Proof

Always my go to restaurant in
Des Moines. It has incredible farm to table middle eastern food and a great restaurant
environment. I am a big proponent of the minimalistic design and philosophy. The pork dish is a staple and anything with vegetables is incredible!

Every so often you come across a meal that not only amazes you but leaves an impression. That was our experience at proof when we dined there a few weeks ago.
When you walk into proof, there’s a sign that reads, «Those who tell the stories, rule the world.» When we walked out, I understood it more.
We were able to get a late reservation for four of us on one of the second Saturdays — their monthly tasting menu evening with the prix fixe menu for $ 60 a person. From the minute we got there to the time we left about three and a half hours later every detail was exactly as we had hoped hand made for probably the most memorable meal we’ve had in the last decade.
The digs here are very humble. A dozen or so tables make up the restaurant that is surrounded on two sides by floor-​to-​ceiling windows overlooking a downtown park. The décor in here is modern and elegant. I’ve got some really cool artistic touches throughout the place to let you know they were thinking about it, but not enough to leave you wondering what were they thinking. This most definitely includes the clown picture over top of the urinal in the men’s room. Everyone should go see it, and we were told that was encouraged. The best part however, is the fact that our server told us it was placed there to make it so people don’t linger. It’s absolute genius!
To start the evening we had wine and a couple of cocktails. My cocktail included red wine and bourbon and absolutely awesome. Unique enough to make me want to order it, but familiar enough to where I wasn’t wondering what I was getting. The bottle of wine that we shared was lovely and came recommended by our server based on our preferences. More on the service later, but this was our first glimpse into how great the service would be here.
The prix fixe menu included 10 total courses that came out in perfect intervals. It was pretty amazing to see how everything in this restaurant was coordinated as courses came out for each table exactly when they were supposed to. We had a number of different servers bring our food out and each one knew about how the food was prepared, where it was from and small tidbits about the food that really demonstrated the depth of preparation that each person working here has. The more we thought about it, the more impressive it was.
Since the menu changes on each second Saturday, your culinary experience will undoubtedly be a bit different, but suffice to say that the food we ate here was absolutely magnificent. Everything was prepared perfectly, it was plated perfectly and it was delivered perfectly. All 10 courses were brilliant, but a few stood out. The ribeye with pickled onions and greens was one of the most incredible pieces of meat we’ve ever had and the bread cheese with roasted pepper and bitter caramel is probably the best thing I’ve ever had to eat. My better half felt the same way. The dish had us chewing longer, savoring and talking about it for the rest of the night (and now 3 weeks later).
The piece that really took this place to another level was the service. From the knowledge of the food and wine, to the appropriate amount of banter and always appearing just at the right time, the execution of the staff was sublime.
The three and a half our dinner felt like an hour and just kept getting better. By the end of the evening, we had experienced the most complete dining experience we’ve ever had. I cannot recommend this place highly enough and hope you have a chance to experience it as well. You’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner.

My husband and I went to proof for our anniversary because we read such good reviews. We were so disappointed in the food, the service and the atmosphere. The chairs are hard Plastic, the table unstable. It didn’t have that relaxing feel that one would expect when eating a 4 course meal.
The service was slow, taking 20 – 30 minutes between courses.
The beet salad was ok, the roasted eggplant tasted like salty mush. my husband had the lamb in a flakey crust. The crust was burnt. for our entrees we had pook which was tasty and scallops which there were 3. The scallops came with a tasteless couscous. After dessert our server brought the check which was 15.00 to much. We had to get it adjusted 3 times before it was right. The evening cost us 170.00 which we would have gladly paid if the food would have been good.
I know their menu varies and we were there on Morrocan night but I would hesitate to try again because of the cost.

Party of 4 on a rainy evening, I came up with the bright idea that we should stop in at Proof for dinner (our original plan was to go to Dos Rios, but they are closed). The place is small and cute, simplistic white décor, basic furniture for table & chairs. I could tell the other three in our party weren’t overly excited, but were agreeable enough to give the restaurant a shot (ha, I win!).
We started with a meat & cheese tray to share, very excellent selections from our super nice & knowledgeable waitress Sadie (who also recommended a bottle of Croatian wine for the table to share with our diverse entrée choices). We had three items from the grains/​vegetables section (beet salad, risotto balls, & the cauliflower flatbread), which were all outstanding. The cauliflower flatbread had actual cauliflower ground up as a part of the crust opposed to sticking a few cauliflower on top of some flatbread. Unique & delicious! For entrées, we had the hanger steak, the ribeye, the lamb spideini, & scallops. Again, we cleared the plates! Unique blend of flavors on each dish that the menu descriptions did not do any justice! We did also try the chess pie & peanut butter parfait for dessert — very good also, but not as memorable as the rest of the meal.
Overall, a little on the pricey side, but well worth it! Beautiful presentations, excellent food, and excellent service! The other three in my party became believers halfway through our meal and thanked me for dragging them in (another victory!).
P. S. they have samples of handmade soaps made by the chef in the bathroom — take one (don’t be greedy), they smell fabulous, & order more if you love them!

