4.8* (out of 5) Food: 4* Atmosphere: 5* Value: 5* Service: 5* Would I go back / Recommend?: 5* (Definitely) Total check/person: $40 05/08/2026 Our primary reason for stopping by tonight was to update information at www.happyhourdesmoines.com. We ended up quite impressed with the value and our server, Kelbe was fantastic - offering great suggestions off of the Happy Hour menu! Overall, this is a top-tier venue for your next Happy Hour trip (especially once they get the rooftop opened)! To share as much as we could about their Happy Hour, we sampled as many food dishes as we could comfortably eat, with all of them being solid options that we would order again. We started with a Margarita (see picture) and a Raspberry Mule (see picture) and while both were very good, it is hard to beat the value for the Margarita. For our food options, we tried all of the following shown in order of my preference (see pictures for each): Shrimp Street Tacos, Carne Asada Street Tacos, Wings (Tropical Habanero sauce), Lettuce Wraps and Buffalo Rangoons. A few comments to understand the priority order: I love street tacos, the wings were good but could have used a bit more sauce, the lettuce wraps were very good - but oh, so messy with the rice and just a bed of lettuce rather than a wrap and the rangoons were good, but a bit too overbrowned. If you found this review helpful, please show your appreciation with a Like or a Follow. read more

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First, shame on me for not looking at the menu more closely, but I ordered a flatbread pizza ($12.99) and added pepperoni and banana peppers, not realizing that each topping is an additional $3 each (outrageous!). I thought a generic flatbread pizza included up to 2 toppings. However, on closer inspection of the menu, adding toppings is more expensive than ordering a specialty pizza as a flatbread. Unbelievable! I was given a flatbread pizza that was as thin as a tortilla and had burnt corners along with 10 pieces of pepperoni and 8 banana peppers. I could've made my own flatbread pizza at home for a fraction of the cost, and it would've been way better quality. I still can't believe I had to pay $21 for this poor quality food. Even the waitress agreed it was ridiculous to be charged that much for this pizza. I will never eat here again. Expensive and poor quality - it's not worth your time. read more

Wellman's Pub and Rooftop - Flatbread Pizza - Pubs Near Me - West Des Moines, Iowa

Very spacious with plenty of TVs and a nice outdoor patio as well. Loved the atmosphere and service. The food was nothing crazy but it did the job. read more

Wellman's Pub and Rooftop - View from our table - Pubs Near Me - West Des Moines, Iowa

My husband and I ate here after a hard morning moving and we arrive and nobody is at the greeting desk to be seated. It's about 5 minutes into getting seated and just browsing the menu which is okay. It was my husbands first time eating there so he didn't know the menu like I did. We get our appetizer and it's cold...... buffalo ragoons shouldn't be cold... we start to hear complaints all around the room. People beside us waiting on drinks. Table across from us haven't been talked to since they were seated and weren't even given water..... 15min later our waitress finally comes back to us and takes our order my husband gets the Woodbury medium rare and I get the child club.... My husband asks for another beer as well since we had able to finish the first with his appetizer since everything was taking so long..... we watch the waitress take orders and not go fill them but bounce around talking to her fellow workers at the bar or standing in the corner. Food comes and it's cold, the burger is WELL done and my chicken club is so dry it could be considered jerky. And no ranch on the side that I asked for at both her taking the order and dropping it off. I watch her go to other tables taking orders for drinks that don't end up going to the tables till 15 minutes into later. Oh btw my husband NEVER got his second beer so he literally had NOTHING to drink with his meal. And I sat there staring at the waitress for a good 15 minutes into later waiting for my ranch bc something needed to go on the chicken jerky sandwich to make it edible. At the end of the entire jailhouse lockdown meal. I didn't tip. There was no way. If I knew I needed to be my own waitress I would have chose another place to eat. My husband was so disappointed and asks we never go back. I'd give 0 stars if I could read more

Best Burger I've had. Been twice and everyone loved the food. Only complaint it's a very loud environment.

We were staying at the Element hotel next to Wellmans and Cecilia recommended we try it. The drinks were spot on and tasted perfect! Food was good and the sides were great. Nora made the experience AWESOME! Go Hawkeyes! read more

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Cool place. Good service. Small portions for everything. Spin dip was less than a cup.. Also very loud. Hard to have a conversation.

