Steak de burgo, Iowa tenderloins and a farmers market that defines Saturday.
Des Moines eats with an Iowa accent: farm-fresh ingredients, generous portions and a loyalty to neighbourhood originals that can stretch back decades. The Italian-American south-side community built the city's most distinctive dish, steak de burgo, somewhere in the 1930s or 1940s, and it remains a point of civic pride. The breaded pork tenderloin sandwich, a Midwest regional staple, reaches its apex here at places like Smitty's on Army Post Road, which has been frying them since 1966. The Downtown Farmers' Market, running every Saturday from May through October across nine or more city blocks, is the engine room of the local food economy, connecting Iowa farmers directly to chefs and home cooks. A younger generation of chef-driven restaurants, concentrated in the East Village and along Ingersoll Avenue, has reoriented the city's ambitions toward seasonal menus, local sourcing and genuine craft, without losing sight of the comfort-food traditions that built the place. The craft brewery scene is serious: Lua Brewing was named the country's best brewpub by USA Today in 2025, and five or more independent taprooms cluster within a few miles of downtown. Coffee culture is growing, anchored by small-batch roasters like Zanzibar's and Horizon Line Coffee. The result is a food city that rewards curiosity, where a $9 tenderloin on the south side and a $55 tasting menu in a Victorian mansion on 18th Street can both be the right choice.
Every restaurant, cafe, market and bar we cover in Des Moines, pinned. Click a pin for the page.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
The plates that define eating in Des Moines.
A filet mignon cooked and served with garlic, fresh herbs (basil, oregano, thyme) and either butter or cream sauce. Steak de burgo is found nowhere else in
Where: {'venue_slug': 'johnnys-italian-steakhouse', 'note': 'The canonical keeper; steak de burgo is the defining dish on the menu'}, {'venue_slug': 'centro', 'note': 'Contemporary version on the dinner menu'}
A butterflied and pounded Iowa pork loin, hand-breaded with seasoned flour or breadcrumb coating, fried or flat-griddled until golden and served in a
Where: {'venue_slug': 'smittys-tenderloin-shop', 'note': 'The definitive Des Moines version since 1966; King Tenderloin is the benchmark'}
Where to eat Breaded Pork Tenderloin Sandwich in Des Moines →
Iowa grows some of the finest sweet corn in the United States. The combination of deep Iowa topsoil, warm summer days and cool nights produces a sweetness
Where: {'venue_slug': 'downtown-farmers-market', 'note': 'Fresh from farm trucks Saturday mornings July-August; the best context for the ingredient'}, {'venue_slug': 'harbinger-hidden', 'note': 'Seasonal summer preparations with local farm sourcing'}
Seasoned ground beef cooked loose on a flat-top without forming a patty, spooned into a soft hamburger bun. The loose-meat sandwich is a uniquely Iowa fast
Where: {'venue_slug': 'maid-rite-des-moines', 'note': 'Closest Maid-Rite to Des Moines is in Ames, 35 min north; the original format'}
Fong's Pizza's signature creation: a pizza topped with cream cheese, imitation crab, green onion and a sweet chili drizzle, named after the Chinese-American
Where: {'venue_slug': 'fongs-pizza', 'note': 'The only place to eat it; the original and only version that matters'}
The definitive Iowa State Fair food item: a whole pork chop on a wooden stick, grilled over open flame at the Iowa Pork Producers tent. The combination of a
Where: {'venue_slug': 'iowa-state-fair-food-sticks', 'note': 'Iowa Pork Producers tent at the fair; available only during the 11-day August run'}
Where to eat Iowa State Fair Pork Chop on a Stick in Des Moines →
The house-made Italian sausages at Graziano Brothers have been produced to the same family recipes since the business opened in 1912. Sweet, hot and fennel
Where: {'venue_slug': 'graziano-brothers', 'note': 'The only place to buy the real Graziano sausage; also available as in-store deli sandwiches'}
Where to eat Graziano Brothers Italian Sausage in Des Moines →
Harbinger's five-course seasonal tasting menu, available nightly, is the single best way to eat in Des Moines. The menu changes almost daily based on market
Where: {'venue_slug': 'harbinger-fine', 'note': 'The only venue; book via Tock; tasting menu is the recommended format'}
Where to eat Harbinger Seasonal Tasting Menu in Des Moines →
A handful of the places we send friends to when they are in Des Moines.
