My wife and I have been making a point to try at least one new-to-us place each month this year. April's pick was Baratta's, a Des Moines staple that has been part of the local dining scene for years. We went on a Thursday night and walked into a packed house. Baratta's is one of those sprawling, multi-room venues that feels like it grew one dining room at a time, and there is a lot of charm in that. The menu is equally sprawling, and we started with the Focaccia bread, which was excellent. We split the Ravioli al Forno and still had enough to bring home, which is always a good sign. A couple of things caught us off guard. The room we landed in ran loud enough to make conversation a little work, and the wine list was shorter than we expected for a place this size. Neither was a dealbreaker. Baratta's is the kind of place that has earned its reputation, and we would go back to explore more of the menu. Worth a visit if you have not been. read more

Baratta's Catering - Italian Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

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A Des Moines classic. Last night took me to revisit Baratta's down on South Union...a South side tradition with history dating back to the 1920s. I think they've been under the current ownership since 1993. Spacious parking and I've always loved the atmosphere at Baratta's... Kind of an old school vibe, but up to date too. From the outside you can still see the evolution that happened over the years. A combination of store and home that evenutally merged together, but it's not as obvious from the inside. We were greeted right away when we walked in and were seated at a high backed booth in the bar area. If I recall the seating in the main restaurant is mostly low top tables and chairs. I didn't catch our server's name, but she was BUSY. It seemed like she working as a host, bartender, and server from what I could see. All rolled into one. And she did a fanstatic job! Drink orders were taken first and food a few minutes later after we'd had time to look over the menu. Most entrees come with bread and a side of either soup or a salad. I love their salads. All their dressing are made in house if I recall correctly. We ordered the Amaggio with chicken, the Manicotti al Formaggio with white sauce, both with side salads (blue cheese and creamy garlic), an unsweetened ice tea, and a soda (Coke products). $56ish before tip. Amaggio: "A house favorite with your choice of chicken, shrimp, or both rolled in a mixture of fresh bread crumbs and then grilled to perfection. Served over linguini with roasted red peppers and mushrooms. Topped with our Amaggio sauce made with olive oil, white wine, fresh-squeezed lemon juice, garlic and basil." Manicotti al Formaggio: "A unique blend of five cheeses including mozzarella, provolone, parmesan, asiago, and ricotta wrapped with fresh pasta and baked with your choice of red, white, or marinara." In full transparency I've never had a bad experience at Baratta's. Food or service... But that being said I can say the same about A LOT of restaurants in the metro! Some that others complain about regularly. I'm been trying to figure that out... 1. Either I'm not picky... 2. Maybe I'm very forgiving. 3. Or maybe I just choose to approach each dining experience with a positive attitude right out of the gate and it's infectious. Maybe a combination of all of the above...? It's just easier to be nice sometimes. It is what it is I guess... The food hit our table after a short wait. Bread and salads first and then the main dishes. Everything was cooked perfectly. The linguini in my Amaggio was still al dente. The chicken was delicious. Perfectly seasoned and not the least bit dry. I'm glad I left my bread to help clean my plate with. Our server checked on us regularly, we never had to ask for a refill...it was just taken care of...and Joe stopped by to check on us a couple of times too. I love seeing owners on site and interacting with their guests. That alone can bring a restaurant to a different level in my eyes. It shows accountablity that can sometimes seem absent these days. As always a great meal and an overall fantastic visit to Baratta's! read more

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My wife and I went to Barattas's on the Southside last night, and it was absolutely wonderful. We started with the stuffed mushrooms, which were rich, flavorful, and perfectly cooked. I had the Seafood Genovese, and the sauce was incredible with fresh, tender seafood. My wife ordered the spaghetti and meatballs, and she said it "tasted like a true Italian classic." The portions were generous, the service was friendly, and the atmosphere was warm and comfortable. Baratta's is always one of our favorite spots in Des Moines for a great meal and a relaxing night out. read more

Baratta's Catering - Seafood Genovese - Italian Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