Be sure to ask for an itemized receipt BEFORE you pay because they don't disclose that they have a 4% ESF charge on your entire bill, and our waitress deceitfully added charges for ranch dressing that neither of our party asked for. We were not aware of either of these until after we paid and got a printed receipt. I did ask for the $1 ranch charge to be returned (got cash back) after questioning our server as it was just wrong to add things to a bill that wasn't requested. Food was mediocre and overcooked. read more

Wellman's Pub and Rooftop - Pubs Near Me - West Des Moines, Iowa

Everything about this this place sucks besides the building. The set up is nice but the service is terrible, the bouncers take their job way too seriously, not sure about the food didn't care to spend anymore time or money at this place. read more

Rooftop is nice and the seating is comfortable. It was chilly out and the heat lamps weren't on, which would've been nice. It was dark, not much lighting besides around the bar. Also the cocktails were subpar. This place was close to the hotel so decided to give it a try. I should've just gone with a beer because you can't mess that up. Can't say much about the service because the only time I interacted with the bartender was the one time I got a beverage. If you do want to get a beer though, you have to get it from the downstairs bar if you're wanting to be on the rooftop because they only do cocktails on the rooftop. read more

4th of July well spent with good friends, food and drinks. WellMan's has two locations one in west des moine ( Nicer one we went too) and one on ingersoll I believe which is downtown. The restaurant itself is very nice the patio is beautiful, rooftop is nice as well as the indoor dining area. The drinks were pretty good. I had the fruit smash, it was different but more on the juice side. I also got the nachos which I don't recommend. We got two pizzas the margarita and the buffalo chicken they were good. Overall it was a good experience. Only downfall was the drinks not being that great and the fact on the rooftop no food was allowed. They have a private parking. Our server was super sweet and very attentive. We spent about 145.00 on four drinks two pizza nachos and a sandwich. Not a bad deal at all. read more

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Music way too loud!! Feel like we are in a nightclub instead of a sports bar. The music is so loud our booth is vibrating and we cannot have a conversation with our friends at the same table. We asked the waitress if the music could be turned down a little and the response was it will get you pumped up for your drive home. Last visit here!! read more

Not friendly to plan to visit. Noone answers phone, no reservation option. Service us spotty, have had good, but have also had horrible servers that made day painful. read more

This place is happening!! I would always drive by and say "wow, they look busy! I need to stop by". So I made it a point to stop by and boy I am glad that I did! This place is the JAM! The staff is very friendly and they are very welcoming. I had a cheeseburger with sweet potato fries . The burger was a good size and it was juicy. The fries were really good as well and not over cooked or dry. I sat at the bar and the staff quickly greeted me quickly. Kyra was very helpful and very friendly. I will definitely will be back to socialized as this place is where is at! See ya next time! read more

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Chill, college town like spot. Show your ID upon entering. Came on a Saturday evening to the rooftop. Limited chairs/tables on the rooftop. Rooftop was a lot very dark. No lights except a string of "Christmas" type of lights around the perimeter. There was an actual DJ spinning top music, all genres. That was nice. Bartenders were a little busy but very friendly and helpful. Got our orders out and provided the "energy" for a late night. Def. quite a few drunken persons. Downstairs was plenty of TV's and tables and another bar area. Parking is available all around the establishment. Kitchen closed at 930PM. BOOOOOO! read more

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Wellman's is a hard one to rate. Depending on who's asking me will change on whether or not I would recommend them. It's a really nice and well set up sports bar and restaurant. TVs everywhere with every sport on you can think of. Also one of the nicest roof top bars in WDM. We've had great drinks and bar type experience, but for dine in meals it's a little hit and miss depending on who your server is it seems. We've tried them for their brunch, lunch, and dinner. Dinner staff seem more trained and really good at what they do. Brunch staff not so much. Food is good, and the portions are so big. Most of their dishes can be shared. Pricing is a little more than some other places but it accounts for the bigger portion sizes I'm sure. Their events and entertainment is always fun and that's why we keep coming back. Have fun if you're going to try them out, but note it's not a place for everyone. read more

