Urban Cellar - Wine Bar, Grille, And Market — Restaurant in West Des Moines

We were in town for a week celebrating a belated birthday/early anniversary. I enjoy finding delicious food options & sometimes it is hit or miss with new (to us) restaurants.

This gem was definitely a HIT!! Will definitely be back! I have a bit of a salty palate & yesterday's lunch (at a different unnamed restaurant), I had to add salt 5x....definitely not an issue here!

The food was DELICIOUS, very well seasoned & generous portions!

Since we're staying at a hotel this week, I ordered some food for dinner as well, so we didn't have to go back out, which, it turns out, we probably didn't need as we had so many leftovers, but I also couldn't decide what to order, so it's a win/win for me! Now I have dinner & breakfast covered! 😀

My husband had the Betta' Chedda' burger with fries. The fries were crispy & well seasoned & the burger was delicious.

I had the Peppercorn Steak Deburgo with cheddar polenta as my side. It was fantastic! Delicious, plentiful & so well seasoned. The cheddar polenta had a mushroom/tomato gravy/sauce that I hadn't expected, but was amazing. The steak was tender, well cooked, well seasoned & so yummy! It also had a mushroom/garlic/herb gravy, and it paired well with the polenta.

I ordered the Mushroom Pizza for dinner...had to try a bite for quality control 😉...Yum! I don't normally like red onions raw (prefer pickled), but chose to try it as it was & it sure didn't disappoint either!

Can't wait to come back to Urban Cellar! Kenna, our server, was cheerful, friendly, helpful & attentive! The other staff members we interacted with also asked how everything was & we're friendly & helpful!

Can't say enough about this restaurant! It's affordable, tasty, a great atmosphere, clean, and a must visit option! I had hoped to try the sea bass, which it turns out they don't offer at lunch, but that just means we'll have to try again...

If I could give this place a zero, I would. It was fairly empty when we went to eat last night. The hostess didn't ask where we wanted to sit, stead left us standing in the entryway. Why the tables weren't clean on a slow night is beyond me? The bathrooms open to the bar which is strange. Our server was very slow. My salad was inedible as the lettuce was so wilted I would have thrown it away if it was in my fridge. The seabass was hard and very overcooked and dry. The tuna tartare looked like it had been run through a blender and smelled off. As tuna tartare is one of my favorite meals, I have eaten it in lots of restaurants and this was by far the absolute Worst. For a $63 dinner, which didn't even get to eat, - will not be trying this place again, Very disappointing.If I could give this place a zero, I would. It was fairly empty when we went to eat last night. The hostess didn't ask where we wanted to sit, stead left us standing in the entryway. Why the tables weren't clean on a slow night is beyond me? The bathrooms open to the bar which is strange. Our server was very slow. My salad was inedible as the lettuce was so wilted I would have thrown it away if it was in my fridge. The seabass was hard and very overcooked and dry. The tuna tartare looked like it had been run through a blender and smelled off. As tuna tartare is one of my favorite meals, I have eaten it in lots of restaurants and this was by far the absolute Worst. For a $63 dinner, which didn't even get to eat, - will not be trying this place again,...

I returned to Urban Cellar last Friday night expecting a meal as terrific as the first time I was there... that was not the case. Service was prompt throughout the meal, however the waitress was excessively chatty...she was definitely a talker, not much of a listener. I started with what was called Seafood Chowder... had to be good, right? The chowder had 3 small pieces of DRY fish, that was the only 'Seafood' I could identify. The broth was nothing special. I ordered Short Ribs which were heavenly my last visit. The waitress recommended the whipped potatoes as a side dish. I saw somewhere on the menu the mention of Yukon Gold potatoes. I asked her if the potatoes coming with my meal were Yukon Gold, to which she replied "they're whipped". I responded with "whipped is how they're prepared, not the type if potato. Seemed too complicated to pursue. The food arrived promptly, but my short rib was nothing close to the first time. Flavor was good but it was very dry. I have had had and neck cancer so swallowing food can be difficult especially when it's dry. I asked the waitress for more sauce & mentioned that the meat was dry. She responded with ' just chew it longer"!!! She brought me a tiny cup with about a tablespoon of sauce which was useless. My meal was a total waste of $. I'll try somewhere else...