We are from out of town and have been looking for a good Greek restaurant for quite some time. We…read morefound this place from a google search and we were not disappointed. Excellent food, excellent service really well priced. Wonderful time

A wonderful taste of Greece right here in downtown Des Moines. Pictures of mom back in Greece on…read morethe wall, and her recipes used, lend a real feel of authenticity. We were welcomed warmly and seated immediately. Started with a few appetizers, which were over the top. Enjoyed the Gyro platter and some moussaka all very good flavor. A nice selection of beer and some wines to accompany just about any dish. Complementary salad and soup with almost every entrée mix for a very filling meal. Open most days from 11 AM to 9 PM. Check it out when you're in the area.

4.8* (out of 5) Food: 5* Atmosphere: 5* Value: 4*…read more Service: 5* Would I go back / Recommend?: 5* (Definitely) Total check/person: $50 05/15/2026 My wife is fond of her Lebanese heritage, so when we saw Open Sesame on the Des Moines Register's Must Go List in East Village last month, we knew we needed to check it out. Last night was our opportunity and boy was it ever a memorable experience! Their website speaks of it being a colorful decor - and that is true both inside and out (see pictures)! We were warmly greeted and promptly seated - and asked if he could take our picture under the billowing, colorful ceiling (see picture). We started with a a round of drinks - my wife ordered the Ishtar's Revenge (see picture) and I went with the Yazmina (see picture). All of the cocktails are quite unique and we enjoyed both of these. As we started talking with our server, MJ - he looked familiar and his story sounded familiar. We asked and he confirmed that he used to own Gazali's in Clive, IA - a restaurant closer to our home that we enjoyed several times. MJ recommended the the Vegetarian Sampler Plate (see picture) for an appetizer and we loved it - offering the opportunity to sample several different Lebanese menu items on one plate. For our main courses, my wife ordered the Shawarma Chicken Pita Wrap (see picture) and I opted for the Combo Rice Plate (see picture), done spicy per MJ's suggestion. As we always do, we shared tastes of each of our dishes and loved them both! Lastly, the Jalab (rose and date infused water - see picture) caught my eye - so I ordered one of those to enjoy with my meal. Again, it is highly recommended! What visit to a Lebanese restaurant would be complete without Baklava (see picture), which MJ recommended that we enjoy with Turkish Coffees (see picture and video of pouring). We even got an education on how best to each the Baklava - pick it up with your fingers, take a bite, then keep that bite in your mouth while you take a sip of the Turkish Coffee - then enjoy! While it is hard not to enjoy Bakalava, it was even better when paired with the Turkish Coffee. If you found this review helpful, please Share, Follow & Like.

MJ and his family are so awesome and kind! I stopped in to try a refreshing drink on my walk in my…read morefirst time ever in Iowa on my walk to the beautiful golden capital and what a warm welcome it was. I met his whole family and he introduced me to all the customers. It was so fun and familial and inviting. Not to mention the decor inside is gorgeous! I love supporting local and trying new things. Definitely give this place a visit if you want good vibes, good energy, and delicious food made with love for real.

There have been restaurants with several styles of food that have come up lately that have made us…read morevery happy, and I have talked about them in their reviews. We went to one such today. Lizzie and I have bemoaned the lack of a good shawarma place. You're get no more moaning from us, except moans of pleasure. We went very simple today, I got shawarma, Lizzie got a lamb kebob, we shared some hummus. First the hummus. It's the best hummus in town. Simple, rich with flavor, with an amazing flat bread that comes with it. I had a taste of Lizzie's lamb kebob, and it was great. A bit of her salad as well, also really tasty. My shawarma was incredible. The meat was spiced nicely, the pickles included were so tasty. The garlic sauce that came with it was subtle, but added so much. We will be going back again and again. This leaped into my top 5 favorite places in town easily today. Go give them a try, you won't be disappointed.

New family owned local restaurant. We had a chicken and a falafel shawarma to go. Both were really…read morefresh and flavorful. My kid devoured it didn't even complain that it had salad :) Also had a Kunafa for desert, delicious!

