4.4* (out of 5) Food: 4* Atmosphere: 4* Value: 5* Service: 4* Would I go back / Recommend?: 5* (Definitely) Total check/person: $15 04/27/2026 My Happy Hour information at happyhourdesmoines.com was getting a little dated, so decided to head over to the Blue Shark again and check things out. While last time was for dinner with my wife, this trip was to enjoy the Happy Hour specials with a helpful server at the bar. Today I ordered a tap beer that I hadn't yet had from their good selection as well as their daily special of Chips, Queso & Salsa (see picture). This was an extremely good value, as the portion of chips was generous as were the queso and salsa - enabling a good salsa/queso to chips ratio! I thought the chips, queso and salsa all tasted above average, so I left pleased (and full). read more

See all

Last minute we chose to stop in and they sat us super quick (party of 3!) service was wonderful and our waitress was attentive to our needs. The whole place smelled clean and was just very enjoyable. I had the steak sandwich and it was amazing! read more

Blue Shark Ale House - Sirloin Steak sandwich on French baguette with homemade coleslaw - Sports Bars Near Me - Urbandale, Iowa

Fantastic place to eat and hangout! We grabbed lunch at the bar, and Mclayne was our server. She was friendly and very efficient. Our food was amazing!! It was our first time there, and we'll definitely go back!!! read more

Came here with a large group to hang out, eat dinner, and watch football. There was plenty of seating to accommodate us and many TV screens. We ordered several appetizers to share: spinach artichoke dip/chops, southwest egg rolls, and cheese curds. They were all ok. I ordered the chicken bacon wrap and it was also ok, fries were ok. My friends said their burgers were ok but the mashed potatoes are not good. Pricing is a little high. Service was a little slow but fine because we had a large group. read more

See all

Went to blue shark for the first time in a while with the family. We used to go there all the time, but just hadn't been going out to eat much lately. This time we got charged a 3% service fee, which I don't remember in past visits. I didn't make a big deal about it this time, but probably won't go back. I try to avoid places that charge service fees, especially ones that aren't told upfront. Our waitress was brand new, we were her first customer ever. She was being trained by someone who was brand new as well. We were very patient with her and she tried her best. The food is average. Cheeseburgers, chicken strips, mac & cheese, the basics. I imagine next time we'll explore somewhere else instead. read more

I've really wanted to like this place as it's close to my neighborhood. However something must be wrong with their beer lines as my husband and his friend continue to have stale beer when we've tried to go here. I noticed the same with an Aperol Spritz- the prosecco was flat. I wish it was a one time thing but sadly it's happened too often to waste the money. read more

Blue Shark is one of the places I visit most when in town for business. Always great atmosphere and Alexis is an amazing bartender. Very friendly and customer service is top notch! read more

Started the weekend at Blue Shark and I'm not sure if it was the right place to start. Was craving wings and shrimp and was recommended to visit. Walking in was awkward. No sign or host. Someone from bar called out to us to find own seat. Service was ok. Two of our servers did not really know the menu or what was on the rotating tap. They actually didn't have any knowledge of anything that was not domestic. I was surprised for lack of knowledge of their own products being an ale house. Ordered traditional medium sauce wings, Buffalo shrimp in savory bourbon, and a calamari appetizer. Two pints of Mango Cart to drink. I enjoyed the Buffalo shrimp. The savory bourbon was a unique flavor. Calamari was tasty. Freshly breaded. Hot and crunchy. All was dairy and egg free. The Mango Cart beer tasted like fruit juice with pulp and was underwhelming for flavor. Mr W ordered the traditional wings. He thought it was underwhelming in flavor. Asked about the wing sauce and server didn't know anything about it. Environment was well lit and had a lot of TVs. Very comparable look like Buffalo Wild Wings. Loud. High top and low table seating. Booths were very popular to sit. Bar area was packed. Small patio outside for when summer comes back around. Other patrons were decently spaced apart. Upon receiving our check we asked about a Military discount. We received a 10% discount on only 1 food item and not the entire check. That was awkward. Then there was a 3% service charge on the bill. We were told it was a new, recent fee of charging the customers & to avoid it next time we would need to bring cash. Another awkward conversation. Entire bill was $68.xx after gratuity. All the awkward moments piled up to make it a strange visit and I probably won't be back. I wouldn't recommend Blue Shark for service. & Seems like the food is hit and miss. read more