Four of us had our Ladies Night dinner here tonight– first time for all of us. We shared appetizers– arancini, blood orange and fennel salad, eggplant caponata and cauliflower flatbread– all delicious. Shared entrees were the hangar steak and the sumac pork– SO fabulous! Such great flavors! Service was Spot on– great wine suggestions, he was SO knowledgeable about all the menu items, ingredients and wine pairings. Shared a chocolate peanut butter dessert at the end. What a great dining experience and we will be back SOON!

Happy hour drink specials are the way to go! Great food and atmosphere.

What a gem I stumbled upon. Traveling through Des Moines on my way home to another great Midwestern city. I often seek the farm to table experience.
The service and knowledge was top notch. I ordered the hors d’oeuvres of cheese & meat aka charcuterie. I encouraged the bartender, Josh, to surprise me with his recommendations. Shawn, the chef, delivered my order with excitement. He chose 2 of the crème cheese selections… Good Thunder (cow) and Harbison (goat) and sopresseta, prosciutto and another meat with side condiments, crackers, olives and marcona almonds. The cheeses were the star of this show along with the great rose wines.
Sitting at the bar allows for lively discussions and colorful characters. Meeting Allen and learning about the great offerings of downtown Des Moines were highlights of my IA/​MN/​ND trip. Looking forward to a return trip.

Three of us had a great dining experience on a busy Saturday night. We had a reservation and they thanked us when we checked in for making it! The gentleman that seated us let us know that the kitchen could adjust items if anyone in our party had an issue that required that, and the waiter stopped by right after that to take our drink order. They have a nice selection of wines and a smaller full bar, with reasonable prices.
We decided to share tapas, and started off with a beet salad and cauliflower flatbread. I liked the beet salad — a few chunks of beets with yogurt, pistachios, sauce, and greens. My two dining companions didn’t like it quite as well as I did, but we did clean the plate. The flatbread was tasty with a very nicely prepared cauliflower crust and tasty, fresh toppings. I have to confess I still prefer a flour-​based crust, but this one was prepared as well as one can be.
For our main dishes we shared three selections. We had a pesto ziti with shrimp that had a nice light pesto flavor and tender small shrimp. It was nicely creamy but with a fairly light sauce. Our second selection was the pork saltimbocca, which was also a nicely flavored as well. The hit of the night for all of us was the hanger steak. It was amazingly tender and super-​flavorful. The pesto and pork were good, but the hanger steak was superb.
Service is nicely paced, but if you need to be somewhere at a specific time you may want to let them know. We were definitely there to spend a couple of hours and we were there just under 2 hours which worked out well for us on this night. Very fresh tastes — recommended!

This is our favorite restaurant in Des Moines. When we plan trips, we will actually go out of our way to stay overnight in Des Moines, just so we can go to this restaurant. The food, service, and our enjoyment were all great. Yes, it is pricey, but you get what you pay for.
We were there last night, and we had just as wonderful an experience as ever.

Date night in the City! Dinner and a performance. Beautiful weather, wonderful night.
Had not been to Proof for a couple of years. Good to be back.
Wine selection, stellar.
Server respectful, informative, attentive.
Each of our meals were eclectic and perfective!
Appetizers were the eggplant dish scoop able onto ground chickpea bread like triangles and the beet salad … awesone.
My entrée were scallops with saffron grilled cauliflower and my husband ate the Sumac pork.
Presentation, preparation and combination of ingredients chosen for each dish was total satisfaction!
See you again, soon.
Thank you!

A first for all 6 in our party. WOW! Excellent! We all had different appetizers, salads, main dishes and cocktails and each and every one was spectacular! I have found a new fave cocktail: the Sage Dove I believe it was called. Tequila, grapefruit, bubbles and sage (thought I think mine had basil in place of the sage… which I loved!). There is a lot of love going on in the bar and kitchen… you won’t be disappointed!!!

shrimp/​paella — Amazing flavor, perfect texture, pulled at PERFECT cooking temperate. Shrimp had a fresh bite, and vegetables were tender, but not mush. There was no holding back on various herbs and spices here. Well done!
)) scallops/​tabbouleh — Chefs take note. Proof cooks their scallops correctly. Again, pulled at perfect temperature and that tabbouleh is served with spectacular color from the green onion /​carrot bit mix. The flavor here is outstanding, perfect blend of spices.
)) salmon/​risotto cake
Oh! So this is what Salmon is supposed to taste like! (I am glad they didn’t treat it like a steak) I remember this was fantastic, but will withhold more comments due to this experience being quite some time ago.

