A fantastic little place with excellent decor, bright & vibrant colors, delicious food (most of which is made from scratch) and tasty coffee drinks! This is a morning to early afternoon location, so you have to get there in the 1st part of the day to experience it!!! Well worth it, and reasonably priced !!! Definitely would recommend the yucca fries, Churrasco sandwich, any of the sandwiches really, pancakes, and hazelnut latte!!! Did I mention the food was absolutely delicious ?!?!?! Yeah, it's that good!Parking: The parking is an off street parking lot shared by a number of businesses so the spots to accommodate customer parking isn't in mass abundance, but an acceptable amount for a small business like this.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Danielle S.
First time at this Panka location, I do love the original Panka Peruvian food, so I had high hopes, but I will say I will come back and try again. The location is super cute it's small but has tons of charm. I did a pick-up order to-go, the Waggu burger with fries, the price point was great, food came out nice and hot. The burger itself was picture perfect, but lack in flavor, like no taste to the actual waggu meat, no seasoning is the reason for my 3 star, it was a great size it looked like it was going to be amazing good but fell short. The fries were good and well-seasoned. I would like to come back and try a Rotisserie chicken meal when it's back in stock
Djuna H.
Hopefully things have improved since they opened. The lack of reviews makes me feel that others are holding their tongues. We ordered a 1/2 chicken and the yucca fries and beans to go. It took over 45 minutes from walking in and ordering the takeout "rotisserie" chicken to be ready. Isn't a rotisserie chicken all cooked and ready to go? We got home and the chicken was still pumping bright red blood out of a vein, the beans tasted like canned Heinz, and there were no sauces of any kind. We had hoped to try their original restaurant on Ingersoll, but frankly, no thanks.
Heidi Janecke
Loved my curasco sandwich and yucca!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Eric Zizneroz
Enjoyed coming here. I only ordered the Cuban Sandwich but I will be back to try more from the menu.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Drew Williams
Very good food had chicken crossiant ! Pretty cute location
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Croissant
Carlos Chacón
Cozy place for this season, amazing flavors on every option. This is a must in Des Moines.Parking: Plenty of space in the back side of the restaurantKid-friendliness: Baby seats available. Family groups are welcome, you can arrange the tables.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: All the Sandwiches
Jessica R.
Third times the charm! We've tried twice before to taste their rotisserie chicken and it's been sold out each time. Finally got in when they had one available. We got a whole chicken, house "side salad", coleslaw and an array of sauces. The short version is this chicken shredded into the house "side salad" is a whole meal, and it's absolutely worth it. This is one of the best (and freshest) house salads I've had. So fresh - and her homemade dressing is the cats meow! Coleslaw was great, a little vinegary but also a touch creamy. The perfect blend making a fantastic coleslaw, and also awesome with the chicken. The chicken itself was great, made in a charcoal rotisserie chicken oven she went back to Peru to secure, because ovens here are not charcoal. Her wall art was also something she brought back from Peru, and she shares a great history behind the neon graffiti art covering her walls. Ask her, she was so willing to share the history But the icing on the cake were her sauces. I think I got them labeled right in the picture, but I'm going off memory of what she told me. ROCOTO: made with peppers and a hint of spicy. We loooved this one. HUANCAINA: I didn't like this one near as much as the one above, but it was still good. AJI VERDE: delicious but I'm still in love with the rocoto. It's "green salsa-ish" and very tasty. SALAD DRESSING: it's delicious, that's all I can say. No sugar, just tons of simple but delicious flavor. I took the remaining chicken home and boiled it down for a chicken stock. Totally worth it!
Jersey W.
Food was amazing, the woman who took the order was patient while we figured out what to order and nice enough to explain what things were to us. The seating was comfortable and decorations were awesome! Definitely will be coming back to try more items. But will always order the empanada just because of the dough!