DO NOT GO to location unless you're getting a canned drink on the rooftop only or drink on outside patio. 1. Staff is NOT knowledgeable about menu. Gluten free options marked on menu however staff unable to describe options. 2. Staff is NOT knowledgeable about drinks available. We were served 2 incorrect drinks by staff. Bartender was unkind and not helpful when we were asking about what was on tap. 3. Location is STEAMING HOT inside. In addition, We walked in and they asked if we wanted inside or out. We proceeded to ask about upstairs. They stated yes go ahead. There was no explanation that their food upstairs was served on plastic and there was nothing on tap served upstairs. When we got upstairs we were not addressed and the waitress finally came and explained the upstairs rules. We went to then sit downstairs. This was no problem but just another thing staff did not communicate. Clearly issues with hiring process or overall management. read more

Avoid at all costs! Encountered the most arrogant host charging a cover starting at 7:15pm for blackout Wednesday when there were only 10 people in the place. We arrived at 7:10 LOL. Then sat down for dinner and waited 20 mins for a server to show up. Ordered wings and several burgers - all showed up cold. This place is a joke read more

Worst Margarita I ever had and we didn't stay to try the food. You have got to get the drinks right. It's just not difficult.

Went to Wellman's on Valentine's day with my boyfriend, we were able to get seated within less than five minutes of entering the pub. The atmosphere definitely gave off the air of a sports bar and pub mixed together, there were some booths as well as bar/high top tables scattered throughout. We were also attended to by our server within 5 minutes of sitting down even with the pub being about half capacity. For our drinks we ordered a moscow mule and espolon tequila both were decent however we both agreed that the price was not worth the quality or quantity of the drinks. For the appetizer we ordered the jalapeno popper rangoons, the rangoons had a great flavor reminiscent of jalapeno poppers without much of a spicy kick but the fried wonton wrapper was far too hard and cut the gums, but it was one of the highlights of our meal. Now for the entrees, I had ordered the white cheddar mac and cheese and my boyfriend had ordered the Chicken Tortilla soup as well as the Surf and Turf bowl, none of these items were notably bad but they weren't notably good either. The steak in the surf and turf was cooked to welldone and the shrimp was overcooked, likely prior frozen as for the chicken tortilla soup it tasted similar to a buffalo chicken blend without the spice. The mac and cheese seemed to be made of some sort of white craft cheese and spiral noodles, the portion was enough to fill my stomach and have some room leftover for dessert. The last item we ordered was the skillet cookie, as skillet cookies are a favorite of mine I was disappointed with this, the cookie was slightly burnt and the portion was too small to even be considered worth the price, not to mention it being doused in at least 3 tablespoons of chocolate sauce. Overall the quality and quantity of food and drinks were consistently overpriced however the servers and atmosphere were enjoyable. Of note, the ESF charge is definitely something that will stop me from going back. read more

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The service was great, as always! For food, I enjoy the wellmans chicken chip salad. It's refreshing and delightful.

This place was an absolute madhouse and we felt like we were on a college campus. We just wanted a quick lunch with some TV's to watch March Madness. The younger kids treated it like a college bar and were just all standing around the dining room and being extremely loud. The staff was very friendly but you could tell how annoyed they were with the crowds. It was hard for people to even walk through the tables. They were so slammed that we never got a refill. She checked in once after the food came and then brought the check. Our food arrived very quickly which surprised us because it was cold and nothing special. The fries were some of the saltiest I've ever had. The bun looked tasty but it was below average. read more

Wellman's Pub and Rooftop - Pub burger - Pubs Near Me - West Des Moines, Iowa

This is honestly the worst food I have ever had at a restaurant and we eat out a lot. We go here to watch games and in the past few years the food has been ok for watching sports at least. The tv screens are great. My husband and I ate here twice in the last month once for the iowa game and last to enjoy the patio tonight and honestly, it was the worst pizza I've ever had in my entire life. I love pizza and I couldn't even choke down one piece. The service was slow. My husbands nachos were soggy as heck and there were dogs running around the patio with no leashes. There was lots of trash floating in the pond. Then the waitress forgot my sons to go order. Very disappointing read more