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Large portions Ravioli was a little on the doughy side. Overall this place was a good choice because the waitress and service were top notch read more

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After being told at another restaurant they couldn't accommodate five people we decided to give Baratta's a call. Warmly welcomed by host /owner who was happy to have us. Table enjoyed manicotti, spaghetti, chicken, carbonara, chicken picata and Cajun seafood pasta all accompanied with generous salads. Very generous portions with a friendly server. read more

Where else can you get decent white wedding cake for dessert in Des Moines? Yes its old school, but they offer $10 corkage so you can being your best bottle. And again where else can you get chicken livers as a dinner? Even the fried chicken dinner takes me back to my childhood. Pizza is always a hit. Service was excellent with Debbie as our hostess. Pricing is reasonable. Specials change all the time, but you can always ask about the Cajun chicken pasta. They usually accommodate. They do wonders with larger groups and the food comes out hot. read more

Baratta's Catering - Combo Pizza with black olives - Italian Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

Great start to a quick trip in and out of Des Moines included lunch at Baratta's. Excellent service by Tawnee, a lovely dinner salad, delicious Amaggio pasta and Chicken Carbonara and wonderful, relaxed atmosphere. We'll be back when we are in town. Highly recommend. read more

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The chefs and Barattas' service staff produced a lovely social hour and Italian Dinner for our group of 30 in a private room...A special last minute ask to serve the salads family style was accommodated.. The ambiance, antipasto and delicious menu choices made us feel like we were in Florence. Patrons are still raving about the food! read more

This place should fire the chef and start over again. It's not Italian food. My pasta dish was full of water on my plate. Sauce was tasteless read more

Hadn't been here in years. Very disappointing steak sandwich..tough as shoe leather on a wimpy bun and sprinkling of chopped onion and pickles. Fries were few and unimpressive. Friends ordered steak and baked potatoe and they were happy with theirs. It was so loud in there, no one could hear what anyone was saying. Waitress was very good. Service very slow. I might go back to try their Italian meals to see if they are better. It was an outrageous amount to spend on a sandwich that was no better than Culver's drive through. read more

Great family restaurant tucked away in residential neighborhood. Have visited many times and never disappointed. Great ambiance and friendly service. Good variety of Italian and traditional meat and potatoes menu. The atmosphere is you're amongst friends and family. Food is very good and have tried most items in the menu. A great place to entertain family and friends. read more

Food was so good and really flavorful and the service was great as well. I tried it something new and it was delicious and my mom got lasagna and it didn't disappoint. Would come back! read more

Saw this place on the way to Downtown Des Moines. Looks like a really nice place when you walk in. The service started off not so hot, our waitress was questioning our decision on what to eat and what and gave a disgusted look whenever we ordered. When we were sitting at our table, the restaurant received a call, and our waitress relayed the massage to us that the caller stated the food was terrible, before we even started eating. The focaccia bread was pretty good but it wasn't real focaccia bread. Food was actually not too bad. read more

Today was our first time at this restaurant. The place is quaint but the food is amazing! Our server Debra was an absolute joy and very knowledgeable and friendly. The staff was considerate and friendly and we found the restaurant atmosphere mom and pop but in an Italian corner cafe kinda way. Very polite. The desert was awesome as well. I would give them 10 stars but they only do 5. read more

Gross, bland, uninspired. Like eating leftovers that weren't any good when they were fresh.

Great food. Great service. Lots of great choices on a very nice list of different dishes. Broasted chicken all white is my go to. Lasagna is my wife's favorite. Everything on the menu is delicious. Try it. You'll love it !!! read more

We had a retirement party in the banquet room, over 40 people, separate checks. The service was amazing, the food was amazing, Barrattas helped make this memory extra special. Plenty of parking for a party that size. This event was the end of November, i didn't get the names of our waitresses but they were spectacular! read more

