What happened to this place? It use to be one of the best restaurants in Ankeny but now it's a senior citizen hot spot...no offense! It hasn't been updated since it opened, maybe? It's still flamingo pink, which I don't get. The service was really nice but the bartenders need to learn how to make a drink. The food wasn't too bad. Overall, I was disappointed at the lack of progression with this place. Waterfront, here I come!
(2)
Matt E.
I like Chips. I like the bright atmosphere the location and the quality of menu items. Their rotisserie chicken is very good and their kettle "Chips' are addicting. It is a little expensive, but I always liked the proximity to the Interstate and the fact that its locally owned and and operated in a town overrun by chain restaurants.
(4)
Craig M.
Every year, I make a driving trip from St. Louis, MO to Fargo, ND. I can either go through Des Moines or not. I try to stop by this restaurant on either the way up or the way back. I stopped this year on a Friday night. The place was hopping and a little bit loud, but very full. All ages were represented. My fiance and I weren't extremely hungry and went with a pizza and dinner salad to split. The salad was huge and ready made for two. (The waitresses even brought two dressings for us) The pizza was oak-wood fired and very tasty, we had the pepperoni and Italian Sausage, a little spicy, but very good. I plan to stop again next year.
(4)
Adrienne M.
My family and I have been coming here a long time (since it opened, pretty much), and I'm a pretty big fan. The food is a little hit or miss, but pretty solid overall, and the homemade basket of chips they serve is definitely the highlight. I had a spinach & artichoke dip quesadilla (appetizer), my mom had the rotisserie chicken, and my bf had a rotisserie chicken club on a croissant, which he said was pretty good, but didn't rave about. The rotisserie chicken is probably the safest bet here - it's a basic thing but they do it very, very well: nice moist meat and a crispy, perfectly flavored skin. The spinach and artichoke was pretty much what I was expecting - their famous spinach & artichoke dip plus loads of cheese on a quesadilla. It was very yummy, but way too rich (the dip is basically half heavy cream) to eat much of it, so I shouldn't have ordered it as my main meal. Luckily I had half of my mom's rotisserie chicken to supplement my meal :) Side dishes are nothing to write home about - their mashed potatoes were only so-so and the corn was very mushy and overcooked (a travesty in Iowa, where corn should be the best part of the meal!) The one thing that bothers me about this restaurant is that they now charge $2 for each additional basket of chips after the first one, and it isn't per-person based at all. So you'll get one free basket of chips whether you come in alone, or in a party of 6. It makes sense that they'd charge for a second basket of chips for a party of 1 or even 2, but when you have 3+ people, one basket of chips just doesn't begin to serve everyone, and the charge should take the number of people into consideration. Other than that, this is still one of the better restaurants in central Iowa and almost always a must-stop on the way to or from the DSM airport for me.
(4)
Erica H.
I think the food is pretty good here, provided you know what to order. A few things don't work for me - some of the sandwiches have cold pieces of chicken on them, which reminds me of post-Thanksgiving leftovers. The chicken salad has olives and green peppers in it, which makes it taste off to me. BUT, the pizzas are delicious, the soups are great and the rotisserie chicken is very nice. The basket of homemade chips is also a highlight. The food is solid four stars. The service? Is hit or miss. They don't seem to hire for speed or friendliness, so I'm not sure if they're hiring family friends or what. The bar? Order soda instead. I tried the bar twice - on both trips, the bartender acted like I was an annoyance for buying a drink, and when I did get my drink it wasn't well made. The decor? Bizarre. It's an odd mix of late 80s and outdated urban loft. Overall, I'm happy to go here when someone suggests it. I wouldn't go out of my way to drive here, but if we happened to be near Ankeny and needed a place to go, it would be on my shortlist of options.
(3)
Ryan W.
It's been a few years since I've actually eaten here, but this was definitely a stand-out restaurant for me. The entrees aren't really what I'd go back for though... as the name implies it was the kettle-style chips. The freshly made chips were always great with some of their various sauces that were available (at an additional price, of course). If you're in town looking for a decent non-chain restaurant to try out I'd say this is worth a shot. Or you can just stop by to snag some of their chips to take with you.
(4)
Elizabeth W.
My rating is based on the chips, the ambiance and the cocktails because that is all I experienced. People in other reviews have said their chips are what you should go for, but honestly you could go buy a bag of artisan chips at the grocery store and have a similar experience. This place is ghetto looking; that's probably the biggest negative for me. The booze was standard.
(2)
Matthew A.
Great family style restaurant. Chicken is superb. The Chips are famous. Probably the most popular place in Ankeny.
(4)
Giselle R.
I will start by saying that chips restaurant has improved with the new owners. Their hamburgers are very tasty there made up of ground chuck and good ingredients. The service is friendly. The restaurant in itself is cleaner than it used to be. My favorite here is rotisserie chicken and their hamburgers!
(3)
Bill L.
Chips is a unique restaurant since they are local and I believe they are not a chain. I've only been here once and had a good time here. Nothing stood out too much, their chips are very good with Spinach Artichoke dip, I recommend it. I believe their specialty is their freshly made and specially cooked pizza. I got that but it wasn't anything amazing, it was okay. The atmosphere is kind of dull, there were hardly any customers there, but it could have just been a slow day. The decor reminds me of a high school cafeteria, big space and limited design. Staff was very friendly. I would go again to see what else they have to offer, their menu selection looks great.
(5)
Maury R.
This is a nice place with very tasty food! I had the chicken philly on my first trip here and it was great. The roll is super soft and the chicken moist and delicious. My wife had the roasted chicken club. It came on flaky croissant and looked wonderful! She really enjoyed it. The complimentary chips are completely addictive and plentiful. I can see where the other reviews have issue with the service. It appears that in an effort to enhance their bottom line they short staff. The service is friendly, but at times you find yourself waiting longer than you would in another place. The food carries the day though and I will definitely come back. Just not if I'm in a time crunch!
(3)
Genevieve W.
The chips were the best part of the dining experience here, which by the name I hoped it would be. Myself and a friend were traveling and this was near our hotel do we stopped in. First off it wasn't the cleanest place ever, granted it was dinner time and our waitress was average, not good service but not the worst I have had. Though not really getting a refill even after asking and finally flagging down another waitress is a pet peeve. The fish and chips was....ok and it ranked up with my friends seafood basket, bland and oily. So overall it was disappointing and greasy with sub par service for an old type diner.
(2)
Mark H.
