"I had dinner with my wife and two teen daughters. We all enjoyed an appetizer of Italian nachos, I had a good Greek salad and everyone was very happy with our entrees—lasagna for my wife and oldest daughter and a pasta dish with penne that I can't recall the name of for my other daughter and Asiago encrusted Halibut for me. My daughters can be quite picky, but both were impressed with their food. My halibut was fantastic. Sadly, our dessert experience came up short. They were out of the dutch apple cheesecake my girls both wanted to try so we got creme brûlée and white chocolate bread pudding. The creme brûlée lacked the creamy smoothness it should have and was a bit custard like. The crystalized sugar was slightly too burnt. While you can enjoy creme brûlée even when it's subpar, the bread pudding wasn't worth the effort. It was very bland—the most flavorful part was the whipped topping. While most of the food was excellent and the service was good, the overall experience didn't quite live up to the $150+ tab. In retrospect, I wish I'd asked for a better table; ours was in a busy intersection close to the kitchen and away from the wall of windows overlooking downtown. Instead of a great westward view of the city, I had a candid view of the working side of the bar. While the location and space are good, the ambiance seemed lacking. I have no idea how long this location has been open, but I came away with the feeling they have some kinks to work out before they can offer the experience of the Urbandale location. Despite the great food (desserts notwithstanding), I'd need to have a better overall experience on a second try before I could recommend Sam Gabe's at the Lyons."
