So many things that were wrong where to begin... 1st - The wait staff was training a new employee who never introduced herself or her trainee wen they came to our table 2nd - We ordered beverages and they came out I ordered a lemonade, when they arrived at the table my lemonade was just as clear as if they just poured tap water in the glass and put a lemon on the side. So i asked for a another and stated the soda dispenser much be out. She looked like what the hell are you talking about. Well the 2nd glass was just as bad as the first. 3rd - The staff came for our order and I address the lemonade again and they came back with a water which I requested, and I place my order for an order of your chicken tenders the staff never asked what kind of dipping sauce I would want, seems kind of a basic question. 4th - My tenders came out to our table with no silverware and there were no condiments at the table again I was never asked about any dipping sauce for my chicken tenders. 5th - I don't know how you can be playing country music and in mid song we go to so gangster music about him "rubbing his hard cock" or another song about her "wet pussy" very very inappropriate for a dinner crowd. 6th - I get that your short staffed, but every time our glasses were empty someone other then out servers were taking care of us. The we got the bill and we made our payment via credit card and before we even leave another party grabs the payment. I understand it was windy but at least let us leave before you come and grab the receipts. One the plus side the food was excellent!!!! read more

Great local watering hole with fantastic service. The bartenders know the whole drink selection and can provide recommendations if you're looking for a new brew to try. Shot lady is hot read more

I've never been here to eat and to my knowledge they are not well known for their food. The staff here are nice and the business features the great amenities of a bar, patio and rooftop. Those are the positives. On the other hand the management shamefully doesn't seem to have customer interests in mind. No tap water is allowed to be served. The customer must purchase a water bottle for $2. All credit card transactions will have 4% added to them. Credit card transactions under $10 will be rounded up to $10, as the lowest transaction amount allowed. It all seems pretty greedy to me. If they treat customers like this, how do they treat employees? read more

Super disappointed in this place because I literally just moved into a house across the street and I'm a bourbon drinker. The atmosphere is pretty good here which is why I give it 2 stars as opposed to just 1. Tonight I asked for a Four Roses Small Batch on the rocks (a drink I regularly order) and a Moscow mule for my wife. Upon receiving my tab...they charged me $22 (for a single) WHAAAATTTT!?! On average I pay between $11-14 for this drink and If you drink bourbon at all you know how outrageous this price is. I'll likely give this place another try one day but as for my regular watering whole...I'll keep searching. read more

Whiskey River Ankeny - American Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

Gacebook posted where Whiskey River was having green eggs as ham for breakfast on St Patrick's day (Sunday). They mentioned live music, free t shirts on st Patrick's day morning. We went early to have breakfast and take advantage of the bloody Mary bar. The bloody Mary bar was stocked full of options. Lots and lots of stuff was available. This bar could easily become a new watering hole for drinks, but that would be it and here is why. We walked in and took a seat at a booth. In a manner of 10 min we had three different waitress check on us. One got our drink, another brought us a menu, the next took it away because the food on the normal menu wasn't available till later. She brought us a slip of paper with the breakfast special or omelette. I asked a few questions and got different answers depending on who I was talking to. Soon our friends arrived and we put in our breakfast order. Someone else brought us our food as another checked our drinks. I lost track of how many people came to our table. I think my belief that there was a lack of communication going on here. Plus it was not yet busy and they were all trying to stay busy. We did have a visit from the bar tender to our table. I had asked earlier about the free t shirt and was told they weren't free as posted on Facebook, then the bartender had another story. She and another person who had been there for awhile brought us shirts and we had a great conversation with them about the lack of communication between everyone on the floor there. They had us all laughing and even though we had multiple people checking on us our food came out hot and good. The place started to pick up in traffic as the morning pressed on. We didn't get to hear a live band but the music got turned up and there was some dancing behind the bar. I had been here one other time in the fall to enjoy the outside live band, and I think that was a pretty good experience just getting a drink and enjoying the venue. read more

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nothing but great serice every time I come! the bartenders are can make any drink you would ever imagine and will try even if they don't know the drink! read more

love whiskey river in ankeny! michael is the best bar manager i've met he makes the best drinks!

