I won't lie, the floor is sticky everywhere and it's definitely hole in the wall vibes. But I am a proud lover of a Moscow mule and you won't find another place in DSM that has this many flavor options. I've been here when it's packed with hardly no place to stand and never had a problem, and I've also been there when we basically had the place to ourselves. The bartenders can be hit or miss, we've had really nice ones and others that seem to hate their lives. Wish they had more dart boards, but with the small space it's not feasible. The front claw machine area near the bathroom never gets used so wondering if they could expand?? Nevertheless, fun place and worth checking out if you're doing a bar crawl downtown. read more

The Copper Cup - Bathroom-- single occupancy (but big enough for your gal pals), clean, full length mirror! - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

Sydney was a very attentive bartender the amisade was warm and cozy nice TV s sport's were in every TV I didn't order food just drinks I would recommend to friends and family read more

The Copper Cup - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

This is a funky little whole in the wall in the basement of a building. It specializes in Mules, which I had the Whisky variety. We stopped in before a Thursday night dinner date so it was pretty quite. I could see it becoming very loud at night. read more

Drinks were solid and we paid around $19 for two drinks. Service was great, bartender greeted us immediately and see if we wanted anything. Very nice chill place, we especially for a Tuesday night. Overall if you just want a chill easy drink and watch at sports this is your spot. read more

The Copper Cup - Menu - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

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First time here and was surprised by their selection of fun cocktails, too many to choose from! I asked the bartender for her fave off the menu and she recommended the cocktail with Trix cereal. Such a great choice! Super fruity and delish. I ordered 2 and was def feeling it! Overall a good bar for unique cocktails. read more

The Copper Cup - Trix Cereal - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

This place is great if you're a regular. But if you come from out of town like me, go somewhere else. The bartender was rude all night. At the end of the night, she was trying to get me to leave before close. The other regulars stayed. She said "These people help me clean." Obviously she wants to stay and drink with her friends... Unprofessional read more

Great place to go for drinks or an evening or an outing. Servicesis great fast . Must give this place a try. read more

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The only bad thing about this place is that you can go in at 12 p.m. and before you know it the sun has gone down and you have just spent 10 hours of your life in a basement bar. Wouldn't have it any other way read more

Reading other reviews I expected this place to be significantly larger, but it was tiny!! Either we missed a section somewhere, or something?? When we came in off the street we went down and came to a dark area that felt like a backroom with bathrooms and broken looking video games? That's where Google sent us so I'd be interested to know if we missed another Main entrance. OK...so the size and ambiance was a bit off-putting, but the bartender was personable, the tables had penny tops (see picture) that was a really cute idea, and the mules were very good. I had the Sexy (good...not too sweet), my friend had the berry (sweet but tasty!), and our husbands had the Old Fashioned (very good). I've had a number of mules over the years and some places don't use actual copper mugs, so this place was great for that. The crowd was younger...20's-early 30's (we are in our 40's), and everyone seemed to be having a nice time. Volume was decent where the music was audible, but you could still have a conversation. Again, unless I missed a secret area other than the additional small area down the stairs, this place is small so just keep that in mind if you are a person who likes to be able to sit, or doesn't like being crowded. read more

The Copper Cup - Delicious and the cups keep it so nice and cold :) - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

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I have never had a mule before, so our local friends asked if we wanted to try one. We got four different mules; two traditional, a berry and a sexy mule. They have a huge menu full of different selections. The sexy mule was ginger beer, coconut rum, oranges, and other fruit. I was extremely pleased with the taste of it. It was refreshing and delicious. I could still taste the ginger beer which is definitely different. I tried the berry mule and it was good, but so sweet. You could only drink one or two of these for sure. The bartender was really friendly. The only complaint I have is that it is super dark. We had a hard time reading the menu at first. read more

The Copper Cup - Cheers to mules! - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

Too cute - from the name of this place to the drinks! Glad I tried The Copper Cup while in town quick. The place is quite small and in a area with plenty of places to drink but there's nothing else like this here. The drinks were a good balance of sweet & strong. The place is full of young white people so feels a little weird if ur neither but the large selection of mules makes this place worth checking out! read more

The Copper Cup - The traditional mules are sweet but strong so 2 thumbs up! - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

"Where are we going tonight?" "To the Cup!" My friends know my answer so well it's comical. It's two parts moscow mules one part 90s and all parts great. If I had my choice, my social group would start and end the night here. The Peach Mule is my favorite, but the others are great, too. The Copper Cognac and Berry Mule are what my friends will order on repeat. They use the ginger beer from CabCo, which is absolutely fantastic. Bad ginger beer means a bad Moscow Mule, so you have no worries here! Happy Hour is a great deal here ---- we've come here before going to a show at Wells Fargo before. Plus, it's usually not crowded at that time so it's laid back. The tables are covered in pennies with a varnish, so if your friends want a drunken adventure, look for a specific penny. Many times the DJ on the weekends plays 90s music, and it is awesome. Music can be a little loud for my taste but that's because it's a small, hole-in-the-wall style bar. Bartenders are swift and friendly! read more

Several friends and I went to The Copper Cup last Saturday evening. The mules were great but the main reason for the review was the bartender. She was the only visible employee in the packed basement bar. She had an amazing attitude, she talked to all the customers as they ordered as if they were the only person in the bar, she offered suggestions and followed back up on if you liked the drink. She was smiling and having fun and which set the tone for the entire bar. Even though she was the only one there, she was able to keep up with demand. Great work! read more

