Love the ambiance and service. We enjoyed the chorizo appetizer, Marguerita pizza, fish tacos and oh my, the orange Ginger cheesecake! Tate is a great server! read more

I ate at the Cafe yesterday and had a great meal! I had a cranberry sandwich which was outstanding. It was a chicken sandwich in the most delicious bun and covered in a tasty sauce. I am not much of a bread eater but this could not be resisted. The cranberry salad that included broccoli, nuts and a sauce was the perfect touch. I added the tomato soup and it enhanced the whole meal. We arrived at 11:30 on a Friday and the place was packed. We ate at the bar, no waiting, and had very good service. read more

I have eaten here on previous trips to Ames. It has a really cute and cozy feeling to it. Parking is easy and I have not had to wait very long in the past for a table. The menu seems to change and they have great, tapas style dishes for sharing and some cool seasonal stuff to try. The desserts in the front case always look great, I just never have enough room to try one! read more

The food was pretty good. But there was a 30 minute wait for a table. I had a mimosa with my breakfast :) overall pretty good experience. read more

The Cafe - Pancake combo - Bakeries Near Me - Ames, Iowa

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In Ames to visit daughter and meeting at The Cafe for breakfast. Hostess said we needed to wait until she arrived to sit. Called daughter and she was less than 5 minutes away. Asked host to be seated and he refused. I understand the policy is to keep things moving, but there were several open tables and nobody else waiting and they were very rude about it. Food smelled good, but we chose to eat elsewhere. read more

This is a great restaurant in Ames. The place specializes in using local ingredients and helping farmers around Iowa. For that, this restaurant should be commended. The breakfast is killer and one of the best around. It is not your normal perkins or village inn faire...this is the real stuff. Fresh sausage patties, peppered bacon, fresh eggs, and the stuffed french toast. oh man...if they served breakfast all day, I would be there right now. The lunch and dinner are fantastic. The chef takes great pride in the dishes he puts out for you, so if anything is not to your liking, send it back. While I do not like their mac-and-cheese, it seems to be popular among my friends. I tend to go with the fish tacos, soup, salad, or one of their seasonal specialties. Their burger is also supposed to be great. If you can hit up one of their pizzas with special cheeses and potato, go for it. Their desserts are awesome...my wife always wants to go there just for dessert. I would recommend saving your stomach for a little something sweet. If you like good food, with good ingredients, The Cafe is the place to go. read more

The dining room was closed, so sad! But, we ordered at the counter and sat in the bakery seating area, which was just fine. The sandwich selection is innovative, and though it takes a little time to have them housemade, it's worth the wait. The pastries are amazing! I had a berry sort of "twist" which was richly berry flavored with a light pastry dough sprinkled with the perfect splash of sugar crystals. I don't know when our "journeywise" will ever take us to Ames, Iowa again, but we'd return to "The Cafe" if we do! read more

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The Cafe is a 'really great place'. I went to college in Ames and made a point to stop in at least once a month. Their menu changes seasonally which is great. A few of my favorites are their biscuits & gravy, pancakes, fish tacos, and mac & cheese. They also have a sandwich side that has a dynamite chicken salad sandwich and homemade chips. Yum! You can't forget their amazing dessert selection, can't go wrong. This is a great family spot, date night spot, and just all around great place to eat. Can't wait to visit again when I am in the area. read more

Great service, amazing local food, seasonal menus, have never had bad food! I've had a lot of different things. If you want simple and good go with the burger. Their tea is soooo good! Dessert window changes weekly if Not daily. Always make room for dessert or just go have dessert. Expect maybe a 45 min wait max but well worth it. read more

What a wonderful place! Service was great. Food was delicious! The atmosphere was super. We will definitely be back!!!

Great food & atmosphere at a great price! In Illinois you would pay at least twice the price for this quality of food and experience.