Manager had the staff rate the place all 5 stars. The servers aren't trained enough, probably only about 4 or less hours of training and aren't even taught the full menu. Helpless. It took me about 15 minutes to get my drink, and the server had to apologize because the ticket was labeled wrong for where I was sitting. Beyond too loud. Can hear the music from almost a block down. The dishes aren't properly cleaned, overheard that they clean as fast as possible after close and don't clean everything. Servers don't have sections so either a server will come around once every hour or once every minute. The manager seems like a total and stuck up, rude and uninviting. Do not come here. read more

Went here for the first time on a suggestion from my son who had wanted tryout the place. This is not a place for families with young children. At least the Saturday night we were there, the music being played was, I assume, hip-hop. The lyrics and language were not suitable for children. I understand they are probably trying to cater to young adults because of their closeness to DMACC and that's fine. Just know what you might encounter when you go. The food was good along the lines of upper end bar food. Great selection of beer and a wide selection of whiskey. read more

My 1st time is also my last time visiting this establishment. The wife and I were out on a date and just wanted a drink on the patio. We use these impromptu drinks as an opportunity to scout places new to us for future date nights. This place is a pass for us. The beer selection anemic and did nothing for me so I ordered a water. My wife ordered a top shelf margarita she said was long on sweet and sour and light on liquor. We moved indoors as the evening chill set in outside. Inside the music was the issue. It was far too loud to converse without raising our voices, strangely eclectic (George Michael to hard core gangster rap followed by an old Elvis track), with many songs profanity laced. Don't take me wrong, I liked the music, however I would never take our pre-teen children here and cannot recommend this as family friendly. read more

Oh whiskey river, I love how easy it is to get to and the experience inside the place. I really liked the large menu and huge bar selection of beer on tap and whiskey selection of coarse. I tried the tenderloin. it wasn't bad tasting and was nice size. I actually folded it in half trying to keep in inside of the bun. I felt it was a very normal tenderloin and my fries came out at room temp. This is not enough of a deal for me to mention it to the staff to try to have it fixed. All and all was an ok experience. read more

In the beginning I thought this was a great bar. But over the years the food has stayed ok the service is terrible, bartenders cannot mix a drink, and the music is so loud you cannot talk to the person sitting right next to you. We just stopped going even occasionally. Its too bad read more

I've come here for after work drinks several times and enjoyed myself, but never tried the food. These positive experiences are propping up my rating. I was nearby this weekend and thought I'd stop in for lunch. It will likely be the last time I eat here. We ordered cavatelli, chicken strips and the French dip. The food came out together, but we had no silverware or condiments. We sat for quite awhile waiting for the server to bring them. They did not bring out the side salad included with the cavatelli. It was delicious and a nice proportion. The French fries with were not much more than warm and were totally unseasoned, but the strips were piping hot. The French dip was pedestrian and was decent but not great. When we finished, we sat for quite awhile before flagging down a server from another area to ask for the bill. We were billed 0.89 for the dipping sauce and 2.99 for a side salad... all included per the menu description. The server was super annoyed when we asked about the billing discrepancy. They did end of taking it off the bill. Our empty plates were never cleared and we sat there for a solid 30 minutes. read more

Whiskey River Ankeny - American Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

