Bar La Tosca — Restaurant in Ames

Date of Visit: May 2024

Overall Rating: 3/5 stars

Legend: 1 star: Bad food, did not enjoy my time there, would never go again 2 stars: Food was okay, would not come back of my own accord 3 stars: Food was fine, would come back possibly on my own or if others were paying 4 stars: Food was good, would come back 5 stars: Food was amazing, had a great time, would recommend to others

Food: 2/5 Quality: We tried the Beef Pork Meatballs, Fettuccine, and the Ricotta Gnocchi. The Meatballs were very average. I have had better and I have had worse, but I have definitely made better. The bread they were served with did not taste anything like garlic bread, it was more just a toasted baguette. I got the Fettuccine because I was really feeling a nice Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo, but what I got wasn’t that. The pasta was cooked fine but the chicken was completely flavorless. The sauce was even worse, being extremely watery and having no taste resembling a cream or alfredo. The natural taste of the mushroom was pretty much the only flavor in the dish. We also tried the Ricotta Gnocchi which did not taste as I would have expected. It was very sweet, as if they had dumped sugar into the sauce instead of salt when cooking.

Variety: The menu is pretty small for dinner, so I would suggest looking at it to find something you want before going there.

Value for Money: It seems that it was not worth the money. Our bill for two people with our appetizer and a single drink (whatever their special drink was that day, I believe some kind of orange spritz), came out to about $70 after tax. Definitely on the high end for food that was not very good.

Service: 3/5 stars Timeliness: It probably only took about 25-30 minutes to get our food.

Attentiveness: The waitress came to our table enough to fill our water fairly soon after they were empty. The same could be said about taking our orders after we decided.

Friendliness: The staff was nice.

Cleanliness: 4/5 stars Dining Area: The dining area looked good, I did not see anything particular on the silverware or the dining ware.

Restrooms: Did not use.

Kitchen (if visible): Not visible.

Would You Return? No. The taste of the food is what matters the most and this place did not have that, especially for the prices they were...

I am not by any means an avid restaurant-goer. I don't have much credibility as a reviewer. But as just a regular guy who went to a restaurant with his girlfriend, this is far and beyond the WORST restaurant I have ever been to in my life. The atmosphere was interesting and the service was good enough, but the food just tanked the score... I wish I could give lower than a 1...

Between my girlfriend and I, the check ended at just over $43. We only drank water, and didn't get any sides. Now this would be fine if the food was worth it.

My girlfriends food could probably fit within a cup measure. That how little food there was. No breadsticks, no other sides of any kind, just the tiniest bit of Gnocci I have ever seen.

My food, the Linguine, had a slightly bigger portion, but most of that was because I added shrimp to mine.

The food tasted as if it was microwaved, and was genuinely worse than any pasta place I had been to. I wouldn't pay a quarter of the price for that food.

I don't write many reviews, but nobody else should ever have to experience this.

Save yourself the trouble and buy a frozen pasta meal. This...

I really wanted to like this place but walking in at 7:15 to find only 2 other parties set the vibe.

First, our server was terrific. Personable, friendly, and kind.

The appetizer, pork belly, was delicious. Unfortunately, the rest was not. Ricotta gnocchi was overly firm and the sauce uninspired. The rigatoni was, in my opinion, a couple of minutes shy of al dented and the sauce and protein, meh.

What really hurt this place was time of service. I enjoy a relaxed atmosphere but 20 minutes for the appetizer to arrive was just too much. 15 minutes after the 1st course was cleared, dinner arrived.

Then, half way through my meal, 25 minutes (I enjoy a relaxed pace), the wine I ordered upon food delivery finally arrived. Keep in mind the were now a total of 4 groups in the restaurant. 25 minutes for a glass of wine. Shameful.

I generally like to give a restaurant a 2nd chance before writing a review. Sadly, I...