My wife and I wound up eating here unexpectedly today: we had come from Ames to Ankeny to eat at Yanni's, one of our favorite Sunday brunch places, only to discover when we got there that it was closed for the July 4 holiday. So, having come all the way down to Ankeny, we went to eat at Chips, a restaurant here that we have patronized many times in the past and which I see that, for some reason, I have never gotten around to reviewing. Our meal today got mixed reactions. I have had and enjoyed the burgers here in the past, but I've been eating a lot of hamburgers lately so I went with the wood-fired pizza; I had the 10 inch "build your own", choosing beef and onion as optional toppings. (Ten dollars for the base pizza, one dollar for the beef, half a dollar for the onions.) It was OK but not great, a bit dry and kind of well-done on top. The 10-inch portion was large enough for me to eat half and take half home. My wife's meal was much better. She had the stuffed salmon with champagne cream sauce ($18) and really liked it. It came with mashed potato and the daily vegetable, which today was corn. I don't like salmon but she did give me some of her corn; it pretty much tasted like it came out of a can. Eating canned corn in Iowa seems like such a waste, though the corn season really isn't upon us yet. Oh yes, and speaking of the vegetable: I would have ordered the rotisserie chicken, one of their signature dishes, but I wanted to make sure I liked the vegetable it came with (you don't get a choice-- it's always the vegetable of the day). So I asked, hoping it would be corn (one of the few vegetables I like) and the waitress didn't know what it was (!!!) but said she would check; she came back a few minutes later and said it was squash, which I hate, so I ordered the pizza instead. When our dinners arrived, my wife had corn on hers; the waitress said "I guess they told me the wrong thing". You'd really think there would be some better communication between management and the wait staff, especially on such a basic issue. (Other than this, however, the service we had was fine. The waitress was not intrusive but came by often enough to make sure our pop glasses were full and we had everything we needed.) When you sit down at the table you are given a basket of their home-made potato chips, which are quite good. Technically there is a fee for a refill (regardless of the size of the party) but I suspect this rule is not strictly enforced, and if you order a lot of stuff they'll probably comp you a refill, but if you just come in and order a Pepsi they won't provide you unlimited chips to go with it, which seems reasonable enough. All told: on the basis of my pizza alone, this would probably be a 3-star rating, but the quality of my wife's meal, and a number of good meals I've had in the past, made me raise it to a 4. We'll certainly come again, but I probably will find something other than the pizza to eat.
(4)
Andrew D.
Walking into the restaurant I thought that this was a 1 star review waiting to happen. The decor is a diner that is located in a rundown themepark. It is advertised as a bakery but there is wine on the display where there should be pie. Meal starts with a free basket of half soggy half crispy chips, you ask 'does ranch make this better?' The answer is yes. For my meal I had a shrimp salad with asparagus, avocado and cherry tomatoes tossed in a ginger vinaigrette... This was actually the saving grace as I enjoyed the salad and the greens were fresh. Looking around all the entrees seemed appetizing, with some decor changes and possible improvement to the chips (more flavors? Dipping sauces?) We could be smelling 5 stars.
The chips are addicting. The pork tenderloin was comical it was so big. But it, too, was very tasty. We came as a family and were seated in a party room. What a horrible group setting! The noise level in the room was obnoxious and the space is cramped. The tables are too long and squeezed into the space. God forbid if you have to leave the room mid meal. Some of us got smart and stepped outside so we could hear ourselves think and actually have a conversation.
(3)
Don H.
This restaurant is great...food and service is always awesome. I dine here at least once a week when in town. Very friendly people here and accomidating.
(5)
Jay C.
Big bowl of ok. We ordered salads with the "famous" rotisserie style chicken and were left unimpressed by the dry bland taste. Pretty pricy for what you get, about $11 for a plate of salad at lunch. The white chili was pretty tasty but as I make this dish quite often it was missing quite a bit. On a positive note, the fresh potato chips were pretty amazing. I mistakenly turned down a refill in anticipation of my entree. Would have really liked to try them with some artichoke or spinach dip. I say meh, but if you hate chain restaurants like myself, the rotisserie chicken might be worth taking a run at if it is fresh and hot.
(2)
Karen S.
If you're in Ankeny, Chips is one of the few non-chain places, and it's pretty decent. If you love chips, come here. As the name suggests, they have chips - you get a basket of fresh chips when you sit down. They are totally addictive and really good. The food is fine - good selection of sandwiches, pastas, pizzas, and rotisserie chicken (it's realy good). Service is friendly, prices are reasonable. There's a bar with tv's and a party room, that we've used for a small party. Not a bad place for a good meal!
(3)
Patrick M.
Went in for lunch and sat at bar. Bartender was fast and friendly. The chips are crazy addicting, you'll find the bottom before you know it. Ordered the spinach artichoke pizza. It came with a side salad. Really good pizza. If I lived in the area it would probably be one of my go to places when I don't feel like cooking
(4)
Chuck L.
Average to below average place. Low prices, but you pay for what you get. Stick to the pizza and pasta and you will be fine, but the rest is a bit suspect. Certainly not a date place. Lots of fat people, old people, and after-little leaguers. Also, they have not changed the decor in at least 15 years. Pretty 90s.
(2)
Del S.
Instead of bread, they give you complementary fresh potato chips here, which is my favorite part about this restaurant! Yes, chips are greasy, but I'll take these over the bagged chips any day. I ate so much that I think I have eaten a year quota of chips I set for myself. Unfortunately, chips were the only highlight for me about this restaurant. The entrees were pretty boring and bland, the cocktails could be better (however, they are not cheap about overloading your drinks with hard liquor), and the decor is downright cheesy and needs some serious updates even though I do like the waterfront setting. It is alright overall. I will make sure to come here next time if I feel like drowning myself in chips and heavy alcohol.
(3)
Ann K.
Went to Chips tonight as it was very close to the hotel and the weather is nasty! Dinner was pretty good. The stars of the show were the homemade chips (your first basket is free!) and the soup (a creamy red pepper bisque) was excellent. My salmon entree was pretty bland but salty at the same time. Since salt seems to be the name of the game in Ankeny restaurants , I was not surprised. The specialty pizzas looked interesting but we'd had pizza for lunch so we passed on that choice but they definitely sound yummy.
(3)
Megan H.
Chips is a very decent, non-chain restaurant in Ankeny and for that I'm extremely appreciative. It's owned by the same people who own Trostel's Greenbriar and Trostel's dish, though it's a very different and much more casual dining experience. There's a good variety on the menu and the food is usually pretty good. The housemade chips are great and there are interesting pizzas - love the reuben pizza with sauerkraut and corned beef! However, service is a crapshoot with high school-aged servers often more interested in socializing than tending to customers, and I really wish they would remodel - the interior makes me think I'm in 1988.
(3)
Marilyn S.
if you like homemade noodles, go there and have their chicken and noodles for lunch. Great meal and great price. Enjoyed the atmosphere and the waitservice.
(3)
Scott M.
Chips are ok, a little on the greasy side. The Rueben pizza is very good.
(3)
Giselle R.
I will start by saying that chips restaurant has improved with the new owners. Their hamburgers are very tasty there made up of ground chuck and good ingredients. The service is friendly. The restaurant in itself is cleaner than it used to be. My favorite here is rotisserie chicken and their hamburgers!
(3)
Bill L.
Chips is a unique restaurant since they are local and I believe they are not a chain. I've only been here once and had a good time here. Nothing stood out too much, their chips are very good with Spinach Artichoke dip, I recommend it. I believe their specialty is their freshly made and specially cooked pizza. I got that but it wasn't anything amazing, it was okay. The atmosphere is kind of dull, there were hardly any customers there, but it could have just been a slow day. The decor reminds me of a high school cafeteria, big space and limited design. Staff was very friendly. I would go again to see what else they have to offer, their menu selection looks great.
(5)
Maury R.
