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

As always, Trailside food was fantastic, and service was great tonight too! Loved the Cubano. Looooved the new steak sandwich. I would forego the beans next time as a side. They were a little mushy and too reminiscent of ketchup. We will keep come back! read more

TrailSide Tap - Cubano - Bars Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

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Great atmosphere and modern decor. The craft beer and cocktail selection is top notch. The menu is varied and quite unique. I had the new vegetarian Sweet Potato Po'Boy (it replaced the spaghetti squash BBQ "pulled Pork" sandwich), it was fantastic, albeit a bit of messy and clunky to eat. The flavor a quality mute those qualms. It's always nice to find unique and alternative vegitarian sandwich options; one can only consume so many portobello or black bean sandwiches. Great staff and service!! I will definitely be back!! read more

TrailSide Tap - Vegitarian Sweet Potato Po'Boy - Bars Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

Ate there for the first time Thanksgiving eve. The atmosphere was very nice. Tables were far enough apart to keep from being uncomfortable and had no trouble hearing my dining partner. Our server Sierra was wonderful. Extremely pleasant and attentive and made the experience more enjoyable. Now for the food. We started out with cheese curds and they were delicious. The breading was very light so you didn't get too full from an appetizer. My daughter had the Kale Cobb Salad with chicken and said it was very good. I myself had the Cubano with fries. The fries were plentiful, crispy and seasoned just right. The sandwich was excellent. Very flavorful and was just the right amount. The prices are also in line with other similar restaurants. I will definitely eat there again. Maybe for the brunch which looks great. read more

Great food every time. More elevated than you would expect. Great patio when the weather is nice too!

Super friendly staff, and service was so quick! The food was delicious. There were cute Christmas decorations throughout, and overall a really nice place to stop! read more

TrailSide Tap - Wakey, Wakey Eggs and ... - Bars Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

Food was excellent and the service was good. Excellent atmosphere and we enjoyed ourselves .

One of my favorite local spots! The Food is always great! Lots of drink options to choose from. Highly recommend.

Great food, Seems to be fresh. Service is good , only thing keeping it from a higher rating is the atmosphere. It feels crowded and can be kinda loud. Not great for conversation read more

The service was amazing! The menu was very unique so it made us try things that were out of our comfort zone. My kids ordered the pancakes and ate every last bite. It was a very generous portion for a kids item. I order the breakfast curry - there were a little bit too many potatoes but the curry was delightful. My wife order the bagel and lox's, the salmon was prefect and the dill was so fresh. We also ordered the old fashion - this seemed a little expensive $11 for the size. My second drink was Cedar Smash and this was a little sweet for my liking. Overall though the service was amazing and they had tables spread apart so it was very COVID friendly. read more

TrailSide Tap - Cedar Smash and Bourbon and Blue - Bars Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

Very small lunch menu. Chicken sandwich was overcooked. It did have decent flavor but was hard to cut and chew. Waiter was fast and courteous. Nonexistent beer menu for a "Tap" restaurant. Overall disappointing. read more

My husband and I were passing through and looking for some good food to hold us through the rest of our travels home. We had the opportunity to try the Braised Cabbage and it was amazing! The cabbage was on a bed of home made beer cheese soup and the cabbage itself had an amazing mustard glaze. We will definitely be coming back to get this again! My husband had the Chicken Caprese sandwich and was very impressed with the flavor combinations and how well everything tasted. I had the shrimp tacos and was also very impressed. Our server Liz was amazing and went out of her way to help me know what my gluten free options were. She was very kind, attentive, and knowledgable about the food items and beverages. Also very grateful for the option to choose the pan roasted vegetables or salad instead of the usual french fries. I highly recommend making the effort to stop here! It is clear that there was a lot of time and effort put into the menu. read more

Met a colleague here for lunch. It was her last day so I treated her. The outside patio was pleasantly shaded and the seating was comfortable. The patio desperately needed to be swept or blown off. We decided to have a drink. The beer selection was primarily local. They had some of the best options on tap. The beer came out chilled, but not cold. I ordered the kimchi fried chicken sandwich and she ordered the Trailside Burger. We were both happy with our choices. My chicken was slightly over-fried, but not too bad. Otherwise it was delightful. The fries were perfect. read more