Interesting dinner on Memorial Day.. We had the sweetest server who was very helpful! Patio bartender made our family dinner interesting... she got on the bar had a guy take a drink then threw a cup of water at him and smacked him.. then started to yell at a tables to have the guys come to the bar and "get it hurricane style". We were 1 of 3 tables and eating with our young daughter.. read more

Visiting out of town, apparently they allow 18 year olds to bartend. Hmmmm? They need more bartenders, who are of age and know how to count and give correct change. I had to tell the bartender three times the math was off and had to ask for the itemize receipt to help them understand. This place needs some leadership and a visit from PSD. read more

Look... the food is good though a little overpriced. The problem is that they advertise themselves as a sports bar and that is why we go there. This evening I went with my son to eat and watch an NBA game that is not on locally. We had a good dinner but then when we asked if they could turn the game on one of the TV's. 10 minutes later we were told that they don't get that game. The waitress said they don't get all the games. What kind of sports bar doesn't have NBA League Pass. Either you are a sports bar or you are not. read more

On a roadtrip to Texas and decided to stop in for dinner. This was the biggest mistake of the trip so far. Service was so bad. Server just left us several times. They also rang in our order wrong which is it's own problem. There was no friendliness or warmth in the service. When one thinks of the word "pub" there's an atmosphere you imagine with it. Take that idea and toss it out the window. It's a gym sized bar that just so happens to serve food. It was extremely busy, loud, and even in such a huge location it felt over crowded. Do not plan on having a dinner conversation with your table mates. Food is standard American fare and was mostly decent which is why I gave it 2 stars instead of 1. I can't even make the standard American threat of "they've lost my business!" because as mentioned I'm on a road trip. The chances of me coming back had it been astounding would have been low based on location. read more

Let's start with the ambiance. It was hot as balls in there and this is coming from someone who freezes to death all the time. The waitress was attentive and the mixed drink from the bar were good but needed more ice. I ordered the chicken bacon ranch sandwich. The chicken had a good flavor and the toppings were plentiful. My sister had the Italian beef which was pretty bland. The meat had absolutely no flavor and it was pretty dry overall since it didn't come with au jus on the side. The seating also sucks. It's 90% high tops tables and booths. If you have bad knees or hips, it's not an ideal situation. read more

Clean, cool atmosphere, with live music. The chicken fingers, jalapeño cheese curds, and French fries were really good, in particular. There was lots of seating and lots of TVs for sporting events. Pretty nice place to catch a game and hang out with friends. Of note, the kitchen closed at 10pm even though they were open until 2am, so maybe call ahead if you are going to be ordering food late. read more

Wellman's is now adding an additional 4% to all bills including if you pay with cash. This is totally unaccepable. We ordered the pizza which was cold when it arrived and the crust was so tough we had to use a knife to cut it. Be sure and ask for an itemized bill as we were charged regular price for a happy hour appetizer. Considering all this Wellman's is no longer a good place for dining. read more

Mediocre food with horrible service. Sunday mid-afternoon, not busy. Once food was brought to the table our server never came back to check on anything. Had to flag her down to ask for a refill, and she didn't check if anyone else at the table needed a refill - just disappeared and eventually came back with my refill but didn't acknowledge anyone else's empty glass. The classic club sandwich was greasy and soggy. Had to go to the bar and ask for someone to get our check. Server comes back with an electronic payment device with it already set to the total so there was no way to see what we were actually being charged, and she held it and watched while we were supposed to select her tip and rate her service. Only after requesting a paper copy of my receipt did I find out that they charge a 4% ESF (environmental stewardship fee) that is not disclosed on the menu. Never coming back. read more

In town for business and friends said this was a great place. Well atmosphere is good and service was good but thats where it ends. Ordered wings and chkn strips and they came out in literally 3 mins. Chkn strips dry and over fried, wings were ok but not juicy. Ordered the wellmans chopped chicken salad and chin was over cooked and dry. Who ever is in the back cooking needs lessons on how to cook chicken! Also the old fashion was just eh. Not much liquor. Came back to the marriott bar and they made an excellent old fashion. Anyway if you want a beer then wellmans is fine but if you want good food go somewhere else. Just my 2 cents on first time going. read more