See all

Blue Shark is one of the only sports bars near us with ESPN+ to watch NHL. The staff was extremely rude when we asked for one of the TVs to be turned to our game they made it seem like it was a huge imposition (sorry we thought that was the entire point of a sports bar), then when they couldn't get the stream to load they told us they wouldn't try again for another 30minutes. They told us they would let the shift manager know, which of course never happened. After we missed the entire first period, without being checked on by the bartender or any of the 6 waitresses running around, we had to flag someone down to ask if they would check the stream again. They then told us they had been having issues all week... would have been great to know before wasting our time and money. Will not be coming back to watch a game. Thanks again for trying... read more

A friend of ours recommended this place, so we thought we'd check it out. Our server was three days into the gig and should have had someone shadowing her, as multiple mistakes were made. She was, however, friendly and personable. A friend with us was charged $6 too much for her pizza. She caught the mistake, however. The waffle fries appetizer came out warm, not hot. Not much flavor either, though the portion was generous. The tenders were very good and the hot buffalo sauce quite tasty. However, I'm pretty sure another mistake was made here...or the ranch was the worst in the history of ranch. Seemed to taste a lot more like bleu cheese. Bloody Mary was adequate and came out with a skewer with beef stick, string cheese, pepperoni, pickle, and peperoncini. For a place that advertises themselves as an "ale house", they sure seemed to have a lot of shitty domestics on the menu. A flight of beers was $14. I've been to craft breweries that charge less. The server also fouled one of these up as well...$3.50 for half a pint of Bud Light was ridiculous. Don't see myself returning anytime soon. read more

Blue Shark Ale House - Homemade chicken tenders and "ranch" - Sports Bars Near Me - Urbandale, Iowa

See all

Service is very slow, food was expensive and mediocre, manager is a fool!!! They don't have the games that other sports bars have on TV, would much rather go someone else and be treated like a customer than a pain. Will definitely not go back! read more

Bartender has NO personality. Bar manager worse. Frozen fried boneless wings .... Walmart has better. Don't waist your time

Service very slow, manager was very rude and disrespectful to many customers. Manager was yelling at customers the night we were there, dressed like she was working as a stripper. No idea why someone would hire a manager who dresses or acts like this. read more

Met a friend at Blue Shark in Urbandale tonight for a drink. We each had only one mule, however, we asked for doubles. I couldn't believe it when our bill came. We were charged for four mules (okay I guess each was a double) and then another $4.00 for Absolut even though mules were charged as "Absolut Raspberri Mule". Then they added another 3% service charge which was not for using a credit card. Total bill, pre tip, $41.90. Ridiculous! Won't be returning ever. Should also mention we sat on patio and there was a very nasty sewer smell. read more

Blue Shark Ale House - Sports Bars Near Me - Urbandale, Iowa

Great food. Great service. I love their fries. Air fried. No grease. Yummy! Clean. Friendly. read more

Nachos were good. The bbq chicken pizza had very little sauce. The server forgot multiple requests.

I purchased the chicken Caesar wrap with sweet potato fries for carry out. First time I have eaten food from Blue Shark. And as we know, first impressions are important. It was almost 18$ for the meal. Thank goodness I requested extra sauce because there was not much in the wrap itself. What was there was kind of watery. The fries were limp and soggy. The person who handed my the bag and rang up my charge was pleasant and friendly. Unfortunately those attributes don't make the food satisfactory. I most likely will not return. read more