Never seen so many copper cups in one place. If you like the original Moscow mule than you'll love it more with different flavors! The mule my friend got me the peach mule and that's was very flavorful! I really enjoyed it. I looked over the menu and they one with coconut, berry, tea, and more. These are more on the sweeter side. I hope when I visit DSM again I can come back here! read more

Fresh off a flight from Miami to Des Moines, 92 to 52 degrees... Needed a cold beer, and they had plenty. Music was good current hip hop, had Monday night football on. Bartender John was helpful in getting me acquainted with Iowa. Yelp did not help me find this place, my travel tactics saved me this night, but I felt it deserved a review. Cold beer, warm dive bar with a modern hipster feel to it. Definitely worth stopping in for a cocktail or cold one. read more

The Copper Cup - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

A bit bigger then a hole in the wall, or in this case the basement, but not too large. Don't bring too many friends or you may over run the bar. The bar tenders were amazingly personable, which I find always makes the bar more fun to come back to. Their thing is different takes on the Moscow mule, all I have tried are good, although some are in my opinion distinctly better then others. There mules are also 16 oz which is bigger then most of the 12 oz'ers floating around town. They use cab co's ginger beer in their mules. This place is definitely worth the half flight of stairs down on your night down court ave! read more

The Copper Cup - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

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The new bartender, Lauren, is absolutely gorgeous. . She may give Shanda a run for her money as sexiest bartender in Des Moines. read more

The Copper Cup - This one!!! - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

I've been here a few times and decided to come in for my birthday and the bartender was ridiculously rude for no reason. She gave me and my friends the worst attitude and i've never experienced something like that. i recommend this place but not her. who ever worked yesterday i hope you're much nicer to everyone else because i give you 0 out of 5 stars. read more

This is a fun place to go with friends. It's super busy, small, and crowded because the mules are good and the atmosphere is great!

It is hard to truly capture or compare our experience at The Copper Cup to the consensus of other reviews. My wife and I did not go during happy hour or on a weekend evening. We our not big "partiers" or bar-hoppers. My wife does, however, love a good Moscow Mule. It is her luxury of choice. When we heard about this place, I knew this would be an ideal spot to sneak her away for a little date. When we arrived, the bar was completely empty. We went in the early afternoon on a Saturday, clearly during their lull. The bartender was still incredibly pleasant and attentive. It was so nice to catch this place before the crowds came in! Our bartender, although I'm sure he had plenty of prep to do, never faltered on making light conversation and refreshing our beverages. The customer service was immaculate! The Moscow Mule complimented the service splendidly. My wife sampled a few different varieties of their Mules, and still cannot decide which one she favored most! They were all perfectly blended, diverse in taste, but still held that distinct Moscow Mule foundation. The pricing was reasonable considering most cocktails of that caliber are pricier in the Des Moines area. It is safe to say that this place truly earned their 5-stars. Although we were not waited on by, via another Yelper's labeling, "the sexy bartender", I can attest ours was equally pleasant company. The only regret I have is that we do not live in Des Moines to frequent this place more often. We will be back! read more

Great concept backed up by unique, but more importantly, strong and great-tasting (and 16oz vs 12oz) drinks. We tried the Berry Mule and the Tea Time Mule--the former more on the sweet side, the latter less so. Both were great and would order them again if not for my wish to try more of their drinks! Went on a pretty crowded night, but the bartenders were doing a great job of serving everyone. The music was good and filled a place that's a bit bigger than you'd expect. Would definitely recommend making this a part of your night if you're hanging around Court Ave. read more

Love coming here for a night out. Their mule selection is incredible and on Monday nights you can get a mule for $5. They have just about every variety of Moscow mule available. My current favorites are the strawberry and you can never go wrong with a traditional! read more

I swear this my first review on yelp and the only reason I actually took my time to write it is me being pissed about the bartenders who don't give a damn. I came here before because I do love Moscow Mules and they used to make them good and serve them in copper cups. This time I ordered a Mule and whatever drink I got in a shaker glass tasted like a cup of sirup and soda. When I asked why I didn't get my Mule in a copper cup, two bartenders told me they were out of copper cups while there were a bunch of those hanging on the back wall - seriously? Makes me wonder where the name of the place comes from. Very disappointing. read more

The Copper Cup is such a cool place. It is located under the street which makes it a very relaxed and mysterious atmosphere. Even if you do not like mules The Copper Cup has so many flavors there is bound to be one you'll like. read more

Omg! Favorite bar downtown I love the vibes and the crowds that come in. If you are looking to sit down and drink I would recommend going earlier in the night but if crowds don't bother you it does get a little packed later in the night. Awesome mule menu, live DJ and the bartenders are extremely nice. Love coming here!!! read more

I used to love this place. My group of friends were barhopping and decided to make this our first stop because we've always had good experiences. Last night the service was terrible. The bartender was rude and kept overcharging us. I always tip when I go out, but I chose not to last night because of the level of service we were shown. Eventually we were kicked out because the bartender was upset that 1-2 of us out of our group of 10+ girls didn't tip. We were so embarrassed and disrespected. We had another group of 10 people who were on their way to join us and spend money, but after being told we had to leave by the doorman we went across the street to the Red Monk and were able to have a great time. None of us plan on coming back. read more

Sid on Sunday's is the best reason to get out of bed. Great drinks, free entertainment. Very knowledgeable on Mules and Beers. Highly recommend for lazy drinking if you're not a weekend night warrior. read more