RoCA

An absolutely exceptional experience in a sea of fried food and beer joints. Don’t get me wrong, we actually made a trip to Des Moines just to sample the beer. But something about the Unilocal reviews for RoCA said, «go there now,» so we did. We sat at the bar and Russ took such good care of us. We’re from Kansas City, where we already have access to a great food and cocktail scene. But beyond the usual, we really enjoyed the cocktail menu at RoCA. Many new plays on old favorites, we had to try the house specialty — a bourbon and maple syrup mixture that is smoked with apple wood and bottled temporarily for you to pour over a giant ice cube as you see fit. The flatbread was good, as were the pork belly tacos. The white chocolate crème brûlée was one of the better crème brulees (not to mention, desserts) that I’ve had anywhere. I don’t give a lot of 5-​star reviews, but Russ and company have earned this one. Stay for dinner and many cocktails, it’s worth your time and money.

There is a lot to be desired. The food tasted good, but the prices were excessive for what was received. The atmosphere was cozy and allowed for conversation. I was really looking forward to try out RoCA, but was not impressed and feel let down.

If you’re looking for high quality small plates downtown, this is your place. Really great, cozy setting and the food is top-​notch. It’s almost all small plates, so you can sample a lot of different things from the menu without gorging yourself. On the flipside, the small plates are on the pricier side (because they taste amazing!), so just keep that in mind. They also feature craft cocktails and they have some really good ones.

A friend and I went here on a busy weeknight evening before an event at the Civic Center and were happy to get a table in the basement right away.
The specialty cocktails are fantastic. My favorite was the Spontaneously Horny, which the waitress said is their most popular. We split several small plates. All were good, but the pork belly tacos with daikon slaw were AMAZING. It was hard to decide what to get, so a return trip to sample more will soon be in order! I’d also like to check out the bar and get a feel for the atmosphere upstairs.
Service was good, even at a busy time.
This place has a great vibe, great food, and great cocktails and is worth checking out.

We went here on a Saturday night and the ambience was perfect. It’s laid back with a fun crowd and our hostess, Kim, just made the experience amazing! She was super attentive and had the best suggestions for items on the menu. I told her what I liked and her choices were spot on! They also have a decent amount of vegetarian options which I was very pleased with. I wish I was in Iowa more often– RoCa would be the place to be!

Wonderful bar with plenty of finely crafted classic cocktails. I had the pork shank that was fall off the bone delicious. Worth the trip!!!

Great atmosphere, good music, great service. My friend got a smoke-​infused cocktail and a figgy bacon cocktail and said they were better than anything he could get in DC. Definitely would recommend.

RoCa is a cool place to go with a date or friends. It’s a cozy, though loud atmosphere, so if you want to have a conversation with someone new maybe sit towards the back away from the bar area.
There are a variety of drinks to get and if you’re a whiskey fan you’ll like their options. I usually get the Smoking Gun ($ 12), which is a smoke infused whiskey drink. They put the smoke in the bottle of Bulleit Whiskey and it’s fantastic! The smoke enhances the already tasty whiskey, so I definitely recommend that drink.
RoCa has a lot of shared plated dishes, sort of like tapas. The prices are on the higher end for the amount of food you get. We ordered the pork belly tacos and drunken mussels. The tacos were $ 12 and you get 3 little tacos. The drunken mussels were $ 10 for the half order and $ 16 for the full. They didn’t have enough for the full order so they gave us like ¾ of the half order and didn’t charge us for it, so that was nice of our waiter.
They also have large plated dishes, which are your typical entrée dishes. They range in the mid $ 20’s. There are also soups and salads and meat and cheese plates.
Overall I enjoyed my experience at RoCa. The service was good, the environment was fun, though the prices were kinda high on the food. I’d go back and just order drinks next time.

I loved this place! The small plates are so unique and delicious plus the wine selection is well designed for the food. The chef came to our table and invited us to a private party for a full meal and wine tasting. It was so gracious and pofessional of him and the waitress was helpful with selections and attentive! I hope you’ll get a chance to meet the chef soon too!

