Mickey’s Irish Pub

Bartender lost my credit card on a slow Friday night (about 5:30 pm), still couldn’t manage to come up with it after two days! After that I got nothing more than an insincere apology and a smug «go order another one.» They messed up on one of the most basic functions of their business and couldn’t be bothered to care, you can be sure I won’t bother to come back.

Free NUTZ! Need I say more. And when DJ Prime is up, request him to play you a song.

Used to come here often for the wings and beer. The food has gotten progressively worse over the past 6 months. They did give me free beer on my birthday though, so that was pretty cool.

Happened in here by chance on a trip to des Moines, as it was across the street from the laundrymat. Happened to be a Saturday night on the week of my birthday, which they honor with TEN free drinks. Good drinks, awesome burger, fabulous salt-&-pepper fries, great service. They did get more crowded as the night progressed, but it never became the type of shoulder-​to-​shoulder jostling that I got used to at bars in other cities. They also keep the music at a volume where you can actually talk to the people you’re with and not just yell and try to lip read.
(And FWIW, I had to give up after four of my free drinks; I’m too old for 10 any more.)

I’m rating this on my own personal experiences, and not what some local article or wanna-​be food critic wrote about it. Now that I’ve said this, it’s an average bar. Nothing spectacular, but not low-​end either. In terms of ambiance and setting, I’d rate it in the 6 to 6.5 range out of a 10. However, the service was fantastic each and every time I went, and if you’re looking to just go and have a beer and some good pub food during the week, it’s a fantastic spot (went on a Monday afternoon when they opened at 2 PM and it was empty– had the whole spot to myself, and the waitress/bartender’s undivided attention). I’m going to do the very same tomorrow, and their hamburgers are amazingly good (cheese-​stuffed). I have to agree with some of the other reviews about their limited Irish beer selection. If you don’t carry Harp or some other well known Irish beers (they did have Smithwicks on tap though), then you shouldn’t call yourself an Irish bar. Other than a few nights a week (College night on Wednesday can get pretty wild, as are Fridays and Saturdays), this is a pretty laid back spot to have a beer and relax.

I went here 3 times during my recent trip to Des Moines, as it was convenient to my hotel.
It’s a pretty typical Irish named but not very Irish type pub. No Harp? I’m pretty sure serving Guinness doesn’t make a pub Irish… but whatever. Boulevard Wheat is decent enough, so I stuck with that. Honestly though, they probably just needed 8 taps of bud light since that seems to be the only thing people here and in Iowa in general seem to drink. Blech!
The food is pretty typical pub food… fried, filling and good with a few beers. The servers were both very nice and the service was pretty fast even on the busier Saturday evening. I probably won’t be coming back to Des Moines, so I doubt that I’ll ever return. but this is certainly not a 1 star place. 1 star should be reserved for the truly awful. This place is in the ok to meh range. 2.5 stars, rounded to 3 for the good service.

Shortly after noon on Saturday, my wife and I stopped for the first time at Mickey’s Irish Pub. I was a bit excited when I saw the Guiness, Killian’s and Bass signs in the windows, since I like a nice dark beer or ale. Inside, it wasn’t much to speak of. Nothing awful. Nothing wonderful. Until we ordered a couple sandwiches. I got a burger. Can’t recall the name: it’s the one with the blu cheese inside. It was simply an excellent burger! I was afraid it would be stuffed with gooey cheap cheese — no. It was just enough tasty cheese to give it a great taste. The bun was perfectly toasted, with crisp, delicate edges. The bacon was so tasty that I was sad when I ran out of ends sticking outside the bun to bite off. And it was hot. Not the kind of hot you get from just-​microwaved, but that every-​part-​of-​this-​was-​freshly-​cooked-​seconds-​ago hot. Plain and simple, a perfect burger.
And I generally hate fries. They are usually greasy or cold or too skinny or too fat or just plain pointless for someone watching their carbs. These were hot and surprisingly light and crispy for thick chips. I ate far too many. Oh well.
My wife had a corned beef sandwich that she tells me is second best only to that miracle served at the Emerald Loop in Chicago. I would have had a bite, but I was busy with my burger and missed my chance.
The Guiness was ice cold, but it warmed up properly after a bit and made the meal perfect. I will point out that, despite the signs in the window, they don’t serve Bass. Also, I am not fond of tall chairs that leave your feet dangling. They are terrible for my diabetic ankles and toes, and they seemed to have no other choices. Tall chairs even at the tables.
I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of food served in such a non-​unique setting. I plan to stop by again, soon. I can still taste that bacon! Frankly, they should scrap the pub and open a restaurant.

We stopped for a beer and appetizer. First time. Good happy hour, cold beer. The nachos are just ok. Bartender not rude but not friendly either. Question is always, do you tip just because or for good service… we always tip 20 percent either way??? maybe we need to tip on service …
2 stars for cold beer and good happy hour

This was my first time going to Mickey’s and was not impressed. The food was OK but the service was slow. Bathroom didn’t have any soap (yuk) and the big screen tv quit working and nobody bothered to check it. It wasn’t even busy so I have no idea what the staff was doing. Oh, I know. They were at the bar drinking beer. Lame. This place sucks.

I was back in Des Moines area for Thanksgiving and I went to Mickeys with my little sister for a drink. It was the night before Thanksgiving and it was very busy. That was not the problem. I ordered a pitcher of Bud light and no problem but when I ordered a 2^nd pitcher it was diffidently not BL after pouring a cup of beer for both me and my sister. I took the pitcher and told the bartender their was a mistake and I ordered Bud light not Coors light. He pretty much told my I was full of shit and I was just wanting free beer. Ok now I’m 34 and the average age in the bar was about 24. I told the guy «listen I’m not drunk and I have been drinking a long time and I know my beers. I tell u what I will pay the $ 3.50 (yes it’s cheap beer) if u pour me another pitcher.» He turned around to talk to another bartender then turned back and said «man I give you props no one else would have caught that. We have been busy and we r out of Bud light.» I said ok well can I get a new pitcher at least. He told me no that I was just wanting Free beer. WTF. Where is the customer service here. I have no problem with the price of the beer but this guy just lied to me straight to my face and turns it around on me. Ok so u are out of BL. That’s fine. Maybe I would take something else u were not out of. So if u go to this place and wake up with a really bad headache. It’s probably not just cause u drank to much but that got Budweiser and not BL that u ordered.

We end up here a couple of times a year — it seems like a good meeting place when there are several of us meeting from the west side of the metro. It’s…okay.
It’s pretty busy on the weekends. Usually a mix of people dressed casually, settling in to get drunk in one place, and others who are skanked up a little, all ready to move on someplace else.
It doesn’t feel clean — sticky tables, dirty bathrooms, communal popcorn. The drinks are nothing special — standard beer selection.
We stopped here on Friday when we couldn’t think of a better place to go that was close — we just wanted a few drinks and a place to sit and chat. They had a terrible DJ playing — bad music, bad mixing, and horrible «emceeing» to try and get the patrons excited. It made talking impossible (our waitress kept messing up our drink orders because she couldn’t hear a thing).

I hear people rave about this bar plenty but the 3 times I’ve been with friends my experience was mediocre at best. The atmosphere on slower nights is pretty cool and I love all the woodwork. Oh busier nights I feel like I am back in college again. Shoulder to shoulder meat market with bathrooms covered in piss. Bleh.
Edit:
I’ve stopped in here quite a bit lately against my will yo meet friends and you now what? I like it. I’m definitely not coming in on college night but service has been excellent last few times and I even had one of their burgers and was pleasantly surprised again. I moved this from a 1 star to a four.