Django

We went for my birthday and besides a waiter i think had done too much celebrating of his own before work, it was great! All the food was excellent. Poutine was enough for 4 to share, crazy rich and yummmmm. Charcuterie was my favorite!
None of us cared for any of the mixed cocktails we ordered, but tried something new and that can happen =). Met a nice couple next to us that were trying to figure out what drugs the waiter had taken as well, made for a memorable night. Just want to clarify this was October so waiter may not be there anymore.

Poutine, poutine, poutine. My stomach is still complaining that it’s not full of poutine. I’m not a big french fry person, but these fries were delicious on their own let alone covered in the tasty gravy and tender beef. Umami! I could not stop shoving this poutine in my mouth. My two friends and I got the small order as an appetizer. I wish we’d gotten the large.
I got the chicken crepes. They were very tasty but so rich. After the poutine I could only eat about ¹⁄₃ of them. (I ate the leftovers with kimchi to cut the richness, and it was delicious.) My friends got the blackened tuna sandwich and plain french toast as their entrees. I tried both, and they were both delicious. If I ever make it back (out of towner) I will get the tuna sandwich. We got an order of the beignets to go, and I thought they were just okay.

This is defiantly in my top three favorite restaurants in Des Moines. I have never had a bad meal here and I love the environment. They have amazing service and the free bread is really good! You have to try the fried brussels sprouts and of course the duck frites! They are the best french fries that I have ever had! I usually get a burger and it is always delicious but I have also had pasta dishes and other sandwiches and they have all been really good as well. If you haven’t ate here yet you need to its so good!

One of my favorite restaurants. It never disappoints. Great staff and superb food. I’ve been to France several times and this place brings me back there every time. Hands down the most authentic French restaurant in Des Moines. I would recommend the chopped salad and moules frites (muscles and French fries). Also if you’re looking to try something new I recommend the escargot. It’s phenomenal! But make sure you have a reservation. We walked in on a Friday night and were told it was a two and a half hour wait. But we sat at the bar and still enjoyed it.

Always make a reservation if going for supper. Lunch, not so much. We dine here with friends when we need our french fix. The poutine is wonderful. Their food, everything we have had, has been great. Love that they do not charge you a corkage fee when you bring your own wine. Service is usually good. They keep your water pitcher full for the most part. Parking is lousy unless you use the ramp across the street which they do not validate for it so it will cost you more than you are expecting. The entry way is cold in the winter. Bathrooms are situated in an awkward location.

I come here every month with my book club. The servers are prompt and really know the menu. Can we talk about the Brussels sprouts? Um, the best. The duck fries are the best, don’t skimp out on the harissa aioli. It’s nice they don’t have a corking fee, so you can bring your own bottle in! Love Django.

I have wanted to try Django for a long time and have it on my bucket list of restaurants in Des Moines to visit. Last night was the night and I was impressed! We had a 5:00 reservation (early) and were seated immediately. By the time we left, the place was full.
Django is definitely an upscale restaurant with great prices for the quantity of food you are served. We’ve been to other restaurants in the Des Moines area and paid far more for very little food and poor service.
Our waitress was outstanding. She was attentive and informative. When asked about her recommendations she had a long list that she could describe in detail. She was honest when asked about some of the pasta dishes saying they sometimes don’t reheat well if we take them home. At our table we never lacked for water or beverages from the bar and our dirty dishes were taken away immediately. I loved that we didn’t feel rushed to order. It was our first time visiting and we wanted to talk over the menu with friends and have a good time, not be hounded by wait staff to move on. She was fantastic!
Our group ordered the Baked Ratatouille and Calamari for appetizers. The calamari was tender, well breaded and light. The size of the serving dish was well worth the $ 10.99 price.
The Baked Ratatouille was outstanding. It was served with 8 – 9 crostinis to share. Again, great flavor.
My husband ordered the Bouillabaisse. We loved the presentation; served in a small, covered cast iron dutch oven it was hot and full of flavor and seafood. I can’t wait to order it next time!
My friend and I ordered the Coq au vin and weren’t disappointed. 2 Pan-​seared chicken breasts, bacon, shiitake mushrooms, pearl onions, and fingerling potatoes with a sauce that was slightly sweet. I could have done with out the potatoes (they were good but the chicken was enough). There was so much, I brought half home!
Another at our table ordered the Grilled Niman Ranch Pork Chops and was equally impressed with flavor, quantity and presentation. We were too full for desert unfortunately. This restaurant is definitely on our list to visit again!