Last night we enjoyed a quarterly dinner with a bunch of Des Moines firefighters and significant others. We had a group of 20. We were treated so good! Our group had our own little banquet room for our gathering. We started with a few appetizers. The cheese sticks were out of this world!! We also had the stuffed mushrooms and a heaping plate of onion rings! Both very good. Our waitstaff was very attentive and brought us drinks, took our orders, checked on us all in a timely manner. Side salads, and basket of bread were fresh and tasty. We ordered off the menu. When our food arrived, everyone commented on how it was so delicious. I had the Chicken Marsala special, and my spouse had the French dip sandwich. Yum!! The portions were so big! We took home a full container for the following day. :) We all enjoyed our time at this South Side staple. We didn't get a chance to try any desserts, darn. I guess we will have to do that at our next group visit. Thank you for your kind hospitality! read more

Great family-style meals to go! Pans of pasta, broasted chicken, salad and house creamy parm dressing is so good.

I arranged a surprise birthday party for my son's 27th birthday. There were twenty guests total. I ordered the Caesar chicken salad which was delicious. My son had the homemade spinach and cheese tortellini which he loved. My daughter had the cavatelli and said it was delightful. Our waitresses name was Twanee. I requested a straw and was screamed at, "I PUT IT RIGHT THERE!" I apologized explaining I have a visual deficit. She was very rude and disrespectful to my son, and to the rest of the party, with the exception of one guest who is a regular patron of the establishment. I ordered spinach artichoke dip, which came out after my meal and after everybody else's appetizer and meal. Twanee NEVER refilled any of the guests waters but was on top of bringing alcoholic beverages. I even requested water and never received it. I expressed that the spinach artichoke dip was very spicy. Twanee screamed at me, "It's homemade!" When we went to cut the cake I was looking for a cake cutter and she screamed, "It's over there can't you see it?" My 86 year old father was charged for a lemonade. He approached Twanee to take it off his bill and she screamed at my father, "Sir, GO SIT DOWN!" She made my father cry. My daughter-in-law is pregnant and was charged for Pino Giorgio. My son was forced to pay for it. The food was absolutely delicious but the service we received from Twanee was unacceptable. In thirty-five years of eating out I've NEVER received such poor service. Baratta's has lost nineteen customers due to Twanee's action. read more

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Great food, professional and efficient service. It's a locally owned and operated restaurant.

I had my birthday lunch here. The sever was very attentive and the food was so good! I had a carb coma after, but that was my fault! Onion rings were addictive! The chicken Parmesan was my choice with the house salad. The raspberry vinaigrette was alot better then my Italian dressing. The white cake was just like wedding cake. The lemon was very artificial tasting. Wouldn't order that again probably. I heard the strawberry was recommended. read more

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Good food, good service, and good friends. What more could you want!!? Had a wonderful experience. read more

My daughter and I were looking for a good Italian restaurant and found one! The prices were reasonable and the food was so tasty. We got the baked raviolis and I had the lasagna. We'll definitely be back! read more

Fantastic food. Large portions. Excellent service. There are a lot of choices on the menu. Highly recommend

breaded and deep fried mushrooms were my favorite!!! to go service (food wise) could be better for the price your paying. still a great spot to dine in with your family or date. read more

Very good food!!! Friendly people, good value I prefer to patronize mom and pop places

This place is just ok. I really had high hopes after moving to the area and having people tell me about this place but I got a seafood dish that has shells in it. The pizza was good but a true Italian pie, nay. It was your run of the mill. I did have a Grazziano's grinder that was pretty good but if you screw up a sandwich, well.. not the worst, but true Italian, I think not. read more

My wife and I had dinner there last night. She had a seafood pasta which she enjoyed. I ordered the tenderloin and baked potato and was served the "tenderloin Duburgo" which was sitting in a pool of olive oil (is this an Italian version?), topped with sautéed garlic. Instead of a plain tenderloin, which was frustrating because we had asked about it and I clearly told the waitress "nope". The baked potato was like warm. All for $45. Disappointing at best. read more

Baratta's Catering - Lukewarm baked potato - Italian Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