Always an amazing experience! One of my favorites for sure. Cozy environment and great selections. Something for everyone! Menu changes so you won't get bored of having "the same ole thing". Large selection of desserts that never disappoint. No room. for dessert? At least share one or get it to go. You will be glad you did. read more

The Cafe is easily the best restaurant in Ames. Their breakfast, lunch, and dinner items are all incredible. If you have a chance, you have to try the mac and cheese -- best I've ever had! The bakery items are incredible as well. read more

I'm not even done eating desert yet and had to review this place. Fantastic! Pronominal! Etc. Best meal I've had in a long time. Couldn't imagine another restaurant in town being better than this. I had the Pork Chop, Bread, and cappuccino cheesecake. A bit pricey but top notch! They serve soda in the can and also charge per can I found out. So $3.20 is a bit outrageous for 2 cans of Coke. I'll be back and am already looking forward to it! read more

The Caribbean Salmon was the special tonight. Very good. The Asparagus appetizer was delish. read more

The Cafe - Tried the Local Asparagus. - Bakeries Near Me - Ames, Iowa

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These folks are amazing! On the coffee side I recommend the cafe aI lait with almond milk or the cinnamon smear! For grub: I recommend the cake salad with quinoa and steak or salmon. At the bar, you must try a cosmo. read more

So Happy Mother's Day! As per usual another terrible experience at the Cafe. If it's not the terrible servers or the disorganized and endless wait for a table if you make the huge mistake to go at the mad rush for food in a town with terrible restaurant choices. This time it was just for a pick up at 11am for takeout of basic items from the brunch menu. A 1/2 hour goes by and nothing so made a call and told them where I was parked and car description. Waited another 15 minutes, after they came out and delivered to everyone who came after me and call and canceled the order. The manager on duty, Shelby, said they called my number but the phone never rang. Said they'd heat up my order and bring it out. GROSS! This is the last straw. NEVER will patronize this place or their sister restaurants Provisions or Aunt Maud's, again! read more

Hands Down my favorite restaurant in the Midwest. So luck it is in my back yard (so to speak)! The menu is always changing put they always have the standard favorites available so you know there will always be a good choice. I love going and trying something new. Even when it sounds different than my normal taste I have NEVER been disappointed. Every staff member is knowledgeable on their menu. We love sitting at the bar while we wait for a table and order an appetizer. The bartender is not only an expert on drink selection but can also make a recommendation on the menu as well. They have always tried everything. The staff is amazing as well as the food and the private feeling atmosphere is wonderful. This place is well worth the wait! read more

Good food. Service can be snippy which I don't appreciate. Good variety. Changing menu with some standbys.

The Cafe has consistently been 5 stars for us. A changing menu that provides surprises, while it is not extensive, the meals deliver. We have been there for brunch and lunch. The Korean steak and eggs is fantastic, the current turkey shwarma is full of flavors complemented well with the harissa sauce. The prices seem reasonable for the service and decor, the only complaint would be the waits for tables. read more

Awesome dinner and service. Service was prompt and friendly. We had our 1 year old and waitress was helpful with her. The menu is small but has something for everyone. Unique selections. My husband had a steak that had great flavor and was very tender. I had Spring Beef Pasta. It was pasta with peas, asparagus, and small pieces of steak. Very tasty. A little over whelming on the peas (peas made up most the dish). Nice cream based sauce. Lots of flavor. I had the sweet corn bisque, also. Sweat and simple. For dessert my husband had the blueberry and peach crisp. He enjoyed it. I had a mixed berry crisp tart. Tart was good but needed ice cream or a sauce as it was a little dry. They did have what I believe was over churned whipped cream on it. Kinda tasted buttery and was hard. For soup, 2 dinners, and 2 desserts it came to about $50. Not bad for how good the food was. Over all food was fantastic. Will go again. One of the best places we have tried in Iowa. read more

It's the place to be in Ames for Brunch...according to everyone in town. They're not wrong. The Breakfast Slate read more

By far the best desserts in Ames. They keep me coming back time after time. The food is great - I have never eaten anything there that wasn't delicious. My only complaint is that they seem to have a lot of fish/seafood dishes, which I'm not crazy about. They have a small menu which changes fairly often, but the pizzas are always great if nothing else catches your eye. read more

Very good quality local food. Great dessert and bakery products...i've liked everything I have tried here (except for a winter salad with clarified butter dressing that I was not a fan off) Oatmeal is very good read more

