30 Best Cocktail Bars in Des Moines

“If anyone is looking for a bar in downtown Des Moines I always recommend this place. We have been here several times and I enjoy it every single time. I feel like I could walk around and look at the decorations and still not see everything. The owner has and opened several bars and restaurants in downtown Des Moines and every single one I've walked into I absolutely love. They all have their own theme/ vibe. He is so incredibly talented and creative. They have a great cocktail menu and we've even had dessert here. I'm a bit older so it's a little dark so I had to use my phone to look at the menu. There are a lot of different seating arrangements so it can accommodate different size parties. You could sit at the bar, tables, booths, etc. I believe they take reservations and if you plan on going I recommend you get one. It always seems very busy. Also, they used to have a speakeasy in this bar but now they are opening a larger space across the street. Which makes me a little bit sad because it was so special! It was so unique and I understand it was very small and they want to have a larger space. But that's actually why it made it really cool! I do wish them the best though! And we will have to try it out when it opens.“

“I got a chance to see Napoleon Douglas perform his “For Once In My Life” show here. Breathtakingly good! I hope to catch it every time he does it moving forward.“

“What a fun New Year’s party! Thanks for hosting a great event. We all look forward to coming back. Great drinks, fun decor, and super friendly staff. Thank you!“

“Love the location and food trucks on occasion“

“We don’t get out much with littles, so when we do we love when it isn’t a disappointment. The Contrary offered something we’ve yet to find here in Des Moines. Being from Southern California where incredible restaurants and bars are in abundance—this place was truly impressive. The cocktails were 20/10. Crafted with intention, fresh, and incredibly tasty. The details from the lighting, wallpaper, and old disposed brick made for a unique modern yet historic feel. Food was great. Music was chill. Went on a weeknight and it was a perfect place to get a drink, light bite, and enjoy good ambiance with great company.“

“Came in to do some karaoke and gotta tell ya...the staff treated me with really good hospitality, had no issues with anyone or anything. Really nice people there, I'd recommend checking this place out if you're out on the town and need something to do.“

“5 stars for atmosphere and live music. Can consistently find live music here and drinks a very reasonably priced. If you're looking for fancy go elsewhere. If youre looking for consistent service, cold drinks and music then head on in.“

“A tight knit clan rolls there, the regulars, but ever expanding I think. I didn’t feel too much an outsider, but the guy sitting next to me was there exactly for that reason, to wander and be the quiet stranger at a mid town pub. It’s quaint and an asset to the neighborhood. Thank you.“

“We had a wonderful time with our server Jorge. We were celebrating my mother being cancer free today and he helped make it such a special occasion! We tried the mimosa flight (twice) and the chai latte martini. I had a gluten free waffle, which was a little chewy but good and we split a the Farm Boy hash and subbed for extra cheese instead of gravy and it was amazing.

We had so much fun and can't wait to come back!“

“Oh my gosh!!! Sophie!!! If you see this, please know I've been meaning to write this for over 1 yr now. You're the best server- you're so so sweet, genuine, and you go out of your way to help customers.
The food here is great! Their pre-meal snack is so different than the typical bread and butter..and oh so good; it is cooked corn with these 2 amazing homemade sauces. 🤩 You wouldn't believe these creamy sauces are dairy free, if that matters to you.

I also had a delicious chicken entree a few times. Check this place out at the Farmers Market where their pupusas sell out by 11am lol.

Lastly!- the place was low key and perfect.“

“One of the most incredible meals of my life. From the minute you enter the atmosphere is amazing, brilliant service, and the food is unreal. The lobster tagliatelle is the best pasta I’ve ever had in my entire life, the halibut is spectacular, the sourdough bread is impeccable. The cheesecake is amazing with local grape jam. The attention to detail really shows through the high end glassware and decoration. Did not expect for this place to be one of my favorite restaurants of all time but it really exceeded my expectations.“

“We had our wedding reception here and our guests were blown away by the staff and the atmosphere! Such a great place and awesome staff!“

“And amazing waitresses!! Had a blast night listening to Stark Raving Madge😊“

“We just celebrated our marriage there with drinks and tacos! They had a killer beer and taco deal going on. We thought the drinks were delicious, the ambiance was perfect, and the staff and service were top-notch!! I would highly recommend, and can’t wait to head back!“

“The smashburger sliders were amazing and so was the painkiller drink! Also loved the candied yams and fried plaintans!“

“Great little place if not on patio.“

“Quesabirrias! Delicious! Never disappointed“

“Great place to celebrate with bottle service. Variety of music to keep everyone dancing. 2 for one drink on Friday and $100/bottle service. Posh place“

“We hired Nightingale to bartend our wedding reception. Can not recommend highly enough! My husband and I had a pretty specific vision for what we wanted for the bar, and from the first meeting Heather and Tovka clearly committed to learning and achieving that vision. Great communication throughout the months leading up to the day, and heard a ton of compliments from guests about the service and drinks. The bar they set up exceeded our expectations! Hire these folks right now.“

