Wellman's Pub & Rooftop — Restaurant in West Des Moines

Came in today for lunch with my family of 5. Asked the lady at the front if we can watch the Packer's game and that we needed a high chair and a booster chair or two high chairs. She said she had two booths available on the left hand side of the restaurant but on the WHOLE left side of the restaurant the Packers game was only on one small TV. She continued to let us know that the TVs are set and can not be changed. I asked if she could check if there was anyone that seemed almost done on the right hand side of the restaurant because we really came to see the Packer's game and we were willing to wait a little bit. She said while she rolled her eyes, "I GUESS I can go check it out." Sighed and walked to check. She came back and said she didn't think any booths were available. Mind you, I never said we need a BOOTH. I said unfortunately I think we're going to leave then because we came there specifically to watch the Packer's game and you aren't willing to change a TV that no one is watching. She then said that she didn't want us to leave but she only had a high-top table on the right hand side of the restaurant. I asked if the high chairs would reach that high and she said yes, which I was surprised that was the case but said we are totally fine with a high top table! She rolled her eyes again, sighed and said with a nasty attitude, "Well come on then!" and started walking to the table. The way that this lady talked to us at this point made my husband turn around immediately and walk out. I asked to talk to a manager and she said she was the manager! I let her know why we were leaving and that I hoped her day got better because she could use a better attitude and tone when talking to people. Both my husband and I have worked long hours in the service industry and would NEVER interact with customers this way. Wellman's should strive for much better front of house staff and not just rely on a steady flow of patrons to be okay with mediocre service, let alone management! We won't be back. Waited 10 minutes for a table down the road at Grumpy Goat with exceptional hostess, management, and wait...

We visited Wellman's twice in the matter of two days. The first time was for drinks on the rooftop. I have no complaints, the drinks went down well and the DJ music gave it a nightclub vibe. I loved the open air of the rooftop, a great summertime spot to come after dinner for drinks. We left before 10pm though, so I am not sure if it becomes more of a party or not.

The second night, we ordered dinner to go, and this didn't go as well as drinks. Ordering to go was a breeze, but I'm the type of person that believes to go food just doesn't taste the same. I ordered the Cranberry Salmon Salad with a side of Sweet Potato Fries - unfortunately, the salmon on my salad wasn't edible. It was terribly overcooked. And the fries weren't cooked enough, they were too soft almost doughy. My friends that also ordered seemed to be alright with their meals, they ordered burgers. I suppose when you order from a bar, don't try to go the healthier route. Lesson learned. We also ordered the pretzels which I will say were cooked about right, but didn't necessarily taste any better than a pretzel from Annie's at the mall.

I'm sure I'll give Wellman's another try in the future, I have family that brings me to West Des Moines a fair amount throughout the year. They have quite an extensive menu, so I can anticipate trying something different in the future. It appears they have a good mix of offerings salads to wraps, mac n cheese, burgers,...

Wow wish we would have went somewhere else. I suggested we leave before we even entered the building. However, we where on the road traveling for many hours and the reviews online read well. So against better judgment we continued inside famished. As you can see from the pictures we took on our way out. We were greeted by a filthy entrance. Bottles and cases of empty beer , cigarettes and dirty rags outside. Again trying to give them a break as it is Super Bowl Sunday and I am sure Saturday they were busy obviously from the looks of the entrance. The rest of the business appeared decent otherwise we would NEVER have entered at all!!!! The staff standing around on phones constantly (RUDE, RUDE, RUDE!!). No checking on our table for more refills or to ask how our meal was at all! Sub par $8.oo drinks and to top it off... we only got half our full change back after paying a $53.35 on our bill. Apparently when you pay with a $Ben Franklin you don't deserve your actual change. Called management to asked why server #53 doesn't make change and the manager told us they round up the tab . So apparently the staff at Wellman's is only IPhone Cell dummy/ smart and can't count to make change properly. Recommendation eat someplace else. This establishment is poorly supervised and my prediction is the location will be sold soon and probably made into a...