Cactus Bob’s BBQ Corral

Cactus Bob is a pretty clever guy: he is running one of those restaurants that make you do do most of the work but stlll charge as if they were giving you table service. It’s a restaurant where ignoring the guests is a key part of the business strategy.
After standing in line and giving your order to a cashier, you never again interact with a human being, friendly or otherwise. The kitchen calls your order, you pick it up – and on the way to your table don’t forget to pour your own drinks. Does anyone from the staff ever look in on the dining room? Ask the guests how they’re doing? Clear tables? Not while we were there on a Friday evening.
The barbecue, as you might expect, is a little flat. Two out of three of our entrees were dry as dust, the sides were definitely the best part of the meal.
Bottom line: Join the fight against this cynical breed of no-​service restaurants and skip Cactus Bob’s.

I think Cactus Bob’s has the best turkey sandwich in town. I really love this place for lunch near Camp Dodge. It’s really easy to order something low carb or keto… or you can just splurge and enjoy their delicious Mac and cheese, cornbread or green beans.
It’s pretty busy so allot a little extra time for the inevitable line!

Love this place! We go at least once a month and have never been disappointed. The brisket is to die for and the best in town. Homemade fries are yummy! If you are a real bbq fan this is the place to be! !

Never had a bad meal here! The wait time on Friday’s is a little long… but that just means there is a reason they are busy!

I’ve been here a few times and have been happy for the most part. I’ll break down a couple trips in one review. Ribs are good. Smoked chicken is horribly dry. Pulled pork has zero flavor. Brisket is really good. The buffalo chicken sandwich is really good. Fries are really really good. All sides I have tried have all been really good. The staff every time is super friendly and cool. This is now an occasional stop for me.

Used to love this place. Was always clean and friendly. Moved back from Las Vegas and couldn’t wait to hit here for a nice dinner. Went in on a Saturday because the website stated a Saturday combo special, a dozen onion rings, a dozen fried mushrooms, and 2 saucy pork sliders for $ 8. When we ordered it the cashier told us they quit doing it a few months ago and they had a new web page. She wrote down the new web address which was exactly the same. Was I lied to? Not sure but 1. Who changes a web address after this many years? 2. Doesn’t update their website for months in the days of technology and social media? So we change our order, while waiting I use the restroom, there was mildew along the back of the sink and a dead cockroach in the soap bottle’s nozzle. The soap dispenser was empty and the bottle was just sitting on the sink. Now the fried mushrooms and French fries come out and as usual we love them. I can overlook the cleanliness issue but the fact we were lied to is my problem. Not sure if we’ll be back since Saturday was our favorite time because of the appetizer special.

we ordered st louis ribs not realizing there was little white unedible things you had to eat around. the ribs were tough and cold, almost burnt. the sides were good. we were the only ones there. won’t be back — will drive to Uncle Wendell’s in des moines!

The food is excellent! Some of the best Barbecue in town! Friday nights are usually not very busy for some strange reason so that’s nice and really cheap beer! $ 5.00 pitcher of Bud light and $ 7.00 pitchers of Exile’s Ruthie!

Excellent! Ribs fell off the bone. Brisket to die for. Definitely will dine there again.

The dining area is nice. Wall to wall hot sauce bottles to look at. They have a lot of choices for hot sauces to try, which is good because the food is just ok. Ribs are not fall off the bone but does have a good flavor.

First time here. Went with friends for our monthly dinner get together. Their choice.
I was not crazy about the place. BBQ was meh and the atmosphere was meh.
That’s all. It’s not bad, but there is definitely better BBQ out there. Not a very good selection of beers either.

I really want to like this place because I love the place on the inside. We stopped in about half an hour before they closed and we were greeted with ‘you have to be done by 9.’ I wanted to walk out right then and there but the company I was with chose to stay. Food was hot and prepared well. They have different sauces to choose from. The portions are large. You bus your own table when finished with your meal. There is better bbq in the area. There is also friendlier staff in other restaurants.

I finally made it over to Cactus Bobs a couple weeks ago. I had the Longhorn sandwich. Basically a pile of brisket on a bun. The brisket was probably one of the best I’ve had in the city! Their homemade fries were scorching hot and tasted great. The bun the sandwich was on… it was delicious… I know it’s just bread, but it had a great texture and feel to it. I didn’t care for the mac n cheese… the mac n cheese is WAY better at Wobbly Boots. My date said she probably wouldn’t get the beans again either. I didn’t try them… One simple thing that made the meal for me… the bread and butter pickle spear. I absolutely LOVE bread and butter pickles with BBQ. The atmosphere was good. It’s self-​serve mostly, but the service at the register and the pickup line was good. I liked the variety of sauces. I tried all three at the table and a couple of the signature ones in the lobby area (the burn zone). Their sandwich prices were fair. The prices on their meat combo entrees seemed a little high. We both stuck to sandwiches, sides, and a drink. I think the two of us ate for around $ 26.

