Des Moines

Louie's Wine Dive - Johnston

Johnston · Des Moines · Wine bar / American

The Reliable

Louie's Johnston is exactly what a suburban wine bar should be — a big by-the-glass list, fair prices, and zero pretension. Send your friends here when they want to drink well without a side of attitude.

The Club Car Restaurant & Lounge

Clive · Des Moines · Steakhouse & American

The Reliable

Club Car is a reliable steakhouse wine list doing exactly what it was built to do: keep Cab drinkers happy and nobody walking out complaining. Don't come here for discovery, but don't leave without ordering the Jordan.

Wasabi - Waukee

Waukee · Des Moines · Japanese / Asian Fusion / Sushi

The Lazy List

Wasabi Waukee is a genuinely good sushi restaurant that treats its wine list like an afterthought — familiar names, steep markups, and zero curiosity about what wines might actually sing alongside the food. Order the cocktails or sake instead, and save the wine discussion for somewhere that cares.

Louie's Wine Dive

Ingersoll / Grand · Des Moines · Contemporary American

The Wild Card

Louie's Wine Dive is the kind of place Des Moines needs more of — a real wine program in a no-pretense room, with Tuesday half-price deals that make experimenting genuinely low-stakes. It's not a destination list, but it's absolutely a destination night.

Granite City Food & Brewery - Clive

Clive · Des Moines · American, Brewpub

The Lazy List

Granite City is a brewery that tolerates wine, and the list reflects that perfectly. Drink the beer — it's the whole point of being here.

Bravo! Italian Kitchen - West Des Moines

West Des Moines / Jordan Creek · Des Moines · Italian

The Lazy List

Bravo! is a fine dinner out if the pasta is what you're after, but the wine list is purely functional — corporate-designed, safely marked up, and entirely forgettable. Order a glass of bubbles or the Chianti, make peace with your choices, and let the food do the heavy lifting.

P.F. Chang's - West Des Moines

West Des Moines / Jordan Creek · Des Moines · Chinese, Asian, Pan-Asian

The Reliable

You're not coming to P.F. Chang's at Jordan Creek for a wine revelation, and that's fine — but show up on a Wednesday, grab a half-price bottle of Whispering Angel or the Browne Family blend, and you'll drink better than the list's full-price reputation deserves. Just don't pay full freight.

Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar – West Des Moines

West Des Moines · Des Moines · Upscale Steakhouse

The Reliable

Fleming's West Des Moines does what it's designed to do — deliver a confident, California-heavy wine program in a well-run steakhouse setting. We'd send a friend here for a special occasion; we just wouldn't tell them to expect anything they haven't already seen before.

Cooper's Hawk Winery & Restaurant – Clive

Clive (west metro) · Des Moines · Upscale casual American

The Wild Card

Cooper's Hawk isn't a wine destination in any traditional sense — it's a polished, house-brand operation built for the kind of crowd that wants good wine without homework. For Des Moines' west metro, that's not a criticism; it's a service, and they deliver it consistently.

Biaggi's Ristorante Italiano – West Des Moines

West Des Moines · Des Moines · Italian

The Reliable

Biaggi's is a dependable suburban Italian with a wine list that plays it completely safe and prices that would sting if not for Thursday's half-price bottle deal — show up then, order the Chianti, and you'll have a genuinely solid night. Any other day, just manage your expectations.

Johnny's Italian Steakhouse – West Des Moines

West Des Moines · Des Moines · Steakhouse / Italian-inspired

The Lazy List

Johnny's is a perfectly fine place to eat a steak in West Des Moines, but the wine list is a chain-operated afterthought charging boutique prices for grocery store bottles. Drink the cocktails, or bring a bottle and pay the corkage if they allow it.

Johnny's Italian Steakhouse – Altoona

Altoona (east metro) · Des Moines · Steakhouse / Italian-inspired

The Lazy List

Johnny's Altoona is a fine place for a steak, but the wine list is a corporate afterthought with markups that consistently punish curious drinkers. Order the Decoy with your filet, skip the Pinot Grigio, and don't expect anyone at the table to geek out with you about what's in the glass.

Americana

Downtown · Des Moines · New American

The Reliable

Americana is a great night out for brunch, cocktails, and good times — the wine list is just along for the ride. Show up on a Wednesday, hit the half-price bottles in the bar, and order the Coppola Claret.

Django

Downtown · Des Moines · French Brasserie

The Reliable

Django earns its place as Downtown Des Moines' best shot at a French wine experience, but the markup math will sting if you're paying attention. Stick to the Burgundy end of the list, order the steak frites, and you'll leave happy — just not at a steal.

Alba

East Village · Des Moines · New American

The Wild Card

Alba is the kind of wine list that makes you reconsider a city's dining scene — thoughtfully curated, genuinely curious, and full of wines you won't find at the steakhouse down the street. Markups on a few bottles are hard to ignore, but the selection alone earns a trip.

