I went there hungry for some unhealthy food and thirsty for some Iowa beer. AG did its thang!…read more Loved the Poutine. Loved the PB&J Burger. Liked the beer. Liked our bartender/server and her friendliness . Loved the divey-but-not-too-divey atmosphere. Shout out to their kitchen being open on the later side during the week. It was very hard to find a good meal in this area at 10:00pm on a Monday, but AG came up clutch.

Friday Night At the Angry Gold Fish…read more This is usually a solid place to get a burger, but came up short. We arrived around 7:30 and it was busy. I asked for the corner table which was large and there were two of us. I chose it because it was quiet and it was so loud. The waitress seamed super annoyed. I am deaf in one ear and this was the best place so I could hear and actually enjoy the place. I didn't feel her attitude was justified. If she would have kept pushing the point it was going to get pushed to the manager as I have several disabilities and I don't use them, but I do choose certain places to sit to help manage them. My expectation is for the waitress to be kind and shouldn't matter if it's two people, four people, or six people. Should be glad to have a customer and business. My wife and I got a Knob Creek on the rocks to start off. We also each got the old fashion, one with tots and one with fries. The burgers have really good flavor, but wasn't even hot. The bun was super dry and I wound up leaving the bun and eating the burger. The tots were really good, but also not hot. My wife's was the same. The French fries were good, but not hot. I didn't say anything to the waitress because based on her attitude it was just going to make the night worse and I was out to have a nice evening. I have been here several times and this is my first bad experience here and I hope it's not a sign that the restaurant is going downhill. This is one of my go to spots in Des Moines to get a great burger and it should be fire on a Friday night. Fresh and delicious, not cold and dry, is the new requirement, an angry waitress to complete the Angry Goldfish vibe?

4.4* (out of 5) Food: 5* Atmosphere: 4* Value: 4*…read more Service: 4* Would I go back / Recommend?: 5* (Definitely) Total check/person: $32 03/14/2026 While certainly not our first visit here, it is the first time that I'm finally getting it documented. Tonight we stopped with friends who are neighbors with the owner after Mass. We started off by sharing a Wisconsin "Charcuterie" appetizer (see picture) - which was great to share with 4 people. Each of the items served in the pretzel were great - and we really enjoyed each of the dipping sauces. For our meals, my wife ordered the Chicago Beef (see picture) and I opted for the Mediterranean Bowl (see picture). As we always do, we shared our plates. While both were very good, I was especially impressed with the Mediterranean Bowl - it was so cool, light and tasty! Merll's is a relatively recent addition to the Waukee pub scene and worth a stop to sample some of their great food! If you found this review helpful, please show your appreciation with a Like or a Follow. Photos copyright: happyhourdesmoines.com & thefoodanddrinkguy.com

I like Merll's! The service is really good. It is classic bar food. Tons of TVs to watch sports…read more They have a huge amount of drinks to try at decent prices, and rotating cocktail flavors. I'd definitely recommend pizza, bowls, and cheese curds.

This place feels like a hidden gem in downtown. A great location and I've always had friendly…read moreservice! Even when there's a lot of people, it's never as loud as other places which I appreciate! They have patio seating and is actually a great spot for dinner in the summer! I had the Tabasco turkey melt and it was a delicious hot sandwich! I got it with avocado which I personally think always elevates a turkey sandwich but you can also get bacon added if that's your preference.

Well, we did stop back to get some dinner. We went on a Tuesday night before a show at Noce (across…read morethe street) and they were very busy with groups at most tables. The bar had some space, so we bellied back up to that and were well taken care of by the bar staff. I got the Rider BBQ Burger - one of the best burgers I've had in a while, and a 1/3 pound which is the right size for me. I also got a mound of Parmesean Fries as my side. My wife got the Chicken Pita with Pasta Salad for her side. The pasta salad was very creamy - just how I like it, and the maximum level for the Mrs. The chicken pita was very good - fresh chicken and veggies. Drinks and service were very good. There is a credit card service fee of about 3.5% but prices are reasonable enough otherwise that it's not too big a deal. With a lot of groups it's an active vibe, but you can still carry on a conversation.

The food was amazing! Loved the shepherds pie. It was delicious! The service was excellent! It was…read morejust like being in and England pub! It felt very British to me. Love the style of the restaurant. Ambiance, as I said, very British!

I stopped by here early on a Saturday afternoon for a late lunch/early dinner. There was a decent…read morecrowd, but plenty of seating. I found myself a spot across from a tv so that I could watch some Olympic hockey. Very attentive but not intrusive staff. When I finished one drink or my food, my glass/plate were swiftly whisked away. The tiny Guinness shot was adorable, and honestly worth the money for the selfie opportunity alone. I also had their lamb burger with fries, which was quite good as well. They had plenty of pub favorites on the menu, but if I stopped by again, I would probably still get the lamb. It's such an underrated option.

