The hottest new restaurants in Des Moines, February 2024 edition
Des Moines area restaurant fans love to know what’s new, what’s hot and what favorite chef just launched a second effort that should be tried.
With that, the Des Moines Register updates its hot list, a look at some of the newest restaurants that diners can’t get enough of.
Here’s a look at seven of the hottest new restaurants in the Des Moines metro, an alphabetical list that will be updated monthly as new restaurants arrive with newcomers removed as they reach six months old.
Basic Bird
Chef Joe Tripp, the five-time James Beard Foundation semifinalist for Best Chef Midwest, and his wife, Alexandra, opened Basic Bird in the Beaverdale neighborhood for fast-casual Korean street food.
Korean fried chicken makes up the heart of the menu, slathered in optional sauces such as sweet honey butter, spicy gochujang, or a combination of both. Diners can order cauliflower as well.
New menu items include bone-in chicken, a sandwich on brioche bun, and two kinds of dumplings — boiled chicken and kimchi or crispy chicken and chives. The restaurant also offers honey butter French fries, bubbly cheese corn as well as instant ramen salad, and a bap bowl with fresh veggies on top of Korean rice with a fried egg.
The decor splits the space into a yellow and white side, with stools at the front window, a counter splitting the restaurant, and tables on either side. Do look for the Nic Roth murals.
Location: 2607 Beaver Ave., Des
Moines Contact: basicbird.com
Hours: Open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Either/Or
Whitney and Scott Selix and business partner Zack Dunbar of Lua Brewing fame opened Either/Or, which juxtaposes sandwiches and salads with duck curry and rainbow trout to the border of Des Moines and West Des Moines.
The restaurant features dishes from executive chef James Arbaugh, who also leads the kitchen of the Sherman Hill brewery, and gives him a chance to flex his culinary muscles.
This is the type of menu that can satisfy a craving for a sandwich or a burger, or sub in entrees with an elegant twist. The options run the gamut from chicken fingers and grilled cheese for the kids to caviar at $95 for an ounce on the appetizers’ menu. Do try the fried bologna sandwich.
The restaurant also has a brunch menu now on Saturdays and Sundays.
Parents love the playground where the kids can play when the weather cooperates. Location: 6222 Grand Ave., Des
Moines Contact: 515-214-1831 or eitherordsm.com
Hours: Open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. See RESTAURANTS, Page 4D
Grimaldi’s Pizzeria
The Des Moines metro now has its first Grimaldi’s Pizzeria, serving pizza baked in a coal-fired oven. The menu features calzones made with a secret recipe dough, salads, charcuterie boards and desserts. Grimaldi’s also has a full bar with cocktails, craft beers and wines. The franchise plans to open four more locations in Iowa, including West Glen in West Des Moines.
Location: The District at Prairie Trail, 1450 S.W. Vintage Pkwy., Ankeny
Contact: grimaldispizzeria.com Hours: Open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
Guesthouse Tavern & Oyster
Pete Faber of Barn Town Brewing and Derek Eidson of Django fame teamed up to bring their own vision of a supper club to West Des Moines. The duo opened Guesthouse Tavern & Oyster in the former Global Brew space in the Hawthorne Center, near Barn Town Brewing.
The two friends came up with this idea after visiting many similar establishments when they went on vacations to Wisconsin and Minnesota together.
Special touches include a raw bar with oysters on the half shell, jumbo shrimp cocktail, and a seafood tower; a relish tray meant to share with everything from summer sausage and pickles to marinated vegetables and beer cheese; and potato and cheddar pierogis, cheese curds and pickled Fresno peppers, or a cast iron tater tot and braised beef hot dish, all meant to share. Main dishes include an eight-ounce sirloin with a brandy-mushroom cream sauce, a 12-ounce pork Milanese with a lemon caper butter sauce, trout almandine, a beer-battered walleye, or a hunter’s chicken.
Do make an advance reservation.
Location: 9500 University Ave., West Des Moines
Contact: 515-994-8378 or guesthousetavernoyster.com
Reservations: tables.toasttab.com Hours: Open Tuesday through Saturday from 4 to 10 p.m.
Hokkaido Ramen & Izakaya
Hokkaido Ramen & Izakaya opened in Ankeny in the former Fuzzy’s Tacos space with ramen dishes, along with sushi rolls, noodles, fried rice and a roll named for Coralville.
The restaurant serves nine styles of ramen from tonkotsu with a white shoyu broth that uses Japanese-style soy sauces, tantanmen with a creamy and spicy sesame broth, miso with a chicken broth and spicy beef with a shoyu broth. Every ramen can be ordered with a spice level from none to spicy. Do try the chicken katsu.
Location: 2723 S.E. Delaware Ave.,
Ankeny Contact: hokkaidoramen.life Hours: Open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Izumi Sushi & Hibachi
The Des Moines metro has a new allyou-can-eat sushi restaurant with a hibachi grill to boot. Izumi opened in Clive with lunch specials daily and teriyaki, udon, soba noodle, curry and tempura dishes.
The restaurant offers a kid’s menu, gluten-free dishes and bento boxes.
The chain has three locations in North Dakota as well as Cedar Rapids, along with a new outlet opening soon in North Liberty.
Location: 1301 N.W. 114th St., Clive Contact: 515-979-4666, 515-9784668 or izumirestaurant-clive.2-menucities.com.
Hours: Open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Allyou-can-eat lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Oak Park
Owner Kathy Fehrman and her husband Bill have a winner on their hands with an elite team that includes executive chef Ian Robertson, executive pastry chef Jess Robertson, general manager Damon Murphy, director of operations Billy Dohrmann, and wine director Sam Tuttle.
The restaurant, built from scratch at 39th Street and Ingersoll Avenue, was designed to resemble a Frank Lloyd Wright home with long banks of windows, a transom in the bar area, built-in booths and acorn light fixtures. Diners can find everything from gnocchi with truffle cream and bourbon candied bacon to a carrot Wellington, pan-roasted duck breast and the bacon-glazed pork chop on the menu. Steaks are aged in house. The wine list continues to grow with options by the glass and bottle, some housed in the bar or wine room. For dessert, try the $4 lemon tart or chocolate pecan bar or share the $100 banana split. The restaurant also offers a chef’s table overlooking the kitchen with a special menu.
Location: 3901 Ingersoll Ave., Des Moines
Contact: 515-620-2185 or oakparkdsm.com
Hours: Open Tuesday through Saturday from 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. Reservations: Exploretock.com.