New speakeasy below hotel fort Des Moines. Went here on a Friday night around 9pm. You are led downstairs where the bar is. The decor was super nice and certainly have a speakeasy vibe. Most of the seating here seemed to be targeted towards large groups so there wasn't a ton of option for a party of 2. We did not have a reservation so there was only 1 high top area that was honestly super uncomfortable. I would recommend making a reservation if you want a chance to sit at one of the lower chair areas. The biggest issue was the service. It took over 20 minutes for anyone to come over and take our drink order. This is a newer spot so I'm hopeful things can improve. It was super loud and not the most inviting space. Some of the seating was a bit awkward with spacing. The drinks were small but I would expect that for a higher end cocktail. For DSM, I did think some of the drinks seemed a bit expensive. The drinks were okay but seemed pretty weak where they were super juice heavy. Overall I would probably not come back unless I had friends who haven't been and wanted to try it. Super bummed as I do think there is potential here but need to work through some of these issues. read more

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This speakeasy bar is located inside the hotel fort in downtown Des Moines, Iowa. To get there, you will enter the coffee bar, once you walk around the bar, you'll see a velvet rope. Somebody will ask you how many people in your party and then open the wall pantry. This will lead to the stair that goes downstairs to the basement. Bar lighting is dim, intimate feel. There's bar seating, high tops, tables that accommodate large parties and VIP room that has a curtain for privacy. We ordered cocktails that were unique crafted. Bathroom is available, hallway of pictures of people dressed in the 1920s all over the wall. We enjoyed this speakeasy bar and will definitely come back with more people. read more

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Tried to go tonight but apparently they chose to close early. Seven other people after us also tried to go in and were disappointed as well. Thankfully the staff at Hobnob took care of us. read more

We loved our visit here. Great ambiance and you truly feel like you stepped into a speakeasy. The service was friendly and our drinks were made with care. We will definitely be back. read more

In Confidence - Menu folder. Old fashion. - Speakeasies Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

Loved this place! I did not have a reservation, and was seated immediately. It probably helped that it was like 5:45 on a Saturday night. ha! Anyway, this place is located in the basement of the hotel but you wouldn't know as it's decorated beautifully and lots of thought was put into the decor. You must check out the restrooms! The best bunny wallpaper I have ever seen. The drinks are great. A little on the pricey side. Two drinks + tip was over $40. It's worth checking it out for a fancy before dinner drink. read more

If you want to be treated rudely this is the place to try. We had a large party with a reservation made months in advance. We were told only 20 of us could go down even when the bar was not at capacity ( not even close) and that if some in our party left they could not be replaced with other people. After some discussion they agreed to let 25 go in and if some left others could replace them. When we finally were allowed down, after being called names and threatened by the doorman David with comments like "wanna go?", people in our party in their 50\60s were turned away for no ID. the security guy said we had to wait for him at the bottom of the stairs. We are now 40+ mins after our reservation. 15 mins later and he hadn't came down to show us to the private seating area reserved for our party all along. We ended up figuring it out ourselves. After being their for an hour the security guy came down and told us our party was not allowed to stand in the bar area ( that was 80% empty) and we all had to fit in the room reserved for us. We went in there as requested so he could "see how much space was left" and he never returned to check. The bartender refused to allow us to order and pay for a beer at the bar saying we had to go to the reserved room only and wait for the waitress there to order. It took my husband 40 mins to get his drink and he was the first in our group to order and was asked 4 times what he ordered. We are not a rowdy crew- many in the group are 50+ and wanted to have a drink with the bride and groom and go to bed. I have never been treated so rudely by any staff at any business and without provocation. We would have probably spent $800+ dollars more here than we did if we would have been accommodated at our reservation time. There was never more than 20 people in the bar while we were there that were not in our party. the rude staff (especially David) ruined our night and the bar lost out on a lot of business because of how we were treated. I have never seen a business try this hard to keep customers out. We will never be back. read more

My wife and I went there at 12 o'clock, and it wasn't very busy, so we only waited a few minutes to get in. The host told us to walk down, and he would follow us and seat us right after, but we waited for two minutes and he never came down. We found an empty table and sat and waited a few minutes, but nobody greeted us. Around the six-minute mark, I decided to go get somebody, and someone finally came to our table. We had two drinks which were decent, and we were going to have another, but the waiter took forever to get back, so we decided to cash out. I have to write about the service, but it was dreadful. It's a one and done for me. read more

In Confidence - Hellfire Club - Speakeasies Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

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Not great. The drinks or service. Really wanted to like this place but it just wasn't great.

Ambience, drinks, and service were great. Prices were high to obnoxiously-high, so keep that in mind. The cool concept is unique to Des Moines, but the prices don't need to be unique, too. When the cocktails at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, Good News Darling, and Harbinger are cheaper than yours, there's a problem. read more

Everything about this place was top-notch. We walked in without a reservation and were told we could have a seat anywhere at the bar as the other chairs were reserved for reservations. The bartender was very knowledgeable about all the drinks and efficient at making them. We can't wait to go back, and this will be a place we will take people who come to visit. Drinks are pricey but worth it. read more

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Disappointing. We had a group of 6 for 8pm reservation. We chose to try this because we had 2 non-drinkers in the group and the offered some options for them. We were greeted warmly and placed our drink order. The server came back 3 times to let us know they were out of certain ingredients: mint, blueberries and the non-alcoholic spirits. The night was young, how are they out of these basic items? All drinks arrived separately and with long times in between. Signature cocktails here good, but not worth the steep price. The nonalcoholic replacements were terrible. Music was great, but a bit too loud for a conversation. Not planning a return visit. read more

This is such a beautiful place to kick back, relax and enjoy a beautiful ambiance, the staff is friendly and great, the mixologist are spot on with their recommendations. read more

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This place is incredible. So cute and beautiful decor inside. Cocktails are up to $22 and water is $8. For a bottle of water.

After waiting 20 minutes upstairs for seats in the speakeasy, we were seated at a 2 top in a very cool ambience. However, not a single person waited on us for 20 minutes, servers moved right past us like we were invisible, it was bizarre. We were totally fine with the wait to get in (had a cocktail while we waited) but, once you are seated you expect some service within 20 minutes. Cool ambience, need to work out the service issues. read more

Steven was not only welcoming, but his style is impeccable. He curated a specialty drink, Papa Smurf, that really dances on the tongue in a very approachable manner. I highly recommend ordering it, and giving Steven a raise. What is the mustache mustache rider? read more

Very cool concept and space- keep tweaking the drink menu! Would love more variety of bourbon/whiskey drinks. I think the vanilla old fashioned is overly sweet. read more