This is a nice place with very tasty food! I had the chicken philly on my first trip here and it was great. The roll is super soft and the chicken moist and delicious. My wife had the roasted chicken club. It came on flaky croissant and looked wonderful! She really enjoyed it. The complimentary chips are completely addictive and plentiful. I can see where the other reviews have issue with the service. It appears that in an effort to enhance their bottom line they short staff. The service is friendly, but at times you find yourself waiting longer than you would in another place. The food carries the day though and I will definitely come back. Just not if I'm in a time crunch!
(3)
Mark H.
My wife and I wound up eating here unexpectedly today: we had come from Ames to Ankeny to eat at Yanni's, one of our favorite Sunday brunch places, only to discover when we got there that it was closed for the July 4 holiday. So, having come all the way down to Ankeny, we went to eat at Chips, a restaurant here that we have patronized many times in the past and which I see that, for some reason, I have never gotten around to reviewing. Our meal today got mixed reactions. I have had and enjoyed the burgers here in the past, but I've been eating a lot of hamburgers lately so I went with the wood-fired pizza; I had the 10 inch "build your own", choosing beef and onion as optional toppings. (Ten dollars for the base pizza, one dollar for the beef, half a dollar for the onions.) It was OK but not great, a bit dry and kind of well-done on top. The 10-inch portion was large enough for me to eat half and take half home. My wife's meal was much better. She had the stuffed salmon with champagne cream sauce ($18) and really liked it. It came with mashed potato and the daily vegetable, which today was corn. I don't like salmon but she did give me some of her corn; it pretty much tasted like it came out of a can. Eating canned corn in Iowa seems like such a waste, though the corn season really isn't upon us yet. Oh yes, and speaking of the vegetable: I would have ordered the rotisserie chicken, one of their signature dishes, but I wanted to make sure I liked the vegetable it came with (you don't get a choice-- it's always the vegetable of the day). So I asked, hoping it would be corn (one of the few vegetables I like) and the waitress didn't know what it was (!!!) but said she would check; she came back a few minutes later and said it was squash, which I hate, so I ordered the pizza instead. When our dinners arrived, my wife had corn on hers; the waitress said "I guess they told me the wrong thing". You'd really think there would be some better communication between management and the wait staff, especially on such a basic issue. (Other than this, however, the service we had was fine. The waitress was not intrusive but came by often enough to make sure our pop glasses were full and we had everything we needed.) When you sit down at the table you are given a basket of their home-made potato chips, which are quite good. Technically there is a fee for a refill (regardless of the size of the party) but I suspect this rule is not strictly enforced, and if you order a lot of stuff they'll probably comp you a refill, but if you just come in and order a Pepsi they won't provide you unlimited chips to go with it, which seems reasonable enough. All told: on the basis of my pizza alone, this would probably be a 3-star rating, but the quality of my wife's meal, and a number of good meals I've had in the past, made me raise it to a 4. We'll certainly come again, but I probably will find something other than the pizza to eat.
(4)
Andrew D.
Walking into the restaurant I thought that this was a 1 star review waiting to happen. The decor is a diner that is located in a rundown themepark. It is advertised as a bakery but there is wine on the display where there should be pie. Meal starts with a free basket of half soggy half crispy chips, you ask 'does ranch make this better?' The answer is yes. For my meal I had a shrimp salad with asparagus, avocado and cherry tomatoes tossed in a ginger vinaigrette... This was actually the saving grace as I enjoyed the salad and the greens were fresh. Looking around all the entrees seemed appetizing, with some decor changes and possible improvement to the chips (more flavors? Dipping sauces?) We could be smelling 5 stars.
(3)
Genevieve W.
The chips were the best part of the dining experience here, which by the name I hoped it would be. Myself and a friend were traveling and this was near our hotel do we stopped in. First off it wasn't the cleanest place ever, granted it was dinner time and our waitress was average, not good service but not the worst I have had. Though not really getting a refill even after asking and finally flagging down another waitress is a pet peeve. The fish and chips was....ok and it ranked up with my friends seafood basket, bland and oily. So overall it was disappointing and greasy with sub par service for an old type diner.
The chips are addicting. The pork tenderloin was comical it was so big. But it, too, was very tasty. We came as a family and were seated in a party room. What a horrible group setting! The noise level in the room was obnoxious and the space is cramped. The tables are too long and squeezed into the space. God forbid if you have to leave the room mid meal. Some of us got smart and stepped outside so we could hear ourselves think and actually have a conversation.
(3)
Don H.
This restaurant is great...food and service is always awesome. I dine here at least once a week when in town. Very friendly people here and accomidating.
(5)
Jay C.
Big bowl of ok. We ordered salads with the "famous" rotisserie style chicken and were left unimpressed by the dry bland taste. Pretty pricy for what you get, about $11 for a plate of salad at lunch. The white chili was pretty tasty but as I make this dish quite often it was missing quite a bit. On a positive note, the fresh potato chips were pretty amazing. I mistakenly turned down a refill in anticipation of my entree. Would have really liked to try them with some artichoke or spinach dip. I say meh, but if you hate chain restaurants like myself, the rotisserie chicken might be worth taking a run at if it is fresh and hot.
(2)
Karen S.
If you're in Ankeny, Chips is one of the few non-chain places, and it's pretty decent. If you love chips, come here. As the name suggests, they have chips - you get a basket of fresh chips when you sit down. They are totally addictive and really good. The food is fine - good selection of sandwiches, pastas, pizzas, and rotisserie chicken (it's realy good). Service is friendly, prices are reasonable. There's a bar with tv's and a party room, that we've used for a small party. Not a bad place for a good meal!
(3)
Patrick M.
Went in for lunch and sat at bar. Bartender was fast and friendly. The chips are crazy addicting, you'll find the bottom before you know it. Ordered the spinach artichoke pizza. It came with a side salad. Really good pizza. If I lived in the area it would probably be one of my go to places when I don't feel like cooking
(4)
Chuck L.
Average to below average place. Low prices, but you pay for what you get. Stick to the pizza and pasta and you will be fine, but the rest is a bit suspect. Certainly not a date place. Lots of fat people, old people, and after-little leaguers. Also, they have not changed the decor in at least 15 years. Pretty 90s.
(2)
Del S.
Instead of bread, they give you complementary fresh potato chips here, which is my favorite part about this restaurant! Yes, chips are greasy, but I'll take these over the bagged chips any day. I ate so much that I think I have eaten a year quota of chips I set for myself. Unfortunately, chips were the only highlight for me about this restaurant. The entrees were pretty boring and bland, the cocktails could be better (however, they are not cheap about overloading your drinks with hard liquor), and the decor is downright cheesy and needs some serious updates even though I do like the waterfront setting. It is alright overall. I will make sure to come here next time if I feel like drowning myself in chips and heavy alcohol.
(3)
Ann K.
Went to Chips tonight as it was very close to the hotel and the weather is nasty! Dinner was pretty good. The stars of the show were the homemade chips (your first basket is free!) and the soup (a creamy red pepper bisque) was excellent. My salmon entree was pretty bland but salty at the same time. Since salt seems to be the name of the game in Ankeny restaurants , I was not surprised. The specialty pizzas looked interesting but we'd had pizza for lunch so we passed on that choice but they definitely sound yummy.
(3)
Megan H.
