Wallaby's Bar and Grille

While visiting Ames for the first time, my boyfriend and his family wanted to take me to all the local places to dine (since I work with restaurants and appreciate local businesses).  I ended up dining there not once, but twice, it was that good!

Very unique, wonderful options on the menu.  Staff that were attentive but not overly attentive.  And all of it very reasonably priced!  A decent selection of beer that could satisfy me, since coming from the mecca of breweries and growing up in a land of craft beers, I can be a bit picky.

Wally pie is probably one of the best guilty pleasures I could have had.  I also loved the private TVs at each booth, it really made watching the Olympics a lot easier.  Will definitely be back!

A longtime staple in Ames, it's a great sports bar (if you can get past all the Iowa State paraphernalia, which is still hard for this Hawkeye fan).  The food has always been good - maybe nothing special, but always as good or better than your typical sports bar far.  And the cheese fries?  Yum.

Lately it seems that Wallaby's has been going downhill.  My past few visits there have been disappointing.  Food quality seems to have gone out the window.  While a bad service experience is forgivable and not necessarily indicative of a restaurant as a whole, unless it happens repeatedly, a bad food experience or experiences is a whole new ballgame.  Let's hope Wallaby's can turn it around.

This has been one of my favorite places in town since I was a student in the early 90's. Great atmosphere. The food is great. Sure there's another spot in town with a nice view, but you can't eat a view.