Chef-owner Jason Simon's East Village anchor has delivered imaginative seasonal American cooking since 2008, earning a James Beard Restaurant Award
Signature: Marinated hanger steak, Braised lamb shank, Pan roasted halibut
A vegetable-forward small-plates restaurant drawing on the chef's travels through southeast Asia, with a menu that follows the seasons and the farmers
Signature: Seasonal chef's tasting menu, Southeast Asian-inflected small plates
George Formaro's downtown Italian anchor occupies a former Masonic temple with open kitchen, white tablecloths and framed vintage Italian posters.
Signature: Kill-Bill Pork Tenderloin, Coal-fired pizza, Handmade pasta
A rustic neighbourhood room with a large patio and a wood-fired oven, channelling herbs and spices from Spain, Italy, Morocco and Egypt into an
Signature: Wood-fired pizza, Mediterranean small plates
A refined East Village Italian room with handmade pastas at lunch and a weekly-rotating four-course prix-fixe dinner at $60. Reservations recommended.
Signature: Four-course prix-fixe dinner, Handmade pasta, Risotto
Local Food Global Flavor is the tagline, and HoQ earns it. The menu changes almost daily based on what its network of Iowa farmers sends in, cooked
Signature: Seasonal farm-to-table tasting plates, Local Iowa protein dishes
Hip blocks in the shadow of the State Capitol. The city's highest density of chef-driven restaurants, craft cocktail bars, and the city's quirkiest pizza.
Best for: Fine dining, Craft pizza, Cocktail bars, Craft beer
The commercial core and entertainment hub, home to the farmers market district, Court Avenue bars, the Skywalk system, and a strong concentration of hotel dining.
Best for: Farmers market, Craft beer, German beer hall, Breakfast
A Victorian residential neighbourhood just west of downtown with Lua Brewing, Gateway Market and a growing coffee and cafe scene.
Best for: Craft beer, Specialty market, Coffee
A tree-lined commercial corridor with some of the city's most-loved neighbourhood restaurants and coffee shops, serving Drake University students and long-term residents alike.
Best for: Mediterranean, Vegetable-forward dining, Coffee, Casual dining
Quiet north-side neighbourhood famous for its 1920s brick bungalows, a loyal local bar scene and Flying Mango, the city's favourite BBQ and Cajun spot.
Best for: BBQ, Neighbourhood bars, Cajun
Student-heavy neighbourhood around Drake University, with affordable spots for all-day breakfast, independent coffee and casual dining.
Best for: All-day breakfast, Coffee, Budget eating
Peak food season: May to October. The Downtown Farmers' Market opens in early May and closes in late October. Sweet corn season runs July through September. The Iowa State Fair in August draws the whole state to Des Moines for eleven days of food. October brings apple and squash season from nearby orchards.
Local dining hours: Lunch 11:00-14:00. Dinner typically 17:00-21:00, some fine-dining rooms until 22:00. Brunch venues Saturday and Sunday 07:00-14:00. Late-night options around Court Avenue and East Village until 02:00 on weekends.
Tipping: 15 to 20 percent is standard. Some East Village spots include a service line; always check before adding. Brewpubs and counter-service spots: tip optional at the jar.
Des Moines's signature dishes include Steak de Burgo, Breaded Pork Tenderloin Sandwich, Iowa Sweet Corn, Loose-Meat Sandwich, Crab Rangoon Pizza. See our signature dishes chapter for where to eat each.
TableJourney editors map Des Moines by district. East Village, Downtown, Sherman Hill, The Avenues are among the strongest for food, each with its own guide.
Editor picks in Des Moines include Aposto, Harbinger, Table 128, plus the full fine dining chapter on TableJourney.
TableJourney covers 4 editor-picked food tours in Des Moines, with what each shows you and how much to budget.
TableJourney's Des Moines dietary chapter covers vegan, vegetarian, gluten_free, halal venues, each editor-picked with what to order and how to ask.