Ryan Russell
Phenomenal!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: All the Sandwiches, Chicken Croissant
4.25* (out of 5) Food: 4* Atmosphere: 4* Value: 5* Service: 4* Value oriented quick service (order at the counter) format restaurant with tasty sandwiches and desserts tailored to college students and near the Drake campus. 10/18/2023 I'm happy to report that the owner reached out to me after the earlier post and offered a replacement dessert on a future visit to show how good the desserts really are - and I can tell you that both the Suspiro A La Limena (see picture) and the Peruvian Chocolate Cake (see picture) were absolutely delicious! The best way I can describe the Suspiro A La Limena is a creamy, cinnamony, citrus pudding topped with whipped cream - thin enough that it was tough to heap on your spoon and get to your mouth, but oh, so tasty! But I digress when thinking about great desserts. I also ordered a new sandwich while I was there - the Triple Clasico (see picture) and thought that it too was very good. Three layers of fresh, quality bread with layers of avocado and hard boiled egg slices along with diced tomatoes. I'm satisfied that the faulty cooler compressor was the fault of the earlier dessert issue and it is now fixed. Given the quality and taste of all of the foods and the corrective actions taken by the owner, I'm happy to give Panka my recommendation for great sandwiches and desserts. If you are in the area, give it a try - and tell them The Food and Drink Guy sent you!
Turker Nessa Kucuk
We ordered the Peruano and Chicken Croissant sandwiches which were excellent. Peruano had a bit spice, good amount of meat and was quite satisfactory. Chicken croissant had excellent texture with celery and walnut. We will come back and bring our friends. A gem in the Drake neighborhood.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
OldBarn Shop
Not open during the posted hours... Weird.... They can't even make it to their own restaurant to open on time. It's too bad being that I live so close and spent alot of money here. I'll take my money elsewhere.
Ryan Kent
Fun casual spot with really killer whole chicken. I would recommend the dark over the white - the dark meat was really moist, while the white was flavorful, but dry. Best fried yucca I’ve ever had. We’ll be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Ritwik B.
Peruvian chicken! With all the perfect spices in the brine and tenderness in every piece. And with all the classic sauces you'll find in Peru. Pretty simple place, and yet it feels like a comfortable dinner. Decent selection of wine, too.
A fantastic little place with excellent decor, bright & vibrant colors, delicious food (most of which is made from scratch) and tasty coffee drinks! This is a morning to early afternoon location, so you have to get there in the 1st part of the day to experience it!!! Well worth it, and reasonably priced !!! Definitely would recommend the yucca fries, Churrasco sandwich, any of the sandwiches really, pancakes, and hazelnut latte!!! Did I mention the food was absolutely delicious ?!?!?! Yeah, it's that good!Parking: The parking is an off street parking lot shared by a number of businesses so the spots to accommodate customer parking isn't in mass abundance, but an acceptable amount for a small business like this.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
First time at this Panka location, I do love the original Panka Peruvian food, so I had high hopes, but I will say I will come back and try again. The location is super cute it's small but has tons of charm. I did a pick-up order to-go, the Waggu burger with fries, the price point was great, food came out nice and hot. The burger itself was picture perfect, but lack in flavor, like no taste to the actual waggu meat, no seasoning is the reason for my 3 star, it was a great size it looked like it was going to be amazing good but fell short. The fries were good and well-seasoned. I would like to come back and try a Rotisserie chicken meal when it's back in stock
Hopefully things have improved since they opened. The lack of reviews makes me feel that others are holding their tongues. We ordered a 1/2 chicken and the yucca fries and beans to go. It took over 45 minutes from walking in and ordering the takeout "rotisserie" chicken to be ready. Isn't a rotisserie chicken all cooked and ready to go? We got home and the chicken was still pumping bright red blood out of a vein, the beans tasted like canned Heinz, and there were no sauces of any kind. We had hoped to try their original restaurant on Ingersoll, but frankly, no thanks.