Chips is a very decent, non-chain restaurant in Ankeny and for that I'm extremely appreciative. It's owned by the same people who own Trostel's Greenbriar and Trostel's dish, though it's a very different and much more casual dining experience. There's a good variety on the menu and the food is usually pretty good. The housemade chips are great and there are interesting pizzas - love the reuben pizza with sauerkraut and corned beef! However, service is a crapshoot with high school-aged servers often more interested in socializing than tending to customers, and I really wish they would remodel - the interior makes me think I'm in 1988.
(3)
Marilyn S.
if you like homemade noodles, go there and have their chicken and noodles for lunch. Great meal and great price. Enjoyed the atmosphere and the waitservice.
(3)
Scott M.
Chips are ok, a little on the greasy side. The Rueben pizza is very good.
(3)
Heather V.
What happened to this place? It use to be one of the best restaurants in Ankeny but now it's a senior citizen hot spot...no offense! It hasn't been updated since it opened, maybe? It's still flamingo pink, which I don't get. The service was really nice but the bartenders need to learn how to make a drink. The food wasn't too bad. Overall, I was disappointed at the lack of progression with this place. Waterfront, here I come!
(2)
Matt E.
I like Chips. I like the bright atmosphere the location and the quality of menu items. Their rotisserie chicken is very good and their kettle "Chips' are addicting. It is a little expensive, but I always liked the proximity to the Interstate and the fact that its locally owned and and operated in a town overrun by chain restaurants.
(4)
Craig M.
Every year, I make a driving trip from St. Louis, MO to Fargo, ND. I can either go through Des Moines or not. I try to stop by this restaurant on either the way up or the way back. I stopped this year on a Friday night. The place was hopping and a little bit loud, but very full. All ages were represented. My fiance and I weren't extremely hungry and went with a pizza and dinner salad to split. The salad was huge and ready made for two. (The waitresses even brought two dressings for us) The pizza was oak-wood fired and very tasty, we had the pepperoni and Italian Sausage, a little spicy, but very good. I plan to stop again next year.
(4)
Elizabeth W.
My rating is based on the chips, the ambiance and the cocktails because that is all I experienced. People in other reviews have said their chips are what you should go for, but honestly you could go buy a bag of artisan chips at the grocery store and have a similar experience. This place is ghetto looking; that's probably the biggest negative for me. The booze was standard.
(2)
Matthew A.
Great family style restaurant. Chicken is superb. The Chips are famous. Probably the most popular place in Ankeny.
(4)
Adrienne M.
My family and I have been coming here a long time (since it opened, pretty much), and I'm a pretty big fan. The food is a little hit or miss, but pretty solid overall, and the homemade basket of chips they serve is definitely the highlight. I had a spinach & artichoke dip quesadilla (appetizer), my mom had the rotisserie chicken, and my bf had a rotisserie chicken club on a croissant, which he said was pretty good, but didn't rave about. The rotisserie chicken is probably the safest bet here - it's a basic thing but they do it very, very well: nice moist meat and a crispy, perfectly flavored skin. The spinach and artichoke was pretty much what I was expecting - their famous spinach & artichoke dip plus loads of cheese on a quesadilla. It was very yummy, but way too rich (the dip is basically half heavy cream) to eat much of it, so I shouldn't have ordered it as my main meal. Luckily I had half of my mom's rotisserie chicken to supplement my meal :) Side dishes are nothing to write home about - their mashed potatoes were only so-so and the corn was very mushy and overcooked (a travesty in Iowa, where corn should be the best part of the meal!) The one thing that bothers me about this restaurant is that they now charge $2 for each additional basket of chips after the first one, and it isn't per-person based at all. So you'll get one free basket of chips whether you come in alone, or in a party of 6. It makes sense that they'd charge for a second basket of chips for a party of 1 or even 2, but when you have 3+ people, one basket of chips just doesn't begin to serve everyone, and the charge should take the number of people into consideration. Other than that, this is still one of the better restaurants in central Iowa and almost always a must-stop on the way to or from the DSM airport for me.
(4)
Erica H.
I think the food is pretty good here, provided you know what to order. A few things don't work for me - some of the sandwiches have cold pieces of chicken on them, which reminds me of post-Thanksgiving leftovers. The chicken salad has olives and green peppers in it, which makes it taste off to me. BUT, the pizzas are delicious, the soups are great and the rotisserie chicken is very nice. The basket of homemade chips is also a highlight. The food is solid four stars. The service? Is hit or miss. They don't seem to hire for speed or friendliness, so I'm not sure if they're hiring family friends or what. The bar? Order soda instead. I tried the bar twice - on both trips, the bartender acted like I was an annoyance for buying a drink, and when I did get my drink it wasn't well made. The decor? Bizarre. It's an odd mix of late 80s and outdated urban loft. Overall, I'm happy to go here when someone suggests it. I wouldn't go out of my way to drive here, but if we happened to be near Ankeny and needed a place to go, it would be on my shortlist of options.
(3)
Ryan W.
It's been a few years since I've actually eaten here, but this was definitely a stand-out restaurant for me. The entrees aren't really what I'd go back for though... as the name implies it was the kettle-style chips. The freshly made chips were always great with some of their various sauces that were available (at an additional price, of course). If you're in town looking for a decent non-chain restaurant to try out I'd say this is worth a shot. Or you can just stop by to snag some of their chips to take with you.
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Lunch Parking : Private Lot Bike Parking : No Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Casual Noise Level : Average Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : Yes Wi-Fi : No Has TV : Yes Waiter Service : Yes
Heather V.
What happened to this place? It use to be one of the best restaurants in Ankeny but now it's a senior citizen hot spot...no offense! It hasn't been updated since it opened, maybe? It's still flamingo pink, which I don't get. The service was really nice but the bartenders need to learn how to make a drink. The food wasn't too bad. Overall, I was disappointed at the lack of progression with this place. Waterfront, here I come!
(2)Matt E.
I like Chips. I like the bright atmosphere the location and the quality of menu items. Their rotisserie chicken is very good and their kettle "Chips' are addicting. It is a little expensive, but I always liked the proximity to the Interstate and the fact that its locally owned and and operated in a town overrun by chain restaurants.
(4)Craig M.
Every year, I make a driving trip from St. Louis, MO to Fargo, ND. I can either go through Des Moines or not. I try to stop by this restaurant on either the way up or the way back. I stopped this year on a Friday night. The place was hopping and a little bit loud, but very full. All ages were represented. My fiance and I weren't extremely hungry and went with a pizza and dinner salad to split. The salad was huge and ready made for two. (The waitresses even brought two dressings for us) The pizza was oak-wood fired and very tasty, we had the pepperoni and Italian Sausage, a little spicy, but very good. I plan to stop again next year.
(4)Adrienne M.
