In Confidence

"Met some friends for a party. Great experience and welcome to the bar. Good cocktail selection. This place is well put together. You’re gonna pay for the drinks but that should be expected at a place like this."

"It's a beautiful and fun place, getting to it feels really fun and special. As a place to chill it's fanatic. There was a live band that played the night my friends and I went, they were good but far too loud for such a small underground space. The poor overall review is for the drinks. They average $15-25 each, and while pretty, only 1 of the 6 we had tasted decent. I got a vanilla old fashion, which was maybe a 2oz pour at best, and zero vanilla flavor, nor was it even a good old fashion. Most the rest of the drinks in the group were 1oz of alcohol plus the rest of the ingredients. We loved the vibe but left to find better drinks."

"I can't rate food because I haven't had any and honestly not sure if they serve food down here or not - but the food in the restaurants upstairs is very good (seriously, have a glass of wine at HobNob first). Then move downtsairs where the vibe feels European, dark, moody and artsy. If you have a group of five or more, you need a reservation. The drinks are expensive - probably the most expensive in Des Moines but if you go to LA or NYC you're paying the same or more. I paid $18 for drinks at the Hotel Roosevelt in Hollywood ten years ago. That said, I enjoy the drinks so I drink one less maybe? The Hemingway is excellent and may be my new favorite cocktail. Our waiter was superb. This is a place I'm proud to take my out-of-town friends."

"There's definitely a speakeasy vibe when you go through the door disguised as cabinetry. You have to go through Hob Knob to get there and down some stairs so I'm not sure how handicap-accessible it is. The bouncer said the wait would be about 40 minutes so we grabbed a drink at Proudfoot & Bird. They text you when your spots are ready so that's really convenient. The speakeasy itself is quite beautiful. They combined prohibition-era designs with modern-day touches. There is bar seating, a separate room for bigger parties, high tops, and cozy set-ups for pairs. We were given a choice and chose to take the two comfy armchairs. As someone said before the drinks are pretty pricey but it's evident they use high quality ingredients. The cocktails are unique. I had one called the Smoke(d) Break which included a separate glass of brandied cherries and cacao nibs that you could stir into a rye whiskey cocktail. Staff was super friendly and had great suggestions. Overall, we enjoyed our first visit. I'm really glad that management told me about it in their response to my hotel review!"