Had the house bread which was really just Italian bread but still good. Ordered the grilled salmon salad which is my typical go to meal and it didn't disappoint. My daughter got pasta which came with a cookie so that was a nice touch. Very fast service and super nice place overall. read more

The Cafe continues to set the standard in Ames. The menu changes every few months giving customers a variety of options. The Cafe has an environment that borders between classy and casual. The food here is great, the Korean steak and eggs, and the Mac N Cheese are two crowd favorites. The appetizers portions are small, if you go with a group order more than one. The drinks are fairly priced, if you are a margarita fan I highly suggest the Cafe Margarita. read more

Like the Cafe although it's usually packed to the gills with other fans. Food is usually quite good - I like their Mac and Cheese which is available in colder weather. read more

Recently met up with a Bumble date here and had an amazing time. Great atmosphere and my date loved his meal. Going back soon!

Oh my goodness, I was not expecting 5-star cuisine on my road trip through Ames, but The Cafe was a wonderful surprise! I had a glass of wine and the barley risotto - both were excellent! My table shared an order of the Brussels sprouts also and they were delicious! read more

I don't care how good the food is, any restaurant that won't seat me until my whole party (meaning the one other person I'm meeting here) is there gets a black mark in my book. If this was a bustling metropolis on a busy evening then sure. Make me wait. But this is 11:30am on a Wednesday in middle America. Ridiculous. I'll go elsewhere. read more

pretty good food. I live close by and walk here when the weather is nice. The hostess always looks kind of alarmed and somewhat scared by our stroller/baby daughter combination, but we're always seated somewhere reasonable. We take out-of-town visitors here, etc. But, the music is uniformly terrible. They have some sort of three-cd shuffle system and who knows how they determine which three CDs are in it... one track of 80s pop, followed by folk, followed by something else, followed by 80s pop, followed by folk, always at just a volume notch above what would be too loud for background music. So, if they fixed the music and added heat-lamps for outdoor seating, they'd have it nailed down. read more

We go to the bar in The Cafe on a regular basis. It's a great place to hang out with friends, enjoy some drinks and fabulous food. The menu changes frequently. Chefs utilize the amazing local produce, meats and cheeses from the area. This is our "go to" place. read more

I clearly wasn't as impressed with this place as other Yelpers were. The food was pretty good, no complaints there. The Rhubarb Crisp desert was awesome also. The service was terribly slow though. We were there for almost an hour and a half. I'm not sure if they intend for it to be that slow but I thought the pace could have been picked up quite a bit. There was just too much waiting between ordering drinks and ordering food, then the food took a while to come out. read more

The Cafe - Bakeries Near Me - Ames, Iowa

So good! I haven't had anything on their menu that I haven't liked. Their mac and cheese is a solid bet in the winter time. However, the menu changes frequently so you've got to get it while it's on there. Also, try an old fashioned if you're looking for a cocktail. Best I've had yet. read more

I used to live in Ames and ate there a couple times a week. Never had something I didn't like. I always make a point to eat there when I visit. Soooo good! read more

Great food and wine menu! Lots of variety and everything looked excellent. I had the salmon and black rice it was delicious. Definitely recommended. read more

Had dinner here tonight and loved it! We tried the fish tacos, lettuce wraps, burger and pizza and all plates were licked clean. Plus the place smells amazing from the wood fire oven. Highly recommend! read more

Absolutely incredible food! Delicious, feels good in the mouth. Satisfying. High quality. Lovely outdoor seating!

I came here once for breakfast with some friends and received the best Nutella french toast I've ever had in my life. It was as if Jesus had come down to earth and slated himself out onto my plate. Would definitely eat here again. read more

I went here for a work meeting and had breakfast and was blown away. I was tempted by the chorizo breakfast tacos but extremely glad that I went with the Italian Scramble. I have never had ciabatta croutons in a scramble before and was awesome. If you like eggs and peppers this is so so good. Highly recommended and I would go back just for this dish. Great job! read more

The Cafe - Italian scramble - AMAZING!! - Bakeries Near Me - Ames, Iowa