Des Moines Food Guide

Des Moines does not announce itself the way Chicago or New York does. Iowa's capital city earns its reputation quietly, one hand-breaded pork tenderloin and one Saturday farmers market at a time. This is a city where a single dish, steak de burgo, invented by Italian-American immigrants from the Francis Avenue neighbourhood sometime in the 1930s or 1940s, still appears on menus across town and still generates genuine arguments about who made it first.

The food scene is layered in a way that takes a visit or two to fully understand. There are the neighbourhood institutions: Tursi's Latin King on Hubbell Avenue, serving red-sauce Italian since 1947; Smitty's Tenderloin Shop on Army Post Road, hand-breading pork since 1966; Flying Mango in Beaverdale, bringing Memphis ribs and Cajun spice to the north side since 1997. Then there is the newer wave: Alba, Harbinger, Clyde's Fine Diner and Aposto in a Victorian mansion, all doing things with local Iowa ingredients that could hold up against any American city's best.

The Downtown Farmers' Market, spanning up to twelve city blocks on Saturday mornings from May through October, is not merely a market. It is the engine room of the local food economy, the place where chefs source, where home cooks discover, and where the city comes together around the idea that Iowa farms produce exceptional food. Combine that with a serious craft brewery culture, a growing cocktail bar scene anchored by places like The Contrary, and day-trip food destinations an hour in any direction, and Des Moines earns its place on any serious food traveller's map.

The East Village: Des Moines' food epicentre

The Historic East Village, a short walk from the Iowa State Capitol, holds the highest concentration of quality restaurants in the city. Alba at 524 E 6th Street is the anchor, chef-owner Jason Simon's seasonal American cooking earning a James Beard Restaurant Award nomination as far back as 2010. HoQ on E 5th serves genuinely local farm-to-table cooking with global flavour. Fong's Pizza, now at 317 E Court Avenue, serves its legendary crab rangoon pizza to long queues on weekend nights. Zombie Burger and Drink Lab at 300 E Grand anchors the casual end with theatrical burgers and spiked milkshakes. The neighbourhood is also where you find Twisted Vine Brewery in a 150-year-old warehouse with a 5,000 sq ft patio.

South side Italian and the tenderloin trail

Des Moines' south side carries the Italian-American heritage of families who settled around Francis Avenue in the mid-twentieth century. Graziano Brothers on S Union Street remains the beating heart of that community, an Italian specialty grocer selling house-made sausages and imported Italian provisions since 1912. Johnny's Italian Steakhouse on Fleur Drive keeps steak de burgo on its menu as a signature, a filet in a garlic-butter-herb cream sauce that originated somewhere between these south-side kitchens. Tursi's Latin King on Hubbell Avenue has been doing classic red-sauce Italian since 1947. And for the tenderloin, Smitty's on Army Post Road is the canonical address, hand-breading and frying pork since 1966, serving more than 3,000 tenderloins a week.

The Downtown Farmers' Market

Running every Saturday from May through October, the Des Moines Downtown Farmers' Market is one of the largest in the United States, typically drawing 275 vendors across nine to twelve city blocks in the Historic Court District. The market opened in 1976 and celebrated its 50th season in 2025. It runs from 7am to noon (8am in October). Vendors span 50 Iowa counties, selling direct-from-farm produce, Iowa pork and beef, artisan cheeses, baked goods, and ready-to-eat food from a rotating cast of local operators. Gateway Market on Woodland Avenue handles specialty groceries year-round for the days the outdoor market is closed.

Craft beer and the brewpub scene

Des Moines has a serious brewery culture for a mid-size Midwestern city. Lua Brewing in Sherman Hill was voted the number one brewpub in the United States by USA Today in 2025, a recognition built on precise fermentation and a genuinely good scratch kitchen. Exile Brewing on Walnut Street has been the unofficial beer of Des Moines festivals since 2012, producing award-winning lagers, sours and IPAs. Confluence Brewing south of Grey's Lake runs 36 beers on tap with a sprawling patio. Court Avenue Restaurant and Brewing Company, staked out downtown since 1996, claims the title of Des Moines' first microbrewery. Big Grove Brewery in Sherman Hill seats 850 across a 12,000 square foot patio with panoramic downtown views.