I was exploring the Valley West Mall for a midday bite and managed to discover Leachman's. I must say, it felt like stepping into a time capsule in the most wonderful way! The decor has a darling, vintage 90s aesthetic that feels so genuine and unpretentious. The owner is remarkably humble and clearly takes immense pride in their work it's the kind of personal touch that you just don't find everywhere. The hospitality was truly the highlight of my visit. The staff explained the menu with such genuine warmth; they really make you feel like a guest rather than just a customer. It is officially my favorite part of the experience! I decided on the BBQ Brisket Sandwich, and the efficiency was simply remarkable it arrived in a mere few minutes. The brisket was prepared to perfection incredibly soft, flavorful, and served on beautifully toasted bread. It was a total triumph and honestly quite addictive! I am officially charmed by this local gem and will most certainly be a regular here read more

This is 5 star food in our great city. The owner is humble and has so much to be proud of! They were out of many things in the day we tried, but that won't stop us. They have a board of items listing what they're out of. I had the brisket sandwich with fries and mac and cheese. The sandwich was everything you want brisket to be. Tender, succulent, perfect crust and loaded on a grilled bun. The fries were great and had some delicious rub/seasoning on them. The mac and cheese was different than expected, but in a good way. Rotini noodles, cheesey, perfectly seasoned. You need to go. They're not open all days of the week so check yourself so you don't end up brokenhearted. Go. Eat. Indulge. Tip well. Thank me later. read more

Leachmon Pit Stop BBQ - Chopped brisket - Barbeque Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

I stopped by and checked out Leachmon's today. I live in Clive and for some reason I never made it over when the location was in Valley West Mall before they moved over to NE 14th. Dumb me. Lol Fair warning the pin on Apple and Google maps is a little off. The restaurant is in the corner of the building nearest to NE 14th. I want to say there was a Family Cafe or something like that there before... I was greeted right away by a young lady who was updating a sign board. Seating is a horseshoe shaped bar as you enter. In a dining area off to the Left there are both low and high top tables with chairs and a few booths. I went a little unconventional for BBQ... A cheesesteak combo with fries and mac n cheese and a golden fried catfish combo with fries, fried okra, and a cornbread muffin. My order was placed to go and the wait wasn't long. I'd seen someone post a picture of their cheesesteak a while back... This is something I am unnaturally passionate about. I was stationed in Philadelphia PA for about two years. The metro has a lot of steak and cheese sandwiches, but not many true cheesesteaks. The picture I saw looked legit so this was a must try for me. As they would say in Philly these are served "wit" so if you don't want onions make sure you let them know. It did not disappoint! The chop on the flat top was traditional and not just strips of more or less stir fried beef. The roll...while not entirely traditional...does its job. Soft enough to the bite, but firm enough to hold everything together and it didn't get soggy. It fits the mold of a true cheesesteak. The catfish is fried in seasoned corn meal. Mine was a thick nice fillet. If you don't like catfish because it tastes "fishy" this is not for you. It's not tilapia or a different mild white fish. You're going to get exactly what you ordered. I loved it! But I love catfish. The only thing that would have made it better was if it was whole and bone-in. The mac n cheese was made with a fusilli style pasta. A little funny to the eye but the taste is beyond reproach. Some of the best mac n cheese I've had in a long time! The fries and fried okra were cooked perfectly. I have plenty of those left over. Hopefully they reheat up well in the air fryer! Don't make the same mistake I did by waiting so long to stop by Leachmon's! The gentlemen working in the kitchen know what they are doing and are serving up some good food! https://www.facebook.com/pitstopbbqia.leachmon.7?mibextid=LQQJ4d https://www.lpitstopbbq.com/ read more

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We were so disappointed that they were closed. Best BBQ we had had in a long time. I'm a Texas girl, and it takes dang near perfection in BBQ to please me....and they had it. To bad they closed...no more BBQ on the East side. read more

Good honest wholesome classic tasty American BBQ, good and tasty sides, good people too!

Great BBQ with a side of 90's Central Iowa nostalgia! It's been a good minute since I, or anyone for that matter, last went to Valley West Mall. We'd been wanting to try Leachmon's new location and left thrilled to finally have visited. We got the Frank's Feast (3 meats and 3 sides), an order of banana pudding and drinks for $35. Such an incredible value for money. Meats: Fried chicken wings, brisket, and pulled pork sandwich Sides: Fried okra, mac and cheese balls, and fries. My folks ordered ribs, rib tips, potato salad, cornbread and mac and cheese. My husband loved the mac and cheese balls, I was a fan of the brisket and banana pudding and we all liked the sausage. Will absolutely return to try their cobbler since it was sold out. read more

Leachmon Pit Stop BBQ - Menu - Barbeque Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

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I've eaten at Leachmon's twice. Both times the sandwiches were amazing. They just recently started opening for lunch and both times I ate at the lunch counter. The space has an old-time diner feel on one side of the restaurant. Monday through Wednesday they serve various sandwiches and fries. All the prices are in the $10-$13 range. On Thursday through Sunday they have a full menu with ribs, Southern sides, and interesting desserts. Prices are higher, but appropriate. This review is a preview because I will definitely be going for the full menu. The service is prompt and everything has been tasty. I am judging them solely on service and food. They're pretty new to the space so I'm giving them a pass on the ambience. It's a family restaurant and restauranting is hard work. I trust that they will get the ambiance fully dialed in in time. The most important thing is the food anyway and they have BBQ down! Lucky to have them so close to work :) read more

