Noce — Restaurant in Des Moines

We attended the valentines event at noce expecting a fun evening with great music and food as we have previously experienced there. The music was great as Max and band are phenomenal musicians and artists. However, the food that we paid extra for and was informed through the marketing materials was very subpar and non existent. We were towards the tail end of people in line at the buffet (which they failed to mention it was going to be, materials stated it was a 3 course meal). By the time we made it to the buffet, they were out of the majority of items and everything, including the filet was cold, and there were just chunks of meat sitting there, which we had to cut ourselves, except the mash potatoes were warm. This was very disappointing for the aprox. 20 people going through with us. Some people decided to voice their opinion through social messages to max and then proceeded to leave. Our major surprise and frustration besides the food came from Max deciding to publicly call out and shame the people during the show, calling them "probably first timers and last timers" and continued to ridicule them throughout the show while he slammed down beverage after beverage. My wife and I along with others were shocked that the general manager would be publicly calling out and shaming paying customers who were there to have a nice valentines night out. As a business man shaming customers is not how you stay in business. As stated before he is an exceptional singer and musician and we were set on just letting the food issue pass and enjoy our evening, but when he decided to make it a personal slam on customers we could not just let it sit. Maybe he needs to step away from management. I hope he can work through his issues and learn how to appreciate ALL OF HIS CUSTOMERS, whether New or returning ones (he acknowledged some of the frequent attendees, which was nice). Thank you for...

Everything was wonderful, fantastic music and the wait staff was excellent. However the pretentious hobbit who refused to help us find seating that wasn't taking up the second half of someone else's table, because "that's how real jazz clubs work" nearly ruined the night. I'm only born and raised in Seattle, what would I know about jazz... His only helpful suggestion was that my husband and I stand (me at 26 weeks pregnant). Fortunately he crawled off to throw a ring into mordor or something long enough for the hostess to actually find us seating. Our waiter was wonderful, excellent service, and the jazz was so enrapturing it nearly distracted from Hobbiton's snide comments during intermission and completely unprofessional glares. 3/5, the two stars that are missing can account for the two seats we clearly weren't welcome to despite being...

Max Wellman has created and fostered one of the warmest, most welcoming, creative and lovely rooms in all of Central Iowa with Noce! It is among my favorite local gems to introduce locals and visitors alike to. The jazz music line-up is always evolving, and Max has such a gift for curating a calendar that elevates other artists (musicians, singers, dancers and more). I have so many fond memories made here over the past 9 years.

It's a grown-up night out that's not stuffy or stale, and the service is always a beautiful ballet to watch, too! Highly recommend visiting early and often throughout the year, any time Max and/or Napoleon are singing or for all of the Voix de Ville and holiday shows you can snag tickets for. You won't be...