Chicken Coop — Restaurant in Ankeny

I've been several times. This restaurant is quite close to home. I like the idea that it's an independent and somewhat locally owned business. I really want to love it for convenience among other reasons but I do not. The service has always been fantastic and we have never had a problem there. The atmosphere needs work. It's obnoxiously bright with the spotlight lighting. Not calming, somewhat uncomfortable. The wood grain tables and the vinyl chairs appear to have come from an auction of a 1980's restaurant. It's a drab place with no style or comfort. Just slapped together quickly and cheaply. I can ignore every one of these very minor annoyances. The food is where I feel let down. The French or prime rib dip was just ok. This is a sandwich that is so simple and can be made or broken by simple things like the freshness of the bread, quality of the meat, the au jus, etc. It seems simple but a good one doesn't come out of thin air. It was just fair. I tried the parmesan garlic wings. They were cooked great but there wasn't much flavor. Very plain. The graziano Italian grinder was again just very forgettable. The bread was average, nothing seemed to be particularly fresh, and the taste was very mediocre. The portions of everything are actually quite large. Their fries are awesome but surely they come frozen, however they were fried perfectly. I'm still trying to find an entree I would want to come back for. As a bar that has food this is just ok. Compared to restaurants the food is subpar. My next visit will determine if I can find a reason to bring myself back for anything beyond a drink. I believe that all the food is being cooked per the recipe and standard of the restaurant. I believe the problem is more of a management issue in relation to obtaining fresh and quality supplies like bread. Spend time to develop better recipes that are more restaurant quality. More fresh made components and less sysco canned stuff. Quality over...

My daughter and I stopped in Saturday afternoon, a little after 1pm. There was a please seat yourself sign at the entrance. There were hardly any other guests, except a small group in the back.There were several dirty tables as I sat down while my daughter used the facilities. Had a gentleman wearing a blue baseball cap reapetedly walk by me, taking to go containers to the group in the back. Not once did he acknowledge my presence. My daughter returned to our booth, and the same gentleman again walked past repeatedly (5-6 times). Never once acknowledged our presence, he actually avoided eye contact with us. This went on for over 5 minutes. The timer on my phone said 8 minutes. I started it after he ignored me the first time. We were getting ready to leave when, finally, at the 8 minute and 10 second mark, Myriah came over. She was so very friendly. Myriah took our order, and quickly, our food arrived to perfection. The club sandwich and fries were great, and my daughters pasta was so flavorful, and the portions were huge. Myriah came and checked on us frequently throughout our meals. Myriah and the food were the saving grace for this visit. I wanted to give service a 5 star, but due to being ignored for 8 minutes, I can not. All he had to do was greet us and say, "Someone will be right with you."..... I doubt we will be returning or recommending due to one rude server, but that's all it takes is one bad person to ruin...

Ankeny, from a recent posting on facebook. My class of 1968 will be having lunch there in the next few weeks. We had some shopping to do while in town and decided to give the Chicken Coop a try, a preview of sorts, before my class lunchen, and very happy we did. I had the bone in wings, one order of 5 with the Garlic Jalapeno sauce and another of 5 with the Tropical Heat. Pam ordered hers as boneless with buffalo sauce, I had the baked beans and fries for sides and she had the onions rings. We shared our wings and sides, all were clear off the charts in goodness. I particularly liked the Tropical Heat sauce, It had a wonderfully balanced spice heat along with sweetness, a really good flavor. I will for sure be purchasing a bottle of that for home use just as soon as it's available. The baked beans were epic, clear over the top in deliciousness, in fact I would be willing to make the drive to Ankeny just for a side of those, yes, they are really that good. Our server Taylor did a magnificent job of taking care of us, checking on us numerous times and very helpful in answering our questions and making suggestions. This was a very good experience, can't wait until hungry again for and excuse to return. The Chicken Coop earned my coveted cleaned plate, or rather licked clean plate award, our server Taylor and the food were both clear off the charts...