+39 Restaurant, Market, & Cantina - Ames
| Address: | 2640 Stange Rd, Ames, IA 50010, USA |
| Phone: | +1 515-292-0039 |
| Site: | plus39italian.com |
| Rating: | 3.8 |
| Working: | Closed 11AM–2PM 11AM–2PM 11AM–2PM 10AM–11PM 10AM–11PM 10AM–9PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 8
BE
Bergen Brown
Great Italian food! We love this place and the atmosphere! There are three sections: formal dining in front of the open kitchen, a lounge/wine cellar, and the market side, which has lower-key table dining, Gelato, and other Italian goods for sale. Some reviewers have said they dont like the open kitchen feel but my fiancé and I always like watching the food as it comes out. We also really like taking our drinks or whats left of our carafe after dinner is finished to the lounge. Its a little intimate room with several couches and racks of wine covering the walls. The only bad dining experience we have had here is when we were seated in the market side next to a very large, loud group which we believe was some sort of high school sports team. Normally it is a very quiet, darkened environment. There is also outdoor seating during the warm months. All the food is very authentic and delicious. The owners are from Italy and run around working just as hard as everyone else. One time, the owner was the one taking our order, so we asked him what he would recommend. He asked us a couple questions about what we like then picked two things, which were absolutely delicious. Couldnt have done any better myself. The best thing Ive ever tried there was the Arancini appetizer. Delish! A little tip: we found out they offer a carafe of house Pinot Noir that is very delicious and for much cheaper than buying several glasses.
JE
Jesse Boyens
My wife and I went there for dinner. Excellent dining experience in small town Iowa. The interior had a cozy feel with a modern touch. Our waiter was an ISU student just starting his weekend shift but he was very attentive and knowledgeable about every menu item we asked about. The wine list has an expansive selection of Italian wines, many of them moderately priced at $30-$50. The cured meats and cheese antipasti is a must order. Its almost a meal in and of itself. The housemade pita bread with the thin sliced cheese (I think it was a cheddar) and raspberry sauce was particularly good. For the entree I had the meatballs served over whipped ricotta cheese, and my wife had mushroom pasta in a very heavy cheese sauce. Both were excellent. For dessert, I cant say enough about the coconut cake. It managed to be rich but not cloying, and there was a little touch of lemon or citrus in it. Its also surprisingly reasonable for the quality of the food. For $120 plus tip - we got an appetizer, two entrees, one bottle of wine plus two more glasses after we polished off the bottle, two desserts, and two cappuccinos. The only cons were some of the little details. Water spots on the wineglasses, empty kleenex boxes in the bathrooms, and questionable music selection (70s, 80s and 90s pop/top 40 stuff). Nothing that can be fixed. Well definitely be back when we find ourselves in Ames for an event.
OF
Officer Mudd
My g.f. and I just ate there today... she had the fetuccine something... that just had bread crumbs... I had the pasta with pork and beef it was pretty good food but I can not wait to try the pizza next time they look amazing!!! The cake we had was simply wonderful. The staff was really friendly and super fast despite it being really busy. I would love to eat there again. The bill for two pasta meals and two slices of cake was $45.. and the pasta did not come with any bread or sides... there wasnt any real LOVE in the pasta... no onion, no veggies it did have fresh mazzorella my g.f.s pasta only had sauce and bread crumbs... I felt it was a little over priced for pasta that I would add much more ingredients too at home.... ... but I would go again and definitely try the pizza. Overall the service was AMAZING... and the pizza looked so awesome that other people were getting.. .but I would say the pastas are bit over priced and do not quite deliver for the cost.. and portion size....
SU
Susan Dobson
From the hype when this restaurant opened, we thought it was a very upscale, classy place. This past year my husband and I decided to try it. We dressed up and were disappointed from the moment we walked in. There was absolutely no ambiance. We felt like we were in a loud cafeteria, seated in front of the open kitchen. People around us had flip-flops on with tee shirts and shorts. The restaurant boasts of a wine bar, but our waitress never even asked if wes like something to drink. When I asked for a wine menu she would not bring one, but instead started naming some wines of which she had no knowledge. The surroundings were awful. The noise was awful, and the service was disgraceful. We left after one small plate of something that was quite over-priced, and went to a fine restaurant in Ames that has everything +39 is lacking. Would NEVER return to this place!
WH
Whitney Hundertmark
The food at +39 was OK, but the service, layout, and originality of the menu left me not really desiring to return. I felt like the restaurant was trying to copy certain other restaurants, but not in a successful way. The restaurant is soooo spread out that there isnt much seating. They had to convert the market side to a dining area the evening I was there to accommodate larger parties and then those patrons were on the other side of the restaurant where people were coming in to buy gelato or shop around their table. The food was decent, but i felt it was not anything particularly exciting and a tad overpriced since it didnt make me go "wow this was really great! I cant wait to bring friends here!" I think its worth giving it a shot to decide if its your kind of restaurant, but I have never returned.
CO
Cooper Shields
When I put my name in for a table I was told there would be about a 20 minute wait, which I was fine with. I went for a short walk around the neighborhood and came back around 15 minutes later, and not 5 minutes go by and a group the same size as mine was seated almost immediately as they came in, and I had heard them mention they did not have a reservation, after seeing this I asked when my table would be ready and was quickly seated. After being seated I had to wait almost 20 minutes before any of the wait staff even noticed me, and by the time someone came over, I told them I was leaving. +39 needs some better organization in my opinion
JE
Jean Kevin Yan
Thought was best place in town for some really good tiramisu. Drove there just for their tiramisu. We realized at home that the restaurant served us really bad tiramisu with an aweful smell. We were told by the managers that those tiramisu was kept in the fridge for 2 days. Funny things they had fresh tiramisu they made but only for display which part of it was served. The bad ones were not in display. Up to you to make your own conclusion how they treat the customers at different levels. Terrible experience. Will never ever go there again. Apparently the standard is not quality but rather to make more profits!
SC
Scarlet Fire
Great idea...but poorly executed and amazingly over priced. If you would like an example of ridiculous service, try ordering a bootle of $70 wine and have it served with its original $10 label on it. Bush-league at best. Atmosphere is that of a coffee shop but menu reads like a 5 star restaurant. Confusing. Ali the owner is a womanizing pretentious piece of work. If you would like to lessen your bankroll and have your wife/girlfriend gazed at like a piece of meat, enjoy your experience, otherwise id walk next door for a quality meal at a reasonable price.