This was seriously the worst experience I've had at a restaurant ever. We will 100% never be back and will advise everyone we know to avoid it. Where to begin...service was TERRIBLE. The waiter didn't know any answers to questions asked about the food or drinks. Our drinks (including sodas and bar drinks) came out the same time as our food, so about 20 minutes. Our orders were incorrect even after the waiter read everything back to us. When asked to correct it, he seemed taken aback and then it took another 20+ minutes to receive the right food. I couldn't even get my salad when waiting that 20+ minutes. When we asked if they would do anything to make it right, he said the manager said no, "they don't do that". So we got the bill and were doubly charged for drinks and the incorrect food. When asked to speak to a manager, 10 minutes later the "manager" (we're positive there was no manager on duty) came out and was very unapologetic and said there was nothing they could do besides refunding for the incorrectly charged items and making excuses that the waiter didn't know the menu. Why do you have staff that don't know your menu?? And how is that your customers fault?? Thee WORST service and customer service ever...they should be embarrassed, but judging by other reviews, they clearly don't care. read more

Where was the manager? Heck, where was the staff? We should have ran for the door when we sat down people next to us warned us about service! And they were right. Service was awful. Music so loud you couldn't hear anyone else at table. Waiters were more interested in the party at the bar . Pretty sure the staff was as intoxicated as patrons. Food was warm not even hot. The place looked like a ghost town compared to years ago when we used to go often. Now I know why. We even had to go searching for someone to pay bill. Took a look in back room to find someone and there were dirty dishes galore sitting in tubs on floors. Yum! read more

I really enjoy the atmosphere here, especially at lunch. It's casual without feeling neglected or short staffed. The employees are always friendly and there seems to be plenty of help when needed. At nights or on popular days (like the weekend), this place can get super busy and even feels overwhelmed at times. At lunch, it's usually pretty easy to get a table. They have a great bar and lots of TVs and distractions. The restrooms were super clean and it seems like the staff keeps up on maintenance. I like the food okay, but there are very few healthy options. I realize it's a bar, but most of the choices are fried or heavily salted. If you are looking for a place for nachos, burgers or bar food - the menu will be just fine. Overall, this is a great place to go if you are in Ankeny with friends and want a fun bar to have some drinks and share some appetizers. It might be a little too loud for a date, but not too loud to watch a game with some friends. read more

Ankeny seems to get a new restaurant and bar every couple months. So far we have seen only a few close. They won't be missed because the new ones are even better. Like Whiskey River. This is an awesome place to come for food while watching your favorite football games. Whether it is college or pros there are plenty of TVs to accommodate your needs. The wait staff is fun. They will dress up for special days or just for the heck of it. I really enjoyed the food options. Some of the typical bar foods but the quality was just a little better. The drink select was amazing. And the wait staff just kept stopping by and making sure your glass was never empty for long. Even when the place was packed. read more

Whiskey River Ankeny - Part of da bar with a couple of large TV screens - American Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

Food is good and drink selection is nice but the music is way too loud. 7pm on a Tuesday and people are trying to enjoy dinner, but you can barely speak with all the music bumping like it's 11pm on a Friday night at some club read more

DIRTY! Went there for Fathers Day. Bloody Mary bar was a joke. Says you pick your vidka but they bring you a glass with the well brand it and lots of ice. Biggest concern was that the place is dirty, really dirty. Window sill by our both had unidentifiable objects , dirt and bugs. Floor the same with food and napkins and we were there at open. Staff was not professionally dressed one very overweight waitress had a xtra small tank top on and had her feet up on the bar stool. Gross very Gross. Food was very mediocre. The lack of sharp clean appearance of establishment and staff was an appetite killer. read more

Ordered an old fashioned. Ended up with a shot of whiskey with a very small slice of orange peel. My friend ordered a martini and was told they didn't know how to make it. Food was over priced. read more

While visiting Des Moines we stopped in here for a drink on a Monday night. It was not very busy, with only a small crowd sitting around the bar. We were addressed by one of the three bartenders immediately. Within moments it was obvious that she was high on something, as she talked with a slur and was really slow to respond to us. She had a punk-rock look, with tattoos and dark makeup. Then one of the other bartenders, came and awkwardly sat on the glass washing well right in front of us with her back to us while talking to the people next to us. She, on occasion, would turn around and ask us if we needed anything, while we clearly didn't. Once our drinks were near empty, she ignored us. She looked like a modern college kid, dressed in sweatpants and a tshirt. The third bartender looked as if he was dressed as a flamboyant rodeo clown. Extremely tight jean's, tight open but tied at the bottom flannel half-shirt, and makeup. Not sure what the deal with this place was, but we had our drink and moved on. The employees were more interested in their costumes/acts than serving the customers. read more

