50 Best Vegan Restaurants near Grimes

“Wow! Hands down THE best place for Chinese food is back! How do I know it’s the best, you may ask? The Des Moines Metro voted for several years in a row! I’ve followed these two ever since I met them in Cedar Falls, IA about 23 years ago! When I found out 20 years ago they were opening up a restaurant in Waukee, IA; I had to let the word out to everyone I knew! As former owners of Shanghai in Waukee (y’all know who I’m talkin’ about now), Cityview’s #1 Chinese Restaurant for several years (including an honorable mention for best Vietnamese food) at last had all the respect and accolades they’d ever dreamed of! Where else to go?…But EVERYWHERE! ? The food really is dynamite and it’s everything everybody says it is! The Mongolian Beef and Shrimp, the Governor’s Chicken, and their soups (Egg Drop and Hot and Sour) are the best they’ve ever been! Also, I love that I can order one of whatever appetizer they have! My favorites are the wings, Vietnamese egg rolls, and Crab Rangoon! Be sure to try the spicy Nuoc Mam with the egg rolls! The prices are great for people like me on a dining budget, and they are located in the well-maintained Menard’s parking lot on Hickman Ave in Clive! Super easy to find and get to! They also do quite a bit for the community! Just recently they served lunches to all of the hungry staff members at Hoover High and Meredith Middle School! They really do know how to Rok the Wok! Give’em a try, and I guarantee you it’ll “hit the spot!”Vegetarian options: Many of their dishes can be made into a vegetarian option, just by opting out on meat,Parking: You’re in a well lit, non-crowded area of a Menard’s parking lot!Kid-friendliness: Hoa will most likely strike up a conversation with you. She’s the warmest person you’ll ever know! She loves children, and brings lots of joy and attention to them!Wheelchair accessibility: It’s a nice parking lot with no potholes or crumbling concrete. And there’s always plenty of room around the truck to order!“

“Delicious food! Veggie spring rolls, butter chicken, and garlic naan. Try it out!“

“Might be one of my new favorites in Des Moines! The burger I had was called “The Ron”. I definitely will be going back! The fries were also delicious and well seasoned. Thank you!“

“I hosted my husband's 50th birthday party at the Station, and their back room was having the Nightmare on Ingersol, so they had some tables reserved for us. We ended up with more than the tables would hold, and they did an amazing job of getting to people quickly, and made the night great, from the 8 year old, to the birthday boy with some people getting food, and getting drinks to everyone. Many thanks to you!“

“Amazing experience! Just became one of our new faves!! Can’t wait to go back and see what’s on the menu next!“

“This was my first time there, and walking in the place was clean and nicely decorated. I was helped through the whole process of choosing your paleta, sauce to dip it in, toppings, and drizzle. He was very nice and helpful. I don't think I could eat here consistently, it's a large portion, but it's definitely a nice treat! If you don't enjoy biting into your frozen treats, this may not be the place for you. But the flavors I chose worked well together and I will be back to try a new flavor when the weather gets warmer.“

“We order take out and was perfectly amazing. Best calamari EVER! I had the glazed almond spinach salad and my husband had the spicy seafood linguini. The best ever! They sent bread home with us also - so fresh and delish. We will be back - soon!“

“The best costumer service and incredible food!!“

“Celebrated or anniversary here and it was fantastic! Be sure to make reservations. Everything was top notch from the great drinks, to delicious food and superb service!“

“I stopped in here on a Saturday afternoon and got a 2 scoop cup of coffee heath. The girls behind the counter were very nice and gave me a sample no problem when I asked. The 2 scoops were just over $7. The place was cute, had a decent amount of seating but very cool that they had small child seating as well. The ice cream was good, not overly heavy on the coffee flavoring. The heath was good though I personally wished there was a bit more as I did have quite a few bites without any real heath in it. It seemed pretty busy for a chilly and windy day but no one really waited in line for service. I would say check it if you are in the area. It's good ice cream with nice friendly staff.“

“Happy to see another local restaurant come to Ankeny! I ordered their Cubano sandwich, 1/2 order Brussel sprouts, and regular fries. I was blown away by how hot and fresh the food tasted even with delivery! I can’t wait to try them as dine in! Food was so flavorful and lots of unique choices!“

