Olde Main Brewing Company Reviews

Great food and great beer! A fun atmosphere as well. Glad we stopped in!

I ordered the Olde Main hamburger and it was very good. We also got great service from the friendly waiters.
Staff gave us good recommendations for what to get. Definitely recommend going here!

The beer is the main attraction. Everything is second to that. Their food is good, common, but good. Head down here and drink a pint or two, or ten and enjoy the atmosphere.

This place is awful! Stay away if you can. Their food is less than mediocre (along with their beer) and so is their service. We will not be going back to this place again!

The in house brews are great and the Olde Main Burger was also extremely tasty. The fries are some of the best I've had.

This is one of my favorite restaurants in town! Their food is great and their drinks are amazing. They brew their own root beer so you should definitely try the root beer floats, plus they are only $3 a piece. For Valentine's Day they get live musicians to play on the balcony. They also recently remodeled a bit so that there is more light at each table which is nice.

Great building and location, good beer, OK food.

Edit: this used to be one of my favorite restaurants in Ames due to the atmosphere and food. Lately the food quality has declined while the prices increased.

We had a dinner celebrating my son & daughter-in-law's wedding. The waitresses were great, the food & drinks were delicious & the atmosphere was good. Probably the best experience we've ever had at Olde Main!

Always a pleasant experience. Queso and hamburgers were tasty and hit my craving!

Was a party of 40+. Very well organized for such a large party. Service was great. Steaks were great.

My wife and I ate there on a Friday night and it was a wonderful experience. The food was fantastic, and the staff really knew what they were talking about. We sat at the restaurant bar and had Kyle as our bartender, if you can get him, do it. He has an amazing knowledge of drinks and knows the beer they make there really well, he's also really quick and is quite fun to watch doing his job. We had the Philly and a burger and both were excellent. The burger was cooked to perfection and the Philly was large and delicious! We will definitely be back!

They reduced their menu on the day we went, getting rid of a lot of entrees and burgers. We ordered a cocktail and it tasted like flavored vodka. The entrees we did get weren't very good, but at least the burgers and pork tenderloin were decent.

Walked in saw the prices, then walked right back out.

We went to Olde Main for Easter brunch. They were not prepared for the crowd. Lines were long and slow. Buffet ran out of food and took forever to replace. Only desserts left by 1:00 were carrot cake and a cookie. Salads were hard to find, between the Begian Waffle machine and the grilled cheese maker. Bright spot was our server. She did a great job! This was our first time there for brunch and we will try it again. We really like this restaurant for dinner.

Waited 15 mins and no one even came to get our drink orders. 2 servers walked past us and the table behind us was complaining about empty drinks. 2 hosts just standing around talking. Not a busy time of day, mostly empty restaurant. We got up and left due to lack of acknowledgement and service.
Hope it was just a bad day, but likely won't bother next time we are in town.

Usually not a picky eater but the fries tasted freezer burnt and the pork was very dry , we're not sure if we were missing an ingredient or not. Beer is great but won't come back for the food.

Service was a little slow, but atmosphere was great. Good menu, wonderful food.

Brews & food were decent. We had to wait awhile for a table, when we noticed a few were open.. but otherwise an okay establishment!

Friendly staff, good balance of attention and neglect. Tasty food, nice presentation. Seasonal beers.

Ordered food got it fast and cooked to perfection even though place place was full!

Ever since they changed their menu I have been underwhelmed with their food.

Great venue, several brews created onsite, tasty meals - - brisket is the best I have had.

Usually not a picky eater but the fries tasted freezer burnt and the pork was very dry , we're not sure if we were missing an ingredient or not. Beer is great but won't come back for the food.

The food in their restaurant was fantastic. Everything was cooked right. It's not to expensive. Also the service was great. There is no wait time to be seated.

Sunday brunch is excellent. Waiter spoke too softly and fast so we had to figure it out on our own. Food was excellent.

Always excellent food. It can be a bit pricey but there's good selection and the service is always great!

Beer has awful backwash taste, food is greasy, can't cook medium rare steak, it was below rare, make sure you bring bug spray for all the Nats that's fly around.

Fresh, delicious food with pleasant, attentive server.

Delicious food, and incredibly tasty and reasonably priced drinks. HIGHLY recommend this place.

With so many brewery choices available we were disappointed with our New Year's Eve visit to Olde Main. Having only 3 or 4 house brews to choose from was less than desirable. The food was middle of the road. Maybe actually serving hot potatoes would have been nice. The emptiness of the restaurant should have been the first clue.

Meh, I'm not a beer drinker, but was in state for a conference and a friend wanted to meet there. She was excited because she thought they made their own veggie burgers- clearly not the case from the flat disk that came out, but she ate it all without complaint. I knew I should have gotten a burger, or some other pub food, but the carbonara drew me in (plus $3 for chicken). Our appetizer of fried cheese curds was great and the service was good. The carbonara was neither, but it was a large portion of food. The chicken was almost impossible to cut, the sauce was incredibly salty, the peas were not fresh, and I would have preferred the pancetta a bit more cooked. Overall, it tasted like it was not fresh and probably microwaved a little too long, but thankfully I filled up largely on cheese curds. I cannot speak to speed of service because I was catching up with a friend I haven't seen in many years and had no concept of time. We did close the place down while we were still catching up, and the staff was still nice to us, so that was sweet.