Leachmon Pit Stop BBQ - Chopped Brisket Sandwich - Barbeque Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

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If you're looking for some good bbq, look no further. I know Valley West Mall doesn't have much to offer but it has this restaurant. The rib tips are amazing! They are flavorful and very tender! The bbq sauce is not overpowering but compliments the tips nicely! I'm not a big fan of the coleslaw as it has a strong vinegar taste which I don't like. If you like vinegar based coleslaw you'll enjoy it. The macaroni and cheese balls were pretty good as well but could use a little more flavor. By far the rib tips are the star!! The prices are good as well. I've only ordered takeout from this location and the food stayed warm. read more

Leachmon Pit Stop BBQ - Rib Tips, Macaroni and Cheese Balls and Coleslaw. - Barbeque Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

10/10 would recommend and will be returning regularly:) Helpful and attentive service, reasonable and affordable prices and the food is amazing!! Cannot recommend the catfish enough:) really great place. read more

So freaking good go here everything we had was amazing their collard greens so much flavor smoked turkey leg and all catfish was huge lots of flavor lemon pepper chicken fried hard just like I like it so good macaroni just like it's supposed be on point read more

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BBQ was amazing! We are in town for a swim meet and looking for some great food. We tried Leachmon Pit Stop BBQ and it was a hit! Very friendly servers and a great menu full of BBQ variety. Their pulled pork sandwich was outstanding, excellent BBQ beans and mouth watering mac & cheese. Would certainly go here again! read more

This is a new restaurant on this side of town, and are still working on a few things on getting orders out correctly, but everything is so GOOD, that we found a couple of order mistakes to be wonderful discoveries! I normally overlook smoked turkey for BBQ at these places, but when they order came out the sandwich looked so delicious I decided to take it and try it... juicy and piled high with Turkey and just the right amount of BBQ sauce... fries were good .. I normally don't order potato salad as a side because of an onion allergy, and was going to send it back, but was assured they don't pour onion in theirs... I didn't realize how much I had missed a good potato salad until I had it! My husband got the BBQ brisket sandwich with baked beans and fried okra... the brisket is amazing! And they do fried okra right! He said the baked beans were good too! I don't think they were expecting to be busy at 4 pm, so we had a bit of a wait, because there were only two people out front and the owners little girl brought us menus and helped her dad carry drinks to us.. they will probably need an extra person on weekends to help out... but that let us meet the owners little girl who is sweet and helpful to her family... It's a very nice place and they make you feel welcome and take care of your needs well... Great place ! good food at a reasonable price and such a NICE Family Friendly place to bring kids! We will definitely be back! read more

Ribs were very tasty. Love the Mac and cheese balls too. Comes with a side of cornbread also. Will def try something else the next time we are at the mall. Very friendly staff and they run a food truck also during the summer. read more

Leachmon Pit Stop BBQ - Ribs Tips ($10) and Mac & Cheese Balls ($3) - Barbeque Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

After a long day of no food I decided to get up and get myself something to eat. Though at first, I didn't know what I wanted to eat. Then I got on my phone and saw someone post some food that look good and it was barbecue so I started craving barbecue, so naturally I got on Yelp to look up what to eat and I searched up barbecued places that's open in Des Moines and this review was the first place to pop up so I decided to take a drive down there and try some of their food because it looked good in the pictures we got there and was serviced immediately. I ordered rip tips with fries and smoked barbecue chicken with greens and baked beans. The meals also came with cornbread. When I finally got home, I ate it all sum Might say my back is very big if I can travel back in time I would order two more meals. Thank you for the service!! Moral of the story if you're deciding whether or not to eat here, do it, you won't regret it. read more

Leachmon Pit Stop BBQ - Rib Tips French Fries - Barbeque Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

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Well to start off, there were only 4 people in the restaurant and took an hour to get our food. It was over priced for the terrible quality. They brought one of us the wrong order. It was filthy and smelly. I would give it zero stars if I had the option. I will NOT be returning. read more

Best bbq Des Moines highly recommended my favorite is the fried wing dinner we got make this black bigger read more

Leachmon Pit Stop BBQ - chicken and macaroni and cheese - Barbeque Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

food was flavorful hot and fresh. Friendly service- my family has now visited several times

I ordered some carry out- I had ribs and we got several sides. The ribs were really good- a lot more flavor than most bbq in this area. The baked beans and curly potatoes were amazing! read more

45 minute wait, empty restaurant. Food was disgusting, way overpriced. Would not recommend this place to anyone, horrible experience overall. read more

Simply the BEST wings I've ever had. The service was as good as it gets. I can't get over how crispy and well seasoned the wings were. Can't wait to go back. HIGHLY RECOMMEND! read more

Leachmon's is hands down the best bbq in Des Moines! Frank, Trecia, and Franky know how to throw down in the kitchen and on the grill. My husband, brother, and I went to try out the food on a random Sunday afternoon and everything we ate was amazing that included the lemon-pepper chicken wings, rib tips, brisket, mac & cheese, baked beans, greens, sweet potatoes, fries and corn bread. And our waitress was so patient with us as newcomers and so friendly and kind!! 10/10 customer service! We are all Chicago natives and this food reminded us so much of home. We loved the food so much we asked them to cater our small marriage ceremony. Trecia was extremely helpful in answering all of our questions and ironing out the details for the catering. The day of the event, they delivered on-time, the order was correct, they quickly set everything up, and the food was just as amazing as when we first tried it!! Everyone loved it!! We will definitely be back (and frequently)!! read more