Table 128 — Restaurant in Des Moines

We had been to Table 128 once before for happy hour, sat at the bar, and were genuinely impressed—so we returned on August 30th with high expectations for the Chef’s Tasting menu. Unfortunately, the evening fell short in nearly every way.

Upon arrival, we were seated promptly and placed our drink orders. The restaurant wasn’t busy, yet it took 25 minutes to receive our cocktails. My husband’s Old Fashioned arrived with a cherry that looked like it had been stomped on, and my drink, The Golden Age, was so sweet it was undrinkable.

The first course took 30 minutes to arrive, and the second course took nearly 40 minutes. When I asked about the delay, the staff blamed a “party in the back.” I peeked into the room and saw a larger table in the private dining area, but it didn’t appear to be a large or rowdy party—just a group dining together. It felt like a weak excuse for the slow service.

My husband’s salmon was overcooked and dry, so we sent it back and he ordered a burger instead. That took another 15 minutes, and by the time it arrived—undercooked and rare instead of medium—I had already finished my dish. My BBQ chicken was just okay, nothing memorable.

The final course of my tasting menu, the peach pie, was the biggest letdown. I had high hopes for this dish, but the peaches were drowned in a thick, sugary syrup that completely masked their flavor. It was topped with something that looked like vanilla ice cream, but it was creamy and tasteless—adding nothing to the dish.

Throughout the evening, we noticed other diners experiencing similar delays. For a restaurant offering a planned tasting menu, one would expect better preparation and pacing. Sadly, Table 128 missed the mark with poor service, disappointing cocktails, and underwhelming food. A huge fail from...

Husband and I had a disappointing date night here. We went in early on a weeknight and sat at the bar. We were greeted and serviced right away.

The water and/or water glasses had a smell- like they cleaned them in bar sink water instead of a dishwasher.

Cocktails and mocktails were imaginative and well curated. Always appreciate a couple good mocktail choices.

We order the special burrata appetizer. The puff pastry was so dense my husband couldn’t cut it with a knife. In addition to the burrata, there was a cream added that made the pastry too wet. The berries were good but the dish was entirely too sweet and felt more like a dessert.

The amuse-bouche was liquid Arnold palmer inside a white chocolate shell. Again, too sweet and the white chocolate over powered the subtle Arnold palmer flavor. A miss for me. A second amuse-bouche was a chilled roasted red pepper soup, with the foam from the appetizer returning. I thought the soup was, again, too sweet and didn’t need the foam cream. The flavor was well developed.

I ordered swordfish and the husband had steak. Plates were visually appealing. My swordfish was so dry and so were the roasted potatoes - either overcooked or not fresh.

No one asked how my husband wanted his steak cooked, but it came well done and under seasoned. The squash was good but could use some salt.

Service was good, but we felt like the bartender kept interrupting our conversation and hurried us through our meal.

We skipped dessert since we felt like the appetizer filled that role.

Menu was interesting and imaginative, but overall the quality of the ingredients, preparation, and the flavors were just a miss for us. Restaurant itself is clean, but felt a bit underwhelming decor wise. I loved the bar chairs but no under bar hooks...

I have been really excited to try this place and finally had the opportunity tonight. We showed up at 5:40pm with a reservation, although the dining room was fairly empty when we arrived. Things started off strong, our server took our drink order and our cocktails were served promptly. We then placed our order for an appetizer and entrees. Our appetizer (shishito peppers - delicious!) came out pretty quickly, but then…..nothing. For over an hour we sat, drinks and waters did not get refilled, and we watched tables seated after us receive their entrees in a timely manner. Thinking our table had been fully forgotten, we got our server’s attention and asked if she knew when our food would be served. She went to the kitchen to check on our food and came back to our table shortly after. She approached our table, and in a tone that I can only describe as confrontational, states “Is there like, a sense of urgency here, or….?” Needless to say we were appalled by this comment, pointing out that we had been ignored for over an hour while the rest of the patrons (many seated after us) got their food. There were many, many empty tables at this time. Our food was served to us after 7pm, and while everything was absolutely delicious, there was a palpable shift in the server’s attitude toward us. We felt like we were more of an annoyance/burden than anything, which really spoiled the whole experience. There was no explanation offered to us for the delay, which we would have gladly accepted if we were told our ticket was misplaced/the kitchen is backed up, etc. We are easy people who really don’t like to complain. Service is important to me when dining at places like this, and I just can’t justify spending $150 on a meal for 2 people when you are treated like a burden...