I absolutely love everything about this place. The environment, the food and also the employees. Used to be a regular before the pandemic. They were closed for a while and I ended up moving to another side of town. Over 2 years later I came back and they remembered me just by my takeout order. How awesome. I've never had an incorrect order or been greeted by anything less than a smile. One of my favorite local spots.
We went to Waterfront many years ago when was about 1/6 the size and seating was couple card tables. Starting then and dozens of times since, we never had bad food. We moved to Stillwater, MN few years ago and were in Des Moines today for doctors appts and went back to Waterfront. Wanted to have several of our favorites, so ordered them as appetizers. Oysters Rockeller better than Antoines in New Orleans, wonderful sourdough bread from San Francisco, rock shrimp sweet like baby lobsters, fried oysters, and coconut shrimp. Sapporo ice cold beer. A perfect feast. Every item was wonderful! Price was 1//2 of what I expected.
Decent atmosphere, large menu, very good wait staff. The food was good but not excellent. Granted, I lived on the coast for 30 years and am spoiled for good, fresh seafood, so my baseline is pretty high. They did have some of the best clam chowder I've ever had, so there is that.
Our neighbors suggested this place and took us there last night...and oh what a treat it was! If you enjoy good, fresh seafood - you'll love this place, with your biggest challenge being figuring out which dish to order. As a bonus, you can also buy fresh seafood to take home at the adjoining market - or watch your sushi being made in another area.Our dinner started with the complimentary sourdough bread and butter (see picture) - served warm with whipped butter, smelled and tasted great. Next, on the recommendation of our waiter, we shared an order of Bacon Wrapped Sea Scallops (see picture). As you might expect with these two great food items combined - they were delicious and I highly recommend them.Next, my wife enjoyed the Creole Seafood Gumbo (see picture), while I opted for the New England Clam Chowder (see picture) so that we could try both. The menu says the Clam Chowder was voted the Best Soup in Des Moines and while I haven't tried enough soup to confirm that - I can tell you that it was some of the best Clam Chowder that I've ever had.For the main course, my wife opted for the Shrimp and Scallops (see picture), while I opted for the cajun Halibut and Salmon (see picture). We thoroughly enjoyed everything, with my lone exception to the 5* rating being the preparation of the salmon - as it was overcooked to my liking and was rather dry as opposed to soft and moist when it is cooked less. It was definitely a great experience for my wife and I and I highly recommend it for the lively atmosphere, fresh seafood and great service.Food: 5*Atmosphere: 5*Value: 4*Service: 5*If you found this review helpful, please click to show your support.
The seafood was really good for a landlocked midwestern state! I'm from the East Coast so I'm pretty spoiled when it comes to fish and Waterfront pleasantly surprised me. Our server was fantastic. Will definitely be back!
Great food and service! Best place for fresh seafood!
Been talking this place up to my husband for years and we finally had the fish fry tonight. Not good flavor and overcooked. Sadly, don't think we'll ever go back. I thought that if everything they do is supposedly so great that a fish fry would be a no brainer... I'll look for somewhere else to go in the future. Oh and it was like $30+, thank you but no.
The staff was definitely spread thin. We got a table immediately but there was a long wait for service. This is so normal during covid/post-covid times, that I don't hold it against them. I got sushi which was good but not great (there are better places to get sushi in West Des Moines), and my husband got the fried catfish. He didn't like the catfish because it had bones and it was on the bland side. We ordered 2 oyster shooters withOUT alcohol. By far the low point was when our server Charlotte returned with two shooters with Tito's vodka. My husband doesn't drink and I prefer my oyster shooters without alcohol. I'm indecisive on if this was an attempt at bulking up the bill for a larger tip.
Always amazing food! Love their king crab and key largo shrimp
Great seafood and service