Cafe Diem

I have been to Diem many times, and it has always been fairly average. The coffee is okay, the food is okay, and the service is okay. Some of the Braista’s are quite rude, while others can be very kind and pleasant!
Lastly, they only have one espresso shot in a 12 oz. Americano while charging the same price for ordering two plain espresso shots, which makes me feel like the managers are ripping me off. Overall, it’s definitely an OK experience

Solid coffee shop on Main Street. The pastries and sandwiches are good as are the smoothies.
Minus one star because it is often difficult to find a seat as many people stay all day at tables beyond their needs.

Such a cozy, friendly place to relax with your favorite coffee. The drinks are consistent and the staff attentive. A few good lunch options, but the lunch menu could use punching up a bit. A locally-​owned gem.

This is a very nice coffee shop on main street. I frequently bring work and plant for several hours. The food/​coffee is great and the staff is awesome. My only complaint is that the internet, while free, is often terrible.

Was a great little spot. Good coffee you can get in a regular cup if you’d like — I always like that. Didn’t get the food so I can only speak for the coffee. Ambiance was great. Clean and rustic looking with interesting décor. The service was awesome. Smiles and knowledge — good peeps and they brought my cappuccino over to my table. Clean restrooms too.

Great tea and coffee, but loud coffee shop!

I really want to like this place but they made a lot of poor choices that I can’t help but overlook. First off, being located in a college town, you are going to have students trying to study. PUT IN SOME OUTLETS! A coffee shop has to have outlets in today’s day and age. The fact that there is ONE powers trip for the whole place is not ok. And when I tried to plug my laptop into the power strip with an extension cord, the owner told me «I could not do that» because I wasn’t at the one table with the power strip I was at the table next to it. There are over 20 tables in the place. Also, they «were out of» the flavored coffee blend they advertised when I got there at 6 pm. So I got a dark roast. At 8:30 when I wanted a refill, they were out of everything but decaf. If you are going to be open until 11 or 12, brew another pot of coffee! The whole place was full of people still and they were open for several more hours. I will not be back. I need a place that is more catered toward what a coffee shop should be. which minimally should be to have coffee available to buy during business hours.

As I walked through quiet downtown Ames looking for a perfect place for me Café Diem almost seemed to have the only beam of sun on a dreary day shining on their historic building. Let’s see, old building, downtown, not huge corporate, clever name, just a slight prevention. Yes! I’ll try this place.
Quiet music and mix of patrons of downtown professionals and Neo-​Hippie student types (well a few) and construction employees scattered in classic booths and more modern tables. I usually don’t see Reuben’s as a coffee bar choice of food but their menu is more deli than coffee bar, so Café Diem is probably more a deli that has coffee bar qualities like roasted and fancy mix coffee drinks, and a pastry shelf.
It took about six minutes for the food to be delivered to my table which was great timing considering this was the start of the lunch rush. There is a healthy choice on sandwiches to chose baby carrots instead of chips, something else I’ve never seen. A coffee boost a well stacked sandwich of Corned Beef and Sauerkraut and this refreshed traveler was ready to hit I-​35 again.

Café Diem in Ames has been a coffee landmark in the little city for over 15 years now! I remember when they opened their original location! My band used to play there all the time! The owners, (who are still the owners) were always so sweet and supportive of local music! They gave singer songwriters a stage and it was always a fun spot to play!
I used to eat the fantastic blueberry muffins all the time! I love the coffee here, I went yesterday and it was packed! Full of college kids, off for MLK Day! Plenty of outlets to study! The newer location, now (9 years old maybe) was always my go to coffee spot when I lived in Ames! I always enjoyed walking there, it’s the type of place where everyone knows your name and they are always glad you came! They have punch cards, for those repeat customers like me!
Never had a bad experience here, always cool, calm, and awesome! Keep up the good work Café Diem, it’s nice to see you again! You aged so well!

Owned by a guy active in the community and key in bringing entertainment to Main street. Very pleasant baristas, good value, always a good experience. Happy to support this «mom and pop» establishment.

I love the atmosphere here. The staff is very polite and helpful. I really enjoy the black bean burger, and you really don’t have to be a vegetarian to love it. Sooo yummy!
The free WiFi is great.
My only complaint has been, usually when I go it is very hot, to the point that my boyfriend doesn’t like to come with me because he leaves over heated.

I’ve been a long time customer of Café Diem, since I moved to Ames. Usually stop in 2 – 3 times a week.
I usually like to go around 2 or 3pm because that place can get very crowded at times, there’s a reason: the coffee is good and the atmosphere is very relaxing for work or talking with friends.
Just a funny side note, all the Baristas are attractive working there, guess it makes getting my coffee that much more fun.