On our list to try for a while now, we're always looking for fun, unique restaurants in Ankeny, and this place for the bill! We arrived for Father's Day brunch, seated right away on the patio at request. The wait staff is wonderful, and attentive! Not once did we have to ask for a refill or flag anyone down- our waitress was on top of it all, and so friendly. I ordered the pedal pusher cocktail and my husband the strawberry one (can't remember the name) the waitress even offered to swap it out if we didn't like them! Love that offer, but both were great choices and we'd get them again. They do have a kids menu, although our kids chose to order off the main menu. We went here during brunch hours but they still had non breakfast items on the menu. The food is delicious, if you're looking for craft burgers, and fresh unique flavors this is the place for you! I love that there is outdoor seating and game options while you wait. We will for sure be back again! read more

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My mother and I went to Trailside Tap this afternoon for brunch. I got the breakfast sammy and it was phenomenal. The bagel was fresh and every bite was full of flavor. My mom got the shrimp and grits and she loved her meal as well. read more

TrailSide Tap - Breakfast Sammy - Bars Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

Most of the food was good. Fish and chips were really bad, unless you like more batter than fish and heavy grease.

Oh my word, AMAZING. My fiancé and i are huge brunch goers and have been meaning to try out this location for FOREVER. The menu isn't overwhelming, we were immediately sat on a Sunday - service was INCREDIBLE & a server recognized us from another brunch location lol. I was stopped twice by servers with compliments on my makeup...the food came out in maybe 10 minutes and i recommend the donut holes as appetizers!! The food was impeccable, the mimosa ratio was just too my mans liking (if you like a splash of OJ this is your place) and my White Russian was delicious!! HIGHLY RECOMMEND AND WILL BE TAKING OUR FAMILY. you can hold a conversation, there aren't 1000 TVs and it's not in a stupid busy location. Love love love. read more

TrailSide Tap - Omelette and Breakfast Sandy featured! With mimosas and my White Russian :) - Bars Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

The food and drinks are amazing! The changes to the meaning are great. It's always fun to taste the new items as they rotate through them the menu. read more

First time visiting - and visiting from out of town. Small parking lot, lots of outdoor and indoor seating. Live music on Wednesday night was enjoyable. They had shuffle board out back. Food was good, burgers were messy - but I really liked the cauliflower wings and kids grilled cheese! Fun cocktails too. Unfortunately service was very slow all around. But overall enjoyable experience. read more

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Ambiance was nice. The outdoor patio and inside is clean and modern. They are fairly new but aren't neglecting the cleaning or taking care of the property. We sat at the bar and it took over 20 minutes to get service. Clean place but did take 30 minutes plus to get the bar wiped off in front of us. We ordered water and food. The food came fairly quick. The cheeseballs were in a beer breading but over cooked and significantly lacking in the cheese to breading ratio. Chicken bacon sandwich was good but the bun was seriously enormous (too much) and the house salad was maybe a partial handful of mixed greens and dressing more watered down than water (if that's possible). The trailside tap burger was flavorless as best I could describe. They're trying too hard to be different, imo. Disappointing to say the least. We won't be back. read more

Busy Saturday evening. Service was quick and efficient. Ordered the trailside burger. Cooked perfect to order. Delivered quickly. Will definitely come back!! (I don't live in town, but am coming back!!) read more

So much to say about this place as past regulars there! First of all- absolutely love this place, especially in the summer bc they have the best patio in all of Ankeny! The wait staff is always so kind as well, I haven't had a bad server yet! However, you'll catch me ordering champagne in a wine glass to avoid their coupe glasses (which i guess we can put more blame on the inventor of this glass, yes they're cute but they're not practical at all) my other recent complaint is that they switched their fries- they used to be gluten free and now they aren't so we don't go as often because it limits the menu :/ with all that being said, I would still pick this place over most in Ankeny! read more

Hands down one of my FAVORITE places to eat!! Service is always great! Owners are amazing! Love that they serve local beers and have special weekend features. The menu changes and I love that vibe. The patio is huge and the atmosphere is nothin' but good vibes. You can dress up for a fancy date night or stop by in your biking attire since it's right off the High Trestle Trail! read more

Have been here a few times now and the food is always been great. This place is spaced out well and the servers wear masks. The pimento cheese with bread is our favorite here. The cheese curds are tasty as well. Have tried the meatball sandwich and the crispy chicken sandwich too both good. The chicken wings were great as well. They have a good assortment of craft beers on tap. Have been here a couple times for their happy hour specials. Glad this place opened here close to the bike trail, a good addition to Ankeny. read more