A friend told us about Istanbul Grill so we decided to go for date night. It was a fantastic…read morechoice. We were greeted immediately upon walking in and seated comfortably in their booth. We have never tried Turkish food before but ordered the ezme, zucchini pancake, and lentil soup for appetizers. They all tasted really good. We were given oil and herbs with pita bread as a complimentary appetizer as well. The pita with ezme reminded me of bruschetta. For entrees we ordered the Adana Kebab and the Turkish dumplings. I think my waitress confused the Adana Kebab and Chicken Shish Kebab because my order did not taste like ground chicken. I also saw the picture on their website of what the Adana kebab should look like and did not receive that. Instead I received the Chicken Shish Kebab but was pleasantly surprised by it. The chicken was white meat (which I don't normally eat) but it was SOOO AMAZINGLY tender. I think I would order it again because it tasted so good! The salad that came with it was good. They cook the food on charcoal grill. I'm okay with it but my boyfriend isn't which is why he ordered the dumpling dish. The dumplings were very small and didn't have much meat. We likely will skip that the next time we visit. They sell baked goods here as well and have many variations of baklava. They were all very good too.

I really like how spacious and fancy this place is inside, and I appreciate that it's one of the…read morefew halal Turkish restaurants in Iowa. I have pretty high standards when it comes to Turkish food though lol--I've had some of the best Turkish food in NY and in different cities throughout Turkey, so I definitely have a lot to compare it to. With that in mind, this place has been a bit hit or miss. There have been times when the food wasn't as fresh, was overly salted, and was overall pretty mid. But I've also had meals here where everything was really fresh, well-made, and genuinely good. I do really like the variety on their menu, especially because it goes beyond just BBQ and grilled meats. They have a good selection of other Turkish dishes, which I appreciate and makes me more likely to come back and try different things. Overall, I think it's a nice option to have in Iowa, and when they're on their game, the food is definitely worth trying.

Excellent dishes always!…read more Favorites are mango lassie, Gobi Manchurian, Chicken Makhani along with garlic naan

I placed the order for catering for my wedding for the vegetable samosas, and they were even better…read morebeing catered. I love the variety of options they have but the only reason I don't go here often is because they don't have my best friends favorite dish shrimp vindaloo

Excellent customer service!! Tea and Pakora were great too…read more It was fresh with perfect spices.

Only been here once, but the food was just okay overall. The samosa was flavorful and pretty good,…read morethough it didn't taste the freshest. The chicken biryani was the biggest disappointment--the spices tasted a bit muddled, and the chicken was dry. The palak gosht actually had nice flavor, but the lamb was quite chewy. I've had much better Pakistani food in other states, and honestly I can make better desi food at home. That said, I'm giving this place a slightly higher rating than I otherwise would because it's one of the only Pakistani restaurants in the state, and I appreciate having the option.

Good service. Burmese food is unique.. I have not tried a lot. Just tried couple of items they were…read morevery fresh. We arrived 30 minutes closing time and sit down and ate.. they did not rush us. There is music playing.. clean and tidy place. A lot of space. I will come back to try some other items if I have another chance

Restaurant is very large. Same Asian vibe as the Lao and Vietnamese restaurants here in the Des…read moreMoines area. I had the Ohn no Khao swe coconut milk noodle soup. I was not a fan of the flavor. I did not like the grittiness and it was bland. Also had samosas and friend had the yakisoba. Everything came out hot. But the flavors were very bland. I've had these before and it wasn't what I recall having at a friend's house. It did not look like what it was pictured online and in the menu. I was not impressed. I'm sure Burmese food is like Chinese and Lao food where each family has their own style and signature flavor palette. Finally gave this place a try and it was ok. Came out in a Friday night. It was NOT busy at all. Plenty of seats. Sad to see it wasn't packed out. Service was fine since we were the only ones there.

If it's locked, just Jimmy the locks. If it's closed down, which I've heard it is now, then I can't…read morehelp you. This Gyro is inside the food court at the Merle Hay Mall in Urbandale which is a suburb of Des Moines. It's pretty tasty and not too bad but also it could have been much better especially compared to the standard of Gyros that I'm used to from over in Davenport and the quad-cities. Still it's a very cool food court and I liked it it has an independent flavour to it, between this and the tamales and Maid Rite and others. Except Yelp now it says it's closed so I hope that's not the case.

Stopped by here for lunch with a coworker and it was pretty good. The portion is very generous and…read morethe guy running it (I assume it's Jimmy) is very nice and helpful. He's also quite good at up selling you to buy more food :) I wasn't planning on getting fries but he talked me into it. The gyro was very flavorful and the meat is shaved off of a slow spinning vertical rack. Overall I enjoyed my experience here and will come back and try another item in the future.