After a day’s travel on a no free snacks airline, a friendly, opinionated (in a good way) bartender welcomed me to Proof at 4:15pm. The catch: no dinner menu until 5pm, so I ordered a cocktail, the Bramble, with berry infused gin, lemon juice, and honey syrup, carrying a kick. I also had the cheese plate with two chef chosen cheeses, fig jam, and house made crackers. A nice small plate, but not enough to satiate my hunger.
Now 5pm, I started dinner with a tasty, modern, and refined roasted beet salad. I asked about locally sourced entrees and the bartender recommended the pork saltimbocca. The large portion was mostly tasty, but a tad bitter and greasy in places. To wash it down, I opted against another cocktail and asked for a local beer. The ‘tender hauled out his last bottle of an Iowa sour beer, a nice balance to the heavy pork dish. I topped the meal off with a terrific and light lemon semifreddo. Now full, I felt inspired to walk for 40 minutes through sleet to a work event. A good dinner and the Iowa winter didn’t phase me a bit.

Been to a couple of their themed first Saturday dinners and had a very enjoyable dining experience. Also have been during regular service and have not been disappointed. What keeps bringing me back here is the fact that the chef is fearless and will take chances. I’m not going to lie, there have been some dishes that were served that just didn’t work — one example being the noodles served in a squeeze bottle that were supposed to form in the broth via table side service. I’d rather have a chef that is willing to take a risk than sit back and serve nachos and cater to the lowest common denominator.

We were looking for a great restaurant n Des Moines Iowa, and we found it. Prof had a great menu with lots of great local choices. well done, well prepared, presented well.
Can’t wait to go back.

Here’s our 10-​course meal. Oh boy! How do 1 even start. How about before coming here.
Husband and I are always out to find something new, weird and crazy awesome food! It’s supposed to be a birthday gift to my husband but I was not able to get a reservation in time.
When we came, the place is ok, I guess they nailed the minimal look. Then our host Jeremiah came over to tell us what we should expect for the night. We’re going to have a Southern-​inspired cuisine. He offered a wine pairing and since I was feeling all fancy, I did it. We got our water and got ready to whatever they put on our table. Just a tip as well, the course was charged $ 60 per head and you will be sharing the plate with medium proportions. You will be paying for the authenticity and creativity of the meal and doing the 2^nd Saturday meal are for those who are a little adventurous when it comes to food. Music didn’t set the mood. A simple jazz and blues would really scream south. This is very important too since they will be explaining the food to you. With the music, if you are familiar with the cuisine, without listening you would know what it is but you have to just smile and pretend you actually heard them the entire time. I can see that they were having a difficulty explaining the food to us and they have to talk a little louder. I really have a thing about the noise level especially when food is involved. They also offered me a wine pairing so that’s $ 50 for 9 wine that goes with every meal. Our host also told us about the wine where do they came from and the name. I had 4 whites and 4 red, a vodka mixed with the food and very nutty whiskey (I think and it smells good too that reminds me of Frangelico) ANYWAY… here’s the list of food we had as what I can remember or what I think I heard (I will be posting pics later).
1^st. Horseradish ice cream and watermelon. Yes, I was happy we had this. It only works then you everything all at the same time, not that the sound of horseradish ice cream was bad but eating them all together was amazing. I was not able to get a photo of this for a reason that it so excited to eat it.
2^nd. Buttermilk biscuit with greens and poached eggs. Oh boy! Best biscuit, EVER! The
3^rd. Fried Green tomatoes with bacon and apricot. I love the fried green tomatoes by itself and putting bacon makes it better. The apricot made it unique, it seems like it was cooked and caramelized. This is one of the dishes that I was not able to take a photo of for the same reason I had the 1^st meal.
4^th. Sea bass with tomato succotash, sweet corn pureed. It was perfect. It was golden brown on the outside and juicy on the inside.
5^th. Tomato sorbet floating in vodka topped with cinnamon and celery leaf. This is something my husband actually enjoyed. Me, thought it was ok and the tomato sorbet was really good. I’m just not a fan of vodka or anything that involved alcohol in the food processing. Lol!
6^th. Chicken breast with peanut, kidney and garbanzos beans atop with beans. I’m not the one to like a chicken breast but when cooked right with skin on, we can talk. It was juicy light flavored and the addition of beans put the dishes altogether.
7^th. Candied pork belly with baked grits in mushroom sauce and pickled grapes with kale and collard green. Now, my husband ate the grapes and kale for me since I don’t like those either. He liked it, it has the right amount of acidity to it. The grits were delicious, I didn’t even know it was grits. I’ve had it before in Crackle Barrel they had it like a paste texture. I didn’t know at first until my husband told me. NOW THE PORK BELLY, it was amazing! It was soft and juicy. It reminds me of a delicacy we have back in the Philippines called Bagnet. It was probably one of my favorite and also the meal that I know I was full.
8^th. Braised beef shoulder on top of crackling cornbread (pig fat was used instead of butter, nice…) topped with watermelon, tomato, and a side pickled watermelon rind salad. All those stuff that I just said was as good as it sound. The salad made the dinner a little lighter and balance everything else on the plate in a very surprising way.
9^th. Ha! Yes, I’ll make it through this review!!! Cheese with preserve tomato base. I am not the one to know to all the relatives of cheese and their close cousin, but my husband can tell it was aged-​cheese. It was light and really works with the sweetness of the tomato.
10^th. Banana pudding and a julep mint ice cream. Loved it! The banana was light, unlike how other used to make around here which will really put you to a diabetic coma. This was really special since it taste like what my mom use to make.
I will definitely come back to this place and probably try the regular menu that they serve. Like I said, if anyone would do the 2^nd Saturday meal, be prepared to me amaze and informed. The noise was the only reason why I can only give a solid 4 star. I’m glad that we have this kind of places in Des Moines.

