TLDR: classic sandwich shop…read more Fresh cut meats and cheeses make for excellent sandwiches at a wonderful value. I've been going here for decades and it's like putting on your favorite sweatshirt. If I worked in the area this would definitely be a lunch time staple!

The only time I don't like this place is when it's busy. I visit almost every time I am in Ames…read more Sandwiches are hand made to order, one by one, by the owner a guy who obviously appreciates the art of a good sandwich. Getting stuck in line behind a guy placing an order for the office is going to put a dent in your day. That said, my roasted turkey sandwich on rye was delish! Sweet and juicy turkey breast, sliced and piled high with my choice of cheese and fixings. Paired with a bag of chips and a "pop" from the soda fountain, it was a perfect lunch. Show up after 1:00 and you might find a shorter line. Just don't get stuck behind "that guy".

My wife and I went out for dinner last night and had THE Cafe's special entre. It was a fish dish…read morefeaturing many varieties including red snapper, and shrimp. It was an Italian soup style with incredible flavor. I hope they offer it many times again, as we loved it!

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 All dimly lit and outdated decor.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!

Okay this place was so good! It looks like a little hole in the wall from the outside but it is…read moreactually a decent sized place. Hours are 7am-2pm. They let the food speak for themselves. Most everything to drink is bottled except for coffee and free water. Everyone who works there is very knowledgeable about gluten allergies. I have a gluten and dairy allergy. I had a denver omelet without cheese. It is a shared kitchen but they specifically clean everything before making anything when someone tells them its a food allergy. If you call ahead they can make any of their baked goods gluten free. I did not because my family decided to try this on a whim but I was able to have gluten free toast, frosted sugar cookies, and a brown butter chocolate chip cookies. The toast was actually toasted and crunchy on the outside while soft in the middle. Will be eating here again.

Stumbled across this place while looking for breakfast. I have found my new favorite place in Ames…read more I'm amazed more people don't know it's here. I had a breakfast sandwich with ham, eggs, cheese and avocado on a savory biscuit. When I brought it back to work everyone was huddling around loving the glorious smell. It was amazing. I also came home with a scone the size of my head. It was wonderful!! I can't wait to try other flavors. We will be heading here again next week for our weekly management meeting as everyone is excited to try it for themselves. Casual environment and very good staff. This place has it all!

For starters, the food is phenomenal! When we got our sandwiches, we were definitely not…read moreunderwhelmed. They were huge! We did get the large version, but we weren't expecting them to be so big lol. All of the ingredients were really fresh and full of flavor. The bread was perfect, too! Even the sandwich we got for our daughter was delicious; it was simple, but sue "inhaled" it lol. We also got the BbQ chicken chili which had great flavor, but it was more like a chili flavored soup. I dipped my leftover bread in it, so it worked out lol. When we ordered, we tried to do so online, but that was a pain. So, we called in and the customer service was excellent! The guy that took our order was very nice, patient, and informative, which was very appreciated since we had just had issues with the website lol. We ordered for pickup and our food was placed nicely in the bags and nothing was spilling or overflowing onto anything else. Overall, the inside of the restaurant was great, even though we didn't dine in. It looked quite clean and was pretty relaxing. Staff were really nice in person as well. 3*17*25

It was a dark and stormy afternoon…read more... I was wandering around Ames mid-day last week with a lot of time on my hands. At Lunch time, I didn't feel like a sit down waiter restaurant, nor did I want to go into HyVee and choose a pre-wrapped Sammy. So after a little Yelp searching, the West Street Deli came up. West Street Deli is just down the street from my Ames Barber (Troy) and just as close to Mother's Pub. The street is its own little business District, and feels far away from Lincoln Way. I ordered a Cajun Tuna Melt which was unlike any sandwich of this type that I had experienced. It was well prepared and was flavorful in many ways, including a little kick at the end. A beer would have gone well with this, but I stayed with water, while comfortably seated by a window within their dining room. A very pleasant experience and a for sure future visit.

I have heard a lot about Potbelly Subs from friend and family around the community. I finally had…read morethe opportunity to order there on Saturday. The have a nice menu of sandwiches, not too many choices but also not so many that you feel overwhelmed. I ordered online through their app which was quick and painless. It's nice to have the option of delivery too. They charge for it, but that's to be expected from most places nowadays. My sandwich was the Clubby - which is a lot like it sounds, a Club sandwich with turkey, ham, bacon, cheese and a boatload of toppings. I had them put hot peppers on there and it's much like a Chicago-style hot giardinera. VERY good! They have a bunch of chips, sides and even shakes to chose from. Lots of choices. I will say that the prices for the sandwiches is good, but they really get you with the sides and/or some of the extras you put on the sandwich. If it isn't one of the standard toppings it costs extra. Sides are good, but a little pricy. Everything people have told me about Potbelly Sandwich Shop is true - really tasty subs with lots of choices. I highly recommend it.