Nice college town type of coffee shop. Good coffee and we had a couple of their breakfast sandwiches. Simple but tasty sandwiches, seemed freshly made and warmed on a sandwich press
Only slight downside, you don’t get a free refill on a basic coffee

Great coffee/​latte stop here, and also good food items, with a grill to make fresh. Will surely return.

Free WiFi here.
Great coffee.
Are you here yet? If you are alone as I have been you are likely to have someone introduce themself. People are THAT friendly downtown Ames!
Lunch is fresh and made to order.
Getting something under $ 3 and using plastic– they will charge you extra!
****Limited power sources for computers.

Very unique menu, served quickly at table and staff is friendly. Black Bean Burger was AMAZING!

On my first night in Ames I visited this unique coffee house.
It is locally owned place with some local coffee flavors. The tea (forgot the name) I had was enough to wake me up the sleepiness because of the traveling.
Environment of the place is pretty laid back relaxing too. I liked this place.

Free Wi-​fi, good food, even better coffee.
Café Diem is my favorite place to go to do homework. It’s generally pretty quiet environment with a lot of seating. It’s fun just to go there and watch Main Street out of the big windows, too.
I’m not one to return to a place that doesn’t have nice and helpful staff, and there are certainly some very nice people here! Sometimes I don’t even have to order because a few of the gals have my coffee of choice memorized. How special!

I genuinely love this place. I can’t say anything about their coffee because I’m not a coffee drinker. I do love their smoothies — so much. I also frequently get a muffin and they ate delicios. You can’t go wrong picking up a hot chocolate either. Everyone that I have ever encountered working here has been extremely nice to me. Even when they were suppose to stop selling and non-​baked good food items, I still got a sandwhich. My sole complant is that a lot of what they have is slightly overpriced. This is a case of the good outweighing the bad, however.

This is my go-​to WiFi café on the weekends as I continue my writing projects at a frantic pace. First timers should know that this café has a warm and inviting atmosphere, where a good mix of students and families make up the transient traffic that comes in and out of this downtown hotspot. Students tend to sit nearby the wall plugs that are scattered alongside the wall where local artists’ display their proud accomplishments. On the opposite side, one can find couples on double dates and the best of best friends seated in the booths animated about the latest and the most enchanting parts of life in Ames.
One late afternoon, I discovered a father sharing a fresh homemade Cinnamon Roll with his son. The five year old took big messy bites while the smiling dad marveled at his son more than the piping hot gooey sweet roll that melted into a heap of sweet sensations. Then there I was, mixed in the crowd of students, families, couples, and besties with my newest laptop where sometimes something was gonna inspire the next sentence or a few simple clicks of the delete button with a line that sunk deeper in between my eyebrows.
Their coffee has been the talk of the town. The beans are not roasted in-​house, not handmade, and server didn’t seem to know their origins. None of this matter in Ames, where reviewers were still right that this might just be the best in town. Never in the same league as Blue Bottle or Philz but solid, especially their creamy dreamy Soy Pumpkin Spice Latte that gives a smooth, frothy, flirtatious flavor before a final pumpkin punctuation that hits the spot on a chilly afternoon.
I’ve also had their Green Rooibos Plantain Coconut Tea that introduces a light red rooibos flavor with a banana backdrop and light bursts of coconut. Their Vanilla Coconut Tea isn’t as robust in flavor and the overall selection is steep for teabags as they’re served in a teapot. It’s never clear whether they give hot water refills, but I would have appreciated if they naturally extend it as an invitation rather than having one to guess or ask for it.
As for food, their hot pressed Three Cheese Melt that brings together a messy construct of provolone, American, and Swiss. The pressed wheat bread was crispy with good moisture, and the cheeses were sufficient and flavorful. Their Chicken con Queso soup was non-​dairy and perfect for those looking for a light meal. I’ve also tried their freshly made Cinnamon Rolls, that was soft hot soft hot as the melt in your mouth qualities disintegrated into a sweet endnote. Depending on the day, the café can smell like an upgraded Cinnabon or roasted coffee beans.
Service is typically friendly and their staff does a great job at keeping the place clean. With their comfy chairs and surroundings, I expect to make this place my next home office. Their limitation is their hours of operation as the kitchen shuts down at 8pm while the rest of the café remains open only till 9pm. I’d be interested in trying Café Milo on the other side of town before finalizing the order of my coffee places in Ames.