My family and I have been coming here a long time (since it opened, pretty much), and I'm a pretty big fan. The food is a little hit or miss, but pretty solid overall, and the homemade basket of chips they serve is definitely the highlight. I had a spinach & artichoke dip quesadilla (appetizer), my mom had the rotisserie chicken, and my bf had a rotisserie chicken club on a croissant, which he said was pretty good, but didn't rave about. The rotisserie chicken is probably the safest bet here - it's a basic thing but they do it very, very well: nice moist meat and a crispy, perfectly flavored skin. The spinach and artichoke was pretty much what I was expecting - their famous spinach & artichoke dip plus loads of cheese on a quesadilla. It was very yummy, but way too rich (the dip is basically half heavy cream) to eat much of it, so I shouldn't have ordered it as my main meal. Luckily I had half of my mom's rotisserie chicken to supplement my meal :) Side dishes are nothing to write home about - their mashed potatoes were only so-so and the corn was very mushy and overcooked (a travesty in Iowa, where corn should be the best part of the meal!) The one thing that bothers me about this restaurant is that they now charge $2 for each additional basket of chips after the first one, and it isn't per-person based at all. So you'll get one free basket of chips whether you come in alone, or in a party of 6. It makes sense that they'd charge for a second basket of chips for a party of 1 or even 2, but when you have 3+ people, one basket of chips just doesn't begin to serve everyone, and the charge should take the number of people into consideration. Other than that, this is still one of the better restaurants in central Iowa and almost always a must-stop on the way to or from the DSM airport for me.
(4)Erica H.
I think the food is pretty good here, provided you know what to order. A few things don't work for me - some of the sandwiches have cold pieces of chicken on them, which reminds me of post-Thanksgiving leftovers. The chicken salad has olives and green peppers in it, which makes it taste off to me. BUT, the pizzas are delicious, the soups are great and the rotisserie chicken is very nice. The basket of homemade chips is also a highlight. The food is solid four stars. The service? Is hit or miss. They don't seem to hire for speed or friendliness, so I'm not sure if they're hiring family friends or what. The bar? Order soda instead. I tried the bar twice - on both trips, the bartender acted like I was an annoyance for buying a drink, and when I did get my drink it wasn't well made. The decor? Bizarre. It's an odd mix of late 80s and outdated urban loft. Overall, I'm happy to go here when someone suggests it. I wouldn't go out of my way to drive here, but if we happened to be near Ankeny and needed a place to go, it would be on my shortlist of options.
(3)Ryan W.
It's been a few years since I've actually eaten here, but this was definitely a stand-out restaurant for me. The entrees aren't really what I'd go back for though... as the name implies it was the kettle-style chips. The freshly made chips were always great with some of their various sauces that were available (at an additional price, of course). If you're in town looking for a decent non-chain restaurant to try out I'd say this is worth a shot. Or you can just stop by to snag some of their chips to take with you.
(4)Elizabeth W.
My rating is based on the chips, the ambiance and the cocktails because that is all I experienced. People in other reviews have said their chips are what you should go for, but honestly you could go buy a bag of artisan chips at the grocery store and have a similar experience. This place is ghetto looking; that's probably the biggest negative for me. The booze was standard.
(2)Matthew A.
Great family style restaurant. Chicken is superb. The Chips are famous. Probably the most popular place in Ankeny.
(4)Giselle R.
I will start by saying that chips restaurant has improved with the new owners. Their hamburgers are very tasty there made up of ground chuck and good ingredients. The service is friendly. The restaurant in itself is cleaner than it used to be. My favorite here is rotisserie chicken and their hamburgers!
(3)Bill L.
Chips is a unique restaurant since they are local and I believe they are not a chain. I've only been here once and had a good time here. Nothing stood out too much, their chips are very good with Spinach Artichoke dip, I recommend it. I believe their specialty is their freshly made and specially cooked pizza. I got that but it wasn't anything amazing, it was okay. The atmosphere is kind of dull, there were hardly any customers there, but it could have just been a slow day. The decor reminds me of a high school cafeteria, big space and limited design. Staff was very friendly. I would go again to see what else they have to offer, their menu selection looks great.
(5)Maury R.
This is a nice place with very tasty food! I had the chicken philly on my first trip here and it was great. The roll is super soft and the chicken moist and delicious. My wife had the roasted chicken club. It came on flaky croissant and looked wonderful! She really enjoyed it. The complimentary chips are completely addictive and plentiful. I can see where the other reviews have issue with the service. It appears that in an effort to enhance their bottom line they short staff. The service is friendly, but at times you find yourself waiting longer than you would in another place. The food carries the day though and I will definitely come back. Just not if I'm in a time crunch!
(3)Genevieve W.
The chips were the best part of the dining experience here, which by the name I hoped it would be. Myself and a friend were traveling and this was near our hotel do we stopped in. First off it wasn't the cleanest place ever, granted it was dinner time and our waitress was average, not good service but not the worst I have had. Though not really getting a refill even after asking and finally flagging down another waitress is a pet peeve. The fish and chips was....ok and it ranked up with my friends seafood basket, bland and oily. So overall it was disappointing and greasy with sub par service for an old type diner.
(2)Mark H.
My wife and I wound up eating here unexpectedly today: we had come from Ames to Ankeny to eat at Yanni's, one of our favorite Sunday brunch places, only to discover when we got there that it was closed for the July 4 holiday. So, having come all the way down to Ankeny, we went to eat at Chips, a restaurant here that we have patronized many times in the past and which I see that, for some reason, I have never gotten around to reviewing. Our meal today got mixed reactions. I have had and enjoyed the burgers here in the past, but I've been eating a lot of hamburgers lately so I went with the wood-fired pizza; I had the 10 inch "build your own", choosing beef and onion as optional toppings. (Ten dollars for the base pizza, one dollar for the beef, half a dollar for the onions.) It was OK but not great, a bit dry and kind of well-done on top. The 10-inch portion was large enough for me to eat half and take half home. My wife's meal was much better. She had the stuffed salmon with champagne cream sauce ($18) and really liked it. It came with mashed potato and the daily vegetable, which today was corn. I don't like salmon but she did give me some of her corn; it pretty much tasted like it came out of a can. Eating canned corn in Iowa seems like such a waste, though the corn season really isn't upon us yet. Oh yes, and speaking of the vegetable: I would have ordered the rotisserie chicken, one of their signature dishes, but I wanted to make sure I liked the vegetable it came with (you don't get a choice-- it's always the vegetable of the day). So I asked, hoping it would be corn (one of the few vegetables I like) and the waitress didn't know what it was (!!!) but said she would check; she came back a few minutes later and said it was squash, which I hate, so I ordered the pizza instead. When our dinners arrived, my wife had corn on hers; the waitress said "I guess they told me the wrong thing". You'd really think there would be some better communication between management and the wait staff, especially on such a basic issue. (Other than this, however, the service we had was fine. The waitress was not intrusive but came by often enough to make sure our pop glasses were full and we had everything we needed.) When you sit down at the table you are given a basket of their home-made potato chips, which are quite good. Technically there is a fee for a refill (regardless of the size of the party) but I suspect this rule is not strictly enforced, and if you order a lot of stuff they'll probably comp you a refill, but if you just come in and order a Pepsi they won't provide you unlimited chips to go with it, which seems reasonable enough. All told: on the basis of my pizza alone, this would probably be a 3-star rating, but the quality of my wife's meal, and a number of good meals I've had in the past, made me raise it to a 4. We'll certainly come again, but I probably will find something other than the pizza to eat.
(4)Andrew D.