I invited a friend from out of town to join me for a girls day lunch at RoCA. What an amazing experience! I had the root beer pork sliders and coleslaw and I cannot even come up with enough good words to describe this plate, I will just saw best ever!!! I had to try the smoking bourbon and although I have never had bourbon it was full of unique flavor. I will be returning again and again!!!

Wasn’t terribly impressed with my whole experience. Went on a weekend night, but had to wait longer than I had expected for a table. The drinks were good, but the food left something to be desired, especially given the prices. There are better choices for a nice dinner. The building is pretty cool, though!

This is a really unique place with a wonderful drink menu. The smoking gun is a must try for anyone who enjoys whiskeys. The staff is really hit and miss and that is the only reason for not getting 5 stars. Some nights I would give it 2 given the staff and some 5.
It is worth a try if you are in the area.

Went to Roca with my boyfriend on March 13^th and had a delicious meal. We had the Root Beer Pulled Pork Sliders that all of my friends raved about. They didn’t disappoint. We also ordered to Roasted Chicken Mac and Cheese. It was amazing too. The cheese was delicious. I had a Sutliff Cider and my boyfriend has the Pinot. Both very tasty. Hoping to try one of the craft cocktails next time we go back. We did love it so much that we ordered the same thing the next day while drinking at Shorty’s. We also added the Spinach and Artichoke dip which I thought was really tasty.
Overall great experience and neat ambiance in the restaurant.

Went there for Valentine’s Day and setup a Reservation through OpenTable about a month in advance. Hostess called me to confirm reservation on Thursday before. Yet when we showed up for out reservation there was no record of it. Hostess apolgized and explanied they were having trouble with OpenTable and also confirmed that she fact did call me. Thankfuly she had a table for us, and her making that happen was much appreciated, sorry i can’t remember her name.
Loved the ambience of the place, very warm and welcoming, The exposed brick is a nice touch. Easy to see why this is becoming a hot spot in Downtown. Our Waitress was fantastic and very helpful, can’t remember her name as well. I ordered an old-​fashioned which was perfect. Girlfriend asked for a wine suggestion, and our waitress gave her some reccomendations and she loved her choice.
We arent’t really used to the shared plate concept, but we really enjoyed it. We ordered the Root Beer Braised Pork Sliders, which i could not get enough of, they were like candy, so decadent. Also ordered the Spinich & Artichoke Flatbread, which was just as good. Looking through the menu and i spotted several things i wish i could try. Next time we are through Des Moines again we will defintely stop by.

RoCA is my new fave after-​theatre stop. Great selection of small plates, wine, drinks and brews. We walked in about 4:30-ish after seeing ‘Kinky Boots’ this past saturday and scored the last 2 seats at the bar. This place is the go to for the after dinner crowd it seems while the wait staff was saying it was slow… wow!
We tried a few cocktails and small plates. Absolutely loved the drunken mussels. We had so much fun we made a reservation for after we see ‘Pippin’ at the end of February. It was that good.
Love the décor and openness of this restaurant. Tip the only restrooms are downstairs.

It’s 6pm on a Friday night in downtown DSM, I wanted to go get a drink before my wife and I went off with our respected boys night/girl’s night dinners! We had not been to RoCA yet so we hit it up for a drink!
Well it was packed we found 2 seats on the small bar type table above the stairs and scanned over the drink menu and food menu! Lots of Small plate stuff here, only bummer about the whole place is there is only 1 or 2 vegan options. Oh well we were just here to get drinks anyway!
The drinks are where it’s at! Total Mixologist stuff going on here, My wife ordered a bourbon drink that was served in a bottle with SMOKE in it! Our waitress shook it up, clouding the bottle and then poring it over a hand cut ice cube, and a orange peel! Im not much of a bourbon guy, but I tried it and it was very smooth! I wouldn’t make it in Kentucky!
I’m a beer guy and they had a great selection of over 20 craft beers here! I chose the Stone To-​Go IPA, which I had never had and it was fantastic! They also have a huge wine selection!
15 bucks was our tab for the fancy Bourbon and the great IPA. Not to shabby!
I really dig the design of the restaurant, long and narrow, with high top tables, and a great bar area! Wine bottle art, and cool paintings! It’s pretty dim lighting would be perfect for a date, but It does get a bit loud in here!
I do look forward to going back and trying 1 of those vegan options for food!

