Des Moines

Fleming's Des Moines is a well-run wine program inside a predictable format — if California reds with your steak is your game, you'll leave happy. Just don't expect any surprises, and watch those markups closely before you start pointing at the big names.

Ruth's Chris West Des Moines is a reliable wine destination if your bar is 'nothing went wrong' — the list is large, storage is proper, and you won't struggle to find something to drink with a $54 steak. Just don't come expecting discovery; come expecting a well-run machine that knows its audience.

Barn Town Brewery is a genuinely solid craft beer destination, and we respect it for that — but the wine program is an afterthought dressed up as an option. Order a pint, save the wine for literally anywhere else.

Splash isn't trying to reinvent wine in the Midwest — it's a polished, California-forward list that does exactly what it needs to do for a seafood restaurant with real ambitions. Send a friend here if they want a reliable bottle with their lobster mac; just don't send the natural wine obsessive.

The New Northwestern is a genuinely pleasant place to drink wine in Des Moines, especially if you let the flights do the heavy lifting. It's not pushing any boundaries, but the setting is great, the pricing is fair, and Etude in a flight pour is hard to argue with.

Prime And Providence has a wine list that's genuinely trying, and in Des Moines that matters — the depth and Old World presence put it ahead of most competition in the market. Just go in knowing the glass pours are a value trap and stick to the bottle list where the occasional deal actually hides.

Johnny's is a fun night out if you're here for the steak and the nostalgia — but the wine list is an afterthought wearing a tuxedo. Order a cocktail, grab the Cristalino if you want bubbles, and don't come here expecting the wine to match the room's ambitions.

801 Chophouse is the kind of wine list that surprises you inside a format that usually doesn't bother. Fair markups, a working sommelier, and depth that goes well beyond the expected — yes, send your friends here for wine.

Table 128 isn't trying to be a wine destination, but with markup this fair and a list that covers meaningful ground, it punches well above its weight for downtown Des Moines. Send a friend here and tell them to drink the French Chardonnay during happy hour — they'll thank you.

Centro is a reliable East Village spot where the wine list does its job without doing anything memorable — the Vite Colte producer is a genuine bright spot worth seeking out, but mostly this is a Napa parade at Midwest restaurant prices. Go for the Italian food; be selective about what you pour.

Cooper's Hawk is a chain with a genuine wine identity, and in Clive, Iowa, that makes it a legitimate destination rather than just a convenient dinner spot. The by-the-glass depth alone is worth the trip — just resist the pull of the obvious and let the Muscats do their thing.

Firebirds is a reliable chain steakhouse wine experience — nothing groundbreaking, but Wednesday half-price wine in the FIREBAR turns a steep markup into a legitimate reason to show up. Go with low expectations for discovery and high expectations for consistency, and you'll leave happy.

HOQ is doing something quietly impressive in a city that doesn't always demand it — a focused, globally curious wine list at prices that don't make you wince. If you're passing through Des Moines and care about what's in your glass, this is your dinner.

Urban Cellar is the kind of place that quietly makes Des Moines a legitimate wine city — 800 bottles, a sommelier, and half-price Wednesdays that should have locals lined up out the door. Go on a Wednesday, ask the staff what's drinking well, and prepare to be pleasantly surprised by what's possible in West Des Moines.

Lucca's wine list is doing real work for Des Moines — more depth than you'd expect, anchored by smart Italian selections, undercut by steep pricing on the California classics. Come for the Lambrusco, skip the Caymus, and let the 27-glass program do the heavy lifting.

Aposto isn't trying to be a wine destination, but it's doing more than most Italian restaurants in the Midwest — and doing it fairly priced, in a genuinely beautiful space. Send a friend here who wants to drink Barolo with duck and feel like they made the right call.

Oak Park has built something rare — a wine list in Des Moines that could hold its own in any mid-major American city, anchored in California and Bordeaux with fair pricing and real by-the-glass depth. Send your friends here, and tell them to skip the Opus One.