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The Rack

4.2 (10 reviews)
ModeratePool Halls, Bars
Closed • 11:00 am - 2:00 AM (Next day)

The Rack Photos

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THE RACK ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Good for dancing
Good for groups

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Recommended Reviews - The Rack

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11 years ago

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8 years ago

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2 years ago

i play pool here a lot and play in the tournaments, well ran and a great pool hall for anyone! food is great!

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4 years ago

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7 years ago

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10 years ago

Absolutely my favorite bar. Great drinks great food, pool tables are nice and I love the dart board. Pat did an amazing job on this place.

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9 years ago

Nice pool hall. Clean, no smoke with cool pictures on the walls. Reasonable prices. Nice environment.

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11 years ago

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11 years ago

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8 years ago

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Review Highlights - The Rack

“i play pool here a lot and play in the tournaments, well ran and a great pool hall for anyone!”

Mentioned in 2 reviews

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Ricochet - Plenty of local beer options

Ricochet

4.3(26 reviews)
6.1 mi
•$

I was in downtown Des Moines for work & was looking for somewhere within walking distance of our…read morehotel to hang out w/ my colleagues. A coworker suggested this ping pong bar which also has skee-ball & other games. As a former college tennis player, I was in & had such a blast. We came in at 9pm on a Wednesday night & it wasn't too busy. We 1st got drinks & had the friendliest bar tender. We were interested in local beers & she also easily rattled off helpful descriptions of each one. I was having trouble deciding between the Mango Cart wheat ale & the Citris Surfer by Big Grove Brewery. The bar tender said that both combined was pretty good & let me try it. I didn't even know you could do that so my mind was blown when it tasted great. Who knew how fun it would be to work up a sweat & drink beer at the same time?! We had almost gone to a brewery to hang out but I'm so glad we didn't. Also note that the nearby breweries close by 10pm so this place was a great option open much later so we wouldn't feel rushed or that our evening was cut short. I hadn't played ping pong forever but the easygoing but trendy-ish atmosphere made it fun! I'd def come back when I'm here for work again.

I've been here plenty of times, and I've never had any issues, but tonight was just stupid. My…read morefriend and I came in to celebrate his birthday with 2 shots. I could already tell the bartender was irritated, but did what she needed to do anyway. I asked about darts, she said they don't work, but she'd let us play anyway (but couldn't help to mention she usually doesn't do that after 1) yet there other people there currently deep in other games. My friend and i decided to play a game of bags. then we leave. Within 10 mins I realized I had left my phone there, so I rushed back to grab it, but the doors were locked (@1:48), and refused to let me in to find my phone (yet again people still playing games and finishing drinks). I had to ask them to search but CLEARLY did not want to. Had to ask twice for a more thorough search because I was not allowed in. And was told they did not see anything. I just know if it were them they'd be pissed. The employees were just over it, and ready to go. AND MY LOCATION IS ON, showing it is there. Currently 3:47AM, I have been walking up and down the street with my laptop trying to locate by phone knowing its there hoping they'd see me looking around and run it out to me, while the bartenders and "security" were having drinks at he bar after bar close mind you. Isn't that illegal? While I was desperately searching outside the building, a coworker comes up to tell me they found it and I can come get it in the morning, because they closed (I have been searching since 1:48AM) as if they did not see me outside the door looking for it while they drank at the bar, and came before they closed. I will never be back, and will for sure push the fact that the employees give lazy, selective, and unprofessional service and hospitality. In the heart of downtown I think service should be better. And why rush to close? To drink at the bar till 3:45AM with your coworkers? And then to let no one in when technically they should be open especially when other guests are still in the building, ESPECIALLY WHEN ALL I WANTED WAS MY PHONE THAT THEY HAD, and refused to care. Dude tried to apologize (getting in his car outside richotett) cuz he knew they could have done better. But still is making me come back to get it, when he could have right then?!?! LIKE WHAT?! I work downtown too, so this kinda service baffles me!!!

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Ricochet - Table I played on.. good table that played true.. big pockets but that's ok :)

Table I played on.. good table that played true.. big pockets but that's ok :)

Ricochet - Lots and lots and lots of games!

Lots and lots and lots of games!

Ricochet - Inside - ping pong tables

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Inside - ping pong tables

Dave & Buster's Des Moines

Dave & Buster's Des Moines

3.3(27 reviews)
4.2 mi

Walked into Dave & Buster's in the middle of the afternoon on a Saturday. We wanted to grab a…read morequick bite to eat and play some games. Close parking to the front entrance can be hard to find at peak times even with the business being adjacent to Jordan Creek Mall. There's plenty of spots, but you might have to hike a little. My guess is mall guests utilize the parking right in front of Dave & Buster's too while they shop. The gentlemen at the host station said the wait for a table would be 1 1/2 hours despite there being visibly plenty of open tables... Not enough staff to cover all the sections maybe? Or maybe they were reserved...? There were seats open at the bar so we headed that direction. The full food menu is available at the bar too. Seating is mostly larger open booths, high top tables and chairs, and the seating at the bar. Our bartender/server was nice enough. We ordered the following: 1x Cheese Stick Stack - "Extra-large crispy cheese sticks topped with shredded Parmesan. Served with marinara sauce." 1x Bar Burgers & Wings Platter. Wings with honey barbecue - "Smashed burger sliders paired with Bone-In Wings with your choice of sauce or dry rub. Served with seasoned fries and celery sticks with your choice of ranch or bleu cheese." 1x Hottie burger and fries - "Two cajun-spiced smashed burger patties, topped with pickled jalapeños, pepperjack cheese, lettuce, pickles, tomato, onions, jalapeño ranch, and a fried jalapeño." 2x Fountain drinks (Coke products) 1x Dangerous Waters Island Punch - "Malibu Coconut, Blue Curaçao, pineapple, and fresh citrus mix." As nice as our bartender was I think he keyed something in wrong with the Bar Burgers & Wings Platter. The wings were forgotten. They (him and a manager) straightened it out and adjusted our bill a little. The food was all good. The stand out to both of us was the Cheese Stick Stack. This is an awesome app with an epic cheese pull! The wings were REALLY good too... After our food and drinks we spent some time playing games. Just messing around... A good mix of old or new arcade games. Skee ball, basketball games, clown ball toss, whack a mole, water gun race, coin pushes, wheels of chance, etc. The place was clean and there were staff available on the floor if you ran into any problems or had questions. A decent way to kill an afternoon. https://www.daveandbusters.com/

