Gross, not authentic. It's as pretentious as they come. The cost doesn't match the quality.

One of the best meals I have had in Des Moines. Dinner was outstanding. Everything was exceptionally fresh, tasty and well-prepared. Blistered shishitos - wow! Wife had a chicken and bean enchilada with mole sauce - SO good. read more

The staff were knowledgeable and sweet. Gluten free entire menu and very delicious alcoholic and non alcoholic drink options. This place is going to be my new goto. Love the small plate and gluten free intentionality. read more

Went in on New Year's Eve ( 3:15pm because didn't make reservations where we wanted to go). To our surprise, Happy Hour! Bonus! Had planned on a meal but small plates and drinks are more my speed. Nice margaritas, regular and a seasonal with smoky mezcal. Great beer choice at bargain prices. Chips and salsas with 4 salsas. Surprised by the eggplant version, A1. Had shrimp and carnitas tacos. Carnitas are excellent! Staff did great. meal for a surprisingly great price. Enjoyed our time. read more

So yummy! Found this gem on Find me gluten free, they don't advertise but this is a dedicated GF restaurant! Love the food! Loved my cocktail, a figgy vodka martini of sorts. Des Moines was only a pit stop for an early dinner on our drive to CO; however, I would come for a weekend trip just to eat here again! Highly recommend the mushroom tacos. Loved all the flavors but appreciate the lighter food, as opposed to your typical cheesy, heavy Mexican/Spanish fare! read more

Our first time at Bar Nico couldn't have been better. We thoroughly enjoyed our guacamole appetizer, three types of tacos, and a delicious coconut rice pudding. The staff was very attentive and accommodated our dairy and nut sensitivities. The gluten free menu is a huge bonus. read more

Great spot for happy hour! Amazing pork belly carnitas and mushroom tacos. The chips and salsa were really good... the chips and tortillas are handmade in house so they are super fresh and yummy. I loved the Nico margarita and my friends loved the half price beer :) Definitely check it out! read more

Best fancy food in Des Moines. The staff were very kind to my young family. The atmosphere was hip but accessible. I had a peppery gin cocktail that was amazing and my wife had a tamarind margarita. We both had the Prince Edward Island muscles. They were buttery and delicious. But the real highlight was the Maza corn fries or waiter gave us an extra dessert because it was our anniversary. I can't recommend this place enough. I hope it really takes off. Also, the best part was it was completely gluten-free which my wife really appreciated. read more

Amazing! Excellent cocktail and a really well rounded menu. We've been twice and have loved every dish- especially mussels. The portions are pretty substantial but good to know ahead of time. Plates are more like meal size (could share between 4) versus tapas. Great addition to DSM! read more

Creative Latin fusion concepts with an entirely gluten free menu (everything is corn based). Amazing flavors and friendly service. The dulce de leche cheesecake was amazing! read more

I really wanted to like this place. The inside is chic and I love Mexican food. I was underwhelmed. I ordered the chips and salsa. 3 of the 4 salsas were very tasty. Half the chips were stale unfortunately. The seasonal margarita was a cucumber margarita. Pretty tasty.. hard to mess up a marg! The Hawaiian shrimp tacos didn't do it for me. I would have preferred a Mexican style shrimp taco. The blue tortilla was fantastic but everything else was meh. I went during happy hour and all of this total was $20. So I would say they have a great happy hour deal! read more

Bar Nico - Hawaiian Shrimp Tacos (6/10) and Seasonal Margarita. The blue tortilla was fantastic! - Bars Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

Great food, great service. Awesome collection of gluten free foods. Smoked duck enchiladas and Benedict were flavorful and kept you wanting more. The grand finale for my wife who is gluten intolerant were the churros. She hasn't had them in years and enjoyed every bite with 3 dipping sauces. Very inviting restaurant setting in the downtown area. read more

Best Mexican food in Des Moines, and the only Mexican restaurant I've been to that also has great desserts. Kind of strange that this place is called a "Bar", it's more of a high quality restaurant than a bar. Also, don't be put off by it being "Gluten free", the food is incredible regardless. read more