Met friends for lunch and drinks on the patio on a pleasant Saturday afternoon. We were seated and our server came over after about 10 minutes and asked if we'd been helped. We said we hadn't and she said that 'she guessed we were her table', so she'd take our drink orders. That was a hint of things to come. As we'd say when I lived in the south...'bless her heart, she was doing all she could'. So, service was pleasant, but not good at all. We were there over an hour before we got our food. That was not a big issue for us as we were enjoying our drinks and planning to spend some time there. The food was very good - pretty much your typical bar fare, but on the upper end of quality for the DSM area. Fries were hot and crisp and all the sandwiches were hot and tasty. There is a huge patio and ample TV's to watch sporting events. Some of the patio is outdoor and some is covered so you can be protected from the elements. The walls open up as well so even a lot of the indoor space can have an 'outdoor' feel. It is really hard right now to get good help and our server seemed to be very new and perhaps not trained well. She forgot things, didn't take dirty dishes/glasses away when she stopped at the table, and took about 10 minutes to show up with any requests. She was pleasant and maybe we were the only ones who had issues, so we'd give them another try. Food and drink was all good! read more

Went for lunch with friends to the Jordan Creek Location. Walk in, sign says "Please Wait to be seated". Look around, not a single employee in sight. Finally after 5 min my friend went and yelled for someone. A waitress comes out of the back and says "Sit anywhere you like". Then why have the sign up? She disappeared again in the back. Came back close to 10 min later to take order. Long story short, entire place being run by 2 waitresses who hid in the backroom. Food quality = Meh. This place will be out of business soon. read more

Read the reviews before I came so I was prepared for the uncoordinated service. Table I sat at was quickly wiped down, but I had to ask for menus and water. When the menu came, I asked again for water. A waitress stopped by to ask if I'd been served; long atory short, they must not have assigned tables/stations because she declared "im going to take your table". She must have been new because she had to find out the price of beers and double check on what apps were on special (the person she asked about the beer price had to look it up, and told ultimately told us the wrong price. Our waitress was really nice and once we got past the initial hump, things seemed to go smoother and we didn't have to wait terribly long read more

Blue Shark Ale House - Nachos with steak - Sports Bars Near Me - Urbandale, Iowa

Been here a few times,the service is always a 10++ and the food is really good--I've really liked the sandwiches and salads I've gotten. I just wouldn't recommend the chicken con broccoli--it's, well, different--definitely not what I was expecting. True to form with their always excellent service, they took it off the ticket. read more

Blue Shark Ale House - Chicken con broccoli - Sports Bars Near Me - Urbandale, Iowa

First time having a bad experience here. The Wings were way over cooked to the point of being hard. The worst thing was the music. It was continual hiphop. We asked if it could be changed and were told it's pay as you go. The staff has loaded it up with bad music. The waitress said people are leaving before ordering because of the music. This used to be a go to place for me. Sad to see its going down hill. read more

Had a great beer and wings, super low key environment . Sierra S. behind the bar was a treat, she made sure the beers did not go empty! 10/10 recommend, especially for the one and only Sierra S! read more

I only went in for the unlimited wings on this Wednesday m . I should have known better because it was only a few people there for it to be unlimited wings for $12.99. We ordered traditional wings and the loaded waffle fries. The sweet chili savory, Caribbean Jerk Parmesan Garlic and Bourbon. I didn't like either one they were trash. The wings itself had no seasoning and the sauces were horrible. Especially the bourbon . The loaded waffle fries were ok. The best thing I had while there was the water and the celery that came with the wings. Oh and the ranch ‍‍ was the consistency of curdled yogurt with no flavor. Our waitress was the bomb. She was fast and friendly and I'm mad I can't remember her name because she does deserve some recognition . Oh it was clean also. This was the Urbandale location read more

Great beer choices, wings were average but AYCE Wednesday was a good deal, friendly staff

The service was very solid, but everything else about the place disappoints. Go elsewhere, it's loud & brightly lit & the bathrooms are nasty. Food is nothing special. read more

Food was very good and came out quick. Service was good and very helpful. Beer was ok with a lot of options.