Quaint flamingo decor inside, server was excellent, and food was very good. I had the breakfast…read moreflatbread it was awesome. Wife loved her creme brulee French toast. Their Bloody Mary was good and wife enjoyed her mimosa. We will be back to try lunch/dinner menu next time.

4.3 Fantastic experience every time! The best server in the…read moreDSM area is now the Sunday bartender here? Awesome, so I risked a Painkiller cocktail even though the Rum selection here is lower shelf. Well, I had two and they were darn good. I also must call out the French onion burger as top notch, easily top tier burger in the area. Quality costs a bit more but it is worth every penny. Great Job !!!

Founders Irish Pub in Bondurant is one of our regular midpoint stops on bicycle adventures, and…read moreoverall it is still a place we enjoy coming back to. The patio is nice, the location is great, and the weekly specials and prices are still fair. On this visit, I believe we got some complimentary chips and salsa, and I ordered the Southwest Eggrolls for $9.99. The eggrolls were awesome. Most of the time we are here more for drinks, sunshine, and a patio break than a full meal, but the food we have had has been good. That said, Founders can be a little hit or miss. Service really depends on who is working, and the patio and patio games are starting to feel a little tired. I get it -- good help is hard to find, and it is probably tough to predict how busy any given night will be. We forgive you, and we will likely be back again and again. My honest note to ownership would be this: take a close look at the place and do not let it slip much further toward the "dive bar" category. The location is a gold mine, especially for cyclists and patio people. A little freshening up outside and some staff training on drink making and beer selection would go a long way. Still a good stop, still fair prices, and still a place we will keep coming back to -- just hoping it gets a little love before it slides too far.

This place has gone steadily downhill over the last few years. Was one of our favorite stops on the…read moretrails, no more. Today was the last time. We sat down and waited 10 minutes to get anyone to stop by our table. All the while we watched the servers stop and drop shots off for a big table, watch them consume their shots, cleared their table, then walk away from us again. We left. Never had a server acknowledge us. And it wasn't busy. A similar experience happened last season and we gave them yet another shot. Really sad to see a great location like this turn away previous happy clients.

I stopped in during a recent road trip and I wish I would've had more time to spend here. The…read moreinterior is pretty big and has table and bar seating. Everything was clean and service was friendly. They have lots of cool merchandise and several to-go beers. They do serve food but I didn't try any. I only had a beer because I wasn't at my final destination but they have a pretty wide variety with lots of different styles. I went with one of their flagship beers-the Neon Hazy IPA. I really enjoyed it and even got some to go so that I could enjoy back in KC. Next time I'm passing through, I'm definitely going to stop and hopefully plan a little better so that I can try more beer and food.

Good service and creative beers, especially in the sour and sugary spectrum. The unfortunate part…read moreis that some of those beers are TOO sugary that it doesn't taste/feel like beer anymore. I had experienced Barn Town at a beer festival and researched them before visiting town, so I know the experimental candy-influenced collabs are kind of their thing. The PB and Grape Jelly sour was nice and the Watermelon Sour Batch Buddies was the best of the State Fair themed bunch. Everything else packed too much of a flavor punch for me... to the point of upsetting my stomach which NEVER happens when I drink beer. I would actually go back and try some of their flagship (normal) beer offerings and food specials to get a more well rounded opinion of the brewpub.

My cousin recommended this place for margaritas. I was talking about licking tajin on the rim of my…read morecup and she brought me here. Nice vibe when we walked in, bar side was dark yet intimate. The patio was nice and well lit, weather was nice so it was perfect to sit outside. I heard there's an upstairs dining area but was closed when we were there. I checked out the food menu and looks delicious, however we already ate dinner and was there for drinks. I'll have to come back to try the food next time.

Wednesdays are a great night to visit as it's happy hour until 6 PM where you can get half off…read moretheir chips and dips. And then they're buy one get one margaritas till 9 PM. When we arrived, it was just after six so we missed the half off apps, but still took advantage of the margaritas which I failed to get pictures of. I got the blackberry which you can't go wrong as it is sweet and hides a lot of the tequila flavor, which I prefer since I'm a whiskey drinker. My husband got the spicy Mezcal, which is a smoky jalapeño flavored margarita. There weren't that many people there which is why I think they added these deals so take advantage soon. Our server was amazing and the ambience is great. However, I prefer a little bit more light when I'm trying to read the menu.