El Bait Shop

Good beer selection, nice and cozy environment, wait staff is very knowledgeable

Good atmosphere and great food! They were busy but the service was stellar.

Parking lot available, then street parking. Outdoor bar and patio area for the summer. Amazing quality and quantity of beers. Good menu with more than just basic bar food. Servers are knowledgeable and guide your selection of needed along with beer samples.

Great Staff! First time here and had some questions on the menu and they were very knowledge about the menu. They use local deli meats and it shows in the quality of the food! Everything we ordered was fresh and full of flavor!Restaurant decor was different but interesting and created a relaxed local bar feeling that was very inviting for everyone.

Great atmosphere for any gathering or adventure. Bring all your friends and have a great time!

Fun place loaded with Americana to step back in time. The beers and burgers were great too!

Great good. Tons of beer selection. All-around good time.

This place is amazing to hangout, try different varieties of beer and light food with lovely people

There are a lot of beers to choose from. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable about the beers. The appetizers were good.

One of the best local places in Des Moines. Best place in DM for quality beers on tap. Friendly and knowledgeable staff. I'm a local but I travel for work. So for anyone traveling in DM this is the place i would be lucky to find when I'm on the road.

I loved the better selection, the food was also tasty. A little trust on the mundane pub offerings at other places. Our waitress was Megan and she was nice, served is well, and joked around a bit. All around good dinner out!

Best fish taco's in all of Iowa!!

Service was good. I had fish tacos, real good!

The place offers a great variety of delicious food. I love dining here. Staff members are always super friendly, pricing is fair and the place is always kept clean.

The selection of beers as absolutely outstanding - there's something for everyone here, plus the bar food is grade A and a step above! The servers are hilarious and we love coming here! Besides a couple of good beers not available because the keg was blown, there's 200 other choices, you're set!

Place is friggin awesome!!! Bartenders look out for their customers. Make sure they have a ride home after drinking. Appreciative of designated drivers. Mega fun atmosphere! Too many beers to even TRY in one day!!

Great location, fantastic food. Worth going there!

The people were nice. We ordered our food but most of it came out cold due to one order being their famous fried chicken. The fried chicken was ok, the dark meat was slightly moist but the white meat was very dry. The pulled BBQ pork sandwich was bland as well as the Mac n cheese. Without sauces on most of our sandwiches they were dry. The beer selection was decent considering you're in a brewery saturated area. Our waitress was initially attentive but someone else brought out our food and yet a different waitress we had to ask for sauces. The food took too long to come out for being a "dive menu". I would recommend for beer stops but not for their food.

One of the best beer bars anywhere! Huge list - 200+ taps. Good pub food as well and normally pretty fair prices.

If you don't already know about El Bait Shop there isn't much I can tell you. Awesome selection of beers together with a good menu of classic favorites. Sometimes it's hard to go somewhere else when I know El Bait Shop will have everything I want. It can be a little overwhelming when there is a special event but other than that the service is usually excellent.

Absolutely delicious! Great food, drinks and service. Easy going atmosphere!

Absolutely LOVED this place! Awesome selection of sours. Fantastic variety of different styles of craft beers. The food was great, and the staff was super friendly and very knowledgeable. Great experience. Check it out!

I enjoyed 4 of the 250 beers they serve!!! People were very nice.

Beer selection is without match and a real treat. The food was delicious as well. The seating is limited but this will be a favorite going forward!

Our first time visiting El Bait Shop was amazing! We were referred to this bar by a close friend. Hayley and Sawyer were the most attendant and accommodating bar tenders that we have ever had the pleasure to meet! Great establishment and staff!!!

Every person I've ever heard that went to this place he said they was a very wonderful experience

No place with a more extensive or better tap list in the state. Always a fun time.

Beer selection is great. For bar food it's pretty great too.

Great dry rub BBQ wings! Yummy ranch, too. Drinks were well mixed.

If you like beer and bar snacks this place is pretty chill. They have a ridiculous amount of beer on tap. Other than that, it is just a bar.

Friendly folks, cool atmosphere. Driving through Des Moines & stopped in for a whiskey and some grub but there are tons of good beers to choose from so had a couple with my meatloaf..... the food was excellent! Good job bait shop!

So yummy! Fried pickles and the brisket platter were delicious! I also recommend the onion rings. Beer wise, jalapeno, peanut butter, blueberry, and the lemon lavender cider were to die for. ❤

Excellent beer selection! They have an eclectic atmosphere that we love as well!

Fantastic Menu, great food. Definitely coming back to try it all

I really enjoy this place when I visit town. Awesome!!! Selection of beer. Definitely the place to go and try new beers. Barkeep says they have 262 beers on tap. The food is great also. Nothing fancy, but they have a large selection of different cuisines to choose from depending on your mood. You could really come here almost every night and have a different beer and a different dish.

Great atmosphere if you like bars with a laid back attitude and a ton of beer. You can't beat the beer selection. I've been to Des Moines twice and made sure to stop here each time. That being said, there is one bartender who always seems to have a chip on his shoulder. Other than that...the place is a gem.

Good place. They have somewhere around 10,000 beers from what I could tell.

Incredible beer list. Different stuff all the time. Great option to get interesting bottles and cans to go as well.

Lots of intriguing stuff to see. Look I the same place 3 times and see something different. Its noce because they have a late menu when other people aren't serving food late at night

Very good! So many types of beer! Good food! I had the meatball sandwich. Excellent! The others at my table had pork tenderloin sandwich (huge)!. And 2 different types of burgers. Everything was wonderful. I would definitely recommend. We will be back. I suggest going early.

One of the best beer selections I've ever seen, and a broad selection across style. Fried cheese curds were a delicious appetizer, and the food was filling and tasty.

I love the atmosphere of El Bait Shop and think everyone must experience. They have a large drink menu so you’re sure to find something. I’ve gone there multiple times with the intention of ordering food as well as drinking, but there usually is absolutely no seating. We went over to Miller High Life but it was an absolutely different vibe so we decided to leave. I don’t know if it would be possible to designate an area for those dining as well, but something as such may help.

Chicken tacos were yummy and the beer was cold. I have never seen so many beers on tap.

Best beer selection in Iowa. Food is good too. The patio in summer is a great stop during a bike ride or walk around downtown Des Moines.

If I am ever back in Des Moines, I will definitely be stopping in here! So many beers to choose from, don't be shy to ask for a taste! And the food is just what you wanted on a cold fall Iowa day! The Brisket Poutine was a solid choice, for the 5 or so beers to wash it down! 😉

Fun place to grab a pint and a beer prior to a game. Very unique menu and lots of beer on tap.

Any beer lovers paradise. Very knowledgeable bar staff, able to give recommendations based on preferred style of beer. Good food as well, had steak tacos which I highly recommend! I will be back!!

Good food. Good service. Huge beer selection! Well worth a visit. (Try the fish tacos!)

Philly cheese steak (had a pretty standard flavor), Italian grinder (my husband had it half eaten before I could get a pic 😂), buffalo chicken egg rolls & sweet potatoes tots were amazing. Our server Haley was friendly and efficient! It was just the 2 of us today, but I would not hesitate to bring the kids next time.

Wow the selection. I'm not sure I've been anywhere with so much on tap. The service was quick and the staff was very nice, even the bartender getting chatted up by a very pushy customer. The beers we sampled were great. The tables and benches we're clean and so we're the restrooms. Can wait to go back for a few more rounds.