Really great service and great food to go with us. Only been there once but will be back there again.

The worst experience I had so far in Ames. First I waited over 10 minutes for menu, but I didn't care I had plenty of time. I ordered soup and salmon. The soup came cold, refrigerators cold even though it's freezing outside and inside. The waitress ask how was it and I said it was and I thought it supposed to be cold so she laughed at me. The salmon was good but I overall I expected much more on Saturday night.

Good food, but something always goes wrong with our order. Two visits ago, they forgot our order. It took so long for our food that they gave us 20% off. Last night, they got my order wrong. Probably won't go back.

Easter Brunch was highly overrated. Great menu, poor execution. Ham was full of fat and grisel. Chicken obviously came frozen. Fish was ok. Crab pasta salad had fake crab. Best thing of the day was tomato bisque. Lots of pepper but obviously homemade. Breakfast stuff ok as usual. Won't pay the extra for Easter Brunch ever again.

First off service is great here and wonderful atmosphere. On the other hand food leaves something to be desired. Came for Sunday brunch around 1030. Coffee was past burnt, lot of food in warmers so long it had stuck to the bottom, carving station had blood that was already drying out, and grilled cheese station looked like it had not been cycled for hours. So much potential but poor execution.

Extremely good food, and very filling. If you're looking for a good restaurant and have about an hour, this is a good place to visit.

Wasn't impressed at all the steak say they're 20 oz. And really was only 14 at that. Their Pretzel chop was a tender loin thin and dry. Not a chop at all

The beer was good, but the meal was a waste of money

May be worth more than 2 stars but my first visit they served me room temperature fish and chips. There are enough places in town that it will be quite a while before I return.

They had some delicious food before they changed their menu- still pretty good though.

I went here for my 20th bday and as soon as i walked in, i was seated and automatically helped by a waiter. The food was great, i enjoyed it, and ill be coming back. I got the first burger on their list, i cant recall what it was but it was good and then i got fries. I couldnt even finish it all. I had to take the fries home. Great place.

My husband and I ate dinner there last night and the food was fantastic! We shared all the specials starting with the shrimp and tempura vegetables kabobs...amazing! We then had a bowl of their potato cheddar soup and topped it off with the pan seared monchong entree served with roma tomatoes, rice pilaf, green beans and a plantain chip! Seriously some of the best food we've had and prices were very reasonable. We will be back!

Ordered a burger that came out raw! Not just pink, uncooked in the middle. Waitress never apologized...not once. She said "that's how we serve it here". Are you serious? Will not be back.

The worst experience I had so far in Ames. First I waited over 10 minutes for menu, but I didn't care I had plenty of time. I ordered soup and salmon. The soup came cold, refrigerators cold even though it's freezing outside and inside. The waitress ask how was it and I said it was and I thought it supposed to be cold so she laughed at me. The salmon was good but I overall I expected much more on Saturday night.

Fried pickle chips were soggy and luke warm. OMBC burger was served on a wet mushy bun. The philly cheesesteak was slimy, cold, and inedible. However, the service was great. The waiter brought a new bun for the burger right away, and the bartender was very good.

Good not great. Food is marginal, but I do enjoy the beer.

I was not impressed with the food. Our burgers were cold and hard. You could probably get a better burger at McDonald's.

Terrible, ordered a burger and didn't get it for 45 mins. It was not worth the wait.

Went here to grab a bite and a few brews and watch some football with the guys. Was not dissappointed! Great atmosphere, beer and service. Happy hour prices helped too!

Terrible. Food was extremely over priced for both quality and amount. First was the fried pickles which turned out to be just sliced pickles. Then I got the tortellinis, a kids meal would give me more food, and I could buy better tasting food at Walmart. My husband got a burger which was pretty plain tasting. His drink was watered down. Oh and I had a soda to drink, I received no refills and had to drink my husband's water. Worst $50 spent on a meal

Good homemade beer and quality appetizers. However, they are usually out of at least one of their home brews at all times.

Old Main use to be an excellent place to go, but the service is not very good due to a lack of employees in the evening and a decline in their menu. Until they fix the current issues Old Main is a place to avoid.

Enjoyable atmosphere. A tentative server. Manager went out of way to stop at table to see how things were going. 1/2 price apps were good - their was a salt on the onion rings that really popped the flavor. Loved the pretzel rolls that came with meals.I ate my own and stole my sons. Fries were small but tasteful. A little disappointed in the portion sizes for some of the more expensive ($16+) meals. Had a tenderloin that was good. Want to try the meatloaf and at some point the Sunday Bunch.

