6 Cool Places I Visited in During My Day in Des Moines [GALLERY]

I went to a concert in Des Moines last week, and I managed to stop at SIX different bars, restaurants, and coffee shops while I was there!

Rather than drive two hours, attend the show, and then immediately drive two hours back, my friend and I decided to get an Airbnb for the night and check out a few bars and restaurants during our visit. Here are the cool places we visited during our (less than) 24-hours in Des Moines:

Blue Sushi Sake Grill

Before the concert at the Casey's Center, we made reservations to have dinner at Blue Sushi Sake Grill in Downtown Des Moines. The best part? We happened to be there during happy hour! That meant discounts on specific drinks, appetizers, and rolls, which we took full advantage of. We ordered the White Peach Daiquiri, Passion Paloma, and Lettuce Wraps to start, and then picked out a few rolls to try. I went with the Hotel Cali (tempura fried) and the Lion King (raw), and they were both excellent. I would definitely eat there again!

Revival House

Since we still had a little bit of time to kill before the show, we walked right next door to a tiki bar called Revival House. The space was completely decked out in shells, bamboo, tropical plants, bright patterns, and everything else you'd expect from a tiki bar! I ordered a raspberry mule, which came with a cute little flower garnish, and then we headed out to the Casey's Center for the concert.

The Royal Mile

When the show got out shortly before 11 p.m., we decided to stop in a bar or two on our walk back to the Airbnb. Unfortunately, since it was a Wednesday night, we had a tough time finding places that were open after 11. Then we came across The Royal Mile! We stopped in and sat at the bar to enjoy a couple of drinks. I loved the dive-y feel of the place, plus the bartender made me a really good mulberry mule, so it was definitely my kind of bar. My friend asked him where we should go next, and he recommended a place that was just a couple of doors down...

The Lift

My friend and I had never heard of The Lift before, but we both loved the vibes immediately after walking in. It's a low-key martini bar decorated with all sorts of cool local artwork. I'm not usually a martini girl, but I opted to order one anyways. I picked The Big Tease, which was made up of blueberry vodka, ginger liqueur, sour, and champagne. Really good, but REALLY strong! That was our last stop of the evening before heading back to the Airbnb.

West End Architectural Salvage

We had to be out of our Airbnb by 10 a.m. on Thursday morning, so we had about an hour to kill before we could go to our planned lunch destination. No problem! My friend suggested we check out West End Architectural Salvage, a vintage/antique store with a coffee shop. There were three levels of items to check out, so we easily killed an hour in there. The store was filled with all sorts of cool items, and the employees we chatted with were so kind and funny! If the top two levels of the building had air conditioning, or we had visited on a day that WASN'T 95 degrees, we definitely could've spent even more time looking around.

Lachele's Fine Foods

Last, but certainly not least, we visited a restaurant that I've heard amazing things about over the last few years: Lachele's Fine Foods. Lachele's is a tiny, colorful diner on Ingersoll Ave that's known for its delicious smash burgers, so that's obviously what I ordered! I had 'The Lachele' with a side of seasoned tots with cheese sauce. It. Was. FANTASTIC. Plus, the employees were super friendly! It was our very last stop before we headed back to the Corridor on Thursday afternoon, and it was the perfect choice. I cannot recommend it enough!

6 Cool Places I Visited in During My Day in Des Moines

I went to a concert in Des Moines last week, and I managed to stop at SIX different bars, restaurants, and coffee shops while I was there! Here are all the cool places I was able to check out:

Gallery Credit: Courtlin

Oh, and in case you were wondering... the concert we went to was Tyler Childers at the Casey's Center, and it was INCREDIBLE.

Overall, it was a great little trip to Des Moines. I'm already adding more places to the list for our next visit! If you know of any cool shops or bars & restaurants you think I need to check out next time, please let me know! You can drop your recommendations in the comments on Facebook or by sending me a message on our station app.