I love this spot for its casual yet upscale ambiance, and delicious Spanish tapas inspired menu! So…read moreimpressed with the quality of ingredients and how friendly and knowledgeable the staff is. The live music is not something to sniff at either, real pros play here. I always get a bottle reco from the owner to bring home and enjoy.

Cool place to get a glass of wine! Staff was very nice and we were seated right away. Wine was…read moregreat too!

Picked up some Mongolian beef to go for lunch today. The food was delicious, hot and satisfying.read more

Hidden Gem in Valley Junction. The daily lunch special is the way to go! Huge portions. You get the…read morelunch entree, rice, soup, crab Rangoon and egg roll. If you don't want the side of crab Rangoon and egg roll, can sub out for extra rice. It was a great lunch & fast service & friendly staff. Some of the better hot & sour soup I have had too.

I stopped into Neighborhood Liquor House this past Sunday after checking out Liquor Lovers…read more Neighborhood is a nice little shop with a good selection...some fairly rare bottles of bourbon just sitting out on the shelf at close to MSRP. The young lady working was polite enough, but never came out from behind the counter. Quite a 180 from my experience at Liquor Lovers. I picked up a bottle of Penelope Wheated and a New Riff for my shelf. I'd go back because of the selection. But the customer service is lacking like a lot of other shops throughout the metro... They say bourbon hunting and the people who do it make up a community all in itself... And part of that community is the store staff. To be personable, to strike up a conversation, to get to know your customers... Especially when good bottles cost $40-$200+ each... It's important.

This place as some of the best options for you! The Neighborhood Liquor House is new to Ankeny, and…read moremy boyfriend and I wanted to support a local business. The gentleman who runs the place introduced us to some great whiskey brands we hadn't tried before and they turned out to be our new favorites! He orders in stuff for people as well if they can't find it somewhere else in town. We don't drink all the time but when we do and if we need some, we go here!

I absolutely love this place. I live in Chicago and my fiancé is in DSM so we split time between…read moreboth places until he moves. Being in a transitional phase his kitchen is useless so if we want to eat it's got to be in a restaurant. We've been everywhere so no clue how this gem snuck past us. I would put them next to any of the high end places downtown without a second thought. The ambiance is clean, casual and cozy - think Colorado log cabin. It's not a big place so I imagine you'll find long waits on weekends. If so, wait. Trust me. It wasn't crowded because we typically don't venture out until late but 3/4 of the tables were occupied and several people were at the bar. Even so, it was easy to carry on a conversation without needing to raise our voices. It's difficult to choose what to order because everything sounds great. We ordered chicken fried oyster mushrooms for an app and they set the tone for everything else. Perfectly breaded and seasoned with actual flavor being the stale oil taste of a lot of fried apps. I had the Lobster Mac and it was absolutely decadent. There was a generous amount of lobster and the pieces themselves were substantial. The blend of cheeses was perfect. For the side (which wasn't even necessary because the size of the Mac was more than big enough) I got the Boursin Mushroom Au Gratin. I can't think of a word that describes how delicious it was. Perfect creaminess, rich with a slight tang...it could have stood on its own. My fiancé ordered the Iowa Chop and we were both shocked at the size of it. Again (yawn) cooked just right, not even a hint of the dryness you see a lot with chops. The Creamed Brussels Sprouts were great but I had eaten myself sick at this point so I had to admit defeat. Portions were big enough that I had plenty in the take home container for a whole meal the next day. I wanted to try the amazing looking pie but needed to be able to fit through the door to go home. Next time for sure. Service was really good. The server was laid back and quick with recommendations that she could back up instead of the standard "I like it" you get. I was shocked at the reasonable prices. These days $20 for a mediocre burger is standard so I couldn't believe the quality of food for the price. Our running joke is that once a restaurant starts laminating their menus, the quality is about to tank so I'm keeping my fingers crossed theirs steer clear. It's independently owned by the same people that own Barntown Brewing a few doors down. We will definitely try that out based on our experience here. My only critique is that they serve Pepsi instead of Coke. Seems like DSM leans that way which breaks my heart. My southern roots and common sense keep me loyal to Coca Cola. Where I grew up when you order a Coke the server asks what kind of Coke because it's just what you call every soft drink. Go. Go tonight. You won't regret it.

4.6* (out of 5) Food: 5* Atmosphere: 5* Value: 4*…read more Service: 4* Would I go back / Recommend?: 5* (Definitely) Total check/person: $40 05/20/2026 The neighbors suggested the Guesthouse for our dinner tonight and given our experiences, we heartily agreed. We started our meals with a glass of beer, then ordered our dinners. Tonight, my wife opted for the Sweet Potato Gnocchi with grilled shrimp (see picture) - at our server Chelsea's suggestion (Chelsea was great). While I usually prefer trying different dishes vs. ordering what I've had before, it was Wednesday and I'm a sucker for specials...so again opted for Walleye Wednesday (see picture). While we both enjoyed both dishes after sharing tastes of each, the highlight of the meal was the Campfire Pie (that Chelsea recommended) along with a scoop of ice cream (at our neighbor's suggestion). Check it out in the picture and be sure to give it a try!

Best BBQ I've had in Iowa, it was busy in a Monday night but we got a table of 4 no reservation in…read more30 mins max. Service was great and the vibe of the place is awesome. Really nice and welcoming place. I got the Briskey Dip with the fries and aioli dip, so good.