They have a new menu that has about half the options (also looks like a child made it) and there are not enough wait staff in the evenings. 25 minutes at the table and the staff is to busy to take our food orders. They have also done away with some of their better deals. Over all Old Main is currently of the decline.

Took 30 mins to get seated, another 15 to get a waitress and menus then once we ordered it was 55 mins before we for our food. Zero stars will not be back

Went here for a family gathering. They were reasonably fast at getting us what we wanted and the few things that we asked them to correct they did quickly.

Pasta was drowned in sauce, slow kitchen, nice bar, food is a little pricy.

Atmosphere was fun and really enjoyed the beer and fried pickles but the entrees were definitely not worth the money unfortunately.

Wonderful local restaurant. Great home style food. Filled with historical Ames photos.

Some of the best food I've ever eaten. Great drinks. Pretty good beer.

Went in to the bar side just after noon on a Saturday. Apparently some event was happening as there were some balloons and people standing around. After making sure the place wasn t reserved just for them (which it seemed like as they had left their food everywhere and were milling about/standing in front of 95% of any seating areas), my friend and I seated ourselves at a tall table, unsure as to if we needed to go up front to order or what. After about ten minutes and no help (they may have thought we were part of the group of ~20?), we saw a few chairs open up at the bar and made a dash to get those positions in hopes that we could then be served. Finally got to see a menu and I was disappointed that they only had two beers of their own on tap. All the others were from various other breweries. If I wanted those beers I could have gone anywhere else or picked up bottles at a store. I am not sure if they just didn t have any of their own made or if they have quit making all their own brews(?). My favorite used to be their double IPA, and I thought having their own beers made it special. This time it was like any other joint. I settled for a newer beer they make (I think), which was good and then later had a gryph, which tasted differently from what I remember. As for food, it was okay. Had sliders which were quite large so more bang for your buck. The chips and dip came with about 3 cups worth of salsa. There was so much salsa, quite a bit ended up being wasted. The food in their FB pics looks good so I ll have to come back and try other options. I have had their buffalo wings before which I liked. The Bartender made sure to address us by our names which was a nice touch, but service was otherwise a bit slow. The place started with 3 workers and by the time we were trying to pay our bill it was only one dude scrambling to help everyone with their drinks and food, and trying his best.
Will have to go again and see if it was just a one- time weird experience.

OMG! Brunch buffet was amazing!!!!!!!!!! Seriously...you don't know yet... IT'S A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! The waitress was so nice and perfect service from the hello to the goodbye.

First time back to Olde Main in along time... Generally pretty good, the fried pickles were tasty, and the Chicken Sandwich was pretty good. A little skimpy on the fries, and it took almost half an hour to get my sandwich despite the place being mostly empty. Still nice ambiance and fee wifi... the fried pickles were 2 dollars cheaper than the sandwich...

My husband and I ate dinner there last night and the food was fantastic! We shared all the specials starting with the shrimp and tempura vegetables kabobs...amazing! We then had a bowl of their potato cheddar soup and topped it off with the pan seared monchong entree served with roma tomatoes, rice pilaf, green beans and a plantain chip! Seriously some of the best food we've had and prices were very reasonable. We will be back!

Good beer, chips were very stale. Torrtelinni portions for a kids menu. Burger tastes like grainy frozen beef. Slow late service

Beer selection is great! Food selection is original and delicious! Staff is always friendly and there is plenty of seating. If you are visiting Ames, you've got to check out Olde Main!

Update: they appear to be closed. Building says For Sale. Sorry to see you go!

Had great waitresses. Cecilia and Mema were wonderful. Food was great too.

Great service. Had problems with our order, but then again our group had 40+ people. They handled it very well and were open to talk to.

Easter Brunch was highly overrated. Great menu, poor execution. Ham was full of fat and grisel. Chicken obviously came frozen. Fish was ok. Crab pasta salad had fake crab. Best thing of the day was tomato bisque. Lots of pepper but obviously homemade. Breakfast stuff ok as usual. Won't pay the extra for Easter Brunch ever again.

Our food was great- but not a whole lot else. They were out of quite a few beers, and the servers weren't sure which- had to keep going and checking. Menus were very confusing- there were 3 different menus for beer on the table, all of which had different descriptions and options listed.

We've eaten here a few times and every time I've been upset at the cost versus quality of the experience. The service is hit or miss, the beer tastes very different from batch to batch, and overall quality of the food is poor.

The 'pub' section is good for a quick beer, but I can't recommend anyone go here for dinner.

Absolutely the best food in Ames. Taylor provided the most spectacular service I ve had in a long time. We dined with a large group, and the simplified menu and ease of ordering was a relief. Great idea on the print outs for each guest . Our drinks stayed full and we left stuffed! Thank you Taylor!

I ordered a steak and was not disappointed. Wonderfully cooked to a beautiful medium rare and delicious! I would definitely recommend based on my experience.

Beer was hit and miss for me, but overall a great place.