Walking into the restaurant I thought that this was a 1 star review waiting to happen. The decor is a diner that is located in a rundown themepark. It is advertised as a bakery but there is wine on the display where there should be pie. Meal starts with a free basket of half soggy half crispy chips, you ask 'does ranch make this better?' The answer is yes. For my meal I had a shrimp salad with asparagus, avocado and cherry tomatoes tossed in a ginger vinaigrette... This was actually the saving grace as I enjoyed the salad and the greens were fresh. Looking around all the entrees seemed appetizing, with some decor changes and possible improvement to the chips (more flavors? Dipping sauces?) We could be smelling 5 stars.
(3)Josh S.
Chips Rotisserie & Restaurant (2502 SE Tones Drive, Ankeny) is quite the unique experience. We visited there for the first time last weekend while in town visiting family and decided to review our visit. Nothing to complain about, but nothing blew us away either. Well, one thing did... the spinach and artichoke dip was out of this world good. I don't know how they make it, but I could eat that stuff all day long. Also, you get fresh, home-cooked chips that keep coming to the table. They are also quite addicting. The décor was nothing to write home about. The place didn't even really remind me of a restaurant had it not been for the wood fire pizza oven and the bar on the right side as you walk in. It felt more like an office complex than it did a restaurant. The chairs and tables are pretty comfortable. The menu is small but there's a nice variety of sandwiches, burgers, pasta, salads, pizza and of course, the famous chip dips. On the day we visited I had the reuben. The ingredients and pickle inside were great, but the bread was a little dry. My wife had the reuben in a pizza variety and said everything was good there, though she did complain it was a tad bland for her taste (forgive her, she spent time in Spain where the food is spicy and has a VERY picky palate). My sister-in-law and her husband each had a burger and thought it was pretty good. The service was not great. I wish I could have better things to say about the wait staff at this place, but they seemed to be occupied with other things. Our waitress was either on her phone texting people or off in the back helping the staff set up for a party. I'm fine with helping set up for a party, but employees shouldn't be on their phones when they have customers to wait on. This place wasn't very busy at 1:00 pm on a Saturday when it seems like every other place in Ankeny was packed. The restaurant's location doesn't help as it is a little difficult to find if you haven't been there before. Chips is an alright restaurant. The chips and spinach and artichoke dip are addictive, but the rest of the food didn't blow me away. The service was slack and the décor makes you feel like you aren't eating in a restaurant. Would I go back? Sure, I don't see any reason why not. My recommendation - Chips is just "okay."
(3)Monica G.
The chips are addicting. The pork tenderloin was comical it was so big. But it, too, was very tasty. We came as a family and were seated in a party room. What a horrible group setting! The noise level in the room was obnoxious and the space is cramped. The tables are too long and squeezed into the space. God forbid if you have to leave the room mid meal. Some of us got smart and stepped outside so we could hear ourselves think and actually have a conversation.
(3)Don H.
This restaurant is great...food and service is always awesome. I dine here at least once a week when in town. Very friendly people here and accomidating.
(5)Jay C.
Big bowl of ok. We ordered salads with the "famous" rotisserie style chicken and were left unimpressed by the dry bland taste. Pretty pricy for what you get, about $11 for a plate of salad at lunch. The white chili was pretty tasty but as I make this dish quite often it was missing quite a bit. On a positive note, the fresh potato chips were pretty amazing. I mistakenly turned down a refill in anticipation of my entree. Would have really liked to try them with some artichoke or spinach dip. I say meh, but if you hate chain restaurants like myself, the rotisserie chicken might be worth taking a run at if it is fresh and hot.
(2)Karen S.
If you're in Ankeny, Chips is one of the few non-chain places, and it's pretty decent. If you love chips, come here. As the name suggests, they have chips - you get a basket of fresh chips when you sit down. They are totally addictive and really good. The food is fine - good selection of sandwiches, pastas, pizzas, and rotisserie chicken (it's realy good). Service is friendly, prices are reasonable. There's a bar with tv's and a party room, that we've used for a small party. Not a bad place for a good meal!
(3)Patrick M.
Went in for lunch and sat at bar. Bartender was fast and friendly. The chips are crazy addicting, you'll find the bottom before you know it. Ordered the spinach artichoke pizza. It came with a side salad. Really good pizza. If I lived in the area it would probably be one of my go to places when I don't feel like cooking
(4)Chuck L.
Average to below average place. Low prices, but you pay for what you get. Stick to the pizza and pasta and you will be fine, but the rest is a bit suspect. Certainly not a date place. Lots of fat people, old people, and after-little leaguers. Also, they have not changed the decor in at least 15 years. Pretty 90s.
(2)Del S.
Instead of bread, they give you complementary fresh potato chips here, which is my favorite part about this restaurant! Yes, chips are greasy, but I'll take these over the bagged chips any day. I ate so much that I think I have eaten a year quota of chips I set for myself. Unfortunately, chips were the only highlight for me about this restaurant. The entrees were pretty boring and bland, the cocktails could be better (however, they are not cheap about overloading your drinks with hard liquor), and the decor is downright cheesy and needs some serious updates even though I do like the waterfront setting. It is alright overall. I will make sure to come here next time if I feel like drowning myself in chips and heavy alcohol.
(3)Ann K.
Went to Chips tonight as it was very close to the hotel and the weather is nasty! Dinner was pretty good. The stars of the show were the homemade chips (your first basket is free!) and the soup (a creamy red pepper bisque) was excellent. My salmon entree was pretty bland but salty at the same time. Since salt seems to be the name of the game in Ankeny restaurants , I was not surprised. The specialty pizzas looked interesting but we'd had pizza for lunch so we passed on that choice but they definitely sound yummy.
(3)Megan H.
Chips is a very decent, non-chain restaurant in Ankeny and for that I'm extremely appreciative. It's owned by the same people who own Trostel's Greenbriar and Trostel's dish, though it's a very different and much more casual dining experience. There's a good variety on the menu and the food is usually pretty good. The housemade chips are great and there are interesting pizzas - love the reuben pizza with sauerkraut and corned beef! However, service is a crapshoot with high school-aged servers often more interested in socializing than tending to customers, and I really wish they would remodel - the interior makes me think I'm in 1988.
(3)Marilyn S.
if you like homemade noodles, go there and have their chicken and noodles for lunch. Great meal and great price. Enjoyed the atmosphere and the waitservice.
(3)Scott M.
Chips are ok, a little on the greasy side. The Rueben pizza is very good.
(3)Giselle R.
I will start by saying that chips restaurant has improved with the new owners. Their hamburgers are very tasty there made up of ground chuck and good ingredients. The service is friendly. The restaurant in itself is cleaner than it used to be. My favorite here is rotisserie chicken and their hamburgers!
(3)Bill L.
Chips is a unique restaurant since they are local and I believe they are not a chain. I've only been here once and had a good time here. Nothing stood out too much, their chips are very good with Spinach Artichoke dip, I recommend it. I believe their specialty is their freshly made and specially cooked pizza. I got that but it wasn't anything amazing, it was okay. The atmosphere is kind of dull, there were hardly any customers there, but it could have just been a slow day. The decor reminds me of a high school cafeteria, big space and limited design. Staff was very friendly. I would go again to see what else they have to offer, their menu selection looks great.
(5)Maury R.
