Shawn L.

Well, first couple times eating here was good, can't remember what I order exactly but this time I ordered the orange chicken and the results were less favorable. Let's just say the "chicken" is parts of chicken at best, I wouldn't have even minded if it was dark meat so long as it was whole chunks. This was far from that, the picture says it all. First two times I would have rated 4-4.5, not this time. Sorry Joys.

Christine I.

This place is a local favorite. My friends and I loved stopping in at Joys back when we were ISU students. My bf and I stopped by recently and the food brought back many good memories, I really missed this place. We got the spicy beef dry hot pot and the pan fried pork. Both were flavorful and savory. I really prefer their pork or beef dishes here rather than their chicken. They do a great job marinating the meat and cooking it the perfect amount. Side note, if you're getting something like orange chicken, don't expect it to be like Panda Express. They have so many options here, and while there isn't a lot of description in their menu, some dishes add in peppers, onion, sometimes mushrooms. Lots of great ingredients are added to help emphasize the tastes in each dish. The meals include unlimited rice. And portion sizes are pretty big. I get so full by the time I finish eating. I did get some egg custard buns, a sweet treat that I can never resist. I always pack them to go and end up eating them all in the car ride back home. This place may look small and modest, and not something you'd quite expect. But the food here is authentic and delicious. There's a reason locals keep coming back to this place. Definitely suggest giving this place a try before overlooking it.

Nancy T.

The spicy fried chicken was very flavorful and held its crispy coating. The chicken was well spiced and juicy. (One serving comes with a plentiful amount) The beef noodle soup has to be my favorite menu item. The noodles are a good chewy texture, the beef is tender, and the broth is full of flavor. (Sometimes they add spinach)

Lizzy L.

One of the best Chinese restaurants in Ames! The staff is friendly, Joy is so sweet, and the food is absolutely delicious and fairly priced! Authentic Chinese food can be found here and I recommend the pork with garlic sauce!

Rose R.

Wonderful restaurant that makes their food from scratch. I ordered the bok choy pork buns, chive pork dumplings, and sesame balls, and they were all excellent and fresh. I was surprised all the food was made-to-order since other restaurants tend to reheat frozen but not Joy's! Highly recommend if you're looking for a quick bite near campus since they offer pick up.

Steven B.

One of my favorite Chinese restaurants in Iowa. Food is fresh, authentic, and full of flavor. They make the best crab Rangoons ever.

Aja L.

If you don't love getting full on pure and authentic mainland Chinese food for only ten dollars, stay away from this restaurant! The food always comes out really hot and there's always a nice host/cashier. On the menu there are red peppers to indicate the level of spice with the food. Joy's has been in business for 10 years and is the heart of Ames Chinese. This is the standard. The hosts change by the semester as this is a college town, but the owner is one woman that does a lot of the cooking and the main chef is a great guy from Tianjin, China. I love that there's consistency with the food that comes out of the kitchen - I HATE different cooks and inconsistent food. I primarily order Szechuan dishes, but I'm sure An Chi - the owner - can make the other 7 cuisines of China. I often ask for Chinese dishes not on the menu and if she can make them she often does. I moved here from Houston - a multicultural metropolitan city with two Chinatowns, a little India, west, south, and east African restaurants, Latin American restaurants, and is in a state that's northern Mexico - and this place has become my second home. Whenever I feel down or miss being with other people of color in an auntie's kitchen, I come here. These people are family if you're a person of color away from home.

Jon W.

I was in Ames with a couple friends and we were going to go check out Taste Place Chinese restaurant, but there was a wait and no one seemed like they were done eating their food, so we decided to walk down to Joy's Mongolian Grill and give this place a try. First impression wasn't very good since the decor is a little dull and boring, but who cares if the food is good right? There is a menu with more traditional dishes on the front and a variety of Chinese dishes on the back, so you won't find Orange Chicken on the back :) You order at the front and then you seat yourself. There is a 5% credit card fee, which I didn't see but that's fine with me since i'm supporting my old college town! You get your own rice, and there is also soup available (found out while reading reviews after eating...oops), so that is a nice bonus. My friends ordered the Mongolian Beef and Kung Pao Beef. Both came out in about 5-7 minutes so it's pretty quick. I ordered the Beef Noodle Soup, which I didn't find on the menu and took a little longer for it to come out. I decided to try my best to say it in Chinese lol. Thankfully the lady understood my butchered Mandarin :) There was also a menu with Chinese characters on it, so my dish could have been on that, but this guy can't read Chinese...I blame my parents :) My Beef Noodle Soup is exactly what I wanted on a chilly evening. The broth was dark, rich, and super flavorful. There were plenty of medium sized noodles (I wished they were a little bit thinner), tender beef, and green veggies. I didn't expect it to be as spicy as it was, so I did sweat a bit and my sinuses were cleared. Overall, I enjoyed my first time here at Joy's. I know I shouldn't judge a place based on previous reviews and by the exterior/interior, so I was glad my friends and I decided to give this place a try.

Dmitriy N.

Stopped by this place while visiting Ames with friends. It's a typical Chinese restaurant you would expect in a college town. You order at the register, get your own water and rice, and get a number so they can bring out your food. They also have all you can eat rice and hot and sour soup. A bonus! I ordered Kung Pao beef, friend got mongolian beef, and another order beef noodle soup. All of our dishes were $8 a piece and all were great portions. Everything tasted great. The vegetables were bright and crunchy, there was a ton of sauce which I love, and the beef noodle soup was seasoned great. We were all very happy. If this place was in Des Moines, I would definitely come here on a regular basis. I enjoy server yourself type atmosphere where there isn't someone bothering me about needed water and so on. Great place. I can't give it 5 starts because it's not the best place in the world, but I can give it a solid 4 stars because it is pretty darn awesome!

Thao P.

Decent Chinese food and having endless rice and soup is a bonus! Great for a cold day. I came here last winter to try it out and it wasn't bad. I got one of the hot pot dishes and it was alright. The food here definitely beats commercialized chinese food -- especially since they serve pig intestines (which my friend said is tasty!) I do give it a thumbs up for having endless rice (including fried rice) and soup (egg drop and hot and sour) You can get full pretty easily no matter what you spend. The location is good because it's centralized in campustown. However, it's not the cleanest restaurant but if you don't mind hole in the wall type of places, it's fine. Service is also quick and reliable