I was organizing a company team outing here…read more The customer service on the phone was helpful as I was struggling with the options provided on the website for our small groups. IF you are trying to put together a group of less than 10 you cant utilize their offered company team building . I was informed there would have to be exceptions made to make it work. Once we figured out what would work for us we did 3 smaller groups in the middle of the week in the middle of the day. The atmosphere is loud. Even with no one else really in there. The waitress was fantastic with my group. I explained what we were doing and order the meal and play with play cards for our group. She talked me through what she was going to do and helped make sure it worked out alright. Hang onto your D&B cards, they can be reloaded. You will have to pay a small fee to reload, but no as much if you have reactivate a new card. There are some really big games. You can win "tickets" of course. I thought the place was bigger, but the gaming area is half and the eating/bar is on the other. Circling back on the food. That was a shock. It was really good. Far better than I had thought. I got the burger and was pleasantly full. Everyone in our group of 7 enjoyed their meals. Everyone left happy and full. Again my waitress was very helpful and accommodating. I want to try this again since she said the team building is actually pretty cool. I think I have an idea so that we can meet the team minimums.

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Dave & Buster's Des Moines - Bar and dining

Bar and dining

Dave & Buster's Des Moines
Dave & Buster's Des Moines - Games

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Games

Carl's Place

Carl's Place

4.2(47 reviews)
5.2 mi
•$

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.

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Carl's Place
Carl's Place
Carl's Place

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Carney Tap

Carney Tap

4.6(8 reviews)
9.3 mi

I went in one time and the bartender remembered my name. Kevin's always quick to greet you with a…read moresmile. The female bartender who comes in after him (don't remember her name, unfortunately) is also great and makes sure you're taken care of. The place looks like it would only have Budweiser and Busch Light on tap, but they have all kinds of craft options for very reasonable prices. This month, they have a very tasty beer from Boulevard called Easy Orange for only $4/pint. You're probably looking at $2-$3 more/pint at other places around Ankeny. I'd get there by 4PM, otherwise, you're going to be sitting at a table, not the bartop.

I am pleased that this bar is here. It is a local stop and…read moreeveryone who goes here loves it. I am not a regular but we were stopping in to try something different. Small parking lot around what appears to be a house, but it's so much more. It's a dive bar. Multiple TVs had a golf tournament on but that didn't keep the conversations from being lively. Even we were greeted with smiles from the bartender. We bellied right up and made friends. She was so fun to talk to even while being worked hard with the busy crowd. We did discover that the name was changed to Careny Tap about 5 years ago, but there are still hits of the old name, and Google also had an old name on the map. We started a tab and they took a card or cash. We had a couple drinks and I loved watching the bartender work. My husband was very pleased with the beer options available. They had some beers that not a lot of places carry and I think he was so excited to find some unique ones she had to offer. We did not eat anything, but really like this place and its been here forever. I recommend.

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Carney Tap - Boulevard Easy Orange

Boulevard Easy Orange

Carney Tap
Carney Tap - My next drink is on its way! Love this place!

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My next drink is on its way! Love this place!

Shotgun Betty's - Bar

Shotgun Betty's

3.5(34 reviews)
3.7 mi
•$$

You really can't find a country bar better than Shotgun Betty's. Whenever I am in West Des Moines,…read morethis is my go to! The karaoke nights are a blast and after some liquid courage you can kick up your boots, and find yourself a flannel-clad country boy to teach you how to two-step. The drinks are strong, the music is good, and the country boys are definitely nothing to complain about. You'd be crazy to pass this place up on a warm summer night. Yee-Haw!

Overall, we had fun, but there were some MAJOR issues. Drinks were very expensive (around $7.50…read moreeach). More concerning was a "regular customer named Hunter" who followed my friends and I around throughout the night. We reported his behavior to security MULTIPLE times, explaining that he was making us uncomfortable, but he was never asked to leave. He spent the night staring at us, following us around, and continuing to walk back and forth around our table. He also approached other women in ways that made them uncomfortable. He carried a fan and used it to blow up my friend's top. We witnessed him putting the fan near another woman's skirt. Security eventually asked him to put the fan away as that "was the issue", but no further action was taken despite numerous complaints. He was reported MULTIPLE times to the servers and security, and was NEVER escorted out because "he's usually harmless." Thankfully, a group of guys stood by my friends and my side all night, making sure this creep would not approach us again. Due to this man's creepy behavior and security's failure to make sure my friends and I were safe, I would NEVER return.

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Shotgun Betty's - My kind of bar

My kind of bar

Shotgun Betty's - Great place! Nice location. Cold beer! Live music! I'll be back!

Great place! Nice location. Cold beer! Live music! I'll be back!

Shotgun Betty's

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The Rack - poolhalls - Updated November 2026

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