Finally a place that knows how to pepper their gravy! I…read morecould have done without the cheese on my chicken as it didn't seem to go well, but overall a really delicious brunch dish. Eggs were over hard as requested, server was friendly and quick. Bathrooms were clean. My only complaint was the large number of dead flies in all the window sills as well as flying around.

We traveled to town for a concert and stumbled across this bar. This is a perfect "dive bar". The…read morestaff were extremely friendly. They let me leave my car while I ubered to a concert, recommended restaurants in the area, and went out of their way to make sure we were comfortable. Drinks were more than reasonable and strong. Garret was so friendly, I hope we cross paths again . They have dart boards which is my favorite. Great time.

While in Des Moines talking with the locals, they suggested Carl's Place. They explained that it…read morewas an absolute dive bar, but a great one to visit and one not to pass up while in Des Moines. So, naturally, my friend and I gravitated to Carl's. The outside of the bar isn't labeled, so if you didn't know where it was, you might miss it. We were there at the height of the early afternoon in July and the sun was out in full force. When you walk into the bar, you wouldn't know what time of day or night it is, there aren't any windows to really shine the light through. You definitely get the "dive bar" experience. The bar itself appears a little older, but the patrons and the bartenders were bar none! It was a great bunch of people just there to hang out and enjoy the day. The bar has a small stage that has live music during the weeks. None while we were there, but heard it's pretty good! They had darts and there three different "sections" within the bar. We only had a few drinks but it was well worth the stop! I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

We really enjoy coming here for breakfast. The service is always fast, and the food is consistently…read moregood. I started with a Bloody Mary, which is easily one of the best bloodys in town. I ordered the breakfast rarebit, and it always hits the spot. It's flavorful and comes with plenty of food, so you definitely won't leave hungry. My wife ordered the breakfast pizza. I thought it was just okay, but she really enjoyed it, so that's what matters! Overall, we always enjoy coming here, and it remains at the top of our list when we're looking for a good breakfast spot around town.

We always like to try a unique place to eat if we can find one as we are traveling. Since we were…read morealready planning an evening meal in Omaha at the end of the day it made sense to start out with a breakfast in Des Moines. based on reviews in Yelp we chose Mullets. Mostly because it sounded really cool to see the pictures of mullets that decorate the restaurant. I didn't think of the fish called a mullet, but they have creatively used both the Fish and the hairstyle to create a fun logo. I loved the poster of all of the presidents of the United States wearing mullets that was in the entry vestibule. My husband had the Burt Ends Benedict. It was delicious, with generous sized chunks of meat in BBQ sauce under the poached eggs and hollandaise sauce. I had the Country Fried Steak breakfast with hash browns and hard scrambled eggs. Everything on my plate was perfect and delicious. The gravy was outstanding! Probably the best restaurant gravy I've ever had. On my next visit I'm planning to order the same thing, but I'll request gravy on the eggs and potatoes as well. We shared an order of cinnamon roll pancakes. They were delicious, and super sweet. Overall, the staff was friendly and efficient and we will definitely be back.

The changes to the menu are not an improvement. The 5 fried pickle spears have been replaced with a…read moreclump of dill pickle chips all fried together and quite disappointing. The taco salad that was the standard by which we rated others has been removed from the menu. We might try it one more tim.

It is one of those Des Moines staples, and i am so glad that we did it, because it is a damn good…read morevisit. Street parking, busy indoor environment, casual attire. A fun stop, full of energy and good food. Our server, Michelle, was outstanding, mixinga fun personality with a terrific energy and awareness. Loved my High Life Burger basket, and our Chicken Pot Pie was incredible. Coke products.

In town for Junior Olympics and stopped in after I found this restaurant on yelp. Walking in it is…read morevery dim lighting. The waitress was very knowledgeable and helpful in making our choices. We ended up getting the turkey melt, the focaccia and a side of fries. Everything was very good. We tried the lemonade which was great. Our friends said what they got was good too. Definitely try this place if you're in town or even if you're local.

I ordered the New York steak and peppers sandwich with coleslaw. It had lots of peppers which was…read morenice. Had great service from the staff. The inside looked pretty classy for a bar and grill. Not super ideal for large group because seating is mostly high tops. They do have smaller booths so I feel like this is a good date night location.

It is, for sure, just one dude holding down this whole joint all by himself: cook, waiter,…read morebartender, all. Very basic dining room for sure, but it's really all about the food. The food is good and authentic. Took a friend who knows Colombian food well and this guy is doing it just like they do down there. I've never had arepas so good. We had the reinas pepiadas: really really tasty. I could see how some people are a little alienated by him, but also remember that he's there alone. You can go a little off the rails at places that have more people on staff to manage those kinds of patrons. When you walk in, you know that you can't push beyond what's offered and make special requests. This place is one of the more interesting places to eat around here; let's appreciate his/its strengths and not dwell on what this place isn't.

a restaurant run by one guy who is the chef/server/cashier etc. The food is Very Good and the…read moreportion sizes are solid. When I walked in he said the soup they had today was lentil soup. Very flavorful with a good variety of vegetables in there. Guava juice was in a large cup, and this wasn't one of those situations where the cup is 80% ice. Chicken arepas are great. Keep in mind that all this is made by One Guy and food may take a bit to come out depending on how many people are in your group.