Porch Light Coffeehouse — Restaurant in Ankeny

The space is irrefutably beautiful and perfectly curated for a coffee shop vibe. As for the coffee itself, I felt that it was sub-par. My boyfriend's house coffee tastes extremely watered down. We're not sure if it's light, medium, or dark roast because they didn't say. I would probably bet that it's light roast because of the acidity and lack of flavor. If it's not light roast then I would suggest the owners look into buying different beans. I would honestly recommend getting better quality beans anyway. I got a lavender latté which was okay. You can usually still taste the espresso in a flavored latté, but in this case it just tasted like steamed lavender milk.

On another note, their scones are probably some of the best I've ever had, and I don't like scones. The triple berry scone was flavorful, but not too sweet, and still moist inside. Kudos to whoever is making these. We also ordered a breakfast croissant which I expected to come on an actual croissant. No where on the menu does it say that it comes on what tastes like a hamburger bun. My expectation of layered, buttery flakiness was shot down. I had forgotten what my boyfriend ordered and thought he got the sausage sandwich instead of the bacon. The lady dropping the sandwich off noticed my confusion and waited until I confirmed with my boyfriend who was waiting for our drinks that we got the correct protein. I should have asked her then about the "croissant" but at this point I was concerned about having the right meat. The staff was honestly the best. From the counter to the lady that dropped off the food. They are Porch Light's saving grace. I cannot in good faith give them 4 stars because of how poor the coffee was for a coffee shop. I hate that so much because I love to support local but they can...

My wife and I ordered an iced pistachio latte and an iced banana butter mocha. Both drinks were very good. However, shortly after taking 2 sips of the banana butter mocha, I realized the “butter” part of the drink was actually PEANUT butter. I have a severe peanut allergy. I immediately felt my throat starting to close but was very fortunate to carry an epipen and used it. It was my fault for not asking what was in the drink, but why omit the word PEANUT in the name of the drink? Both my wife and I thought it was dairy butter flavoring. The lady at the counter was very kind and replaced the drink with another at no cost after my wife asked. But seriously, please do NOT omit words like this on the menu. This accident could have been avoided completely. Something like this could be fatal for someone with an even more...

My favorite coffee shop for many reasons. The drinks are great and the atmosphere is cozy, yet features many tables for setting up your laptop if you want to get some work done. Its building in Uptown Ankeny is beautiful and the perfect place to stop if you want something to sip while supporting the other local businesses in the area. Perhaps most importantly, the owners and employees are KIND. I haven’t once in five and a half years been greeted with anything less than a smile and warm welcome. When you lead a business with kindness and compassion and a heart for others, everything else seems to fall into place, and Porch Light proves this to be true. I’m so glad they have become an Uptown mainstay and I will support them every step of the way...