Smokey Row Coffee

Sloooow drive through. It was 1pm on a Saturday and there was only one car in front of us and it took 20 minutes to get our coffee and latte. Pretty basic order but took forever.

The labor force is tight but slow service has been a common theme at the other two Smokey Row locations visited.

I really wanted to like this place. First visit: Salad was tasty. Second visit: Gal on intercom @ drive-up was literally hysterically happy, loud & obnoxious. At the window we were asked how much we wanted to tip. Hmmm...kinda takes the fun out of tipping + puts one on the spot. Then we had to pull up & park for several minutes & wait for 2 sandwiches (can I get my tip back)? Got home & found the sandwiches with very little on them & “raw” bacon. Maybe the coffee is good, but we’ll never know. 🤨

I would rate 3.5 if I could.
Overall I really like this establishment but I have a few comments.

Pros:
The space is really big and the tables are nicely distanced (inside). The coffee is super good - the cold brew is amazing. I love that food and sweets are available too.

Cons/Complains:
I am always FREEZING in there. I've left early a few times b/c I could not feel my hands to type. I bring so many layers with me and try to warm my hands on my coffee. The temperature has always been that cold.

They have signs on the tables saying they are clean, but when you leave nothing tells you to flip the sign over or do anything to notify that the table is dirty. I rarely see staff come out to sanitize the tables. Also the sign on the door says "Mask are highly encouraged, but not required", not sure why the second half needs to be on there.

My food has been hit or miss, seems to depend on who is cooking. The first time I got a wrap it was amazing, but the next couple times it came ripped or falling apart. The first time I got tortilla chips I only got crumbs, and the next couple times they were really stingy on the number of chips. I would not recommend the panni's (looked like deli meat and bread wasn't good). I love that they have bread bowls, but their choice of bread seems odd to me (like a white instead of a sourdough). Burger was pretty good.

I hope they read this and address the cons. With COVID this is one of the few places I go when I need to get out of the house to work. I would like to keep coming since the coffee is so good but we will see.

Smokey is the best place to hunker down and get some work done. If I have a ten-page paper due, I know I will be in a comfortable yet energetic environment with great drinks and surprisingly good food.

Great restaurant and relaxed atmosphere that serves breakfast all day. Perfect menu for the family.

Love the atmosphere at this place. The coffee is great, the whole vibe of the shop is awesome. This is a great place to do work or meet with friends. The reason I took two stars away was because of the breakfast food. The eggs are frozen premade. So you cannot get something like an over easy egg in the side. The eggs on the sandwiches reflect this as they are obviously bland and frozen from a box. For the price point and stature of Smokey row this is a disappointment. Buying and cracking eggs is so simple, much cheaper, and so much better!

Order the double decker and a strawberry banana shake and you won't be disappointed!!! The chicken salad sandwich is amazing also. We stop in 2 times a week for good service, amazing food and ice cream!! Every worker has been extremely happy to serve you unlike some other spots.

I LOVE Smokey Row and have even been to every location on multiple different occasions. However, the Ankeny location is terrible! the service is some of the worst I've seen and they consistently get my order wrong. I'm not normally one to complain, but they need new management or better training at this location. The people working at this location do not know what they are doing and it makes me sad. I would highly recommend going to any other Smokey Row location, just avoid the Ankeny location if you can.

I've done the drive-thru here a ton. Love their sausage egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches and scones. Chai lattes with almond milk are always good. The drive-thru line can get a little long, but they move along fairly quick. The staff are always really nice.

I was inside for the first time this weekend and the music was a bit too loud for my taste. Seemed louder than the one in Sherman Hills.

They charged me twice for order and I went in a week later and told them they said I was out of luck