Panera Bread

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".

Downtown street view

Outside of building

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City of Ames mural

The Cafe

4.4(570 reviews)

2.6 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!

Menu and lamp inside

Vegan Grain Bowl Salmon add

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Lettuce Wrap chicken with peanut sauce

Great Harvest Bakery & Cafe

4.3(26 reviews)

0.5 mi

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!

Now offering 3 gluten-x breads and multiple gluten-x cookie flavors.

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West Street Deli

4.3(109 reviews)

2.3 mi

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.

Reuben Sandwich - add pickles - add red onion

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Potbelly

3.7(18 reviews)

1.9 mi

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.

Decent food, was a calm day when I went in and the service was fast and quality. Ordered Oreo shake…read moreand broccoli cheddar soup. Both were great! No complaints.

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Wheatsfield Cooperative

4.1(57 reviews)

0.7 mi

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!

What i really love so much about here is that even on their hot bar there is always something…read moreavailable for the vegetarian or vegans!!! I also love their juice bar and always get a juice to go. It is their hot bar that I love the most but especially their soups! It is hard to find any vegetarian soups but they always have at least one! So far every soup I have tried, I have enjoyed a lot! A few times after getting a small bowl for there, I get a big bowl to go. I also enjoy their deli too. I love how they even have vegan options there too! I don't do much grocery shopping there but usually go for the food lol. It really is a little hidden gem! Ended up becoming a member a few years ago because of how much I love their hot bar! Other part I love, they have some of the most amazing bread made in shop, not always lucky enough to get some but when I do, it has to be best bread around!

Parmesan Polenta Rosemary, artisan bread made-from-scratch at the co-op!

Whole Wheat Sourdough, artisan bread made-from-scratch at the Co-op.

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Challah rolls, made-from-scratch at the Co-op, available with our hot soups!

Provisions Lot F

4.5(347 reviews)

1.8 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!

Caesar Salad

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Flourless chocolate torte

Dutch Oven Bakery

4.3(43 reviews)

0.3 mi

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.

So delicious and cozy, I try to visit whenever I'm in the area! So many great donut options, it's…read morehard to pick a favorite

Red Velvet donut, Almond Pinwheel, Maple Long John, Donut Holes, Pecan Roll, Dutch Log, Mocha filled donut

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Dublin Bay Irish Pub & Grill

4.2(232 reviews)

0.8 mi

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.

Thursday evening. Meeting up with some friends for a double date…read more One of them has a gluten allergy and suggested this stop since they had some good options for her. Pulled into the parking lot and it was packed. Walking from the car was nice on this warm January evening, however if you have problems with mobility or it just took old and want to be dropped at the door then they have a nice pull up drive to the door. We got a text that our date had already arrived and was at booth at the bar. We walked in past the hostess and rounded the corner to meeting them at the booth. We slid right in and the waitress was there to help us with our drinks and menus. She had already been talked up by our friends and everyone was smiling and enjoying their time. The set up in this area was nice. It was a bar with high top tables and with booth also. The staff were all very friendly and you could see others sitting up at the bar enjoying their meals. The lamb burger was our choice for the meal tonight. We got one to share with a side of Brussels sprouts. Like we were told, the Brussels sprouts were really good. I ate them like candy as they had a nice fresh taste to them. Then I bit into the lamb burger. - Drool. Can I please go have another? The flavor of the meat was really good. It was a nice juicy burger with a great taste. I also got to taste the spinach artichoke dip. It also was good. While we were talking our friends told us that the last few years at this restaurant there has been a turn around on the menu and food quality. While I don't know details about that, I can share our over all experience was perfect. Good food, good service, good drinks, good attitude all around. The atmosphere on the bar side is lots of Irish beer decorations and lots of fun stuff on the walls and decorations everywhere you look. If you haven't been here, I recommend.

Waiting area

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Aunt Maude's

4.3(186 reviews)

0.6 mi

Had dinner here on a Tuesday evening while in town for a conference. I partnered up with another…read moreconference attendee and we came here for dinner. The menu had a diversity of options with both bistro and full size options. We both settled on the Main St. chicken dish on recommendation from the waitress along with swapping the rice for mashed potatoes. Great suggestion. My conference mate asked to have her mushrooms removed and I asked to have the tomatoes removed. Although we both ordered the same meal, the presentation looked different for each of us and hit the spot for our tastebuds. Mine seemed more like a chicken marsala while hers was a tomato sauce. Either way we both enjoyed our meals. We both also had dessert - I had the delicious chocolate cake with raspberry sauce. Honestly there was too much sauce but the cake was still delicious! My conference mate had the peanut pie and it was divine - imagine a Reese cup with an Oreo crust. If I'm ever back in Ames this will definitely be on my return list!!

Came here on company dinner and we had a great time. Food was decent and I enjoyed my carbonara,…read morehuge portion. The French onion soup was just ok but everyone enjoyed the peanut butter pie. Very good ambiance for group dining and the service was great.