We've been to Sunset Lounge a few times now. This place has excellent burgers. They are…read moresmash-style, fully loaded and served on a platter. Delicious! This place is an adults only establishment - meaning no children allowed. Think of it as a bar that serves food, not a restaurant that serves liquor. Leave the kids at home. They have a few televisions and a small patio out front when the weather is nice. You can sit at the bar or one of the high tables. You get table service. All in all, a nice place to grad a bite!

We stopped in on a beautiful Tuesday night. The patio was mostly full but we found one free table…read moreand took a seat. The waitress was there quickly to take our drink orders and gave us menus. We were initially curious how loud the street would be but were pleasantly surprised it wasn't loud. There was music playing at a good volume too. I could not decide what I wanted to order so I asked the waitress to choose for me. She thought that was a fun option and said she'd definitely go with the Sunset Smash and Fries. The only change I made was no pickles. My friend wanted as many pickles as they'd give her so we got mine on the side for her to have. Wow, was that Sunset Smash burger and fries good! The burger was juicy, tender, flavorful, honestly just delicious! The fries were thick with just the right amount of crisp and salt. Our waitress continued to appropriately check in on us as we ate and chatted. The only thing I'd love to be different is for our kids to be able to come. It's minors only and I know we'd all love the food there. Definitely coming back!

A great bar. Very low key. Low lighting. Low noise. Good job blocking out background noise and…read morenearby table noise as well. Drinks were on point and perfectly crafted. They also looked good. The staff were friendly & attentive. Would recommend.

Beautiful space, attentive and expert bartender, appropriate and interesting playlist, curated and…read moreinteresting drink menu - YAY!! It's telling when the other bartenders in town all agree that they love the same place - and this is that place in Des Moines. The craft cocktails are exquisitely made and the menu is organized for success, grouping drinks by their primary liquor.

My spouse and I overnighted at The Savery Hotel on a Friday night. After dinner (elsewhere in DSM),…read moreand upon our return to the hotel, I wanted dessert. I took at look at the menu in our hotel room and the chocolate torte sounded yummy. We got on the elevator and headed back down to the Coda Lounge. It wasn't too busy when we arrived; another couple and two families having drinks and dinner, someone at the bar. We were promptly greeted by Deborah. She was awesome! I didn't ask her, but it seemed like she's been doing this for a while. Very experienced and had an ease about her that made me think it wasn't her first rodeo. I ordered the Blood Orange gimlet and my husband ordered one of the beers on tap. An aside: being from Iowa City, I liked seeing their use of Cedar Ridge liquors in a number of their mixed drinks. We ordered the almond lemon cake and the flourless chocolate torte. Both delicious, but we agreed that the lemon was our favorite. Since the lounge wasn't terribly busy we hung out a while. They had table top bags boards set-up, so we spent a little while playing. A very chill place to unwind if you're staying in the hotel (or not). Very friendly staff and the prices were reasonable. You're sure to experience 'Iowa nice' here. Recommend.

Amazing service! Great conversation w healthy food…read moreselections Did I forget to mention Licor43 key lime Martini made by Kim

This hole-in-the-wall bar is a great spot for a few drinks with a date or small group. I've been…read morecoming here for Wednesday night martini specials for years. Martinis don't disappoint in my opinion. Not all are equal, but they do have some good tasting ones. I personally like the dirty and gimlet martinis the most. But their more fruity ones are good as well. Atmosphere is great. Walls are decked with local art, which I believe is also for sale. Good music plays throughout and not too loud where you can't have a conversation. Service is always friendly and helpful. Overall, it's one of my favorite spots downtown. Highly recommended.

I really enjoyed the vibe here and the cocktails are good and reasonably priced. I had a Manhattan,…read more$10. The dimly lit room, local art and music are fun. Of course, the actual "lift" is the centerpiece. Definitely a great spot in a great city.

New speakeasy below hotel fort Des Moines. Went here on a Friday night around 9pm. You are led…read moredownstairs where the bar is. The decor was super nice and certainly have a speakeasy vibe. Most of the seating here seemed to be targeted towards large groups so there wasn't a ton of option for a party of 2. We did not have a reservation so there was only 1 high top area that was honestly super uncomfortable. I would recommend making a reservation if you want a chance to sit at one of the lower chair areas. The biggest issue was the service. It took over 20 minutes for anyone to come over and take our drink order. This is a newer spot so I'm hopeful things can improve. It was super loud and not the most inviting space. Some of the seating was a bit awkward with spacing. The drinks were small but I would expect that for a higher end cocktail. For DSM, I did think some of the drinks seemed a bit expensive. The drinks were okay but seemed pretty weak where they were super juice heavy. Overall I would probably not come back unless I had friends who haven't been and wanted to try it. Super bummed as I do think there is potential here but need to work through some of these issues.