One of our favorite restaurants for a yummy, quick and warm sun sandwich. My wife and I love this…read moreplace and don't mind braving the campus traffic to eat it.

I love Wheatsfield, as it provides terrific food and lifestyle options without compromising my…read moreoverall experience. The overall vibe of the place is calming, which helps me in these hectic times. Private parking lot, great layout, helpful staff who know their store. Excellent produce. Terrific deli and meat market. Numerous options that you cannot obtain in most store. Located just West of downtown Ames. I try to stop here every time that I am in Ames, as I find items that I cannot get elsewhere, and they add to my quality of life. Some interesting food options always intrigue me too!

Great selection of natural foods. Pricey, but not more so than other natursl foods groceties. A…read moremembership helps. Good downtown location with plenty of parking. The employees are always helpful and very friendly.

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!

Amazing donuts! By far the best in Ames. I love taking family here on a weekend morning to get a…read morelittle sweet treat. Not many bakery options around and this is definitely the best I have found.

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.

Very cute pub. I had the Shepards pie and the Brussel sprouts for my side. It was absolutely…read morefantastic. I have never had Brussel sprouts made that were perfection as they were here! The Irish soda bread was a definite must try also. We also had the crab cakes that came with enough greens that basically made it a salad. The crabs cakes were also very good. They had a huge selection of tap beers that would satisfy just about any palate. We were very satisfied with our experience. If we lived in the area this restaurant would be on my rotation of favorite regular places to go.

We stopped in for dinner before an event at Stevens auditorium. We were seated right away and got…read moreour orders in. It's a very relaxing Irish pub vibe with a variety of seating options and lots of TVs. Our drinks came out quickly and the food followed shortly thereafter. I got a martini and it was very well prepared. My wife got a glass of wine from their decent wine list. For dinner, I had the lamb burger, which was quite tasty. It was a good combination of flavors and the fries were hot and crisp. My wife got a naked burger with a side salad. The creamy Parmesan was very tasty and it was a nice bed of greens. A table next to us had some sort of a problem with one of the dinners and the server tried many many times to get the customer to order a replacement, but he said he was OK with what he got. When she brought the check to them she made sure to take that off since he did not eat it and would not accept a replacement. They seem shocked at this, but I wondered why they just didn't get a replacement! Great service by that server. She was also our server and did a fantastic job with us. We had very tasty food and great drinks , so I would definitely recommend it and would go back if I was in the area.

Today, September 14, 2026, I visited Panera as an ordinary customer and had such a wonderful…read moreexperience with Stephanie. In just a two-minute interaction, she went above and beyond to make sure I felt welcomed and valued. I truly believe she deserves recognition for her outstanding service and hope she receives the promotion or opportunity she is working toward. I sincerely appreciate her effort and wanted to make sure her kindness did not go unnoticed.

Ok, I got sucked in by email saying $2 off Mac&cheese-yay! I love to check out a new Mac&cheese! I…read moreordered online, to pickup at later time, when I got back from work. Order was ready. Staff was helpful. Ok, for the pros-they have a good bread bowl. Always. I don't know anywhere else that has them. I ordered the Mac&cheese in bread bowl, the tomato soup and bbq chicken and cheese. Picked it up and headed home. First impression, looking through bowl that was supposed to be Mac&cheese-looks like mashed potatoes with bacon on top. Decided to figure it out. At best, I THINK the macaroni was shell shaped? But couldn't really tell, as it was mushy. It had a good cheese taste, just very mushy and I like eating pastas one piece at a time, and like to savor the texture along with the cheese(also, the app never deducted that $2). Now, for the tomato soup. Kind of an odd taste, seems to have some spice, that I didn't notice right away. I'd prefer a cream basil tomato soup instead. So, my preference isn't at Panera. As for the sandwich, it had too much BBQ sauce on it. Kinda drowned out any other tastes in the sandwich. Many people absolutely adore Panera. Unfortunately, my tastes don't favor it. If they just had a really awesome soup for those bread bowls, that would rock! Prices are typical Panera-right around $10. Lot parking. MarcyDiner'sTantrumScale 5/5- NoScreamingKids. CyHawkApproved. He eats anything that he is allowed to have. This Panera has always been kinda homey warm. So eating in is nice when you can.