Went there when they first opened and found a maggot in our beer. Wasn't comped. Ordered food for delivery a few months later. A bunch was missing and the order wasn't right. Went there tonight and wasn't even acknowledged standing there. Went to Grumpy Goat instead where the staff actually pays attention to you. We have given this place many tries and the fact their Facebook page doesn't even have a review part says enough to me about their business. I have never ever had a good experience here. Also there's a facebook post on blast that the owner of this place fostered a dog named Casha and then sold her for profit. Not telling the shelter about where this dog is located. I will never ever ever recommend this place to anyone! read more

Food was good, Bloody Mary had great flavor, service needs some help but they were swamped! read more

Whiskey River Ankeny - Bloody Mary - American Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

Arrived and seated ourselves as the sign said. We were two tables from the bar and in direct view of staff. For 10 minutes servers walked by us 10 to 12 times but nobody stopped to acknowledge us or offer water or drinks. Service was nonexistent. There was only two of us so acknowledging us would've been very simple. Not sure how they survive. The place is filthy and the music was so loud we couldn't hear each other talk. We won't be back. They'll be out of business in a few months. read more

I don't think this bar did anything right. (Ok, the fries weren't bad.) The atmosphere was set up to be country, but it was established in Ankeny. Ankeny is mainly professional, wealthy families. There were at least six other bars in the area, and I understand the need to be different: but the Whiskey River isn't trying to draw in the affluent crowd next door to the bar! Missed money. We were there on a Friday evening, and the place looked about 40% full. A successful bar should be full, especially just down the street from a college (granted it is summer and most students aren't around, but pivot to the Ankeny citizens!). The menu was filled with whiskeys (which is to be expected), but it was just too much and overwhelming for a customer. The menu needs to be slimmed down and redone. I didn't understand how it was priced, how the whiskey would be served, or how much whiskey would be served. Neither did the server. The menu needs to be reformatted and reduced (also consider flights due to the amount of whiskeys). After ordering a drink, I set a timer. It took 15 minutes to get a single pour of whiskey. It should take less than a minute. Our server spent most of her time by the bar talking with other employees and customers. Our drinks also came out separate. I ordered an Iowa whiskey, which the server did say tended to be the most popular (was also one of the cheapest). We estimated I spent $9 on maybe 2-3 oz of whiskey with the rest of the glass being ice. The whiskey tasted like a Templeton Rye and wasn't terrible. The menu used a QR code, which is normal anymore, but the code took us to the main page of the bar's website. The code should've taken us to the menu as the code was labeled "Food Menu". I ordered the whiskey fire burger. The menu said it came with jalapeños and a "Secret Fire Sauce". I got green peppers and the sauce was just Buffalo sauce. The burger was well done, but there was no flavor to the beef and the strong Buffalo sauce and fresh green peppers overtook the beef. Took 15 minutes to get the food after ordering, which isn't bad: but a packed bar should have food out in less than 12 minutes. They were at about 40% capacity. Music was too loud, the server had some difficulty communicating. I have to agree with other posts that this seems more like a college bar. The environment was mixed. There was a deer hunter game and a pool table. None of the decoration was consistent. The lights were also inconsistent and some were not working. They hung dozens of shirts from electrical conduit (electrical code violation) and kept the clothes right next to the sprinklers (possible fire code violation depending on distance, but also not a good look). I don't know what they were trying to achieve for decor. Whoever "planned" the layout probably just thought "This looks cool! Put it here! This also looks cool! Put it over here!" Fries were good. Didn't taste frozen. Definitely couldn't wait to get out of there. I didn't give much of a tip as the server just didn't seem to care. They didn't seem trained on how to properly perform the job and they either didn't care about the job or didn't care about the employer (which, after seeing the bar and crowd, may be a valid argument). No idea who was the owner or manager. Someone should've been walking the floor, introducing themselves and talking to customers. Maybe management has given up on trying. Despite the appearance of one visit: it could actually be a really successful bar and I am missing things. However, the bar is missing way more. I didn't write this to be mean: I hope that management maybe can change things and improve the bar. read more