Loved my curasco sandwich and yucca!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Enjoyed coming here. I only ordered the Cuban Sandwich but I will be back to try more from the menu.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Very good food had chicken crossiant ! Pretty cute location
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Croissant
Cozy place for this season, amazing flavors on every option. This is a must in Des Moines.Parking: Plenty of space in the back side of the restaurantKid-friendliness: Baby seats available. Family groups are welcome, you can arrange the tables.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: All the Sandwiches
Third times the charm! We've tried twice before to taste their rotisserie chicken and it's been sold out each time. Finally got in when they had one available. We got a whole chicken, house "side salad", coleslaw and an array of sauces. The short version is this chicken shredded into the house "side salad" is a whole meal, and it's absolutely worth it. This is one of the best (and freshest) house salads I've had. So fresh - and her homemade dressing is the cats meow! Coleslaw was great, a little vinegary but also a touch creamy. The perfect blend making a fantastic coleslaw, and also awesome with the chicken. The chicken itself was great, made in a charcoal rotisserie chicken oven she went back to Peru to secure, because ovens here are not charcoal. Her wall art was also something she brought back from Peru, and she shares a great history behind the neon graffiti art covering her walls. Ask her, she was so willing to share the history But the icing on the cake were her sauces. I think I got them labeled right in the picture, but I'm going off memory of what she told me. ROCOTO: made with peppers and a hint of spicy. We loooved this one. HUANCAINA: I didn't like this one near as much as the one above, but it was still good. AJI VERDE: delicious but I'm still in love with the rocoto. It's "green salsa-ish" and very tasty. SALAD DRESSING: it's delicious, that's all I can say. No sugar, just tons of simple but delicious flavor. I took the remaining chicken home and boiled it down for a chicken stock. Totally worth it!
Food was amazing, the woman who took the order was patient while we figured out what to order and nice enough to explain what things were to us. The seating was comfortable and decorations were awesome! Definitely will be coming back to try more items. But will always order the empanada just because of the dough!
Phenomenal!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: All the Sandwiches, Chicken Croissant
Restaurantji Recommends
4.25* (out of 5) Food: 4* Atmosphere: 4* Value: 5* Service: 4* Value oriented quick service (order at the counter) format restaurant with tasty sandwiches and desserts tailored to college students and near the Drake campus. 10/18/2023 I'm happy to report that the owner reached out to me after the earlier post and offered a replacement dessert on a future visit to show how good the desserts really are - and I can tell you that both the Suspiro A La Limena (see picture) and the Peruvian Chocolate Cake (see picture) were absolutely delicious! The best way I can describe the Suspiro A La Limena is a creamy, cinnamony, citrus pudding topped with whipped cream - thin enough that it was tough to heap on your spoon and get to your mouth, but oh, so tasty! But I digress when thinking about great desserts. I also ordered a new sandwich while I was there - the Triple Clasico (see picture) and thought that it too was very good. Three layers of fresh, quality bread with layers of avocado and hard boiled egg slices along with diced tomatoes. I'm satisfied that the faulty cooler compressor was the fault of the earlier dessert issue and it is now fixed. Given the quality and taste of all of the foods and the corrective actions taken by the owner, I'm happy to give Panka my recommendation for great sandwiches and desserts. If you are in the area, give it a try - and tell them The Food and Drink Guy sent you!
We ordered the Peruano and Chicken Croissant sandwiches which were excellent. Peruano had a bit spice, good amount of meat and was quite satisfactory. Chicken croissant had excellent texture with celery and walnut. We will come back and bring our friends. A gem in the Drake neighborhood.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Not open during the posted hours... Weird.... They can't even make it to their own restaurant to open on time. It's too bad being that I live so close and spent alot of money here. I'll take my money elsewhere.
Fun casual spot with really killer whole chicken. I would recommend the dark over the white - the dark meat was really moist, while the white was flavorful, but dry. Best fried yucca I’ve ever had. We’ll be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Peruvian chicken! With all the perfect spices in the brine and tenderness in every piece. And with all the classic sauces you'll find in Peru. Pretty simple place, and yet it feels like a comfortable dinner. Decent selection of wine, too.