This is a nice place with very tasty food! I had the chicken philly on my first trip here and it was great. The roll is super soft and the chicken moist and delicious. My wife had the roasted chicken club. It came on flaky croissant and looked wonderful! She really enjoyed it. The complimentary chips are completely addictive and plentiful. I can see where the other reviews have issue with the service. It appears that in an effort to enhance their bottom line they short staff. The service is friendly, but at times you find yourself waiting longer than you would in another place. The food carries the day though and I will definitely come back. Just not if I'm in a time crunch!
(3)Mark H.
My wife and I wound up eating here unexpectedly today: we had come from Ames to Ankeny to eat at Yanni's, one of our favorite Sunday brunch places, only to discover when we got there that it was closed for the July 4 holiday. So, having come all the way down to Ankeny, we went to eat at Chips, a restaurant here that we have patronized many times in the past and which I see that, for some reason, I have never gotten around to reviewing. Our meal today got mixed reactions. I have had and enjoyed the burgers here in the past, but I've been eating a lot of hamburgers lately so I went with the wood-fired pizza; I had the 10 inch "build your own", choosing beef and onion as optional toppings. (Ten dollars for the base pizza, one dollar for the beef, half a dollar for the onions.) It was OK but not great, a bit dry and kind of well-done on top. The 10-inch portion was large enough for me to eat half and take half home. My wife's meal was much better. She had the stuffed salmon with champagne cream sauce ($18) and really liked it. It came with mashed potato and the daily vegetable, which today was corn. I don't like salmon but she did give me some of her corn; it pretty much tasted like it came out of a can. Eating canned corn in Iowa seems like such a waste, though the corn season really isn't upon us yet. Oh yes, and speaking of the vegetable: I would have ordered the rotisserie chicken, one of their signature dishes, but I wanted to make sure I liked the vegetable it came with (you don't get a choice-- it's always the vegetable of the day). So I asked, hoping it would be corn (one of the few vegetables I like) and the waitress didn't know what it was (!!!) but said she would check; she came back a few minutes later and said it was squash, which I hate, so I ordered the pizza instead. When our dinners arrived, my wife had corn on hers; the waitress said "I guess they told me the wrong thing". You'd really think there would be some better communication between management and the wait staff, especially on such a basic issue. (Other than this, however, the service we had was fine. The waitress was not intrusive but came by often enough to make sure our pop glasses were full and we had everything we needed.) When you sit down at the table you are given a basket of their home-made potato chips, which are quite good. Technically there is a fee for a refill (regardless of the size of the party) but I suspect this rule is not strictly enforced, and if you order a lot of stuff they'll probably comp you a refill, but if you just come in and order a Pepsi they won't provide you unlimited chips to go with it, which seems reasonable enough. All told: on the basis of my pizza alone, this would probably be a 3-star rating, but the quality of my wife's meal, and a number of good meals I've had in the past, made me raise it to a 4. We'll certainly come again, but I probably will find something other than the pizza to eat.
(4)Andrew D.
Walking into the restaurant I thought that this was a 1 star review waiting to happen. The decor is a diner that is located in a rundown themepark. It is advertised as a bakery but there is wine on the display where there should be pie. Meal starts with a free basket of half soggy half crispy chips, you ask 'does ranch make this better?' The answer is yes. For my meal I had a shrimp salad with asparagus, avocado and cherry tomatoes tossed in a ginger vinaigrette... This was actually the saving grace as I enjoyed the salad and the greens were fresh. Looking around all the entrees seemed appetizing, with some decor changes and possible improvement to the chips (more flavors? Dipping sauces?) We could be smelling 5 stars.
(3)Genevieve W.
The chips were the best part of the dining experience here, which by the name I hoped it would be. Myself and a friend were traveling and this was near our hotel do we stopped in. First off it wasn't the cleanest place ever, granted it was dinner time and our waitress was average, not good service but not the worst I have had. Though not really getting a refill even after asking and finally flagging down another waitress is a pet peeve. The fish and chips was....ok and it ranked up with my friends seafood basket, bland and oily. So overall it was disappointing and greasy with sub par service for an old type diner.
(2)Josh S.
Chips Rotisserie & Restaurant (2502 SE Tones Drive, Ankeny) is quite the unique experience. We visited there for the first time last weekend while in town visiting family and decided to review our visit. Nothing to complain about, but nothing blew us away either. Well, one thing did... the spinach and artichoke dip was out of this world good. I don't know how they make it, but I could eat that stuff all day long. Also, you get fresh, home-cooked chips that keep coming to the table. They are also quite addicting. The décor was nothing to write home about. The place didn't even really remind me of a restaurant had it not been for the wood fire pizza oven and the bar on the right side as you walk in. It felt more like an office complex than it did a restaurant. The chairs and tables are pretty comfortable. The menu is small but there's a nice variety of sandwiches, burgers, pasta, salads, pizza and of course, the famous chip dips. On the day we visited I had the reuben. The ingredients and pickle inside were great, but the bread was a little dry. My wife had the reuben in a pizza variety and said everything was good there, though she did complain it was a tad bland for her taste (forgive her, she spent time in Spain where the food is spicy and has a VERY picky palate). My sister-in-law and her husband each had a burger and thought it was pretty good. The service was not great. I wish I could have better things to say about the wait staff at this place, but they seemed to be occupied with other things. Our waitress was either on her phone texting people or off in the back helping the staff set up for a party. I'm fine with helping set up for a party, but employees shouldn't be on their phones when they have customers to wait on. This place wasn't very busy at 1:00 pm on a Saturday when it seems like every other place in Ankeny was packed. The restaurant's location doesn't help as it is a little difficult to find if you haven't been there before. Chips is an alright restaurant. The chips and spinach and artichoke dip are addictive, but the rest of the food didn't blow me away. The service was slack and the décor makes you feel like you aren't eating in a restaurant. Would I go back? Sure, I don't see any reason why not. My recommendation - Chips is just "okay."
(3)Monica G.
The chips are addicting. The pork tenderloin was comical it was so big. But it, too, was very tasty. We came as a family and were seated in a party room. What a horrible group setting! The noise level in the room was obnoxious and the space is cramped. The tables are too long and squeezed into the space. God forbid if you have to leave the room mid meal. Some of us got smart and stepped outside so we could hear ourselves think and actually have a conversation.
(3)Don H.
This restaurant is great...food and service is always awesome. I dine here at least once a week when in town. Very friendly people here and accomidating.
(5)Jay C.
Big bowl of ok. We ordered salads with the "famous" rotisserie style chicken and were left unimpressed by the dry bland taste. Pretty pricy for what you get, about $11 for a plate of salad at lunch. The white chili was pretty tasty but as I make this dish quite often it was missing quite a bit. On a positive note, the fresh potato chips were pretty amazing. I mistakenly turned down a refill in anticipation of my entree. Would have really liked to try them with some artichoke or spinach dip. I say meh, but if you hate chain restaurants like myself, the rotisserie chicken might be worth taking a run at if it is fresh and hot.
(2)Karen S.
If you're in Ankeny, Chips is one of the few non-chain places, and it's pretty decent. If you love chips, come here. As the name suggests, they have chips - you get a basket of fresh chips when you sit down. They are totally addictive and really good. The food is fine - good selection of sandwiches, pastas, pizzas, and rotisserie chicken (it's realy good). Service is friendly, prices are reasonable. There's a bar with tv's and a party room, that we've used for a small party. Not a bad place for a good meal!