This speakeasy bar is located inside the hotel fort in downtown Des Moines, Iowa. To get there,…read moreyou will enter the coffee bar, once you walk around the bar, you'll see a velvet rope. Somebody will ask you how many people in your party and then open the wall pantry. This will lead to the stair that goes downstairs to the basement. Bar lighting is dim, intimate feel. There's bar seating, high tops, tables that accommodate large parties and VIP room that has a curtain for privacy. We ordered cocktails that were unique crafted. Bathroom is available, hallway of pictures of people dressed in the 1920s all over the wall. We enjoyed this speakeasy bar and will definitely come back with more people.

Our first experience here was 2 years ago during the St. Pattys day crawl - we had the best…read moreespresso martinis we've ever had in our entire lives. This year, there was about 18 of us bar crawling and when we arrived we were told there were no espresso martinis. We then watched them restock and prep for more espresso martinis - we were not among the lucky few to receive them and it didn't matter how long we waited in line. It was truly frustrating and we would've waited a long period to receive those drinks. The entire purpose of our visit and the highlight of our evening would've been ending the night with espresso martinis. Unfortunately, this was not the case.

Daylen was a joy. someone you want to walk in and have greet you. Smile, humor, and total…read morefriendliness amazing. I will definitely go back.

Idk about the food but the atmosphere is pretty much what DNB should be. I only played pool but…read morethe tables were good quality for a games place and the cues were decent. 3 Olhausen 7 footers and one 9 footer. Pockets are big but that just made me feel better about my game.. haha. Service was excellent - everyone was super friendly and attentive. Drink selection was not bad - there is a full on big bar. I definitely enjoyed my time and would come back when in town, for sure.

This is a really cool spot with lots of fun activities, darts, bumper pool, pool, ping pong, jenga…read moreetc. They have a good selection of booze as expected and nice indoor/outdoor space to hang out and the vibe is very fun and upbeat.

I've been going to other bars in the area for a few years, but last night was my first time at…read moreVoodoo. We got there around 10:30, and the bar was about half full. My friends and I really enjoyed the music the DJ was playing. Mostly remixes of 90s jams - Barbie Girl, Backstreet Boys, etc - and current music too. By midnight that dance floor was comfortably crowded. I love that this place is smaller and bit of a hidden gem. There's enough people to have a good time, but not so many people that it's claustrophobic. Definitely recommend checking it out!

Security very rude and unprofessional, and dare I say racially biased. My girlfriend and I had…read moredecided to go to Voodoo for a night out and it was fairly packed. A certain couple, specifically a white man, was pushing my girlfriend and eventually grinding on her. The security guard was directly in front of the scene, and when I attempted to push the man off of my girlfriend (we are a couple of color) the security guard threatened to kick me out for pushing him disregarding the blatant sexual harassment. Note, we were directly in front of the security guard. Not worth the $15 cover charge and probably will not go again. There is no reason to have "security" in your establishment if they can't even protect the customers.

This place hasn't changed. Great "dive" bar. The drinks are reasonably priced. They beers were…read morecold. They have live music. The great part was we were here on a Friday and the music started at 5. The music wasn't too loud. We could still talk. They also had a TV with football on. We enjoyed a few hours here before our movie

The great atmosphere and top-notch bands make this a stellar dive bar! The very reasonable drink…read moreprices make up for the mostly surly bartenders. You just have to learn to ignore their attitudes and enjoy the music and the vibes! Ha ha!

Incredible little low-key spot. It's grungy, it's cool, you meet creative and interesting people…read morethere. Everyone is very friendly, and it's a great vibe. We just moved back here and my coworker recommended it. We've now been twice and loved it both times. There's absolutely nothing like in Des Moines-- It feels like New York underground, but Des Moines, down to earth, easy parking and SO welcoming. Also, bartenders are super nice. The girl bartender servicing us even said she would make us a custom cocktail, based on what we were in the mood for. My husband told her what he was craving and she made him exactly that. Might I add...with little information on his part. (He's not the biggest talker hehe!). He said it was his favorite drink he's ever had. Tonight was a little more chill, but the first time everyone was dancing and it was just as fun both times. This is our favorite new little spot and we will definitely be back!!

Didn't have any food here but did have a few drinks. No complaints…read more We kind of accidentally went here on our way to Ceviche. I'll definitely be back. Really enjoyed the vibe.