“Bears fans need to come and watch a game“

“A delightful meal for the price! We were there for the restaurant's 13th Anniversary 4 course dinner. All the food was delicious. The first course, the Soup Duo (half roasted corn, half tomato) was amazing! Portions were moderate. Servers were very pleasant and accommodating, although a bit undertrained & seemed stretched too thin. It was a Tuesday, and the restaurant was half full.“

“Ken’s is a very nice speakeasy and it’s no secret. Food was good and drinks were also really good. Being from Texas it was nice to taste some of the local beer. Sorry no pics I can’t believe it myself. Well I guess your gonna have to come see for yourself. Thank you to all the staff. We were on a company sponsored event and Ken’s knocked it out of the park. Overall a great experience.“

“Very good. We will return. Clean place also.“

“When the food is this good, the celebration gets even better 😋🔥 Celebrating my son & my new daughter-in-law’s birthdays at DZO Korean Restaurant — highly recommend! 💕🎂Seriously you can’t go wrong to coming here!“

“Picture quality 1…..food and service 10!!!! Holy moly! We don’t get our often so we bought a Groupon for Ceviche Bar! Wow!! 10/10! The food and drinks we outstanding!! We took chat GPTs recommendations and had the Ceviche to start (not your typical ceviche! More of a fish/shrimp bruschetta. I don’t even like fish…. But WOW!!! The flavors POPPED!! We are half before I remembered to take a picture) For entree we got the Cuban sandwich and the Ropa Vieja. Lord have mercy!! The flavors were CRAZY!!! Wrapped up the dessert with the Chocolate Espresso Cake
ganache tarte drizzled with chocolate, and garnished with seasonal berries
(Description copied from the website). This was good but not my favorite. It was a very hard block of chocolate. My husband liked it. I was thinking more “cake”. I had 2 mojitos (YUM!! Took me back to a Cuban restaurant in Mexico!) and hubby had a Cuba Libre! He was very happy!! Service was excellent!! Go check them out!!“

“I love sushi and I had been on many sushi places From San Francisco Ca, Guadalajara Jal and this one Blue Sushi Sake Grill in Des Moines IA and this one was special different and I loved it; Not only the food, the service was exceptional, the lady that helped me was amazing cause when she learned was my first time there she gave me edamame and the way the do it was a little different, I loved it; all the rolls were amazing but the one that I loved the most was the one with cucumber that I forgot the name, but was not all; honestly I could not finished all and she told me let me put this for you to go, OMG this beautiful lady packed my stuff really well even I got this lil plate for the soy sauce, so I really recommend this place to eat there or even to go, cause their service and the food is exceptional, and definitely if I am close I going to come again, thanks !!!!“

“We stopped at El Patron on my birthday on a ridiculously hot day and had a good time. The chips and salsa were good, especially after asking for the hot salsa, and the cheese dip was good enough that I probably could have just kept eating that and called it lunch.

Our meals were good with generous portions, but the drinks were definitely the star of this visit. They were hitting! 😂

Service was okay. Everyone was friendly, but they seemed a little distracted and we waited for attention a few times.

The restaurant itself is colorful and fun, and apparently mentioning your birthday gets you the full treatment. I got the song, giant sombrero, and a shot of some very questionable tequila. 😂 It made for a fun birthday memory!

Overall, good Mexican food and a fun atmosphere. I wouldn't make a special trip across town for it, but if we're nearby again, I'd happily stop in for chips, hot salsa, queso and a margarita.“

“You guys were right! Michelle IS GREAT! I was like are you Michelle and she’s like yes! I’m like you have so many positive reviews and she’s like omg really I had no idea! She went over exceptional, it was my and my friends first time too! Had a sampler of dips, elote, and chips! I have been drinking a lot of water and I just asked her to make it look like a fancy flavored water and it was awesome!“

“We had the pleasure of attending Splash’s Open House tonight, and wow. what a great experience!

My husband and I have been to Splash for dinner before, but we had never attended one of their open houses, so we honestly didn’t know what to expect. We were pleasantly surprised and completely blown away by the hospitality.

Hospitality sometimes feels like a dying art these days, but Splash absolutely gets it right. The service was amazing from start to finish. even down to the two wonderful people serving the wine. The food was incredible, as always, and the entire atmosphere felt welcoming and relaxed.

One of my favorite parts was being able to mingle, meet, and have conversations with other people in the community. That kind of atmosphere felt genuinely refreshing.

Overall, Splash knocked it out of the park. We will absolutely be attending future events, and, of course, continuing to dine there throughout the year. Highly recommend!“

“We were in town for swimming at the YMCA it was a great place for the adults to hangout after a day at the pool.

Emily, Rebecca and all the staff were great! I was extremely happy that they had blue cheese stuffed olives.

My drinks of choice were Filthy Martini's with Tito's, Monk's Old Fashioned and the Smoked Marrow Manhattan. I also had a local beer.“