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I was very disappointed in my meal. I ordered the seafood genovese. It had imitation crab....I was like huh! Imitation Crab! Oof what a disappointment My wife ordered the ravioli dish and the ravioli was overcooked and un-edible. On a good note, the server was very attentive and good. read more

I ordered Manicotti with white sauce. If you love cheese, then this is where it's at! Use their bread to sop up the extra white sauce. Leave nothing on the plate and reach a stasis so satisfying you will never need to eat again. My wife ordered Cavatelli with meatballs and Italian sausage. It had a marinara sauce on it. She was very happy. We ordered via DoorDash. Both entrees were generous sized portions that came with a side salad. The creamy garlic dressing is amazing. Thank you guys for making our night. read more

Baratta's Catering - Manicotti al Formaggio with white sauce - Italian Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

Service: Excellent. The restaurant was very busy but they got it done. Atmosphere: Well, it's a house. The ceilings are low and the acoustics are what you'd expect. It's loud and you can hear every conversation around you. I only saw two bathrooms but there may be more. Definitely a cozy family vibe, but if you aren't in the mood for a raucous good time, or if you're claustrophobic, go during off-hours or try sitting in the bar area where it's a bit quieter. Food: Hit and miss. The salad was crisp and cold, the dressing was housemade blue cheese with plenty of chunks. The bread was a bit tough for my tastes, but it had good crumb. My MIL's dish was very good - a sort of lemony shrimp pasta dish with veggies. My husband and I thought the manicotti was a bit bland - if you order it, I'd recommend the red sauce rather than tomato basil. However, it was loaded with tasty browned mozzarella cheese. Didn't try my FIL's dish but he enjoyed it. All in all, I liked this place and will be back. Hopefully next time I can try the eggplant and check out the desserts. read more

Was pleasantly surprised by my food being hot, delicious and on time. Was the same as if I was eating in the restaurant. I'll definitely have them deliver food again. read more

My fiancé and I were recommended Baratta's to cater for our wedding so we decided to reach out and schedule a Wedding tasting. We were emailing with Michelle - the point of contact for catering tasting and events. My fiancé emailed her the August 19th, expressing interest in scheduling a tasting September 10th. We followed up on the email for the schedule and still had gotten no reply back. When we showed up for the time Michelle suggested she was not there or prepared. Very disrespectful and disappointed in the professionalism with a restaurant we were seriously considering for our wedding cater. Would NOT recommend for anyone looking to have a reliable catering experience. read more

Staff was super warm, friendly, and attentive. Food was really good and reasonably priced. I ordered the shrimp amiggio, and it was absolutely amazing. It had the perfect amount of sauce, texture, and flavor. I added a bit of salt, but I tend to rely a little too much on salt. The shrimp were grilled to perfection, and the dish was beautifully presented. read more

This is definitely one of my favorite, local Italian restaurants in Des Moines! Been in the neighborhood (literally) forever and they have such an amazing relationship with their regulars! It's literally in the middle of a south side neighborhood so this definitely fits the definition of "hidden gem". They have a giant chalk board right when you walk in that has the specials listed. There's also a full bar right around the door! The building is a little compartmentalized with 3 major dining rooms and a few booths near the bar area. The food is great! Large portions in my opinion (average if you're thinking homemade Italian food). The service is always great and friendly! Their focaccia bread is out of this world! My go-to is the spinach tortellinis. I've literally gotten this every single time I go. I've had them with all the sauces and most recently had them with the pesto cream sauce that also comes with mushrooms and tomatoes. Yum per usual! Highly recommend giving this place a try if you're in the neighborhood! read more

Baratta's Catering - Handmade Spinach and Cheese Tortellini with Pesto Cream - Italian Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

This is a hidden gem tucked away from the main road and surrounded by residential area. We checked this place out since a co worker suggested it- the staff is friendly and personable! The restaurant is clean and spacious with a bar and private event space. We you enter you only see 4-5 booths along with a bar area. The looks are deceiving because there's a lot more space around the corner and downstairs! We arrived around 7pm for dinner and were quickly seated at the bar. The drinks were made by Sue! We had a Long Island iced tea and Payton margarita- both delicious. We opted for an appetizer of the cheese sticks and main dishes were pizza. Everything was tasty!!!!! We will be back for sure. read more