“Birria tacos and Michoacano beef tacos. Excellent. Both were authentic delicious meals.I would go back for sure.If your looking for upscale corporate, margaritas and lots of chips to graze on, this ain't the place.Real deal tacos served hot and fresh in small mom and pops hole in the wall, this is worthy of a try!“

“Super cool vibes in here. It is hip hop themed with graffiti art of rappers on the wall, and they have a fire playlist of old school classics. The breakfast egg rolls were phenomenal especially with the cilantro sriracha sauce. The biscuit sandwiches were great, it was hard to choose which one I wanted, and the pancakes here are absolutely ginormous. I recommend the iced chai, it was crafted to perfection. Next time I'll have to get the mimosa flight, it looked like a good crowd pleaser for sharing. Service and wait was way faster than I thought it would be, especially for how busy they were on a Sunday morning for brunch. I could tell the staff was hustling and working well together to get people in as quickly as possible. Thank you!“

“I want to give a shout out to Early Birds restaurant in West Des Moines. Kevin was a fantastic bartender. First time I have been here. The food was amazing. I love the atmosphere. The whole concept is great. The menu… too many things to choose from. I got the Cinnamon roll French toast. Delicious. And the Hashbrown holes delicious. It was great to get an appetizer before my French toast. I have to give a shout out to Kevin as he knows everything on the menu plus he has great suggestions for drinks from the bar! Will deffinately be going back again.“

“Just had my sons bachelor party there tonight. What a incredible venue, staff, and activity this is. They definitely provide extra mile service. Bravo to your team. My son and his friends loved it.❤️“

“There’s simply no better place to go for breakfast, especially if you’re entertaining company in town. So many choices, healthy clean choices in addition to some fun indulgences!Vegetarian options: You have to specifically request it, but my go-to is the vegan scramble…it is different than the vegetarian scramble in that it does not have eggs. Lots of other GREAT stuff in it such as quinoa, chickpeas, asparagus, diced tomato, red onion, avocado. Delicious.“

“this is a fantastic place!!! food is incredible, atmosphere is awsome, and the owner is top notch. if it is a large group of a date this is the place to go“

“This is literally the nicest establishment I’ve ever dealt with. I spoke with Taylor, who I believe is the manager. She was extremely nice. Everyone at Crème was so responsive, professional and did the cake exactly like the inspo picture I showed them. I wish I would have taken more pictures of the cake cause it was gorgeous. I will definitely be ordering from them again!!“

“TL;DR: you will have a good time here.Overall the service and atmosphere are fantastic. The owner, Mike, happened to be in the restaurant and came over to our table to check on us a few times. Personable guy, funny.The food was in a weird spot for me. The sides were dynamite (creole mashed potatoes & and corn bread), the mains that I had (ribs, brisket) were just ok.The rub from the ribs was very smoke forward (my hands and clothes actually smelled of smoke for a while after we left) but I didn't get much in the way of flavor past the smoke. The rib meat was fine, if not a little bland.The brisket was less smoke forward but still that was the primary flavor I got. Additionally the brisket was served in one big hunk and it had the taste and feel of a pot roast moreso than what I expect brisket to taste like.The homemade sauces did a lot to impart flavor though. I would go back and try some of the other offerings though.“

“We were so happy to learn about this location. Whenever visiting Des Moines, we went to the one downtown, but this is closer to our family.I love the menus they have! This time I ordered the Salmon with vegetables and was delighted with the crunchiness of the fish and how flavorful the dish was. The pictures are for the other dishes ordered. All food was superb, a signature from St Kilda. We shared a tiramisu that was super light and so yummy. To accompany it, we had hot chocolate and Australian coffee.We will be back for more!!“

“Paneer sizzles in the pan, a melody of sputters,As tikka masala simmers, its aroma flutters.India's culinary journey, at its best.We ordered Tikka masala…naan….chicken , cheese paneer, korma and lamb biriyani . Food was delicious!The server was a very nice and attentive.“

“Excellent service. Jordan was super nice & attentive. Fun ambiance w/ awesome tunes. So happy to have veg dumplings as it's rare to find on a menu. LOVED their dressing on the salad that is served w/ entree. Had a fun & delish eve! =)“

“The food was delicious. The atmosphere was great. HOWEVER, our server was EXCEPTIONAL. In most cases, wait staff will make or break an experience for fine dining. Charismatic, friendly, and helpful was what we got tonight. We don’t make it out to the Waukee area often but I’m so glad we did tonight! Thank you Lauren for a special night out.You went above and beyond to make our experience one that we absolutely couldn’t forget. :)“

