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Whistle Stop Cafe

4.3 (43 reviews)
InexpensiveBreakfast & Brunch
Closed 6:00 am - 1:30 pm, 4:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Updated 2 months ago

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WHISTLE STOP CAFE ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Moderate noise
Good for kids
Outdoor seating

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Recommended Reviews - Whistle Stop Cafe

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Outside
Eric B.

The Whistle Stop Cafe is located not far from the Union Pacific mainline, and certainly fits with Boone's cred as a railroad-infused town. It's also where Mamie Eisenhower was born. The restaurant is a modest establishment, with tight and welcoming seating, and a bathroom that requires a trip through the kitchen and prep areas. My Dad and I came here from breakfast last Monday. Service was down home friendly, and half the fun was observing the various locals and their small town interactions (which is how I grew up here in Iowa). Dad chose corn beef hash and eggs, while I opted for a more common over easy, toast, and potatoes combination. My choice was delicious, while Dad was not as impressed, especially concerning the coffee. And we had a nice time together and very much enjoyed the experience.

Kids meal #6 I think  Hot dog and smiley fries
Aja L.

This is a tiny little diner that serves a fair amount of food for a fair price, but by no means is serving high-quality. The Whistle Stop Cafe is a Boone tradition serving standard Midwestern American favorites. I believe they get most of their ingredients from Walmart using the generic brand and they don't add much flavor or seasoning other than a pat of butter to some of the sweet items. If you like your food plain and standard, as most Iowans do, then you'll love it here.

#7 2 sausage, 2 eggs, 2 pancakes
Angela C.

Had the cinnamon roll, eggs, American fries and English muffin. Husband had pancakes, sausage and eggs the cinnamon roll was soft and frosting was tasty. Eggs were cooked perfectly. American fries were whole potatoes cut up with onions and seasoning which was tasty. Pancakes were thick and huge. Usually don't like thick pancakes, but these were tasty. Only bad thing was the very weak coffee. Tasted like hot water. But I've found a lot of places in this area in the country drink hot water that is labeled coffee. Lol. The price is very reasonable. Service was great!

Julie R.

Wow! The best pumpkin pancakes I've ever had! See pics. Small, community place. Prices are ok. Very friendly staff. Family friendly. Street and small lot parking. Great cold day to stop in for these fabulous pancakes! And filling. They have a few booths, some tables and a large counter seating area here. Marcydiner tantrum scale of 5/5-no screaming kids. Anyone who is used to "small town Iowa" should stop in. Plenty of locals here, too! Only open 5am til 2 pm. M-F, 5am til 1 pm Sat and closed Sunday.

Mmmm coffee! Cute mugs.
Crys L.

WHOLE MENU ALLLL DAY! Lunch at 7am, breakfast at 1pm, it's all good. Love that! Food: We had a green pepper/onion/cheese scramble and a chicken strips basket. Tasty food and lots of it! Super health-conscious types take note: there's grease and oil and stuff, this is a more home-y style of cooking. Comfort food. More whole milk, less skim. In other words, right up my alley. Woohoo! The Other Stuff: Friendly service, open early, good coffee. Clean restroom (you go through the kitchen to get there -- could be awkward, but everyone on the way was friendly, so it wasn't awkward at all...I kinda felt like I was visiting with the kitchen staff, they were super nice about me crashing their space). Booths, tables, or stools up at a circular bar. Fun decor and mugs. The whole place has a nice, friendly local feel. Great prices, special deals daily, and we left full and happy. Will definitely head over there again soon, and I especially recommend it to breakfast fans!

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9 years ago

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11 years ago

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10 years ago

Great Saturday morning breakfasts!!! Friendly and busy which is a good sign for an eatery. I will definitely visit again.

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Review Highlights - Whistle Stop Cafe

Great simple restaurant that offered home cooking at a reasonable price.

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The Cafe - Cobb salad

The Cafe

4.4(570 reviews)
12.2 mi
$$

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.

Disappointed... I came here for restaurant week to try their Thai Menu. It looked good online and…read morethought I'd give them a try. The Cafe has been on my list for a while now. Disappointed to say the least, I came in the back door not realized there was a correct door and was rudely cut off by other patrons at the front desk. I had to wait several minutes to be waited on and the place had plenty of spots. Maybe because I was a party of 1... they didn't seem to care. After I shared what drink I wanted, I learned they were out... fine no problem. I asked about the Thai specials, the waitress was clueless. I had to ask for the restaurant week menu and ask about the specials. She said they looked good but couldn't describe them and hasn't tasted them. I got the salad on special, but get this... they were out of the main restaurant week special... such a let down. The ambiance was mixed, one corner was a cute date night the other corner was crying children. All dimly lit and outdated decor. The whole experience was off, I ended up leaving after my one drink and salad. I hope to give this place a second chance sometime but hope they aren't out of dishes and I can get a trained server. Maybe another night for sure!

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The Cafe - Menu and lamp inside

Menu and lamp inside

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Mullets

Mullets

2.6(59 reviews)
11.0 mi

Mullets opened up awhile back at the site of the old West Towne Pub. Reviews have invited…read morecomparison with the Des Moines Mullets and perhaps some rough early service and concerns. If my Dad were writing reviews, he might have agreed with those comments as I had to talk him into coming here for breakfast this morning, after he'd already been here couple times previously. I thought our breakfast was a decent 4 star experience in that it was better than OK, but with no real "Oh Wow" moments. Observations: - I didn't see much difference in the interior layout of Mullets compared to the old West Towne Pub. Maybe the walls had different things, but everything else seemed to be in a familiar place, including the multiple screens for sports. - The menu is certainly more expansive than the old place and at least for breakfast a little hard to navigate around all the specialty offerings. Hashbrowns seem to be one of their things, and finding a straight order of bacon and eggs required a little digging. - Service was just fine: friendly and prompt in both order taking, food delivery, and the check. - Prices seemed Ames reasonable. But it is an Iowa thing to complain about prices. - My breakfast sliders (on with bacon the other sausage) were very good and just the right amount of food, considering how many times Dad, David, and I have been out to eat over the last couple days. - My 96 year-old Dad still has quite an appetite as he went "whole hog" with eggs, ham, and a full stack of pancakes. He must have liked it as he almost cleaned his plate. - David only ordered hash browns and orange juice, of which he enjoyed. When we finished, I asked Dad if he'd come back, with the answer being yes. I guess things had improved here in his eyes. The place as also busy enough including some folks that he hadn't seen for awhile. I look forward to this Mullet's being around when I'm back in Ames around late March.

Went on a non-game-day Saturday in mid-October around 9am. Not very crowded, staff were friendly…read moreand available, very pleasant and low-key atmosphere. The menu was a game-day limited menu but the breakfast food choices available were more than enough. Would highly recommend The Morning Mullet and their standard Breakfast Tacos. Portions were exactly perfect, not too little and no need to take-away. The gravy they use on their biscuits and gravy is the authentic sawmill type, which I haven't had much outside of the South, and it was fantastic. The Loaded Bloody Mary is also recommended, though their standard coffee was also plentiful and good. Overall great choice and an asset among breakfast-out options in Ames, we will definitely go back soon for a similar repeat visit.

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Mullets
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Provisions Lot F - Provisions burger

Provisions Lot F

4.5(347 reviews)
13.3 mi
$$

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!

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Provisions Lot F - Caesar Salad

Caesar Salad

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Whistle Stop Cafe - breakfast_brunch - Updated May 2026

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