Bar Nico

4.7

79 Reviews

$30 and under

Mexican

Make a reservation

2 people

Nov 22, 2024

7:00 PM

Booked 23 times today

Innovative
Gluten-free-friendly
Great for creative cocktails

Our restaurant's mantra is "Sin Maiz, No Hay Pais" meaning "without corn there is no country" as such, our tortillas are hand ground in house from heirloom organic Mexican corn varietals - made daily & cooked to order. As a result of our corn obsession, we have no flour in house & are a completely gluten-free kitchen.

Additional information

Dining style
Casual Dining
Price
$30 and under
Cuisines
Mexican, Contemporary Mexican
Hours of operation
Brunch Sat, Sun 9:00 am–3:00 pm Lunch Mon–Fri 11:30 am–3:00 pm Happy Hour Daily 3:00 pm–5:00 pm Dinner Mon–Thu 3:00 pm–10:00 pm Fri, Sat 3:00 pm–12:00 am Sun 3:00 pm–9:00 pm
Phone number
(515) 243-0611
Website
https://www.barnicodsm.com/
Payment options
AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
Dress code
Casual Dress
Executive chef
Matt Small

Location
428 E Locust St, Des Moines, IA 50309-1910
Neighborhood
Des Moines
Cross street
East Locust St. & East 5th St.
Parking details
Street Parking
Additional
Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Happy Hour, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Wheelchair Access, Wine

Grilled Chicken Thigh & Leg$45.00
spanish-style rice | sweet corn succotash | blackberry sweet & sour
Wagyu Carne Asada$55.00
6oz bavette | guajillo adobo | duck fat potatoes | guacachile | corn relish
Sweet Corn Tamal$45.00
summer squash | roasted eggplant | mole colorado | pepita gremolata
Pan Seared Scallop * **$50.00
iberico chorizo jus | heirloom masa grits | local mushrooms

Dulce

fourth course - choose one

Coconut Cream Flan
tropical fruits | toasted coconut | blueberry caramel | corn ash meringue
Basque Cheescake
"nilla" corn wafer | vanilla whip | roasted plantain | cajeta

What 79 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.7

4.7 based on recent ratings

4.7Food
4.8Service
4.6Ambience
4.5Value

Noise • Moderate

Loved For

Iowa
Best Overall
Iowa
Best Value
Iowa
Kid-friendly
Iowa
Innovative
Iowa
Healthy
Iowa
Hot spot
Iowa
Lively
Des Moines
Best Overall
Des Moines
Best Value
Des Moines
Innovative
Des Moines
Healthy
Des Moines
Hot spot
Des Moines
Lively

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews

Bar Nico delights with "excellent food" and "attentive service." Guests love the "distinct dishes" and "memorable flavors." The atmosphere is cozy, with a "cool, urban vibe," and the menu is praised for being "gluten-free" with vegan options. "Delicious cocktails" and creative meals make it a standout choice.

79 Reviews

E
Emily
Chicago
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined 5 days ago
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Great modern take on classic Latin flavors! Highly recommend.
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B
Brooke
Des Moines
46 reviews
vip
3.0
46 reviews
Dined 6 days ago
1. Overall 3
2. Food 3
3. Service 3
4. Ambience 3
First visit. Went for happy hour. Nice discount on tapas and tacos. Service was slow for a half full restaurant. Food was okay but portion small. Maybe they make portions smaller during happy hour which then makes it not such a great deal. Really liked the guacamole but not enough chips to eat it.
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s
steve
San Francisco
4 reviews
5.0
4 reviews
Dined 6 days ago
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 4
Food and cocktails (which are never cloyingly over-sweet as is common in DSM) are consistently well-balanced and excellent in every respect. My lovely dining companion, an amazing cook in her own right, loves it here, and trust me, that is a very high bar. Only demerit in my opinion is the loud Manhattan-esque techno music that makes it hard to hear people. The younger and less curmudgeonly might love that , though. We will go back.
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J
Joey
Des Moines
2 reviews
vip
5.0
2 reviews
Dined on November 10, 2024
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Great food and atmosphere! Tacos and margaritas are amazing.
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M
Mary Anne
Denver
3 reviews
5.0
3 reviews
Dined on October 20, 2024
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
We enjoyed three different types of tacos, the corn, fundito and rice. For dessert we had chocolate basque cheesecake, coconut flan and churro sundae- all were delicious.
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K
Kim
Des Moines
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on October 20, 2024
1. Overall 5
2. Food 4
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Great food choice's for everyone, I’m vegan . Not your typical items. Nice atmosphere. I will definitely go back.
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J
John
Des Moines
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on October 11, 2024
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 4
Great food and great service! Got seated early for 6:30 reservation. Went for our anniversary, and they gave us a great dessert. Churros were excellent.
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m
m
Des Moines
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on September 13, 2024
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Excellent gluten free food with vegan options! I had sweet potato tacos and churros with chips as appetizer :) Everything was delicious and service was fantastic.
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M
Mike
Des Moines
9 reviews
5.0
9 reviews
Dined on September 6, 2024
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
The food was great and the spicy Margaritas were terrific! Our server Izzy took good care of us. We had a great time!
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K
Katlyn
St. Louis
2 reviews
3.0
2 reviews
Dined on August 24, 2024
1. Overall 3
2. Food 4
3. Service 3
4. Ambience 4
Only one person working tables and couldn’t get his attention during brunch. Ended up closing our bill instead of ordering more drinks because it was taking so long.
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FAQs

Bar Nico is rated 4.7 stars by 79 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a reservation

2 people

Nov 22, 2024

7:00 PM

Booked 23 times today

428 E Locust St, Des Moines, IA 50309-1910

Additional information

Cross street
East Locust St. & East 5th St.
Neighborhood
Des Moines
Hours of operation
Brunch Sat, Sun 9:00 am–3:00 pm Lunch Mon–Fri 11:30 am–3:00 pm Happy Hour Daily 3:00 pm–5:00 pm Dinner Mon–Thu 3:00 pm–10:00 pm Fri, Sat 3:00 pm–12:00 am Sun 3:00 pm–9:00 pm
Price
$30 and under
Cuisines
Mexican, Contemporary Mexican
Dining style
Casual Dining
Dress code
Casual Dress
Parking details
Street Parking
Payment options
AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
Executive chef
Matt Small
Additional
Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Happy Hour, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Wheelchair Access, Wine

Website
https://www.barnicodsm.com/
Phone number
(515) 243-0611

Bar Nico

Make a reservation

Additional information

Menu

Crudo

Heirloom Tomato Aguachile *

Tuna Tostada Contramar **

Carne "Apache" **

Maiz

Sweet Corn Gazpacho

Heirloom Corn Tetela

Confit Mushroom Memela

Plato Fuerte

Grilled Chicken Thigh & Leg$45.00

Wagyu Carne Asada$55.00

Sweet Corn Tamal$45.00

Pan Seared Scallop * **$50.00

Dulce

Coconut Cream Flan

Basque Cheescake

What 79 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Loved For

Review summary

FAQs

How is Bar Nico restaurant rated?

Is Bar Nico currently accepting reservations?

Make a reservation

Additional information