“Great time. Service was great. Shots were awesome“

“The place was buzzing and I was lucky to find an open table. The tables are inches apart from another so you can't be the claustrophobic type. I had just spent 30 minutes photographing outdoor sculptures at the DM Art Center and was chilled to the bone. Placed my order at the counter. Sat at my little round table waiting for my order about ten minutes. The sandwich and drink were brought to my table and both were fantastic! I didn't know an egg sandwich could taste so heavenly. The hot chocolate was served in a tall clear glass mug with a handle and topped with lot of whip cream. The temperature was perfect. Walked in frozen and moody, left feeling fully thawed, refreshed and pampered. I can recommend going here.“

“Cool shop, super fresh treat, thank you!“

“One of the best sushi restaurants I’ve ate at so far!“

“Delicious Food. Fast service. Went here with a girlfriend before a show and it was perfect for the time crunch we had. A must try if you haven’t yet!“

“the food for all of our table looked amazing, all different menu items. the server Alba C was quite attentive and has a very friendly and caring demeanor. she even brought out a special surprise for the birthday that we were celebrating. it was great!“

“Amazing shaker margaritas, great authentic Mexican food and family-owned service that goes above and beyond“

“Palmer's Deli and Market on Ingersoll catered an event our company hosted and they knocked it out of the park! I'm always scouring this page for catering posts but they are usually hot-meal type places. I was really looking for appetizers/finger food for this event. We held it downtown on Locust so I wanted somewhere close by to make it easy. I saw Palmer's had a catering menu and gave them a call.?The food! Everything was so delicious. We picked out a variety of cold appetizers; Meat tray, Fruit Platter, crudite, pinwheels, veggie triangles, red pepper hummus, tortellini skewers and a bruschetta tray. I love going to Palmer's for lunch so I expected it to be tasty but it blew my expectations out of the water! I could have eaten the whole tray of those veggie pizza triangle things. The pinwheels were so yummy and you could tell care and detail went into everything, nothing looked sloppily made. Even the veggies were all hand cut and fresh, no wet baby carrots here! You could tell nothing had been sitting around to dry out or turn brown. Fruit Platter was all fresh and the grapes were even cut into little bunches and easy to grab. Meat and cheese was all high quality... just above and beyond what I was expecting all around.?‍? Service: When I talked to the catering manager, I put in my order and she was like "you don't need an extra tray of this or that, you'll have plenty". I so appreciated that because it saved us money that I was willing to spend... and she was right! Even cutting back we still have plenty of leftovers to bring back to our office for coworkers to snack on tomorrow. ? They also provided plates (nice ones!), cutlery and napkins. Their delivery guy met me at the event space right on time and brought everything in and set it up. This was awesome so I could be focusing on other things.I really don't like dealing with catering when we have events but I Palmer's made it so easy and a no-brainer. I would go back and use them again any day. Everyone enjoyed it. Super impressed and it was very reasonably priced!!! Highly recommend. Oh and we got a tray of brownies and if you've ever had their brownies you know they are ?“

“Nice, locally run restaurant with a variety of food and very large drinks. The servers were prompt and engaging. I ordered enchiladas. The flavor was good but they needed to be a little more temperature hot and I prefer a bit more spice. Overall, good experience.“

“One of my most favorite places; my happy place.Small family owned and ran; very nice people.The food is always fresh, hot and deliceous. I have had everything on the menu and you can't go wrong. Reason we go few times a month (doesn't hurt they ate just arround the corner from our house either lol)“

“Last week was my 1st time here, but the staff treated me like an old friend. & the pizza was amaaazing. While waiting for my food, there was a little girl who was dancing & fell (she was alright). The staff were very kind to her & even gave her a big cookie to have for dessert!“

“I was looking for a unique place with a plant based option in the Des Moines area. They had a really delicious vegan sausage pizza and hummus. The dough they make has a really nice chew to it, and it is cooked to perfection. Along with the really tasty food, they also have 100 beers to choose from. There are lots of local beer choices from all around Iowa. They also have crowlers that they will fill and cap for you at that moment. If you're in the area, give them a try.“

“First time at this wasabi. Nice surroundings, excellent waitress, very helpful and honest about food we were considering. I am very familiar with their menu as I have dined at their other locations many times. Never had a bad time. They also are very community minded. They supplied food for the blank park zoo annual event and it was just as good there. I definitely recommend them.“