I had this meal delivered by Food Dudes. My husband had the cavatelli with Garlic Bread. There were 4 whole dried basil leaves in his pasta. That's a lot of basil leaves, which is fine, you'll never get the full flavor of basil from the dried leaves. Just irritated him to have to pick them out. The sauce was very tangy. Tart. I'm not trying to be rude, but it tasted like Prego or canned tomato sauce with some seasoning. Very bad. I had the mushroom Swiss burger (added bacon, paid for the bacon, there was no bacon on it) with a side of coleslaw. My burger was delicious. I did remove the top bun and just used my fork to eat it. The mushroom sauce was creamy and very flavorful. I felt bad for my husband because I enjoyed my burger so much. The coleslaw was real good too. Not too tangy or vinegary. Not too sweet...just a lovely mix. We also ordered the cheddar cheese balls. Real tasty too! I feel like Whiskey River AND Food Dudes both dropped the ball on this order. My husband did not receive his salad, but the ranch made it. My bacon wasn't added to my burger either. It's my understanding that the restaurant packages up the delivery, Food Dudes makes sure it's correct, then delivers. So we have the cook who didn't add the bacon, the host that didn't check the order and Food Dudes also did not check the order. That's 3 people who just didn't bother. And not to sound snotty, but I tipped $9. Plus the $8.99 delivery fee. Just frustrating. $18, wasted. To be fair though, I did choose to pre tip. I will definitely give them a try in person though. Not with any red sauce though....it truly was awful. read more

It was my first time here, it wasn't busy at all, maybe half a dozen people there, and I walked out because I hadn't been served a drink after 10 minutes. The younger blonde bartender is absolutely atrocious at her job. read more

It was a Friday at 6:00 and not very busy.Had to find help to get waited on. We asked for a menu and was told they didn't have any. We don't scan menus, if you can't provide one we will not do business here. The waitress' ass cheeks were hanging out of her shorts. Not acceptable server attire! in my book. The music was terrible and loud! Food was not impressive.I had what they call a southwest chicken sandwich. There was nothing southwest about the sandwich.Will not be back. read more

Cost was really high. paid 14.00 for a shot drink. Waitress was horrible! I will never be back. I would pay the high cost if service was good. Has to get up from the table to get service. The place was not busy, yet music was turned up. read more

I am not sure if there will be any future reviewers who DoorDash or deliver on behalf of this restaurant. Don't waste your time. Patron or not, this place is consistently slow and the wait staff is horrible. No customer service whatsoever and they act like you're a burden when you arrive. I honestly don't know why this place is still in business. read more

Great food and atmosphere. Been here a ton of times. Food was delivered fast. Spent the evening watching UFC.

Not Good at all. Dirty. Slow service and uninformed staff. Very, very mediocre food. Heavy R and B music blaring instead of country (which I was told was some staff members choice). Overpriced for what appeared to be frozen Cisco heated up food. Staff appeared to be very untrained and uninformed as we had to ask them to provide us with just the basics. Nice building with a cool design (which is what brought us in) but run with what appeared to be ZERO front of house management. A total disappointment. read more

