Paleteria La Michoacana is a Des Moines institution and whether you are a local or a visitor, you must come by and enjoy their wonderful offerings and ambiance. Located in La Placita (mostly Latino) business corridor, all your cravings for Mexican food will be satisfied here. I have been coming to this place since around 2012 and have never been disappointed. My most recent visit was this weekend (June 2020) when my friends and I stopped for ice cream and aguas frescas (refreshing fruit drinks/infusions). The pistachio ice cream is honestly one of the best desserts I have ever had: creamy and flavorful ice cream, with TONS of real pistachio pieces. It's a pistachio lover's dream. Other delicious offerings are their carne asada fries (which are as good as they sound - freshly made french fries topped with carne asada and all of the toppings), their taquitos and flautas (crispy and flavorful!), and their champurrado in the fall and winter months (hot beverage with a thick consistency because it's partly made with masa/corn meal flour - chocolate, walnut or guava flavors, keeps you super warm in the Iowa winter!). And of course, lots of ice creams and ice cream pops: a lovely variety of flavors, excellent quality. Here you can also buy pinatas and other packaged Mexican snacks. Paleteria La Michoacana is a must in Des Moines read more

I love me some Mexican Ice Cream. This shop has a parking lot in the rear and sells food, ice cream, and some grocery items. They have a decent-sized dining area here for patrons to sit and eat. They also have burritos, elote, frescas, torta, epandas, popsicles, hand-scooped ice cream, maganadas, smoothies, banana splits, and fries. The staff was friendly enough, but my interaction with them was very brief. I ordered the strawberries and cream. It was ready in less than 5 minutes. The strawberries were so fresh. It was really good. I wish the cream were a bit thicker, though. It was very runny. Anyway, this is a nice spot to get some Mexican food and a sweet treat to go along with it. I would recommend checking this place out, and I look forward to coming back and trying some more of their traditional Mexican frozen treats. read more

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Stopped by for some ice-cream (it was very good!) and ended up getting some Empanadas to go as well. Very nice staff working as well...very helpful! A little sparse on the decor but what is there is very colorful. read more

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Food was really good and the service was excellent to and cute little shop/ restaurant/ice cream so yes i would totally recommend this place read more

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We gave them another chance because I did really like the cucumber Agua Fresca and wanted a paleta. This time was spot on! My husband got hazelnut, my child got the new fruit loop flavor, and I got bubblegum. The paletas had great texture no frost bite. We split some Pina colada Agua Fresca and it was perfect not too sweet and not too watery. read more

This is a gem you'd find somewhere in Baja or East L.A., only you're in Des Moines...so you can enjoy all their amazing stuff without worrying about getting murdered. Everything about this spot is legit. They make all their helados and paletas in-house and have flavors you won't find in your average ice cream shop. Mango con chile, tequila, pepino con chile, gazpacho...I'm impressed. They also serve food - standard taqueria fare. Their food menu is in Spanish AND English, so no worries if no hablas Español. The girls working are all very nice, and are happy to translate frozen treat flavors for you if you're not sure what you're looking at. Ciruela threw me for a curve, and I was okay with that...prune is not an ice cream flavor I'm down for now or probably ever. The tequila helado is BOMB. The fresa is made with FRESH blended strawberries, and you'll definitely, absolutely be able to taste the difference when you try it. Definitely get a small serving...cones are $2.25 but they're massive. We'll be back to this spot regularly. Hands down the best ice cream in Des Moines, and my new favorite. read more

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My friend Acana is awesome. When I first met him, I was all, "pleased to Micho, acana." Now I know him well, I still say it as a joke. Why is nobody laughing. If you want to get something good in the Des Moines area, go to the Palet area. Ha. Ha. Ha. What to get: Strawberry Horchata/Licuado. What not to get: Tex Mex items because they don't have any! Real Mexican here! PM is a really great Mexican Dessert spot that has absolutely delicious stuff and some wonderful drinks and frozen treats - not to mention their perfect homemade licuados and Aguas Frescas - such as the wonderful strawberry horchata that the cute sweet server girl recommended - which rocked my world. Really nice service and good prices and excellent products. Not what I expected to find in Des Moines but I'm very happy that it's here. Between this spot and Raquel's across the street with their amazing flan - and several others in this little neighbourhood - it really puts Des Moines on the map for authentic Mexican stuff. Now I have to go out and Micho girlfriend for drinks. Ciao. I mean adios. read more

Paleteria La Michoacana - It pleased my palette-a - Mexican Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

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Whew, looking for an ice cream spot and I found this hidden gem! It isn't just ice cream, but a glorious array of Mexican delights! It doesn't get any better than these yummy treats that range from spicy and savory to sweet and sugary eats. It's a dream come true! read more

Paleteria La Michoacana - a sign in the window - Mexican Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

I don't want to judge this place based on my one experience but the mangonada was very dissapointing. That being said, this review is for ONE ITEM, please do not base your decision to go here or not on my review. I ordered a medium and ended up having to discard an amount equivalent to their small size. The beauty of a mangonada is supposed to be the contrast between the sweet, icey mango sorbet and the tajín, and chamoy. Unfortunately the one I had was drenched in syrup. Also, the mangos were underripe and thus had that pine taste and overly hard in texture. Not to mention it was $6. I hope that this is an isolated incident. I would suggest ordering your mangonada without the mango pieces, seeing as they were not ripe, and ask them to limit the amount of chamoy sauce they dump on. read more

Paleteria La Michoacana - Medium size next to my discarded unripe mango and syrup. - Mexican Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

One of the best horchata's in town. Birria fries and tacos were delicious. Wings were a bit spicy and good! read more