While in town for business, I was craving a good plate of spaghetti and let's be honest Olive Garden is not my idea of authentic Italian food. Baratta's came up on my Yelp radar after a bit of stalking on the Yelp website. Even though it wasn't nearby since I'm staying in West Des Moines, I never say no to a 25 minute adventure to a good meal. Restaurant is located in a residential area and is a little bit on the outskirts of downtown Des Moines. You may be surprised when following your GPS that you turned into a neighborhood but no worries you're on the right track! Parking here is no problem there's ample parking. We were seated immediately in the dining area and I found it to be quite charming I had read online that the restaurant was renovated from a family home and I always love when places are family-owned and have that kind of history. There was a full bar and a couple beers on tap I started with a boulevard because I'm in the Midwest duh! There was a dinner special for 2 that was $20 for a soup/salad, a shared appetizer, and two entrées, which we totally took advantage of. The fried ravioli was definitely worthwhile to eat-I liked the marinara sauce that accompanied it. The cheese and pepper soup that people rave about was a bit of a miss for me, maybe I'm just not that into cheesy soups? It's pretty much a cheesy potato soup with a wonderful peppery after bite which is quite surprising. Good, but I wouldn't make a whole trip there just for that! Our entrees were good too, lasanga was a bit too cheesy for the bf however. My spaghetti and meatball was excellent and although I prefer my meatballs firmer, I understand there are many ways to make a meatball! Service was attentive and the dishes were both hot and well timed in sequence. I would definitely come back! read more

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We entered the large parking lot and expected to wait a half hour for a table but were surprisingly seated after about 5 minutes. Hostess was friendly and welcoming. Temperature was cool inside which was nice considering the heat and humidity outside. Bus boy brought waters and bread with butter immediately. My daughters loved the bread and gobbled it down. Our waitress had recommendations on appetizers and entrees. We went with her recommendation of the spin artichoke dip. It came out in a huge portion with hot and crisp pita chips and small toasted bread. Taste was great. We didn't even finish the appetizer when our soup and salad was brought out. I tried the house creamy parm. Also delicious! I drank the Saturday night special sangria and it was so refreshing and fruity. My order of the chicken carbonara did not disappoint. Loved the bacon flavor and the white sauce. Took half of it home to reheat for lunch tomorrow. Kiddos liked their pizza and cavatelli. We skipped the dessert tray as we were stuffed and not wanting the temptation. Service was great, water was refilled, and dishes were cleared timely. Glad we tried this not so new place outside of our neck of the woods! read more

Baratta's Catering - Chicken carbonara and spin artichoke dip - Italian Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

We seen a Facebook posting advertising Baratta's New Year Eve specials. I called this morning and made us a reservation for 6 pm. We went into our meal knowing they maybe extremely busy tonight, so please keep this in mind when reading our experience. We arrived at 5:50. The parking lot was completely full. We were lucky and got a spot from someone leaving. We checked in at the door and was taken to our table immediately. Our waitress arrived promptly and introduced herself. We ordered our mushroom appetizer and Long Island Teas. We placed our order promptly when we got our drinks. Both ordered the Prime Rib dinner, baked potato and Salad. The mushrooms and salads were served very timely however our meals took 45 minutes to receive. The waitress stopped by a few times and apologized for the wait. We were enjoying our conversation and will chalk this set back due to the full restaurant and many to go orders going out the door. Once we got our meals they were delicious! The Prime Rib is served on a plate of aujus with a side of horseradish. The Prime Rib was full of flavor and so tender. We never mention or complained about the length of time it took to get our meals however the waitress insisted we get dessert on the house! We have a piece of Carrott cake as well as a lemon cake to enjoy tomorrow. We will definitely be back to try again however it won't be on another holiday or heavy celebrated day. read more

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