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Great food and great service!! Their patio is amazing and they host some live music in the summer. Rotating menu keeps things fresh. I love the TrailSide burger, Cuban and buffalo chicken salad on the current menu. My husband loves their meatloaf from the winter menu. They serve brunch Saturday and Sunday mornings! Liz is one of the best servers in town! read more

I stopped in here with my wife and some friends to get a stamp in our pub passes. Trailside has an okay selection of beers, I wouldn't say large. The menu isn't that large either. We had some appetizers, the chips and dip along with the cheese balls. The chips and dip were excellent. The whole group was not as big a fan of the cheese balls. They were not very crisp and they are laid on top of the sauce which just helps make them soggy. It's worth a stop if your in the area, but I wouldn't make a special trip for it. read more

This is an updated review. My wife and I have visited this restaurant/bar on several occasions. We made sure we came during "off hours" so we were able to converse and the service and food has been great. A nice menu, attentive staff and really good food. Bottom line it still is a very noisy place when they're busy, but the food is worth the trip. read more

Very nice little place here! Great service! Interesting options for apps! Burgers looked amazing, but haven't tried them yet.

We drive from Story City to Ankeny for trail side breakfast do skip this place its fantastic

Great find! I was really grateful to find a place where I could order some health-concious food with a creatively original menu. Easy to locate and park. Building feels new and modern. We chose to sit outside on a nice evening. We were well spaced from other people and when I started to get a little chilly they promptly brought one of the outdoor heaters closer to us and turned it on. It was perfect! I ordered the "pulled pork" spaghetti squash burger with 3 bean salad and my Husband has a burger with fries and a beer. If I'm being totally honest, my sandwich was odd! It tasted like spiced apple... I sort of felt like I was eating dessert! But the quality seemed good and I did enjoy the whole thing! This is one of the rare places we have found suedo sue on tap and that makes it a win for my Husband! We would probably be more inclined to return if the prices were a little lower. read more

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Still my favorite brunch spot in Ankeny, even with the recent additions. The bulgogi bowl and shakshuka are my favorites! Great service and atmosphere to catch up with friends or watch a game. read more

Went on Sunday at about 1 and failed to realize they only have brunch on Sunday!!! Really was craving more lunch items but bad the burger and bagels and lox. Little heavy on the salt for bagel and lox and ordered medium well burger that came out more medium then well. Overall cool vibe, good beer selection and drink menu looked great. Will be back to try out more lunch/dinner options and update review then :) read more

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Absolutely wonderful....location, food, overall dining experience, occasional deals, eclectic barstaff (in a good way)......a regular go-to and hopefully will continue for a long time. read more

Good brunch menu - service was very good - appreciate the attention to detail with the cleanliness of the restaurant. Would definitely visit again. The French Toast was delish read more

Small unique menu. Great staff and service!! Love the patio and live music in the spring/summer.

High quality food and unique but delicious flavors at Trailside Tap. Great service and warm, welcoming environment. A gem to have this local spot in the heart of Uptown Ankeny. Always a favorite either with the family or for a date night. read more

Good food. Great service! Awesome atmosphere! They will be on repeat! Especially in the summer season for the outdoor dining, a must do!

Trailside Tap has an interesting and varying menu. I follow the Instagram page to see the specials each week and what is new. The outside patio really is the best in Ankeny and with periodic live music, there is more reason to visit than the food and beverage which happen to be excellent. read more

Used to love this place. Now, it's constantly overrun with little children. Screaming at the table behind you. Running wild on the patio. I know kids have to eat, but this started out as a tavern/restaurant. Hence the word "Tap" in the title. Now it has degraded into any old diner. Too bad what was once a cool place has now become another Applebee's. read more

Came here to try it as I'd heard great things. Service is great our waittress was attentive and didn't let our drinks go empty. We ordered the cheese curds and calamari to start. The cheese curds were finished before I could take a picture they were that good. The calamari were meh but weren't bad. The steak though was amazing. Nicely grilled and perfectly medium. Bernaise was good but a bit too rich, fries were decent but I prefer them more thinly cut. Ordered the brownie for dessert and it was huge and was topped with ice cream and raspberries, enough to share for 3 people. Decent place..will come back again, but probably for the apps. read more