Django was very good. I like the atmosphere and the set-​up of the restaurant. It’s beautiful! We had a large group, yet the service was impeccable: attentive and very accomodating.
I started with Fried Brussels Sprouts with parmesan cheese, white truffle oil and harissa aioli. The brussels were crisp but not hard or burned and the oil, aioli, and cheese were added sparingly but brought out the flavor of the sprouts.
I ordered the Spinach & Goat Cheese Macaroni Gratin: which was goat cheese, parmesan cheese, spinach, tomatoes, fresh thyme and toasted bread crumbs. When the dish arrived I was disappointed. There wasn’t much flavor and the sauce was runny. I was hoping that it would be thicker. I added salt and pepper to try to boost the flavor but it remained underwhelming.
I loved the restaurant for the fun vibe and for the starter. Maybe I made the wrong choice for the entrée, so I’ll definitely go back for another round and

Django is definitely one of the most classy and elegant restaurants I have been to in Des Moines. We were planning to come here for a special occasion and we did, the day after my birthday with a few friends! This was also a last minute decision to come here, so we were all a bit underdressed. Now I don’t believe there is a dress code, but at least dress normal. Everyone dining in were dressed very stylish, or at least shirt and slacks. We went sweatshirt and jeans, but never received any feedback about it. (I would have dressed better if I had actually known we would be eating here).
The interior is wonderfully decorated and the staff members are extremely professional. Walking in you will definitely think «Wow, this place is beautiful!». The atmosphere is something that could not be described with words, a very elegant place.
The menu is actually pretty hefty, I recommend checking out the menu before dining in so you have at least some idea what they offer. Warm bread and butter is provided to start, one of the better bread and butter I’ve had. For the appetizers we started with Goat Cheese Ratatouille and Poutine. The Ratatouille was good, the taste was simple and different with the goat cheese. The Poutine was very good, they asked if we wanted the small order or large, we chose large because we had 4 people, this was a mistake! Do not get the large order unless you really like this dish or if you have a party of 6 and everyone wants to eat it. This large order was massive, it could probably serve as an entrée for an individual.
For the entrees we had the Macaroni Gratin, Grilled Niman Ranch Pork Chops, and the Pork Ossu Buco. The Macaroni dish is their macaroni & cheese and it tastes amazing! Another one of those high end mac&cheese tastes, a safe dish to order if you are unsure what could satisfy you. The Pork Ossu Buco is a very good pork shank dish with the bone in! If you like Pork Shank dishes from other restaurants, you will like this dish. Now, the Pork Chops, UNBELIEVABLE! TWO MASSIVE PORK CHOPS TOWERS OVER THE TABLE! Not only was the size nice, the taste was INCREDIBLE! Honestly I can probably say this is the most tender and best pork chop I have eaten in my life. The only thing I can think of to compare is imagine the Iowa State Fair Pork Chop on a stick, make that bigger, juicier, and more flavorful and this is what you get!
Overall this is a wonderful place for all to enjoy! I still believe this is a place reserved for special occasions. Parking is a bit inconvenient as there is only street parking available. Great for date night as well if you want to impress!

Disappointing, sadly, from the moment we walked in the door for Sunday brunch. Bloody Mary’s were more visually appealing than tasty; generally bland and booze-​less. Biscuits and gravy were lackluster.

I love this place. The menu has great selections, there are fresh fish selections and an oyster bar. The wine selection is great. The wait staff is always super busy, but it doesn’t stop them from being friendly and helpful. My kids loved the food too. It’s a good place for the whole family. Busy atmosphere and a bit loud, but if you go in expecting that it’s not off-​putting.

I went here a couple of weeks ago on a Sunday around 2 PM & it wasn’t busy at all, so the service was great. I ordered the Shrimp Chitarra pasta & it was good. The shrimp were bigger than I expected but no complaints here :)

Just wanted to update everyone on this review. I was contacted by the staff of Django who offered to let my husband and I try them again on the restaurant. I thought that was very classy.
It really wasn’t my scene (I wasn’t disappointed; I gave the restaurant 3 stars which is an A-​ok aka average rating according to Unilocal) and I do NOT condone writing reviews and then accepting free stuff. I did want to point out that it seems like they want repeat customers and the management is interested in improving service among their staff. Good job, Django!

I love love love Django. The menu mix is perfect. The drink options are well balanced. The atmosphere is always great.
So we don’t live here but I have been here 3 times and love it.
Tonight we had a fantastic martini, manhatten, absenth cocktail .
We also had Shrimp Coktail which was the best shrimp cocktail that I have had in years.
We have also had 8oz filet with red wine reduction and a 10oz filet with a bernaise sauce. So tender and seasoned perfectly.
Our service was fantastic timed perfectly.

Django is the standby for my boyfriend and I when we are looking for a nicer place to eat in town. The frites are a must-​try, but I’ve never had anything here that I didn’t love. French cuisine is hard to find sometimes, but Django does it right and does it well. Be prepared to spend some bucks in here. It’s not an every night dining place, but a must for special occasions. The ambiance and building are lovely as well! It’s pretty much a safe bet that if George Formaro has his hand in it, you will not be disappointed.