(3)Patrick M.
Went in for lunch and sat at bar. Bartender was fast and friendly. The chips are crazy addicting, you'll find the bottom before you know it. Ordered the spinach artichoke pizza. It came with a side salad. Really good pizza. If I lived in the area it would probably be one of my go to places when I don't feel like cooking
(4)Chuck L.
Average to below average place. Low prices, but you pay for what you get. Stick to the pizza and pasta and you will be fine, but the rest is a bit suspect. Certainly not a date place. Lots of fat people, old people, and after-little leaguers. Also, they have not changed the decor in at least 15 years. Pretty 90s.
(2)Del S.
Instead of bread, they give you complementary fresh potato chips here, which is my favorite part about this restaurant! Yes, chips are greasy, but I'll take these over the bagged chips any day. I ate so much that I think I have eaten a year quota of chips I set for myself. Unfortunately, chips were the only highlight for me about this restaurant. The entrees were pretty boring and bland, the cocktails could be better (however, they are not cheap about overloading your drinks with hard liquor), and the decor is downright cheesy and needs some serious updates even though I do like the waterfront setting. It is alright overall. I will make sure to come here next time if I feel like drowning myself in chips and heavy alcohol.
(3)Ann K.
Went to Chips tonight as it was very close to the hotel and the weather is nasty! Dinner was pretty good. The stars of the show were the homemade chips (your first basket is free!) and the soup (a creamy red pepper bisque) was excellent. My salmon entree was pretty bland but salty at the same time. Since salt seems to be the name of the game in Ankeny restaurants , I was not surprised. The specialty pizzas looked interesting but we'd had pizza for lunch so we passed on that choice but they definitely sound yummy.
(3)Megan H.
Chips is a very decent, non-chain restaurant in Ankeny and for that I'm extremely appreciative. It's owned by the same people who own Trostel's Greenbriar and Trostel's dish, though it's a very different and much more casual dining experience. There's a good variety on the menu and the food is usually pretty good. The housemade chips are great and there are interesting pizzas - love the reuben pizza with sauerkraut and corned beef! However, service is a crapshoot with high school-aged servers often more interested in socializing than tending to customers, and I really wish they would remodel - the interior makes me think I'm in 1988.
(3)Marilyn S.
if you like homemade noodles, go there and have their chicken and noodles for lunch. Great meal and great price. Enjoyed the atmosphere and the waitservice.
(3)Scott M.
Chips are ok, a little on the greasy side. The Rueben pizza is very good.
(3)Heather V.
What happened to this place? It use to be one of the best restaurants in Ankeny but now it's a senior citizen hot spot...no offense! It hasn't been updated since it opened, maybe? It's still flamingo pink, which I don't get. The service was really nice but the bartenders need to learn how to make a drink. The food wasn't too bad. Overall, I was disappointed at the lack of progression with this place. Waterfront, here I come!
(2)Matt E.
I like Chips. I like the bright atmosphere the location and the quality of menu items. Their rotisserie chicken is very good and their kettle "Chips' are addicting. It is a little expensive, but I always liked the proximity to the Interstate and the fact that its locally owned and and operated in a town overrun by chain restaurants.
(4)Craig M.
Every year, I make a driving trip from St. Louis, MO to Fargo, ND. I can either go through Des Moines or not. I try to stop by this restaurant on either the way up or the way back. I stopped this year on a Friday night. The place was hopping and a little bit loud, but very full. All ages were represented. My fiance and I weren't extremely hungry and went with a pizza and dinner salad to split. The salad was huge and ready made for two. (The waitresses even brought two dressings for us) The pizza was oak-wood fired and very tasty, we had the pepperoni and Italian Sausage, a little spicy, but very good. I plan to stop again next year.
(4)Elizabeth W.
My rating is based on the chips, the ambiance and the cocktails because that is all I experienced. People in other reviews have said their chips are what you should go for, but honestly you could go buy a bag of artisan chips at the grocery store and have a similar experience. This place is ghetto looking; that's probably the biggest negative for me. The booze was standard.
(2)Matthew A.
Great family style restaurant. Chicken is superb. The Chips are famous. Probably the most popular place in Ankeny.
(4)Adrienne M.
My family and I have been coming here a long time (since it opened, pretty much), and I'm a pretty big fan. The food is a little hit or miss, but pretty solid overall, and the homemade basket of chips they serve is definitely the highlight. I had a spinach & artichoke dip quesadilla (appetizer), my mom had the rotisserie chicken, and my bf had a rotisserie chicken club on a croissant, which he said was pretty good, but didn't rave about. The rotisserie chicken is probably the safest bet here - it's a basic thing but they do it very, very well: nice moist meat and a crispy, perfectly flavored skin. The spinach and artichoke was pretty much what I was expecting - their famous spinach & artichoke dip plus loads of cheese on a quesadilla. It was very yummy, but way too rich (the dip is basically half heavy cream) to eat much of it, so I shouldn't have ordered it as my main meal. Luckily I had half of my mom's rotisserie chicken to supplement my meal :) Side dishes are nothing to write home about - their mashed potatoes were only so-so and the corn was very mushy and overcooked (a travesty in Iowa, where corn should be the best part of the meal!) The one thing that bothers me about this restaurant is that they now charge $2 for each additional basket of chips after the first one, and it isn't per-person based at all. So you'll get one free basket of chips whether you come in alone, or in a party of 6. It makes sense that they'd charge for a second basket of chips for a party of 1 or even 2, but when you have 3+ people, one basket of chips just doesn't begin to serve everyone, and the charge should take the number of people into consideration. Other than that, this is still one of the better restaurants in central Iowa and almost always a must-stop on the way to or from the DSM airport for me.
(4)Erica H.
I think the food is pretty good here, provided you know what to order. A few things don't work for me - some of the sandwiches have cold pieces of chicken on them, which reminds me of post-Thanksgiving leftovers. The chicken salad has olives and green peppers in it, which makes it taste off to me. BUT, the pizzas are delicious, the soups are great and the rotisserie chicken is very nice. The basket of homemade chips is also a highlight. The food is solid four stars. The service? Is hit or miss. They don't seem to hire for speed or friendliness, so I'm not sure if they're hiring family friends or what. The bar? Order soda instead. I tried the bar twice - on both trips, the bartender acted like I was an annoyance for buying a drink, and when I did get my drink it wasn't well made. The decor? Bizarre. It's an odd mix of late 80s and outdated urban loft. Overall, I'm happy to go here when someone suggests it. I wouldn't go out of my way to drive here, but if we happened to be near Ankeny and needed a place to go, it would be on my shortlist of options.
(3)Ryan W.
It's been a few years since I've actually eaten here, but this was definitely a stand-out restaurant for me. The entrees aren't really what I'd go back for though... as the name implies it was the kettle-style chips. The freshly made chips were always great with some of their various sauces that were available (at an additional price, of course). If you're in town looking for a decent non-chain restaurant to try out I'd say this is worth a shot. Or you can just stop by to snag some of their chips to take with you.
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