The Stuffed Olive Des Moines

Downtown · Des Moines · Cocktail Bar with American Small Plates

The Lazy List

The Stuffed Olive is a genuinely fun downtown bar, but the wine list is strictly there for guests who don't want a cocktail. If wine is why you're going out, keep looking — if you're here for the martinis and want something in a glass that isn't shaken, you'll survive.

Harbinger

Ingersoll Avenue · Des Moines · Vegetable-focused New American with Asian influence

The Wild Card

Harbinger is doing something genuinely unusual for Des Moines: stocking producers that wine-literate diners in Chicago or Portland would recognize and respect. The markups are a real friction point — especially on the Muscadet and Grüner — but if you're eating the tasting menu anyway, a bottle of Ruppert-Leroy or Envinate elevates the whole night. Send your most adventurous friend here and tell them to skip the safe picks.

Mulberry Street Tavern

Downtown / East Village edge · Des Moines · Modern American Tavern with British/European Influence

The Lazy List

Mulberry Street Tavern is a legitimately fun place to eat and drink — just don't make wine the reason you go. The markups are aggressive, the list is safe to the point of being forgettable, and Des Moines deserves better from a room this nice.

Baratta's Restaurant

South Side · Des Moines · Italian-American

The Reliable

Baratta's is a South Side institution worth visiting for the homemade pasta and the neighborhood warmth — just don't expect the wine list to match the kitchen's effort. The markups are steeper than they need to be on a list that isn't trying very hard, so order wisely, lean on the lower-priced bottles, and let the food do the talking.

801 Chophouse Des Moines

Downtown · Des Moines · Classic upscale steakhouse

The Reliable

801 Chophouse delivers a competent, well-staffed wine experience that does exactly what a classic steakhouse should — it just won't surprise you, and you'll pay a premium for the privilege. Send a friend here for a business dinner; save the wine exploration for somewhere else.

Fleming's Prime Steakhouse

West Des Moines · Des Moines · Steakhouse

The Reliable

Fleming's Des Moines is a well-run wine program inside a predictable format — if California reds with your steak is your game, you'll leave happy. Just don't expect any surprises, and watch those markups closely before you start pointing at the big names.

Ruth's Chris Steak House - West Des Moines

West Des Moines · Des Moines · Steakhouse

The Reliable

Ruth's Chris West Des Moines is a reliable wine destination if your bar is 'nothing went wrong' — the list is large, storage is proper, and you won't struggle to find something to drink with a $54 steak. Just don't come expecting discovery; come expecting a well-run machine that knows its audience.

Barn Town Brewery

West Des Moines · Des Moines · Brewpub

The Lazy List

Barn Town Brewery is a genuinely solid craft beer destination, and we respect it for that — but the wine program is an afterthought dressed up as an option. Order a pint, save the wine for literally anywhere else.

Splash Seafood Bar & Grill

Des Moines · Des Moines · Seafood

The Reliable

Splash isn't trying to reinvent wine in the Midwest — it's a polished, California-forward list that does exactly what it needs to do for a seafood restaurant with real ambitions. Send a friend here if they want a reliable bottle with their lobster mac; just don't send the natural wine obsessive.

The New Northwestern Cocktail & Wine Bar

Historic East Village · Des Moines · Fusion

The Reliable

The New Northwestern is a genuinely pleasant place to drink wine in Des Moines, especially if you let the flights do the heavy lifting. It's not pushing any boundaries, but the setting is great, the pricing is fair, and Etude in a flight pour is hard to argue with.

Prime And Providence

West Des Moines · Des Moines · New American

The Reliable

Prime And Providence has a wine list that's genuinely trying, and in Des Moines that matters — the depth and Old World presence put it ahead of most competition in the market. Just go in knowing the glass pours are a value trap and stick to the bottle list where the occasional deal actually hides.

Johnny's Italian Steakhouse

West Des Moines · Des Moines · Steakhouse, Italian, Seafood

The Lazy List

Johnny's is a fun night out if you're here for the steak and the nostalgia — but the wine list is an afterthought wearing a tuxedo. Order a cocktail, grab the Cristalino if you want bubbles, and don't come here expecting the wine to match the room's ambitions.

801 Chophouse

Downtown · Des Moines · Steakhouse

The Reliable

801 Chophouse is the kind of wine list that surprises you inside a format that usually doesn't bother. Fair markups, a working sommelier, and depth that goes well beyond the expected — yes, send your friends here for wine.

Table 128

Grays Landing · Des Moines · Modern American

The Reliable

Table 128 isn't trying to be a wine destination, but with markup this fair and a list that covers meaningful ground, it punches well above its weight for downtown Des Moines. Send a friend here and tell them to drink the French Chardonnay during happy hour — they'll thank you.

Centro

East Village · Des Moines · Italian-inspired

The Reliable

Centro is a reliable East Village spot where the wine list does its job without doing anything memorable — the Vite Colte producer is a genuine bright spot worth seeking out, but mostly this is a Napa parade at Midwest restaurant prices. Go for the Italian food; be selective about what you pour.