Went to Django for the first time with a work group and it was fantastic! We tried many different appetizers and all raved about the escargot and even used the garlic butter as dipping sauce for their bread! I had filet and it was amazing. It’s a little pricey but a great place for a date night or dinner with friends. I highly recommend it!

Django… sounds like this would be a BBQ place or whatever they ate in the Wild West back in the day. However, it’s a restaurant serving mostly French food! Is this Django unchained or not? Let’s find out!
The menu was actually so big. It was definitely like Tarantino’s Django. It’s French, but it serves burgers and sandwiches. It looked like a restaurant you need to dress up for to go to, but you can get away with jeans and sweat shirt as well. There were couples on dates but there were family and business gatherings as well. However, this Django was not NC17. It was really for everyone. Like rainbow.
I saw some people just did a bunch of appetizers. They got the charcuterie and cheese plate, oysters, calamari, etc. That looked like a great way to have fun with friends. I was with my coworkers and the boss was treating. He ordered calamari and my coworker wanted the fried brussels sprouts appetizer. I started cracking up. My coworker Jason is this big bearded guy with testosterone dripping from his sweat. I just think he would eat meat. Not brussels sprouts! Lol. And guess what he ordered for entrée?! Steak? Nooooo… He ordered pickled beets salad with tuna. It always cracks me up but the dude just has a very developed palate.
His salad looked really good but he said the tuna was a tad fishy. My boss ordered the duck and it came with fingerling potatoes and duck breast sliced cooked perfectly medium, and a confit of leg. He said the leg confit was one of the best ones he has ever had. I went all French with my favorite, Beef Bourguignon. It was so good. Real good. It was a huge plate too and I barely ate half of it.
Going back to the calamari, it was boasted by the server as light and delicious. I thought it was just ok and it wasn’t that light. It was also under-​seasoned. However, they tossed some fried peppers in there and that was really nice. Boss got a half dozen oysters and he slurped all away.
The service was great. We had a server who had worked there for some years so he knew everything inside and out. He was very invested and proud of the restaurant — it was great to see. We got a great detailed run down of Django. He was a good story teller but no Broomhilda in his story of Django.
Too bad we didn’t try the drinks nor desserts. I am cutting down on sweets and my boss would be doing an ultra long distance 100 miles race in a couple of days so he wasn’t drinking. Jason liked iced tea so I changed my mind about ordering the rhubarb fizz that was on their happy hour menu going on till close. Jason ordered coffee after dinner and he was still talking about how good the coffee was the next day and how he wanted to come back next time we’re in Des Moines.
We didn’t sling any guns but we used our knives and forks well to put delicious food in our tummy. It was a great night at Django even without Jamie Foxx or Franco Nero. It is unchained. off the chain cool place! I’m a fan.

Good classic French restaurant. Prices aren’t too high considering their portion sizes. The Coq au Riesling was pretty good, but I prefer mine with bacon! The Tuna Niçoise salad was good (tuna was seared perfectly). The frites are AMAZING and come with three great sauces (I’m partial to the béarnaise). The Vegetable Fricassée was very good if you can handle a little spice! The featured dessert we had was very good: it was some kind of banana French toast with a hazelnut ice cream.
I’ve also had the cheese & charcuterie and the fig jam that accompanied the plate was amazing, and the crackers were extremely tasty! The only thing I’ve had here that I didn’t care for was the Mushroom Crêpes. I’ve been here multiple times and it is my favorite place to eat in downtown Des Moines! Also the fact that they have no corkage fee is practically unheard of!!!

I have always wanted to try django and I finally got around to try it, and my oh my was it delicious. We decided to dine on a Tuesday because that’s when they have half priced drinks and appetizers all night!
We started out with some drinks, a cider and a lemon blueberry martini. Both were great! Appetizers were oysters for my girlfriend, none for me thank you! And a charcuterie plate. They had this amazing pâté that was wrapped in some sort of meat I believe? I’m not usually a pâtè person but this was dang good.
For our main my girlfriend had the lobster gratin and I had the steak frites with shrimp. Both were good but not above average dishes. I finished off with an espresso martini that was so strong it kept me up all night!
What I like most about this place is that it’s labeled as a French restaurant but prides itself in not being a snobby place. Looking forward to returning and trying some duck!

If a New York businessman and a classy French lady had a baby, it would be Django. From the red wraparound leather booths with real candles on the tables to the tasty craft cocktail menu, this business is not only sexy but spot on with service. Django offers Iowans a diverse selection of dishes ranging from Happy Hour oysters and cheese boards to desserts like chocolate ganache cake topped with gelato and cherry tarts filled with nuts. I’m a fan, Django. I especially appreciated that our waitress didn’t act snobby about the fact that we were just there for cocktails and dessert. We had already stuffed our faces elsewhere and I’m always eager to try a new business — needless to say, Django’s dessert menu left me cheering this business on as a late night stop. Can’t wait to revisit for a full meal the next time I’m in town.