Bw’s Burgers

Bad service, overpriced, tasteless food, and the place is very small. Big portions do not matter if it doesn’t taste good. Don’t bother.

The ambiance of the restaurant was wonderful– cute, quaint, but small. The wait to get a table was about 15 min at 5:00 on a Saturday evening. Service was good, but our food was a bit disappointing. The burger was delicious, but the fries were cold and soggy.

Long wait but worth it! Small space, best burger in the metro that I’ve found. They could likely stay busy for more hours during the day.

I did a glowing review of BW’s based on my first visit, and I wish I could leave my higher stars rating in place. I’ve been back a few times and each time it gets worse and worse. My last visit to BW’s was a nightmare. I documented it on a metro Facebook page, but forgot to update Unilocal… So here it is.
«I’ve been chewing over writing something about a recent experience at BWs Burgers for a couple of days. I first went to BWs a couple weeks after they opened and the service was lacking, but the food was excellent. I figured they would only get better as time went on. I’ve been back a few times since that first visit and the table service has gotten better in my opinion, but the food… not so much.
Friday afternoon we were one of the first customers through the door when they opened. We were seated at a high table across from the bar. The gf ordered a cheeseburger (medium-​well) and steak fries and I ordered a blue cheese and bacon burger (medium-​rare) with cheesy fries. Both of us thought our burgers looked like the lunch burgers and not the 14 oz dinner burgers, but we were assured ours were the first ones out of the 14 oz. molds (by our server after she checked with the kitchen). My burger was cooked medium-​well to well done… no where near medium-rare…only a very small tinge of pink in a couple of areas… most of my burger was dry gray. It wasn’t inedible and we were heading to a football game so I did finish the burger, but not before showing my server and letting her know that though things were edible… they were not done properly. Her steak cut fries were cut too thin and overcooked.
Our server spoke to the manager in the kitchen. As we were seated at a table right off the end of the bar and across from the kitchen so I could hear part of the conversation between our server and the manager. She told him she’d seen the burger and it was way over-​cooked. He said „It must have been fine since he ate the whole thing.“ Our server had said that she had talked to the cook also. The manager didn’t have the courtesy to come to the table to have a conversation with me himself. I could tell our server was frustrated by the experience too and I had no wish to make a scene.
I had defended BWs since it opened and have written good reviews on it both Facebook and on Unilocal.Unfortunately in my last couple of trips there the food quality has been slipping. I’m not sure if on site management is actually engaged or is just collecting a paycheck. Our server had only been employed there a week and said she has yet to meet the owner (maybe he’s been on vacation, or out of town… so that’s somewhat understandable).
For the two entrees we paid $ 27.50 and left a good tip for our server… No adjustments were made for the issues with the food. I left hungry and less than happy. As much as I have defended them in the past… I very much doubt I’ll be going back.»
And I haven’t been back since that visit…

Best burger in Des Moines. Above and beyond everything else I’ve had. This is a definite must visit place in the Des Moines area.

This was the only place I’ve been in Des Moines so far that I could get a decent burger at. It was a little expensive for what it was — $ 12 with tip for a burger and fries — but it was a good burger and fries.

Saturday at noon the tables filled up fast and people had to sit at the bar. The service wasn’t speedy but the food was freshly made and large portions. We all had burgers. For 5 people it was about $ 70. Everyone loved their food. The chicken sand which was a huge breast. The salads seemed expensive, more than a burger meal, so I would think they would be large portions.

Food — insanely good. Cheeseburger was super tasty and the fries went very well with it.
Service — ok. Nothing good, nothing bad. Could have been more attentive on drink refills.
Price — dumb. Just dumb. Waaaaaay over priced. Two cheesburgers, fries, kids meal and two pops totaled $ 66. They charge $ 1.75 for a side of ranch! $ 1.75 for a side of ranch!!! Ridiculous.
If you’re going to charge an arm and a leg, you better have great service but ya don’t.

Wait staff was terrible. Food overpriced. Food wasn’t prepared right. (undercooked) Had to send it back. The waitress had a (I don’t give a **** Attitude.) Long wait for food because they misplaced our order. 4 couples came in after us and got served before us. They must spend a fortune on take home containers! The burgers are 14 oz’s. That’s it. No smaller portions. You can split a burger and fries but must pay a plate charge of $ 5.00. Really? Had high hopes for this place but was really turned off by the whole experience. Even after the all the problems we encountered we didn’t get a sorry from anyone. Wait staff or management. Good luck BW’s!

Great food. Nice people, good service. They are busy at times, so the general understanding of that is needed. They care about there service and food. Highly recommended.

45 minute wait– no problem.
Helpful with food allergies.
We tried the Bruschetta burger — enjoyed the flavors but had it sent back to get cooked more. They were accommodating with fixing the meat temp.
Allergy kid had the Ranch burger– no bun, no cheese & seasoned fries. She LoVED it! So much bacon!
Ultimate burger– great flavors. Cheesy fries= cheese sauce over fries.
Bleu burger was good. Again meat temp– ordered med well but got med rare
My husband ate it. I have to have my meat cooked thoroughly. (I first ordered it well then switched to med-​well when my husband insisted) Order yours well if you like it cooked all the way through.
Small place, good atmosphere & good food.

