Motley School Tavern - Des Moines

WOW!!! What a great experience we had last night. Food was fantastic , excellant service and atmosphere. To highlight the evening, Nick the owner stopped by and said hello.

Fried chicken was off the chains! Also had bruschetta. Chilled cucumbers. Carrots. Grits. And jalapeno cream corn. Can't wait to come back and try brunch!

The food and wine were amazing. The server was attentive and kind. Thank you Zacharia! The only down side of the meal was the exceptionally loud, large party next to us that made it difficult to have a conversation.

I had the pork cheek with farro risotto, and my wife had a few of the small plates. Everything was great in quality, and very reasonably priced. The fried bologna sandwich was a standout it was everything you’ve ever wanted in a fried bologna sandwich, but extra. The only low point was the lingering scent of rubber in the air from taking over space in a flooring shop. Overall, though, the experience was the culinary high point of two weeks in Des Moines.

So here's the thing: the food was really good, the water we had was great but to be honest, the place smelled. You know that smell when you are in a hot gym and there's no air conditioning running? That's what it smelled like. Im not sure if it was one of the employees who didn't take a shower for a week or if it was the ventilation system. In amy case, it put a damper on the experience. I'm sure the employees there notice it. Hopefully it can get corrected soon.