Noir - Ames

When we arrived for our reservation, we were disappointed to find that the bar was closed. There was no advance notice or explanation on the door about the closure.

The charcuterie platter was disappointing compared to my previous experience. It only included two types of salami and basic cubed Swiss cheese for $13. I asked for blue cheese but was given a cup of hard crumbles for an extra $3. I won't make that mistake again. However, the drinks and flatbread were great as always.

The experience at the restaurant started off well with reserved tables waiting for us and a special event being celebrated. However, we had to wait over an hour for a drink while other tables received multiple rounds. The manager ended up comping our drink and giving us a gift card to return, which was a nice gesture. Despite this, I would rate the restaurant a 2 star instead of one star. The venue is nice and the drink was decent, but it was not worth the long wait. I would consider giving the restaurant another try in the future.

This is an excellent restaurant to meet friends. I was a bit taken aback by the total cost of our bill, possibly due to inflation or other factors. However, our waitress provided great service.

Noir has been open for a year but still has not managed to improve. I have visited Noir three times since its opening a year ago, and they continue to face the same issues. The sound quality is poor, making it difficult to hear the live music. The cocktails are overly sweet, with my old fashioned tasting like simple syrup. The food is good but expensive for the portion sizes. The service is consistently slow, with servers frequently forgetting items regardless of how busy or slow the restaurant is. I had hoped for improvement since my last visit in late July 2021, but the only changes I noticed were a new cover charge and some new menu items.