Murphy’s Bar & Grill

Good service. Good food. However the bathrooms are pretty bad. Mens door is propped open. There is no partition between the urinal and sink. How can this be overlooked im not sure. But cool place to grab a drink and food. But please address the bathrooms!

Went there with my wife the Saturday before St. Patrick’s Day. I expected it to be packed and would have accepted less than stellar service, but this was even worse than I thought.
We walked in and stood by the «please wait to be seated» sign. A waitress walked by and said «you guys can sit wherever». I said we were waiting to be seated per the sign to which she replied «yea you can sit at a table if you can find one». We decided we wouldn’t be eating there but would grab a drink at the bar.
A female bartender walked by several times as we tried to flag her down. As she walked around she was chewing nails on both hands while continuing to grab glasses and open bottles. We decided this was enough and left without getting anything.
Again, I could expect spotty service due to the crowd, but I refuse to accept unsanitary conditions that could make someone sick.

Went to watch the Packers game. Nice place but service was slightly slow. Overall, I’d still recommend.

I was in Des Moines on business. I asked the hotel clerk where a nearby place with TV, beer and decent food was to watch the start of the NFL season (BOOO! NY Giants). He recommended this place, among others. It was a solid recommendation. The place is full of TVs, with one giant projection screen. The food was solid pub fare. I had the buffalo chx sandwich, which was tasty, and people around me ordered nachos and pizzas, and they looked good. I saw a bunch of people ordering takeout, so I assume they do other things well, too. Their onion rings are great: lightly hand battered with a nice crunch and a good, sweet onion. The place was lively, but not super busy. The bartender was cool and answered my «I’m from out of town» questions in a patient and friendly manner. He was quick with a refill when I wanted one, too. All things considered, I’d say this is a good neighborhood joint. It’s just not in my neighborhood.

The best Cuban (El Cubano) sandwich in the Des Moines area. Very friendly owner and staff. Come here hungry, as there was plenty of food on my plate for two.

I love Murphy’s Bar & Grill. The owners are friendly and always happy to see you when you come in. After the dinner rush is over, I sometimes meet friends over there and play cards for the evening. I especially love the salads and I order mine with grilled buffalo chicken on it and it is the best in town. We always have a lot of fun over there and there is enough variety on the menu to please a whole group. I prefer to patronize locally owned restaurants like Murphy’s. Someone else put a comment about slow service they once experienced on here. I want to mention that really big chain restaurants not locally owned can hire huge serving staffs, schedule them to work, and if it isn’t busy, they send them all home. Medium sized, locally owned restaurants can’t do that. They staff for standard expectations for that day & time. When an unexpectedly large surge in business occurs, that’s a huge blessing to them, but also challenging. So try to cut a break to local places when that occurs. If service delays happen, you won’t actually miss the extra 10 minutes of potential delays it took.

Murphy’s is a quality bar and grill. It has your typically bar fare and a great atmosphere. The owner is very friendly and you will often find him serving tables and interacting with the patrons.
The food is definitely memorable. We ventured to Murphy’s because we were looking for something quick and simple after watching a movie at Carmike. Murphy’s hit the spot. I had the Burrito Grande, which was literally the size of my arm. The tortilla was soft and filled with tasty goodness. You have the option of beef or chicken and you can substitute black beans for refried beans. It comes with tortilla chips, which are a nice garnish, but really seem to get in the way. I used a couple to shovel the remaining bits of my Burrito Grande into my mouth. Lol.
While I enjoyed my Burrito Grande, the star of our visit was the Cuban sandwich that my buddies ordered. The meat was perfectly seasoned. Talk about a delicious sandwich? Murphy’s Cuban definitely delivers.
So, if you’re in the Urbandale area and looking for a quick bite, definitely consider a trip to Murphy’s.

Came here for lunch with four co-​workers on a Friday. I was surprised how busy it was for lunch. Although most of the tables had someone at them, we were quickly seated with drink orders taken shortly after.
Their menu consists of typical bar food: sandwiches, burgers and a few other classifications. Not a place to go when wanting to eat healthy. It took a while for the waitress to take our orders. I had the buffalo chicken sandwich with a grilled chicken breast and fries. The others went with hamburgers for the most part. My sandwich was a mess! The minute I picked it up, sauce was all over the place. I don’t know how I didn’t end up with it all over me. It tasted fine. The fries were nothing special. The others said their burgers were good.
It took forever to get our checks. She came and asked if we were together or separate and after asking it probably took another 10 – 15 min to get them.
To summarize, food is ok and service is slow.