Buzzard Billy’s — Restaurant in Des Moines

When you find a great place that serves Cajun and Creole cuisine, you hope that you have a great experience. We found everything that led to a great experience! The good news was that they were on point with every aspect. The service: we were seated immediately for lunch. It was still early enough if we wanted breakfast or brunch or lunch, we had choices. The kitchen and bar are open late at night as well. Our drink order was at our table in under a minute. They have a menu with all sorts of options for any would-be diner. Being a pescatarian means being limited in à lot of restaurants. Not here! The choices are clearly marked and sound delicious. The food: we had scouted this first through Google Maps. The menu has a wide range of choices for both adults and kids. Be prepared when you order to get a lot of food. We skipped the appetizers because of just how much food is offered. Although the gator is a delicacy we like. (Not sure if you'd consider it seafood, though) We settled on the Combo Platter (your choice of catfish or tilapia fillets, chicken tenders, and butterfly shrimp. Since she likes chicken tenders and I like catfish, we split the plate. We saw a shrimp poboy that was packed full of shrimp and a platter. We weren't disappointed. Everything was fried to perfection. Speaking to how solid the back of the house is ran. The atmosphere: This place has tvs for sports, a bar for fun with your friends. And tables and booths for any amount of parties you can bring. It's laid out so they can manage it. It's fun, and eclectic decor gives you good vibes. Overall, we definitely recommend...

I have to say my wife and I were incredibly pleased with our first experience here. Iowa locals, only 30 minutes away, but we had never had it. Also didn't realize there was going to be so much Cajun/Louisiana inspiration in the the menu - not a bad thing! We started with drinks, the Electric Alligator for the lady and the Jamaican Margarita for myself, both delicious and went down easy for any rum and tequila lovers. Then, for food, we started with an order of regular poutine (though I am dying to try the Ranchers poutine option) as an appetizer and that was fantastic! Natural unbreaded cheese curds with bits of pot roast beef and fries covered in gravy! My wife got a simple pasta dish but it came with very well seasoned and soft bread on the side. I got the bacon wrapped boneless Bayou Bourbon chicken wings - they were delicious with ranch! But to make them EVEN BETTER I covered them in hot sauce that came on the table. It's a local brand called Brown Dogs Farm out of Norwalk, IA. Hadn't had either the ghost pineapple or the habanero Peach but they were both fantastic and heightened the chicken wing experience. Additionally we ordered an order of half fries and half hush puppies. Both the fries and hush puppies were very delicious with the fries being well seasoned and the hush puppies being soft and savory! Finally, I ordered a hurricane and it reminded me exactly of the ones that I've had down in New Orleans. Very strong yet delicious! We will definitely be trying Buzzard Billy's again (if only to order the same things haha)

the picture of the hot sauces was the only picture I took...

8/23/24 I ordered delivery. My order was homemade bacon burger Mac n cheese with fried pickles on top. Very good. I would've liked more cheese flavor. Big portion and enough for 2 people. I also ordered bread pudding. Moist and full of flavor. This is a great place with a huge variety menu.

7/3/24 I ordered delivery. My order was a bowl of crab corn soup. Absolutely delicious. I ordered the classic Fettuccine and was very good with lots of sauce.

6/5/24 I ordered the seafood Eggplant Pirogue and it was delicious. It's oneof my favorites here. Great quality food and service. 4/9/24 my order was Cresent City Chicken. Delicious. 3/27/24 I ordered delivery by door dash. My order was 3 piece fish with house red potatoes. The fish was nice big pieces and was delicious. I love the house potatoes. Sadly I ordered the apple crisp and didn't receive it. Dasher said they only gave one bag. They're should've been a 2nd one with my dessert. DD credited my account immediately for the restaurants error.

3/14/24 I had the crab corn soup and crawfish Fettuccine and they were both delicious. 3/6/24 I ordered delivery by door dash SEAFOOD EGGPLANT Pirogue Half an eggplant, hollowed out like a Cajun canoe known as a "pee-row", hand breaded, fried, then filled with shrimp, crab meat blend, mushrooms, and green onions sauteed in a seasoned au gratin sauce. Served with rice and Cajun creme corn. This was absolutely delicious. Just the right amount of spices for flavor without over powering it. This is definitely going to be one of my favorite from here. Great quality food...