Brunch Review - Americana
Anyone who has lived in Des Moines for more then a year has been to Americana AT LEAST once! Why not review a tried and true for March?!
Americana has been the go to brunch locale for the young adults in town for over 10 years. (You’ll see why I say young adults in a minute…keep reading). I actually started my bachelorette party here a couple of years ago!
Mimosas - 15/10
The mimosas here are to. die. for. Champagne…amazing! Juice…amazing. There is absolutely nothing negative I can say about the way they do the mimosa. Then they have an entire bar set up with different juices where you go and make your own mimosa!!! And they are BOTTOMLESS!! You all know how I feel about a brunch that doesn’t offer bottomless mimosas…
Step 1 - They bring you a glass of champagne (the whole bottle if there are more then one of you drinking at the table).
Step 2 - Pick your juice! There are three kinds of juices - pineapple, orange and cranberry.
Step 3 - Pick your mixer! There are about 7 or so “syrups” - mango, raspberry, strawberry, etc. etc. I call them syrups but I am not 100% that is what they are. They are definitely heavier then juice but not like maple syrup consentience either. Whatever they are they add an amazing twist!
Wala! Your perfect drink can be different every time you go up to the bar!
My favorite mix?! Pineapple juice with raspberry syrup.
P.S. If you are a weirdo and prefer vodka as your alcohol of choice in the morning they have screwdrivers and blood mary mix-ins on the bar as well.
Food - 8/10
Brunch at Americana is buffet style. They don’t have any other options if you are not feeling buffet. All the food is good, nothing is to die for. Everything that was suppose to be warm was warm, everything that was suppose to be cold was cold.
I don’t love a buffet but as far as they go this was pretty damn good. I think a sign of a good buffet is quality not quantity. This is definitely not your Old Country Buffett with anything and everything available. Everything they had seemed curated and perfectly paired!
My favorite thing they offer? A grilled cheese bar! They have an assortment of grilled cheese makings and some pre chosen flavor combinations, you choose your fixings, and a lovely gentlemen makes it for you right there! As an avid grilled cheese and tomato soup I loved this!! (The tomato soup is great as well)
Some of my other favorites?! Mac n’ cheese, mashed potatoes, and cheesecake!!
Service - 10/10
Service here was great! We had a fairly large group of girls and were all drinking mimosas (we went through 6 bottles of champagne…) and she was very attentive. She always was around magically with another bottle of champagne with no judgement from our slightly tipsy group. She even brought a carafe of orange and pineapple juice to our table so we didn’t have to get up and go to the bar!
I will say, in my other trips here, I have had really bad service. With COVID happening in the last 2 years they did away with the physical "“buffet." You had a limited menu and then you ordered a few things and it was family style-ish. During that time service was really bad, probably due to a multitude of things, but it was not a good time for anyone.
Side note, if you go with a party bigger then 7 (and they do count babies, I know this because my 3 year old niece put us over the 7 mark) they automatically add a 17% gratuity to your check at the end. I don’t love this but I understand it.
Ambience - 7/10
So there was nothing wrong with the ambience of this place. It’s two levels and open air. It’s just kind of a young person’s hang out (evidently). It seemed about everyone in the place on this particular Saturday morning were celebrating their 21st birthdays… Maybe it was just this particular day but I felt very old.
It is loud but that didn’t bother me much. It actually felt nice to be out and about with so many people. But if you are looking for a quite brunch then this isn’t your place.
Overall
As perfect as they are, there are a couple of drawbacks. Firstly, they seem to get more and more expensive every time I go. I think it was $45 per person this last time. This has probably been the most expensive brunch I have ever had and I brunch quite frequently in Chicago. To be honest this probably won’t detour me too much, it just won’t come up in the brunch rotation very often anymore.
Secondly, they put a time limit on you, which isn’t the issue, I understand you can’t just hang out all day and drink, it’s the fact that they told me that when I made the reservation. I don’t know why but that has always really bothered me.
Obviously for as long as I live in this town I will go to Americana. It really is a staple spot for me.
