Reviews for The IowaStater Restaurant in Ames, IA
Saturday breakfast buffet. Eggs and potatoes were cold because the fire underneath was out. After I informed the staff about... this, they brought out fresh eggs and potatoes. The potatoes were so underdone I could not stick my fork into them. Read more
It has been a while since I have been there, about a year, but I have had breakfasts and dinners there quite bit over the years.... Since I was staying at the hotel I would get breakfast buffet coupons and the buffet is great especially on the weekends whenthere is an omlette bar. My moms last birthday before she past away I ordered a pork loin sandwich (which are epic!), and theyknow I love, was so big is covered the entire plate, which is huge. I asked where the bun and toppings were and Adam thebartender pointed to look under the loin... It was so big it covered both parts of the buns, the lettuce, tomato slices, and theonion slices. The look of shock on my face had Adam and both line cooks laughing. I cut it in half, folded one half to put onthe bun, which hung over the edges of the bun by 3 inches all the way around. I didn't just eat until I was full, I ate until Iwas tired. The other half made for a giant late night supper. I look forward to staying at Gateway so I can dine here again Read more
Attended a Sunday brunch around 1115 or so, (open 630-1pm for brunch) they were busy as they are inside a hotel and there was a... wedding the night before so there seemed to be several large groups. They took our name and quoted a 30 minute wait which wasaccurate. We were seated and immediately told the host that we were just having the buffet, they do offer plated meals as well,and we were told drinks were included and to help ourselves. ($13 each adult, not sure on kid pricing) We quickly noticed theywere out of coffee and most juices, out of sticky buns and very low on several of the food options. We started by making our ownwaffles to try to wait out the buffet offerings. Waffles were standard make-yourself hotel style, with classic topping choicesas well as whipped cream and fruit compote. It took a server over 30 minutes to come to the table but he did apologize andchecked back a couple of times before we were finished. We ended up being able to snag a sticky bun, as well as waiting longenough to see fresh offerings on the hot buffet which included scrambled eggs w/cheese, breakfast potatoes, biscuits and gravy,bacon and sausage. They also offered cereal, oatmeal, fruit, a few premade baked goods and bread w/toaster. The busiest ofstations was the made-to-order omelets, which offered about a dozen different toppings to fill the slightly over done eggs. Ahidden gem was the salsa hanging out with the hot sauces to add to the eggs, which was not spicy but full of flavor. Because wenever really saw our waiter, we weren't informed of the Bloody Mary/Mimosa bar, but did see the sign with pricing listed. Theydid run out of plates, glasses, cups and bowls on the buffet, even though the dining room was never actually completely full.They didn't seem to notice when things ran out until it was brought to their attention by several patrons. One in our party oftwo had attended the week before and stated that it hasn't been this discombobulated when they visited Read more
Had my baby shower lunch here! Good prices for how fancy the food is! Waitress was lovely and accommodating. The cyclone wrap... was delicious!! Read more
Had the Lane & Hammer Blue Cheese Burger with fries on the side. Very generous portions. I ate half the burger and took the... other half to finish later. I enjoyed the meal and the staff were warm and friendly. It was a bit cold in there during the daycompared to when I visited the bar the previous night, but it was manageable. Read more
Really nice. Very generous. Very professional. Very UpTown. Great taste. Great presentation. Great service. I arrived hungry... and left satisfied. Nice table service. Nice real cloth linens. Nice stainless steel silverware. This is the real deal. I hadthe Apricot-Glazed Salmon ... DELICIOUS! Thanks for a great food experience! Read more
First time at the IowaStater. I tried the IowaStater burger, overall it was pretty good. The bacon that comes on it was very... tasty. I had the fries upgraded to Cys Fries, they were pretty good, but I felt like the portion size was smaller. They comecovered in a white cheddar cheese, the sauce ran all over the plate and covered the top of the bun, making it a mess to eat,maybe get the sauce on the side. The ketchup was "curried", so it has a little more zing to it. The service was okay, thewaitress was friendly. No wifi, I felt like I was going to fall through my chair, as the bottom seat support wasnt there. Read more
The place used to be fantastic. It's no longer even good. Food sucks. Nobody knows how to cook breakfast potatoes (had em 2x's.)... Manager has never run a restaurant. It's a shame. Would give it - stars if possible. Read more