I adored their cuisine. Everything tastes delicious, including the nachos, chicken, shrimp, calamari, and pizza. The chicken was very well seasoned and tender- one of the better ones I've had in a restaurant. One of the drawbacks for us was that our server struggled mightily to respond to our inquiries about the menu. The ambiance was another negative for us.0 read more

Stopped for lunch. There was no sign indicating to wait to be seated so we went to a booth on the dining room side of the restaurant. It appeared there was plenty of wait staff working and there were plenty of empty tables/booths available. After waiting for 15 minutes to be waited on we walked out and will not be going back. read more

Only giving it one stsr because we do love the ambiance and the patio but service was zero. More staff than customers when we were in but not one person offered us a menu. Waited with empty drinks. Never received a water which we had asked for twice. We've given this place a couple try's and each time has been the same. read more

Came here for some pre-game apps and food. Beer was cold and service was friendly. Food was average at best. Spicy garlic Parmesan wings were dry and not sauced nor spicy. Onion rings stuck together and soggy. Chips and queso were average. $8 for 5 Mac and cheese bites and breaded cauliflower was nothing special. Atmosphere and tvs were awesome. Place could be great but the kitchen would need to step up their game. read more

I really wanted to like this place and have given it 3 tries with each time unfortunately getting worse. The last time I went I just felt like I was an inconvenience to them and that is the only reason I'm leaving a review. First the food was excellent for bar food. The service was just so so bad. We went on a day where the place was probably at 20% capacity with and being to be what would be presumed over staffed. The wait times were ridiculous for our waters, food and drinks. Our waitress would disappear multiple times while we would watch our drinks just sit at the bar for 5-10 minutes and when we got them they would be watered down. We asked to have a football game turned on and she said that they didn't have the ability to change the channels, this was on a Sunday and had replays of previous events running on tvs instead of the live game that I was requesting. When we finally got the bill I noticed that I was being charged a credit card fee on my bill when I was paying cash and had to have that removed. What made the whole experience frustrating is what I believe to be a manager or some type of higher up was sitting in a booth chatting with the staff while we would just sit there and wait to be waited on. I hope this place can get it together because the food, location and atmosphere is great, but the service is very lacking in my experience. read more

It was okay. Nothing special about the food, it came out quick. I had the boneless wings and they were basic chicken bites. Waffle fries were delicious! read more

There are two locations for Blue Shark Ale House. This review is for the one located in the same strip as New York Pizza, Sheer Madness, and Pancheros all just west of Jordan Creek Mall. Anyway it has a fresh look with a lot of large tv's tuned to sports with a full bar. Not many bars have Prosecco on tap but this one does. The food is an uptick to typical bar food. I got the Blue Shark burger which was good but nothing out of the ordinary. Seems like the burgers focus on BBQ sauce with few venturing too far away. There are other sandwich's and pizza restaurants plus a few salads. My main complaint was that service was slow despite only 8 tables occupied. It is okay which scores a 3. read more

We happened to drive by and see the outdoor seating on a seasonal early October evening. I'm glad we stopped. The seating was excellent, the server was very friendly and the food was excellent. It is very much the sports bar appearance, but was very relaxed outside. read more

This place as average at best. Decent waitstaff if you have time. I didn't find them very attentive accept for this one gal. I think she may have been management. She stopped more often than my server. This is the second time I'd been here. The first was for lunch. Burger. Eh, ok. The second time was for drinks and appetizers. I had two cucumber mules for the low price of, wait for it, $13 a piece. One came in an aluminum cup that tasted like aluminum. I poured it into the first copper on the outside cup. Made it better. I don't know if the cup wasn't clean or just the metal. I had boneless wings with garlic Parmesan sauce. They were little nuggets of overcooked chicken almost in sauce. read more

We decided to try something new tonight and went to Blue Shark Ale House. The all you can eat wings were great and Madelyn was the best bartender!! Go in on Wednesday nights for unlimited wings! read more

Want this place to succeed because it's a great layout (thx Riley Ent) Food is great, but unless you sit at the bar the service is awful. Will continue to try, hoping they have a cure. read more

Date night gone wrong. Do NOT come here on a Friday or Saturday night. Though the staff was very nice, they seemed overwhelmed by the population. Or potentially they were under staffed....Either way, it was Very slow. Didn't receive drinks until at least after 15 minutes each time we asked for a new beverage. Food was decent. It did take over an hour after we ordered to receive it, however. Missed our movie time by over an hour because of how slow it was. They can only go up from here I suppose. read more

Was just here yesterday. The food was great and so was the service. The menu had a wide variety of options.