I really wanted to like this place, but I can’t get past how bad my experience was. The food was fine, but with the exception of the burger being 14oz, nothing I couldn’t get elsewhere. Not even close to worth the 1.5 hour wait. Service was acceptable, but would have appreciated greater communication between the server and us. We were never told why our food took so long, nor did anyone apologize for the long wait. Service seems to mostly be inexperienced more than anything.
Overall, not worth the wait for a burger that could be found anywhere else. Save yourself some time and go elsewhere.

If you’d like a mediocre burger with an hour long wait — head to BW’s.
I wished that I had just gone to the grocery store and made burgers at home instead.

I had the grilled tenderloin sandwich with steak fries. The tenderloin was fantastic! It was thick tender and juicy with a sublte but tasty season.
The steak fries however were overdone.
Come for the loin but avoid the steak fries.

Mary and I visited last evening and shared a breaded pork tenderloin sandwich with a side order of flaky thin cut onion rings. Their tenderloins are hand cut and breaded without pounding it out to the size of a platter but it is three quarter inch thick and absolutely wonderful. Onion rings were absolutely great and the service was perfect. Unless you have a huge, I said huge appetite this sandwich can be shared by two people.
Owner of this restaurant also owns the rusty duck in Dexter which is open from 5 to 9 evenings and is well known for its great food.

Got a delicious lunch here with my workers. Ordered their blue cheese burger with cheese fries for $ 12. Order took about 30 min, which is a bit of a wait for lunch when you got to get back for work, but the food was very good.
My burger had bacon, blue cheese, and beef burger. I normally get blue cheese burgers anytime a place offers one. And hands down, this is the best blue cheese hamburger I have ever ordered. One, at other places when they say bacon they mean one tiny strip and you are lucky if you taste it. Here, its like 5 huge pieces and cooked to perfection. Two, blue cheese is same as bacon, tons of it and super tasty. And the burger itself is a gourmet burger. Nice big juicy piece grilled to perfection. A 5 star burger for sure.
Their cheese fries were very good too and had that nacho cheese sauce on top.
So the food was great. Probably the best burger I had in months. Only reason I give it 4 stars is because the wait was very long and from reading some reviews it seems to be a common problem. This will not stop me from coming again though. Perhaps to have a beer as well next time since they have two large TVs and a bar.

Came here on a Tuesday night and there was roughly 4 other tables inside and two tables on the outside patio. There were two ladies working that night. We were greeted and seated. It took a little time for our waitress to come and take our orders, but it wasn’t too long of wait.
What we ordered:
Bacon cheese burger meals x2– $ 15. It is expensive, but not a small portion. To split the burger there is another up charge as stated in other reviews. Also, got an order of onion rings for additional $ 3. There was a lot of onion rings, but weren’t the greatest. Shoe string type, but batter was kind of soggy.
The husband ordered steak fries with his. These are rather large and deep fried. You can have them with nacho cheese or not.
Calamari appetizer — ordered large plate cost about $ 10. Batter was again not as crispy and some of the calamari wasn’t breaded. I don’t think oil was hot enough.
The reason why I am giving only 4 stars — service could be improved. We waited for 10 – 15 minutes for our checks and decided to walk to the front counter to ask for our bills.
Overall pricier than other burgers, but good food.

14 oz of beef, cheese fries. How could you go wrong?
I took a shortcut by eating in West Des Moines instead of the real Rusty Duck. I wasn’t the only one taking shortcuts.
The restaurant was staffed by 3 people who seemed overwhelmed. Despite arriving around 6 to an empty house, 45 minutes later a burger would emerge. The burger looked promising, but one cut in left me to see it was very well done (ordered medium). I notified the waitress and insisted on powering through rather than wait another 45 minutes for a burger. Three bites later I caved. The nacho cheese coated fries were lukewarm.
I was off like a prom dress. I sent the burger back, and said goodbye. The waitress didn’t apologize. Nor did she offer a complimentary drink. No manager was in sight to offer an apology.
The promise of a proper burger had me elated with joy. I left needing a Zoloft laced quarter pounder with cheese.
Oh, and they don’t take American Express.

The pros: Good tasting burger, decent service.
The cons: Not offering the 8 oz. burger all the time, not just at lunch, $ 5.00 split plate charge, not getting the burger cooked to my specifications, needed a bigger location (especially when the weather is cold or hot), no one NEEDS a 14 oz. burger.
I have gone there twice now and have plans to go again in a couple weeks. Each time I have gone, I have asked for rare or medium-​rare and gotten well done. If you are a rare or well done meat person, you do not want it the other way! If rare is not allowed, say so on the menu or freaking cook it the way the customer is asking for it.
The fries are ok. I am not a big fan of big thick steak fries. I really am not a fan of nacho cheese sauce on them. Plain cheese, yes. Nacho, no. Seasoning on the seasoned fries is good and not overpowering. I have not had the onion rings yet, but they look awesome!!!

Really good! Burgers are huge, so could easily share. Fries were ok, but the burger stole the show. For $ 3 more you can get onion rings.
— Beer in cans & bottles only
— patio seating
Pricey, but so good. Definitely give it a try.