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Rude service, got my order wrong and when I had asked to get it correct, she called me a racist remark in Spanish, I specifically ordered the nachos #3, yet the person was rushing and gave me the number 1, nacho chips with some fruits/veggies and red sauce. Will never be coming here again. Hope they fix their service, why would I know what dorrito whatever is? I wanted nachos read more

Oh my goodness! In 2011, my sister and I were sooo happy to have stumbled across this Paleteria, or Ice Cream Shop (in english). We are Los Angeles natives so mexican treats are totally nostalgic for us. Paleterias all over LA are known to make their ice creams, sorbets, and popsicles fresh and from scratch - this place is no different. As you sample the flavors, you'll easily be able to tell the quality of fresh fruit ingredients versus "fruit-like flavors" you get at the standard ice cream shops. Lets see...for any newbies looking to try something different here's a quick guide: - Raspados = Snow cone or shave ice. - Agua Fresca = Refreshing drinks made from combinations of fresh fruit and other ingredients. Horchata and Jamaica (Hibiscus) drinks are Agua Frescas, but there are farrrr more flavor options than these. Agua Fresca is my most favorite summer time drink and I love anything with pineapple, guava, and apple! - Paleta = Popsicle or Ice Cream on a stick. - Helado = Actual Ice Creams(Crema) or Sorbets (Agua). While you may encounter a bit of a language barrier, they do offer samples. If all else fails, just fall back on a mango con chile - fresh mango sorbet with swirls or sour chile sauce (chamoy, a sauce similar to the Tajin chili powders you see in the fresh fruit section at the grocery store) swirled in. It will give your mouth all kinds of happy feels! If you are a big mango and chile fan, opt for the Mangoniada - similar to a parfait, with your choice of fresh fruit sorbet, layered with freshly cut mango bits, chamoy sauce and a fresh squeeze of lime! If you see Elote on the menu, be sure to try some of that as well. Its the mexican version of corn on the cob....the mexican corn you see at the state fair doesnt even stand a chance against it. Elote = bomb.com! Live a little and try something different - you'll find yourself pleasantly surprised and a little more cultured. =) read more

Paleteria La Michoacana - Mexican Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

Nice people and good food. Got tacos, Arizona Dog and Carnitas Burrito. Lots of variety and house made ice cream and drinks. read more

Paleteria La Michoacana - Good stuff - Mexican Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

Authentic Mexico in Iowa. We stopped for a bite. Ordered a burrito for our grandson and chicken tacos for us. This place is so good. If you're in the area and want a great Mexican lunch, burritos, tacos, sopes, empanadas, chilaquiles, or tortas you will not be disappointed. read more

Paleteria La Michoacana - Inside - Mexican Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

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Worst place ever, terrible customer service. Never come back again, Plus no safety and hygiene. And overpriced. read more

Wanted something sweet after eating lunch so we stopped by here. I had no idea this place existed. They have ice cream and other hot meals (tacos, Mexican sandwiches, etc). They have different ice cream flavors such as tequila, nuez, masapan...so don't be afraid to ask to try samples! Ice cream was rich and flavorful so I'll be back if I want an ice cream fix. I'll also have to try their hot food next time too read more

Paleteria La Michoacana - Masapan and nuez and ferrero rocher in a cone - Mexican Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

Yummy! This place was amazing. I had mango con chile ice cream. I want more already. Despite not knowing much Spanish I still managed to get the kids some ice cream despite my bumbling attempts at pronunciation! They were kind and helped me with the pronunciation. My son got a scoop of fruta seca which appeared to be dried fruit in an ice cream base. Honestly reminded me of bubblegum ice cream. Daughter got oreo. Hubs got carne Assad's fries. Which almost stole the show. I will be back to get elote and pastor tacos which I dream about. read more

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Our food was amazing. Served quickly. The aguas frescas and elote en vaso are not to be missed.

Delicious! My husband got the ice cream bar and didn't really like them. I got the mango chile ice cream and it was absolutely delicious! read more

Paleteria La Michoacana - Mexican Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

Wow. Nice little gem of ice cream cream shop in what appears to be a Latino neighborhood in des Moines. The biggest banana split I have ever gotten for $7.the quality of the ice cream was good. Had to Google translate some of the flavors. They had a lot of other stuff but not enough space in my stomach to try after that split. Dunno why these guys aren't of Yelp or zomato before me. read more

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I have wanted to try a mangonada for so long and after months of waiting, I finally got to indulge in one! Paleteria La Michoacana is located in what seems like the Mexican neighborhood of Des Moines and I can't believe it took me so long to discover this neighborhood and this establishment. When I first walked in, I noticed out clean and bright the place was. The staff was really friendly and I liked that they put a lot of care into making each dessert. I ordered a small mangonada (~$2.50) and my cousin ordered some elote. This place is great because they pride themselves in making all of their ice creams, bars, and sorbets from scratch and fresh daily. You can really taste the fresh fruit that they use in the ice creams. The mangonada did not disappoint and I'm glad I ordered a small because it was more than enough to satisfy my mangonada craving. It was a nice blend of sweet, tangy, and it had a nice spice! I can't wait to come back for more and to try out some of their other sweet treats and their tacos! read more

Paleteria La Michoacana - Small Mangonada - Mexican Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

It was my first time going to this place and I received the worst customer service eveeerrrr and made me wait for ever to get my order. I was so disappointed. read more

Haven't actually had any ice cream here or paletas but we regularly have gotten food here. Sopes are the go-to order!

REAL DEAL, been to Mexico several times and Central America. This place is true to the culture and cuisine.