My father-​in-​law took the family here once on a wild hair and at first sight, we were not very pleased. Located in an average strip mall in Johnston, IA we weren’t expecting much but after having the food, I totally stand corrected! My wife and I have quickly come loyalists and have made it a staple of our «pickup after work routine». I always get the rib tips and wings appetizer because I’ve never found a better value for the quality. My wife loves their chicken strips (at a bbq place??? I know…) and their BBQ sauce selection is second to none. As a hot sauce lover, I love how many spicy varieties they offer… Did I mention $ 5 pitchers? Yep… Sold. Thanks, Dad

Recommended. Probably one of the best BBQ places in the vicinity. Good food, good price, friendly staff.
My job takes me on the road fairly frequently, and I like to sample local restaurants. I was on the north side of Des Moines and I saw this place in a tiny little strip mall. I rolled the dice and went on it. Good decision.
The owner (I’ll call him Bob, given the name of the restaurant) was behind the counter putting together food orders. There is obviously a dedicated set of regulars who go to Cactus Bob’s since he seemed to know a fair number of them by name. I let a few people pass me on the way to the cashier so I could study the menu. Lots of options, all but one dry-​rubbed. I asked the cashier what she would order if she were only going to be in the restaurant once, and she recommended a type of sample sandwich. Why, I asked. «You’ll get to try a bit of everything.» Sounded logical, so I ordered it. There are a variety of sauces available to add (or not) to the sandwich. I gave them all a shot, and they ranged from good to very good, mild to spicy, something for everyone.
On to beverages. I noticed they had a couple of local brews on tap, including some from Exile Brewery. I asked the cashier about them. Bob, having finished filling someone else’s order, came over and we talked beers. He described them nicely and I chose one that appealed. While the BBQ was being prepared, he served up my beer and a sampler of the beer I hadn’t ordered, just so I could give it a try. Nice touch.
Bob commented that he would have recommended the sole BBQ choice that wasn’t dried-​rubbed, a more traditional shredded meat in sauce sandwich. I had such a good meal (try the corn muffins for a side dish) that I went back the next day just to give it a shot. Excellent.
I’ll be visiting Cactus Bob’s next time I’m passing through Des Moines.

In the movie The Never Ending Story, the main enemy is The Nothingness. The Nothingness might not be real, but his distant cousin The Blahness resides here. The bbq meat here really is blah, I hate the buns they use for sandwiches, and the sides are either too sweet or taste weird. The atmosphere and set up is also blah.
I have been here about 5 times because it is close to my work, and for some reason people pick this place for group lunches (stop it!).
The only thing I like about this place is The Wall of Fire, which is a wall with increasing intensity hot sauces that you can test your pallet against. But even this fun novelty is full of not so great tasting hot sauces.

Stopped in this last weekend… fantastic!
The ribs, pork shoulder, sausage combo with bbq beans and the Texas Chili was my choice. The Mrs ordered the Chicken and Onion Rings… The BBQ Nachos were pretty good as well.
Ribs very tender and they have a large variety of sauces to choose from, some too spicy for me to try… I settled on the Last Man Standing at the OK Coral

Friendly staff, clean place. Ordered 2 sandwiches. Brisket was tender and moist, pork was dry and grey on edges and big chunk of fat in the middle. No noticeable smoke ring on either. Sauce was tasty, original was very sweet. Revenge sauce tasted fairly sweet too. Would try again to see if pork was fresher.

I’m sorry, I hate giving one-​star ratings, I really do! But this place has NOTHING going for it. Food, service, and prices are bad.
My brother suggested my family meet here to celebrate his anniversary. My parents and I came for lunch and had never been here before. We took a moment to glance at the menu (no one was behind us in line) and the front counter lady seemed impatient and bored assisting us in our order. A smile was out of the question, lol. I think they were out of the beer my dad wanted too…
I ordered the BBQ Nachos and the rest of my family ordered sandwiches. The BBQ Nachos were served on a cafeteria tray (which is fine) and were unseasoned tortilla chips topped with a Cheese Whiz type cheese. They were SUPER stingy with the cheese — there was not enough to cover all the chips, and there was hardly any meat sprinkled on them either. Which ended up being a good thing because the «smoked pork» was TERRIBLE!!! It was so old and stale tasting that it had hardened into like, little chewy wood chips. I bit into one so hard that I thought it was a bone and it turned out to be a «plasticky» piece of pork. SO BAD for $ 8 nachos… the best thing about it was the sweet pickles that were served with them (I know — random, right?), and I got the feeling they were not house-​made…
My mom got a sandwich with «coleslaw» as one of her sides. This so-​called «coleslaw» is a vinegary sweet relish. Period. I don’t even think there was cabbage OR mayo in it. Now, I watch a lotta Food Network and never heard of a coleslaw like that…
This place is supposed to be «Fast Food BBQ» — it’s all «order at the register», «grab your own food from the window», «get your own drinks», etc. But the price contradicts that idea — for four of us to eat a few picnic-​style lunches and get 3 pops and a beer, it was $ 45. For that kind of money, the food has to be good. And it was far from it…

Two reasons I came here, I heard they have good BBQ and I was curious about their Showdown Challenge. I attempted the challenge first… I won’t explain my experience, you need to try for yourself. All I can say is I did not complete the challenge, but I was content with my result.
After I recovered from the challenge I ordered the Longhorn, which is the Beef Brisket sandwich, their specialty. I need to say this loud… BEST BRISKET I HAVE HAD AT A RESTAURANT. It was juicy and flavorful, only better brisket I had in my life was homemade by someone I don’t even know at a potluck. I had the mac and cheese and cornbread muffin for sides and they were delicious as well.
This is a order at the counter style place and you don’t need to wait long to get the food. The owner is a hard worker, he sat and chatted with us during the challenge, very nice guy. Great atmosphere here, cannot wait to come back again! No more challenge for me though…