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

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.

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

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.