One of our favorite restaurants for their creative menu and friendly service. Eaten there several times but tonight's dinner was the best yet. chicken/sweet potato Enchiladas and beef tacos were perfectly seasoned. Shout out to the chef! read more

Went here the other night. Nothing but good things to report! The bartender was so friendly and attentive. He knew everything about the food and drink menus and was so helpful. The food and drinks were top notch quality and had so much flavor! I tried the chips and salsa and the quesadilla. Will definitely be back to try more! read more

Was surprised how good this place was! The space was nice with with a good bar & comfortable/semi-private seating areas. Drinks were good & the food was even better....especially the tacos(pork & mushroom) and guacamole. read more

My wife wanted to try Bar Nico for our anniversary. Got seated, waitress prompt, music a bit loud but not too bad. We wanted to start with a glass of wine. Only 4 wines you can get in a glass; a dry white, a chardonnay and 2 reds. Beyond that you have to buy the whole bottle. They obviously are trying to push you to $50+ bottles. Didn't need a whole bottle nor wanted to drop $50 so I ordered a glass. $9 for the glass. They bring it and is a smaller glass only 1/3 filled. Kind of feel a bit cheated. We both ordered tacos, braised pork and shrimp. A bit lacking in flavor. Got chips and guacamole. Guac comes in a bowl and I can't even see guacamole, it's covered in what looked like dandelions and yard clippings. Manager strolls by and the stench of cigarette smoke smacks me in the face. Overall, it could be a lot better on price/value and working on flavor instead of a photoshoot of what they think Mexican street food is supposed to look like. read more

There's been a lot of buzz about Bar Nico and, considering their association with Alba and Eatery A, I had high hopes when we finally went last Thursday, the 8th. The setting was absolutely beautiful. Our waitress was friendly, and the gentleman who filled our water was extremely helpful and polite. Our drinks were delicious, and we were beyond excited for what the meal would bring. The appetizer was dripping with grease and a bit lackluster. Not what I expected, but I still held out for dinner. I was shocked at the poor quality of the food we received. I ordered the mushroom tacos and my dinner partner ordered the braised short rib tacos. The menu listed birria, vegetable consommé, and queso chihuahua as things I would see on my taco, but all I got were burned, dry lumps of what tasted like last week's mushroom leftovers. I asked about the other toppings, and my waitress pointed out that they don't actually put vegetables on the tacos, but cook them in vegetable stock, and one of the three tacos did have cheese on it. I pointed out that the other two did not have cheese, and she brought me a bowl of cheese that I could add on my own. I was hopeful that it would make the tacos edible, but the cheese she brought looked exactly like the shredded colby jack from elementary school salad bar after it had been sitting out for a few days and had gotten all dry, and it didn't taste much better. I choked down as much as I could, but my dinner partner ate less than a quarter of his meal. After we left it I asked about it, and he said it tasted like nothing, but also burnt and smokey at the same time. We concluded that, after eating in every restaurant in Des Moines we've come across for the last few years, we have definitely had our worst meal in the city at Bar Nico. Not what I had anticipated for my evening. And definitely not worth the more than $75 I spent! read more

Bar Nico - a plate of meat and a fork - Bars Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

Huge fan of what this restaurant is bringing to the Des Moines area. Great food, great drinks, and a really fun atmosphere to go along with it. They always provide the freshest food possible, and have some really creative dishes! Would come here again and again. read more

After being put on a waiting list and waiting an hour and buying a $50+ bottle of wine was told there was a mistake and they won't have a table for us for at least 2 more hours. And even blamed a specific employee. Yikes! Oh and there was an open table for the entire 1-hour+ we were there. I'm sure there is something about the reservation process I'm not aware of. Was apologized to but offered nothing else. Disappointed. read more

I went to this place for the first time and hands down they have the most Amazing cocktails and tacos in all of Des Moines. This has defiantly become my new fave spot to go! read more

great food and cool ambiance! guac, chicken tostadas, beef tacos, and black beans were 10/10! will be back for sure!