“The food is great. Mostly Greek cuisine. Gyro lamb, tzaziki sauce, olives, and feta cheese. The interior is small. About 6 tables and very little room to move around. They do have as drive up window so maybe they focus more on carry out. There is additional patio seating for the Summer. I had the rice bowl with steak. Very good, but expensive for what it is. Almost $20 per person with a side and drinks.“

“Absolutely the best bagels we have had in Iowa. They were so quick to get our order out, and despite the limited seating, someone had left just a few minutes after we ordered. It was fun to enjoy our brunch there on a busy Saturday. We will be returning!!“

“hands down the best pho I've ever had“

“Stopping for a couple days in Des Moines on the way west I was delighted to find such a great place. When I saw a local place that had gyros I knew I had to go. I was not disappointed. Far from it. Delicious food. Fast and friendly service. And the owner came out to meet my motopup Izzy. I know I'll be stopping here the next time I'm in Des Moines. Do yourself a favor and try it.“

“If you haven’t tried Bandit Burrito, let me just tell you right now. You are missing out! This is a must try location if you are in the DSM area. It can’t get any better than Bandit Burrito. I have tried them all, and personally not a big fan of Qdoba and Pancheros is ok. But this place here is no comparison, absolutely amazing. 100 percent RECOMMEND!“

“I was so surprised when I went there and that they actually had hot sauce that was spicy. It’s so hard to find a place that has really spicy salsa ☺️“

“This location was very clean, including the food bars which was nice to see. Our server was on top of keeping our drinks full. I kept asking about the app code and ended up not getting my points but we don't make it all that often anyway. The cooks were working hard but could have been more attentive to keeping food separated.“

“I was so surprised when I went there and that they actually had hot sauce that was spicy. It’s so hard to find a place that has really spicy salsa ☺️“

“Blaze Pizza in West Des Moines is a true gem for pizza lovers! The ambiance strikes a perfect balance between modern and cozy, ideal for any dining occasion. What stands out is their 'Build Your Own' pizza option, offering an array of fresh ingredients that cater to all tastes, cooked to perfection in a blazing oven. The staff are notably friendly and helpful, enhancing the overall experience. It's not just a meal, it's a delightful culinary adventure - highly recommended for anyone seeking top-notch pizza in a welcoming setting.“

“I thoroughly enjoyed my experience there. the atmosphere is incredibly laid back, much like that of a late '60s early 70s tea shop. the staff was incredibly friendly and their menu was diverse. if you cannot find at least one or two items to eat here, I don't think that you are really hungry. what I ate had an incredible flavor and while filling, did not make me feel like I had over eaten. bring one of these down to Springfield missouri! with the University right next to the uptown area, you would make a fortune!“

“Favorite boba shop in DSM!! They have a lot of options but my go to is the lava milk. The jasmine tea is also really good! I suggest getting less ice, it’s a couple cents more but it makes all the difference. The employees are also really kind and helpful. I also think the shop has a nice atmosphere!! Cute decor and seating and usually nice music playing. Highly recommend!“

“The new employee with short black hair needs some more training of how to make smoothies. I asked for my smoothie to be thick because the last 3 times he’s made it it’s been a liquidy mess. Even when asking for it to be a thicker consistency it’s still a liquidy mess. The younger gentleman with blond hair is usually trying to provide guidance to the newer employee but it seems pretty obvious the new employee does not care or pride himself in making good smoothies.“

“Highly recommend! Very glad that we stopped here on our way through Iowa. Had a bunch of different appetizers (portobello fries, roasted Brussels sprouts, pretzels with beer cheese, pub salad) and beignets for dessert, all of which were delicious. They have a huge variety of beers, as well as some really tasty cocktails, and we enjoyed creating our own flights. The staff were very friendly and helpful, and the bartender in particular was very knowledgeable about all the different breweries, styles and particular beers. The space was clean and comfortable. It would be the perfect place to host a party. Wish we had this place in our city!“

“First time here and it was nice. The store was very clean and well thought out. The staff were very friendly and helpful since it was our first time. We chose simple vanilla with brownie. It was interesting watching how the rolled ice cream was made and the ice cream was good but it tasted more like “lite” ice cream with “brownie sprinkles”. It was a “mini show” but I guess I am more of a “traditional” ice cream person but would recommend for a first time experience.“