant can get. I recommend sitting outside during the warmer seasons for a classic patio vibe and the perfect amount of shade. read more

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Have eaten here on several occasions. Generally a 4 of 5. However, tonight for us was close to a fail. The positive: The Paloma 's were consistent and very good. The outside venue is great on a day where the temp was in the 70s. Love sitting outside The negative: The waitress asked every 5 minutes if we wanted to order, despite being told we wanted to chill and enjoy our drinks. Asked to try the coffee beer. Graciously provided 2 small glasses for the 4 of us to try. However, when only I person wanted to try a regular version the waitress grabbed up the half finished samples. Very odd. We ordered the Thursday breaded pork tenderloin special. It was so thin that If there was any pork in the thing to begin with, it was so overdone that it was essentially nothing but slightly burnt breading. I do not recommend. Have had more positive experiences here. So, take your chance-50-50 it will go well read more

Went last Saturday for lunch, not realizing they use a brunch menu until 3. I am not a huge fan of brunch/breakfast so was disappointed to not see the Trailside Burger as an option. I asked our waitress if I could still order and she said yes. It was fabulous!! We sat in the patio and it was comfortable, a little warm, but that's to be expected in June in Iowa. We'll definitely be back! read more

One of Ankeny's best brunch and dinner spots. The patio is awesome and food has always been fantastic.

Stopped in here for dinner this evening. The place was very busy and had a large number of staff personnel working. Be advised that a large number of the waitstaff appear to be young and inexperienced. I sat at the bar and overheard some of their discussions. I tried the Crispy Chicken Bacon Ranch sandwich with potato salad. I would not recommend nor will I order this sandwich again. The bun is way too hard and the sandwich basically tasteless. The building is very nice with a large bar area and even a shaded outdoor sitting area. They have a combination of beer, wine and liquor available, and they even mix a few cocktails. If I'm in the area, I would probably try this place again, hoping to get better food... read more

This was pretty good for after St. Patty's Day Brunch. A little pricey at $16 but always happy to support local. (2023) read more

TrailSide Tap - Bananas Foster French Toast - Bars Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

There was no real ambiance. Felt like very stale place. It just seemed odd. The food was likely cooked by someone who just showed up to work. Because it took forever ! The oils were burnt tasting and the crab cakes where more like a sloppy spill on the plate. Nothing going for it there! read more