Bar La Tosca

Great food and location near campus. We make it a habit to stop in 1-2x/wk. Italian food is good. Staff is consistently excellent.

Huge potential restaurant for the Ames Iowa scene. Our server was a bit inexperienced with dinner service but everything was delivered perfectly. (Might need more practice opening wine bottles lol). We had several appetizers and different entrées. Cheese plate and meatballs were tops on appetizers, and meatballs were fantastic. Use those for pastas . Risotto was top, and any pasta add a protein as they can be on the small portion entrée. The ambiance is great, with good location and easy parking. The chef can increase the seasoning and salt on pasta water. Pastas are homemade, so expectation is set high. Overall, it has a huge potential, keep improving and dare to make changes. Great cocktails. Desserts were excellent too. Tops were pannacota and olive oil w mascarpone cake. We will be back when in Ames!

I've driven by a few time and always see a crowd. I finally had time to stop and foot a try. I never found the right entrance but that was fine as the young waiter said you could pick up a chair and crash through the glass to find your way in if you wanted. Well I wanted but entered through the stage. I sat outside in the shade and it was very comfortable and surprisingly not that noisy with traffic, much to my delight. Weather was great! I had lovely service and although I was dressed haphazardly as I only brought winter cloths in tights and a shirt I picked up at a secondhand store as, surprise, it's hitting the high 70's today ! I ordered tomato bisque and a side of French bread. I asked for balsamic oil and was met with blank stares from the young man and his trainee but he was good and quickly asked for an explanation of what it was and after my disbelief that an Italian place didn't have it, I was served a little bowl(without oil) of a balsamic reduction. Well, that was alright for me and waited for hue bread and soup while I eavesdropped and a watch the college kids walk by. The tomato bisque with bread, no olive oil but a mountain of garlic in water, and a balsamic reduction soon was served and I did not go away hungry but everything needed tweaking! The tomato bisque was flat and needed not only pepper but salt to perk it up. A dollop of crème fresh would have helped. Lovely waiters who need to expand their horizons, well the manager and the head chef. I'm picky though and it was Sat. I shouldn't have quizzed the young sweet waiters!

This is cool little restaurant with some outdoor seating available. The service is great and the food is tasty. I love their soups and salads!

A block south of Ames' CampusTown sits an Italian restaurant with a terrific menu, excellent customer service, and a spot to get away. Yes, complete with WiFi. Open for breakfast through dinner, this restaurant goes by a pair of names, Bar La Tosca and Stomping Grounds Cafe. Plenty of street parking is available, so make sure you feed the meters in front! You could walk from here to Jack Trice Stadium or Hilton Coliseum. It's ample space but could use more color and a slight tweak of added ambiance, but overall an outstanding experience. Maddie (our server) was excellent, a pleasant combination of friendly, efficiency, personality, and knowledge. I'm glad she served us and steered me to some items expertly. It opened with grilled Italian bread with roasted garlic oil, and it was delicious, toasted just right with the oil, and its content was so darn good. Could have eaten that all day! They serve Coca-Cola products, plus a full bar. Chose a BLT as my lunch option, recommended by Maddie, and she nailed it! Local bacon was tasty; greens were fresh, and tomato and mayo were added to the meal. Then, after catching up on some schedule craziness, I enjoyed a slice of yummy carrot cake that was quite good, capping off a pleasant visit. Reasonably priced on top of all of that too!