Amazing service. Was seated immediately and our water didn’t reach half full all night. I had the root beer infused sliders with the bib wedge salad. Throughout the night I sipped on the cocktail titled «spontaneously horny» that was suggested by our fabulous waitress, Melinda. The music playing all night was also fantastic!
Great place to be in Des Moines!

Stopped in with my lovely wifey on a cold blustery night last week. I had made a reservation on opentable (and I am glad I did as it was pretty busy). We opted to sit at the bar as the tables are VERY close together.
In summary its a nice bar with some gastro-​pubby food and some very nice handcrafted unique cocktails. The price point and food quality ratio was just right for us. We will be back.
Onto the detailed review… we ordered three dishes to share, their smothered tater tots, Ribeye skewers, and Rootbeer braised pork sliders.
The smothered tater tots were great… they aren’t traditional tater tots but small chunks of potatoes that are browned outside and crispy inside. They are covered with gravy and turkey. Best way I can describe is it takes like thanksgiving in a mouthful. Very yummy very rich, this was the first dish that was gone.
The rootbeer braised pork sliders were good, the bread was not dry (seems to me that burger/​slider buns are always dry…) and it had a sweet mayo on it. It was definitely a bit one note but VERY good.
The ribeye skewers were our least favorite. I am not a big fan of food that i can easily make at home. These I could easily make at home and maybe make better BUT they were still tasty. Like the pork sliders though they were very one note. Tater Tots smothered in turkey heart gravy wins hands down.
For dessert we had a bread pudding which was good not intensely amazing that would cause my wife and I to duel forks as we shared the dish but good nonetheless.
Here is a tip. Sit at the bar, they will give you better service and you can hear their recommendations on the food (we ordered the tater tots because a server said that they have those for their staff lunch and they love it).
We will be back to try some of their other menu items. or maybe just for those tater tots!!!

Very hip and trendy, this place definitely has a big city feel and makes a good addition to downtown Da Moyne. I’m a sucker for exposed brick and dim lighting, both of which they have in (david) spades. Having moved here from Chicago, this place has a very Chicago-​y vibe (with some Chicago prices to boot). On to the show.
The drinks are the real star here. The complimentary whiskey punch they brought us out before our dinner was delicious and deserves it’s own spot on the menu. My Old Fashioned was roof-​raising good, containing just one giant ice cube. The drink definitely had some swagger.
For food, we ordered a bunch of shared plates that we shared with another couple. They are listed as such:
Mac and Cheese with mushrooms and chicken: Definitely the consensus favorite. I liked it better than the mac and cheese at the aptly named Cheese Shop, which was also quite good. Not too heavy, but delicious.
Cheese and Meat board: hit or miss. Just depends on your tolerance for cheeses you don’t know and fancy, uncooked meats.
Roca smothered tots: I really enjoyed these, perhaps more than anyone at the table. The «tots» are more chunky potatoes though, not «tater tots» per se. The turkey on them was very good as well. A very rich dish, but worth it.
Ribeye Skewers: Meh. They had an Asian flair to them, but were overcooked and everyone’s least favorite dish.
Spinach, artichoke, bacon and smoked chicken flatbread: Also very good. Solid B.
All in all, a very good experience and great date spot. I’m interested in trying some of their large plates next time, and working my way down the cocktail list.
(One caveat is that the beer list is pretty underwhelming — the chef’s favorite beer is Stella, really? — but this is a place I suppose you come for the cocktails, not the beer)

We will easily enjoy a second review but had to be on the books for an incredibly enjoyable experience. A fantastic time with delicious drinks and beautiful large-​ice drinks that dazzled from the start.