Nice Restaurants in Des Moines .

[dmclone]

I get annoyed by adults who are loud, rude, and think when they are in a restaurant, the whole world needs to know their business or how "important" they think they are.

I'd take an unruly kid over a drunk adult in a restaurant any day of the week.

Yes, those annoy me as well. You wonder where they learn this behavior....

 

[Cyforce]

I only get annoyed by parents who don't parent. e.g. kicking the back of someones seat, bringing kids to inappropriate places, etc. We've all had to deal with parents who have no interest in being parents.

Why would someone glare at you for being a parent with a well behaved kid?

My view is if it has a kids menu you gotta live with it.

 

[dmclone]

Grimaldi's. Pretty good pizza and a LOT of kids. But I expected it and it's loudc so no biggie. Better than showbiz. I made sure not to look at any parents for more than 2-3 seconds.

 

[CyPhallus]

I'm not sure how I would classify a place like Sakari Sushi Lounge. Is it a nice restaurant? It's definitely a really good restaurant. It feels like a sports bar. But their food is right up there in the "nice restaurant" category. Definitely one of my favorite places in the metro, though.

We took a pretty big group there for a work outing and just went omakase for our order. It was one of the best sushi/sashimi meals I've ever had.

I didn't know they did omakase, interesting. Did it lean more into the sashimi side? Do you remember how many courses? I'm intrigued.

 

[Gonzo]

Kids aren't always silent, which doesn't mean they aren't well-behaved. They just don't necessarily sit quietly. Which for some people isn't good enough. I've definitely seen my share of side eye and glares even though I think my kid is age-appropriate in his behavior.

I definitely wouldn't take my toddler to a fine dining place. And we do take him to breweries, but typically in the afternoon hours. If he has his tablet (which I know also earns me from judgment from others), that can buy us enough time for one drink before he wants to run. And then we leave. We try to mitigate how he acts in public, but can't always predict how he's going to be, and we're both anxious parents who don't like to inconvenience people, so we then default to just not going many places at all. Takeout has become our friend.

And they shouldn't be expected to sit silently. You should feel free to take your kids wherever the hell you want for dinner. Sure fine dining places may not be the norm, but my wife and I sometimes wanted to hit a nice place for dinner, and if we weren't able to find a sitter, so be it, as long as they had burgers on the menu, we figured the kids were covered. And then when they got a little older, 7, 8, 9, 10, etc., the girls liked getting a little dressy and going somewhere a little fancy.

 

[Mr Janny]

I didn't know they did omakase, interesting. Did it lean more into the sashimi side? Do you remember how many courses? I'm intrigued.

I'm using the term very loosely. When we were ordering, the manager/owner suggested, for a group our size, that we let his chefs get creative. So they just brought out a bunch of different platters.

It was about half and half rolls vs. sashimi.

 

[DFWClone]

Rest assured, we rarely take our toddler anywhere to eat because of people like you who would probably glare at us the whole time just because he exists.

Congrats. You just won the thinnest skin award.

 

[Messi]

 

[cyfanbr]

Well, you guys just changed my life. Had no idea DSM had a Brazilian restaurant. Will definitely be getting some next time I am in town visiting family to satisfy my home-country food cravings.

 

[CascadeClone]

Looking for a recommendation for sunday afternoon. #1 son & wife are now expecting! So dinnering with them and my folks - who don't know yet!

So just an amusing update. The folks were very happy to suggest Baker's Square, so that's what we did.

Whoever said "sounds like Cracker Barrel" had it about right! At least no one will ever accuse our family of being pretentious...

 

[HoopsTournament]

Smoky D’s is the #1 place my wife wants to eat when we go to Des Moines. Best BBQ outside of KC or Austin.

 

[Messi]

 

[JP4CY]

3 weeks to use up gift cards cam be tough for some. Would be nice if they also would allow gift cards to be used at brother/sister properties for a couple months atleast.

 

[swiacy]

And they shouldn't be expected to sit silently. You should feel free to take your kids wherever the hell you want for dinner. Sure fine dining places may not be the norm, but my wife and I sometimes wanted to hit a nice place for dinner, and if we weren't able to find a sitter, so be it, as long as they had burgers on the menu, we figured the kids were covered. And then when they got a little older, 7, 8, 9, 10, etc., the girls liked getting a little dressy and going somewhere a little fancy.

Prices at the restaurant will usually determine whether there will be kids around so a rule of thumb is don’t complain about kids bothering you if you go to a family priced restaurant. I always request a booth if available at any restaurant which provides privacy. We went to Tiger Woods’ restaurant in Jupiter, Fl. and they had booths with curtains which really isolated the occupants.

 

[Clonefan94]

Prices at the restaurant will usually determine whether there will be kids around so a rule of thumb is don’t complain about kids bothering you if you go to a family priced restaurant. I always request a booth if available at any restaurant which provides privacy. We went to Tiger Woods’ restaurant in Jupiter, Fl. and they had booths with curtains which really isolated the occupants.

Tiger had a thing for waitresses, didn't he? Makes sense he'd have curtains on the booths.