Not impressed with the service here. I had accidentally left an article of clothing there ( $45 dollar value) called right when I got home and the item was set aside, came back less then a week later , the guy who had taken the phone call "didn't work there anymore " and my hoodie was no where to be found. Ericka the GM blamed me for being angry blamed me for leaving it there in the first place. No attempt to take down my name and number in case by some strange change it shows up.It was my fault that her employees 1.stole my article of clothing 2.threw it away or 3.just honestly didn't care enough about someone's property to give a crap. No attempt to compensate me in anyway,call the ex worker or a general effort to consider a better system for lost and found items at their establishment. I don't plan on going there again employees are rude shallow and possibly thieves. read more

This was my first visit here. Just happened to be in Ankeny and searching Yelp for a place to eat. Bloody Mary Bar and Omelets for $10 who could resist. Very Clean place which shocked me, I knew it was bar with limited food choices after 9. We were greeted pretty quickly, after seating ourselves, and drinks were on the table in no time. We decided against the brunch special as the option for the Omelet were sparse. Maybe 6 choices. Nothing we wouldn't have had at home and to add bacon was an up charge. My dinning companion and I decided on beer and burgers. I had the Whiskey Burger topped with an over easy egg and a local beer from Firetrucker. Burger was cooked just the way I like it, medium rare and the egg was just as perfect. It's served on two pieces of Texas toast, only one is necessary. You get the option of fries, coleslaw, cottage cheese, or Sweet potato fries that cost extra. The fries were crispy and hot which is always a plus. I wasn't really sure who our wait staff was. Our drink order was one person. Our Food order was an other, both served to us by different people then the two mentioned previously. Two others stopped by to ask how everything was. There seemed to be about 15 staff behind the bar..... who do I tip? do I tip?? Well you know I tipped I hope they all split it or something. Just super confusing. We both agreed we'd come back and give them another try. They had a Ruben on the menu so I'll definitely be back. I also didn't have a Bloody so there another reason!!! read more

Whiskey River Ankeny - Bloody Mary bar - American Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

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Wow... we're do I start. The service was terrible. The servers were drunk so not really to aware of what was going on around them. Also they think it's OK to charge $11 for a glass of wine, when I could literally drive to hy vee and buy that same bottle for under nine dollars. I am appalled. I thought there had to be some mistake.When I brought this to their attention, the server just shrugged and said "I don't know?" I will never be going back to this establishment and I would never recommend it to anyone I know!! Simply put, it is NOT WORTH your TIME or your MONEY. read more

Tried it for the first time. Ordered for take out. Won't be going back. Ordered the Rueben Egg Rolls, a Blue Cheese Burger, a French Dip and Cavotellii Biggest Issues were the egg rolls showed how up as Pulled Pork Egg Rolls. The burger was ordered Medium Rare and showed up medium well to well. The French dip was filled about 1/3 of the way and the saltiest I have ever had. Anyplace. I called just to inform them that the order was not correct and was told that every cook has a different opinion or medium rare. I'm like big difference between that and well done. And main issue was wrong item sent. Was told "sorry". Nope. Done. Too many placew to pick from. read more

I've heard very bad things about this place and the ownership. every time I go in to eat the food is great but the service is eh. I can't see this place staying open for much longer. read more

I ordered a tenderloin and it was a tiny little dry piece of sadness. Not edible so I fed it to my dog. The beer cheese soup was straight up grease/oil. My daughter's chicken strips were all breading. Tried to reach a manager by following their prompts and no one answered. When I asked for my money back they tried to say it was bad because of Uber eats, even though they were very prompt. You can get better food at a fast food place. read more

Whiskey River Ankeny - Beer cheese soup. Supposedly. It was like a bowl of grease. - American Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

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I had a wonderful BLT sandwich that hit the spot. Then chased it down with a big ass Moscow mule with a ton of booze in it. read more

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Great decor, but music selections left much to be desired. Lots of profanity and sexual connotations! Not very appropriate for a Saturday afternoon. It was slow service considering there were about 6 people in the entire place. Wait staff appearances were sloppy and not professional!! On a side note, beer selection was good and it was cold! read more