We shared the cheese plate and charcuterie plate. Both were delicious! I really liked this contemporary upscale little place. They served a nice little goat cheese and cherry amuse-​bouche and the service was helpful, but somewhat stuffy and our server did not seem to get our sense of humor. The menu was extremely limited however I would still recommend this place for an upscale, although somewhat stuffy dining experience.

By far, the best meal I’ve had in my life. If I’ve ever written that in a previous review, please disregard because this is where it’s at. Proof was the best part of my road trip to Des Moines.
In doing research of the area, I found a lot of people said you couldn’t miss Proof so I emailed for reservations from their website. They note on their website that if you don’t get an email confirmation within a few days to call in. I totally forgot to call and called in about a week prior. The gentleman that greeted me was extremely apologetic about missing my reservation and made sure that my name was on the list for the Saturday 5 PM slot. We could have got away without reservations as there were only a few people here at that time, but I’ve read it gets busier later so reservations should be made.
When we arrived, we were very impressed with how clean and modern it looks inside. It’s one of those places that you can tell is fancy and that you’re going to enjoy, but isn’t snooty. (See also: you can feel comfortable coming dressed casually but still feel like you’re having a nice dinner out.) My favorite part was the re-​purposed doors hanging from the ceiling. Make sure to look up!
There’s no set menu online as it does change frequently, so we weren’t quite sure of what to order when we arrived and went in blind. To start the meal, we were given an amuse bouche. I don’t know how to describe it other than fancy egg salad. It was so wonderful and perfectly balanced. Then we kicked things off with homemade foccacia and house marinated olives. Both were fabulous. My husband kept saying «this isn’t the foccacia that i’m used to» but we still really loved it. I’m a sucker for olives, so I could have eaten all of them by myself, but there was a good amount to share. We also did an appetizer based on our server’s suggestion. I can’t remember exactly what it was called but it had chorizo and potatoes. It reminded me of breakfast due to the ingredients, but it was a good start to the meal and tided us over until our entrees arrived.
In ordering our main meals, I went with the grilled ribeye and my husband went with the pork. I’m not usually someone that enjoys rare meat but I loved my meal so much. I also got to eat part of the pork. I was impressed with how many ingredients there were but how they all went together so perfectly.
If you get a chance to dine at Proof, I highly recommend you do so. We really loved everything we tried and would be so happy for a chance to come back here in the future.

Great food, good cocktails but pricy for Des Moines, IA! The Aviator was an awesome drink but it set me back $ 17! The Brussels sprouts, the beetroot salad and the crostini were all great dishes, with a good amount of thought and creativity going into each dish.
Definitely a must try!

I dig a slow elegant dining experience. I don’t like to be rushed! This place fits my needs! Great food, good bar, cool open setting, nice art on the walls, great location! What more can you ask for!
The menu changes quite a bit so it’s hard to nail down one thing that makes me go crazy about the food, but the chef will always make you something Vegan if that’s what you desire! The hours have changed from the past, and it’s sometimes hard to get a table on a special night but hey, that’s what happens in a smaller intimate place with great food, and that’s the kind of place I dig!
They are not pushing anyone out!
They have a great happy hour, and it’s nice to be able to hop in during a festival like the Art Fest or ⁸⁰⁄₃₅ and grab a brew and cool down from the summer sun!