In town for work. I have only been here once and it was good but nothing stood out that made me want to go back. I went there originally to sit outside on the rooftop top deck but it is set up with patio sets, which is great if you're with a group. read more

Drinks were good but the food was ok. I had the salmon club and it was undercooked in some parts. It was good, just wished it was a consistent sandwich. My group and I also had the lettuce wraps and weren't the biggest fans of it. We had wished we had gotten more lettuce as the lettuce we got could not support the mass amount of filling provided. read more

Cell Phones need put away. We visit town every couple weeks. Last time we didn't even get greeted by the hostess because she was face down in her cell phone. So we went to the bar. The food is great so is the atmosphere. But customer service could really help these waiter and waitress benefit in better tips and service. read more

Worst restaurant- bar experience I've had. Came 9:30 to eat and have a drink or two. Not a large group just wife and I. Sat outside for 15 minutes and one helped us. Plenty of wait staff, some came outside to help others but no asked if we needed anything. Ironically wife and I are in our 50's, most other patrons night we went, July 19th, where much younger. Ended up going inside to order. After getting own drink, had to go back to bar to order food. Food finally came, but no one checked on us whole time there. I could go on but won't help get good service to bar. If I could give a 0, I would.​ read more

We went to the restaurant after an Iowa football game. There was plenty of space for us to be seated quickly. Service was timely. I had asked to watch a specific game on TV three times and it never got switched over, which was frustrating. The food was good, but pricey for the portion size depending on what you get. The drinks are good and are mixed well. read more

Nice spot to watch whatever game with plenty of tvs and nice outdoor rooftop. I have always been happy with the service and food.

While I had a great first experience with good tasting food and speedy service, I'm pretty blown away by how careless some of the daytime/weekday staff are. I was seated at a table and waited probably 5 minutes before the server came to get my drink order. At this point, I wasn't given a menu, and the QR code menu was not working. I told the server that I didn't have a menu. She left to get my drink, which took another 5 minutes. This time, she asked if I was ready to order. Again, I didn't have a menu. She referred me to the QR code -- which, again, wasn't working. Unapologetically, she finally left to get a physical menu. In all, it had been about 25 minutes from sitting down to getting my food. This is pretty unreasonable considering I was one of maybe two other tables that were seated during this lunch hour. Finally, my food came. Tasted fine at first, and then I found a long, stringy, black HAIR stuck right in the middle of the sandwich. The server was at first oblivious to the problem, and was mostly apathetic to the entire situation. Between taking her time communicating to me after sitting down, getting my drink, and getting me a menu, she had an absurdly careless approach to everything. The food here seems like it's good, and the dinner and weekend staff might be more competent, but weekday service was pretty horrendous. read more

Wellman's Pub and Rooftop - Cajun Tuna Sandwich w/ extra hair - Pubs Near Me - West Des Moines, Iowa

We visited Wellman's twice in the matter of two days. The first time was for drinks on the rooftop. I have no complaints, the drinks went down well and the DJ music gave it a nightclub vibe. I loved the open air of the rooftop, a great summertime spot to come after dinner for drinks. We left before 10pm though, so I am not sure if it becomes more of a party or not. The second night, we ordered dinner to go, and this didn't go as well as drinks. Ordering to go was a breeze, but I'm the type of person that believes to go food just doesn't taste the same. I ordered the Cranberry Salmon Salad with a side of Sweet Potato Fries - unfortunately, the salmon on my salad wasn't edible. It was terribly overcooked. And the fries weren't cooked enough, they were too soft almost doughy. My friends that also ordered seemed to be alright with their meals, they ordered burgers. I suppose when you order from a bar, don't try to go the healthier route. Lesson learned. We also ordered the pretzels which I will say were cooked about right, but didn't necessarily taste any better than a pretzel from Annie's at the mall. I'm sure I'll give Wellman's another try in the future, I have family that brings me to West Des Moines a fair amount throughout the year. They have quite an extensive menu, so I can anticipate trying something different in the future. It appears they have a good mix of offerings salads to wraps, mac n cheese, burgers, sandwiches and pizza. read more