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...

We visited the stomping grounds for the first time today. The atmosphere is very relaxing and pretty. The breakfast on the other hand.. I picked this place because of the pictures and reviews. I am a breakfast person and always enjoy trying new places. I wanted the bacon and eggs, but they only serve poach because it's the easiest to make according to our waitress. That was strike one. How do you mess up scrambled eggs? Strike two was no fountain pop and the limited selection of canned. I will say the pulp free OJ was very good. We both ended up ordering the Biscuits and Gravy and the Maple Crepe that came with a side of fruit. I also ordered a side of bacon.. The Bluebeery Crepe, which looked more like stacked pancakes in their picture, is the reason we decided to try the Maple one. The B&G was just not pleasing. The presentation is nice but the darker color of the gravy was the first sign. Very spicy and not a good flavor. Both the biscuits and gravy were not warm. For $11 it's not worth it. The side of bacon was cooked perfectly. The Maple Crepe was disappointing as well. It looked nothing like the Bluberry Crepe. Again, in the pictures the BB Crepe looked like pancakes. It was a Crepe with Maple Syrup over it, not worth the $9. So the fruit and bacon were the only great things set before us. Our waitress was nice and atmosphere is nice but we will not return...

I had a decent experience at Stomping grounds. The server seemed to be new and not be well informed about the menu. The server started off to be very attentive but the service waned. Drink orders were promptly taken and came out quickly. Overall, of the whole experience, everyone seemed to enjoy their drinks (one mojito, two moscow mules, and a margarita). When we asked for simple modifications when ordering our entrees the server could not answer if this was possible. Modifications are pretty standard at these sort of restaurants so I am not sure why this was not easily feasible. When the food came, I was incredibly underwhelmed. I ordered the burger that came with a side "salad." It was simply just tossed greens in a mediocre salad dressing. The burger did not come together with the hot sauce and the gruyere cheese. My friend ordered the winter greens salad and commented that it was "the worst salad she ever had." I had a bite and that was suffice. It had little, to no flavor. Another guest commented that her pasta was undercooked. The rest of the experience was fine, I empathize with the server who seemed new but perhaps some help from management would have eased her stress. I would recommend this restaurant for drinks but...